Did a Queen's Hairy Legs Really Test Solomon's Wisdom?
Legends suggest the Queen of Sheba visited King Solomon to test his intellect. But the narrative includes bizarre details—like a glass floor and jinn whispers—suggesting the story is more about cultural exchange than mere royal visitations.
The figure of the Queen of Sheba has captivated Jewish, Christian, and Muslim traditions for millennia, tracing tales from Israel to Ethiopia. According to both Jewish and Islamic accounts, she was the ruler of Sabaʾ (or Sheba), a kingdom situated in southwestern Arabia. Her famous visit to King Solomon was intended, in part, as a test of his renowned wisdom.
The biblical narrative describes her arriving at Solomon's court with a camel caravan laden with gold, jewels, and spices, pointing to significant commercial ties between ancient Israel and southern Arabia. In Islamic tradition, she is known as Bilqīs; while the Qur'ān does not name her, her story has been expanded by Muslim commentators, and the Arabs have ascribed her a southern Arabian lineage. One account suggests Solomon learned from a hoopoe that Bilqīs's kingdom worshipped the Sun, prompting him to send a letter urging her to worship God.
The legend grows more intricate when Solomon proves unreceptive to her initial gifts, leading her to visit his court personally. A peculiar element enters the story when Solomon's jinn advises him, fearing temptation, that Bilqīs possesses hairy legs and the hooves of an ass. To investigate this supposed anomaly, a glass floor was constructed before Solomon's throne. When tricked into believing it was water, Bilqīs lifted her skirts to cross it, revealing her hairy legs. Following this, Solomon allegedly commanded the jinn to create a depilatory for her.
The traditions diverge on the ultimate outcome: some accounts suggest Solomon married her, while others claim he gave her in marriage to a member of the Hamdānī tribesman. These varying details highlight how the legend has been adapted and interwoven across different religious and geographical narratives.
Source: Great Myths and Legends: The Queen of Sheba in History and Legend
