“You’re right.”
“Of course you didn’t believe him.”
“Well, he said …” They both laughed so hard the servants in the palace heard and wondered. Solomon hadn’t really laughed like this in years. All formal barriers were washed away in this little episode. They no longer saw each other as foreign dignitaries but as delightful individuals.
In the next few days Solomon was bothered by only one thing; he wanted to confess who he was. Yet each time he tried to tell her he found it would have spoiled the mood of the moment. Finally, on the last day before he left to go back to Jerusalem he told her, “When you come to Jerusalem there will be many surprises. I’ll do my best to make them all pleasant ones for your sake. Remember, there is a reason for everything.”
When Solomon got back to his palace, he ordered a great procession organized to bring the queen of Sheba from Jericho to Jerusalem. He called the poets to write songs in her honor, and drummers, trumpeters, and dancers to come before her company into Jerusalem. He had his bravest men with their spears and golden shields to stand at attention down the road that led over Olivet and along the Kidron Valley to the Fountain Gate.
It was to be a festive day with no work for anyone, and so the people crowded up onto the walls and lined the road from the far side of Olivet down to the Kidron. They were singing and waving palm branches, each one hoping to catch a glimpse of the queen of Sheba.
No one was disappointed. The queen’s caravan was far more impressive than they had imagined. It was even noted with due excitement that the queen herself had been seen parting her curtains to look at the scenery.
Bilqis had been reluctant to leave the winter palace in Jericho. She had loved the relaxed atmosphere, the perfumed air, the openness of pillars and lattice instead of high stone walls that shut out the sun. Most of all she had loved the time she spent with the young prince. Here was a man she was in danger of losing her heart to and she had actually found it exciting.
For a short time she had been able to forget she was a queen and just enjoy being a woman. He hadn’t said anything about marriage or wanting her to do anything or be anything. He just seemed to enjoy being with her. There had been a few moments when she had experienced a decidedly new emotion. The way he had looked at her and then two times when their hands had touched and the times when they hadn’t touched but she had felt a drawing, pulling excitement—these were memories she treasured.
The ride to Jerusalem seemed very short. She had looked out only on two occasions. Once when a young poet stopped the caravan so he could recite a lovely poem in her honor and then again when they were just over the hill and the whole caravan had stopped to look at Solomon’s city.
It was all that the traders had described and more. A city of gold and marble ascending on tiers to the pinnacle that was crowned by an exquisite temple. There seemed nothing of darkness or hidden ugliness about this temple. It was all constructed of simple, elegant lines with golden doors that flashed and sparkled in the sunlight and arched courts that seemed filled with light.
Her eyes briefly swept over the maze of marble buildings she imagined were the king’s palace complex and on down to the lush, green garden that ran along below the city’s walls. She wondered what this king would be like. Certainly he could not be more charming than his brother. His brother was too charming. She had found her mind returning again and again to his smile, his brief touch, and the way they had laughed together.
With one last glance at the lovely city called Jerusalem, she closed the curtains and ordered the caravan to move on. As they approached the gates her own trumpeters blew a royal accolade in her honor. The drummers who had come out to meet her from the city began a stirring beat and dancers and singers sang a lively welcome.
Once inside the gate she pulled out her brass mirror with the snakes entwined on the handle. She smiled remembering the prince’s saying they had heard she had the feet of a donkey. She wet one finger and smoothed her eyebrows into an arch, bit her lips to make them red, studied her eyes to determine what the prince had seen that made him look at her with such pleasure. She laughed and put the mirror down. “I must be sure the king gets a glimpse of my feet.”
Everything had proceeded as planned. Tamrin, her own emissary, informed her that the camels with the gifts had all started to arrive an hour before and the last of the gifts were just at the moment being brought in before the king. Only the white horse and a few other choice surprises would not be given right now.
The queen’s camel knelt and the howdah was removed and placed on the shoulders of twenty Nubians with leopardskin skirts, bright turbans, golden nose rings, and ankle bracelets. They set the howdah down at the foot of the throne, pulled the curtains back and the queen stepped out. Immediately the court erupted with shouts of welcome, the blare of trumpets, singers shaking tambourines, drummers drumming, and now and then the clash of cymbals. No one noticed that the queen stood at the foot of the marble steps in shocked disbelief. All they saw was the king descending the steps, taking her by the hand and leading her to sit beside him on his wide throne.
Bilqis was speechless. It was obvious the prince and the king were one and the same. His eyes met hers with the same delight she had seen in them when they were in the winter palace. However, she felt nothing but indignation that he should have let her believe he was just a prince. She felt embarrassed in front of all these people. To be thrown off guard at such a time was something that had never happened to her before.
She smiled and nodded to the crowded room of people but she refused to look at the king. Even when he stood and publicly thanked her for coming so far and bringing such treasures, she refused to meet his gaze and instead smiled her most enchanting smile for his counselors and tribesmen.
On each side of the throne she noticed women, dozens of them, all with children. Two of them sat on each side of the marble steps on slightly elevated platforms with ebony and gold thrones. One was definitely the Egyptian queen and the other must be the queen from Rabbath Amman. “He’d better not think I’ll be swayed by his charms like these silly women,” she thought. “I must not forget that I’m the queen of Sheba. I almost succumbed to his charm, but now I’m wiser. I’ll not be moved by his subtle sorcery.”
Solomon could see that it would be difficult to mend the breach between them. She had obviously been hurt by his thoughtlessness in letting her believe he was Nathan. He tried in every way he knew to get her aside long enough to explain, but she was careful to avoid any moments alone with him. She was pleasant but distant, and he longed for the bright, unfettered exchange they had enjoyed in Jericho.
In spite of this she managed to take advantage of every opportunity to ask the questions that had been uppermost in her mind. After she had probed every aspect of his new shipping venture in the Red Sea, she began to ask questions about the temple and the God of Israel. He was surprised. Traditionally the main concern of women in Israel was to seek cleansing in the Mikvah once a month and to light the sabbath lamps. In the temple area they were allowed no farther than the Court of the Women. He hesitated even to answer her questions about the God of Israel.
Finally he was persuaded to bring her as far as the porch of the temple and let her look through the folding leaf doors into the splendor of the Holy Place. He saw her eyes fasten with amazement on the gigantic grapevine of pure, sparkling gold that was fastened above the doors. “The clusters are as high as a man,” she exclaimed in astonishment.
Then she noticed the careful workmanship on the doors. He saw her reach out and touch with one finger the folded wing on one of the golden cherubim. She lightly touched the palm trees and open flowers all carved into the olive wood of the doors and then covered with gold.
Solomon noticed that as she moved to where she could get a glimpse inside at the Holy Place she drew in her breath sharply. She was obviously impressed to see the same patterned cherubim and palm trees carved into the gold-covered cedar wood that she had seen in th
e doors.
Her eyes passed over the golden incense burner, lingered for a moment on the table holding the shewbread, and then came to rest on the seven-branched candelabra. She noticed that it was as high as a man, with a seven-petaled pomegranate flower as decoration, and that the bowls to hold the wicks were in the shape of almond blossoms. “How beautiful!” she exclaimed. Her eyes were shining and her mouth slightly open in amazement.
“And,” she said, “you do have an idol behind the curtain at the back.”
“No idol. It’s forbidden,” he said as he noted her incredulity.
“Then if there’s no idol, what do you have in the holiest place?”
“A golden box,” he said as he started to lead her away. The finality with which he said it made it quite evident he wasn’t ready to discuss it further. At least for the time being the subject was closed.
While he remained reluctant to discuss the strange furniture she had seen in the Holy Place or the golden box in the Holy of Holies, still there were other aspects of the temple he was eager to talk about. He explained how water from a great distance was piped into cisterns beneath the temple, how the priests must wear only linen garments and must never wear them outside the temple area. Finally he told her that only the high priest could enter the Holy of Holies and that only once a year on the Day of Atonement.
Later he heard her remark to her priest that Israel had no image of their God. They had only a golden box that sat in the place usually reserved for an idol.
He had been careful to explain nothing before she asked. He wondered how long it would take her to ask about the acacia box covered with gold in the small, square room of beaten gold, which was so holy it could be visited only once a year by the high priest. He also wondered if they would ever get back to the idyllic relationship they experienced in Jericho.
The solemn Day of Atonement was celebrated on the tenth of the seventh month of Tishri. At the full moon on the fifteenth of the same month, the joyous Feast of Booths was to be celebrated. Bilqis had been fascinated by everything she learned about the feast days. Each new discovery gave her insight into Solomon’s faith, even though he himself seemed reluctant to explain even the simplest tenets. She wondered if it was too private to be shared. Just as she couldn’t go inside even the Holy Place, let alone the Holy of Holies, so now she wondered if she would ever get answers to her questions.
From the rooftop of her house she had seen large groups of people dressed in festive finery with palm branches, banners, tambourines, and drums wending their way over Olivet from Bethany, the “house of dates.” They were also streaming through the city gates, and all of them seemed to be laughing and singing as though some wonderful event were about to take place.
From the window in her house that opened onto the large courtyard, she had seen the construction of gay shelters covered with palm branches and myrtle. She sent one of her maids down to investigate. On her return she told the queen that they were booths with tables spread and cushions prepared for Isreal’s most joyous feast of the year. “The harvest for the year is over and now it’s time to celebrate,” one of the king’s pages had told the maid.
As it turned out, Bilqis and all her company were invited. She found herself in the seat of honor. Not sitting by Solomon, but by a prince she found most charming.
“I’m Solomon’s brother, Nathan,” he said.
Bilqis was surprised. She hadn’t really thought there was an actual person named Nathan. “So the king does have a brother named Nathan after all.”
Nathan laughed. “Yes, and I’m the one to blame for the unpleasant meeting in Jericho.”
“Oh, I wouldn’t say it was unpleasant.”
“You see, it had been decided that I would go and meet you, then at the last moment I persuaded my brother, the king, to go.”
“Perhaps it was partly my fault. I just took for granted the person I met was the Nathan mentioned by the messenger.”
“And he didn’t tell you he wasn’t Nathan.”
“I don’t understand.”
“If you’ll excuse me I can explain. The king has told me that the time in Jericho was so wonderful, he didn’t want to spoil it. To tell you he was the king could have made everything suddenly very formal.”
Bilqis understood and promptly regretted her reaction. She quickly reminded herself, however, that this king with his seven hundred wives and three hundred concubines, was not someone she dared lose her heart to. Of course, as she had discovered, they weren’t all living in Jerusalem. Many of them had gone back to their villages to live with their families while others languished uncalled for in the harem.
She didn’t intend to be added to his collection. However, that didn’t mean she had to continue her hostility. “The two of you must be very close,” she said trying to change the subject. “Are you one of his counselors?”
Nathan laughed with the same unaffected charm that characterized his brother. “I’ve studied with the prophets. I suppose I’m an adviser of sorts.”
“Then perhaps you can tell me what is being celebrated. Is it a religious festival or a national festival?”
“It’s a little bit of both. It’s a harvest festival but it’s also a time when we remember how we were slaves in Egypt and our God brought us out and freed us. Our people lived for years in the wilderness in booths just like this.”
“So you build the booths to remember.” Bilqis looked around and saw the clay lamps giving off a soft glow that made everyone’s face mysteriously luminous. Looking up she could see the full moon and the stars through the palm leaves. There was a beauty and serenity that was conducive to conversation and simple entertainment. Bilqis found herself wishing that Solomon were there. With such a man perhaps one could be happy living in an arbor on the edge of the desert.
“I’ve wondered,” she said, trying to stay on a safe subject, “if you can tell me how your city got its name.”
“It’s a bit involved; are you sure you want to hear it?”
“Of course,” she said as she began to feel it was indeed difficult to get even the simplest questions answered.
“Long ago when the father of our people came here to sacrifice his only son and God provided a ram instead, he called this place Jehovah-Jireh. Jehovah provides, or the place where Jehovah provided. Tradition says that Shem the son of Noah, who survived the great flood, called it Shalem or “peace.” It was our God who put the two together and it was called JirehShalem or Jerusalem.”
Bilqis sat very still and pondered the story. Everything she heard made her want to ask more questions. Finally she asked, “It seems that every people in every nation sacrifice human beings to their god.”
Nathan was startled. “I didn’t mean to imply that. In fact, ever since our God stopped Abraham from sacrificing his son and provided the ram instead, we have known that he doesn’t want us to sacrifice human beings.”
“Even if you were losing a battle or had a very bad famine you wouldn’t sacrifice someone?”
“No, never. We have had famines and have lost battles, but we have never sacrificed either our own people or the slaves that we’ve captured.”
Now some entertainers appeared and after them would come the feasting. There was just time for her to make one observation. “How strange. Most other people resort to human sacrifice in time of trouble.” The flutes trilled and the drums began to beat, the dancers appeared with joyful songs, and everyone waved palm branches and joined in the singing. It was a scene never to be forgotten of a happy, prosperous people who were free to enjoy a whole week of celebration without the usual work schedule.
In the two months that followed Solomon made every effort to acquaint the queen with the various aspects of his kingdom and reign. He even ordered her throne be placed next to his own so she could observe his dealings with various problems. He also carefully planned a series of excursions for her benefit. Some of the time he rode with her, being the perfect host, but he always maintained a formali
ty that discouraged the repetition of the happy time in Jericho. At other times he sent one of his brothers and again there was careful attention to her slightest wish.
First she visited the quarries and saw how the stones were cut and shaped so when they reached the site they were simply fitted into place. She laughed. “So nothing was built by the Jinn from magic.”
“Nothing,” she was told. “It was all done by hard work and careful planning.”
Next she visited most of the chariot cities and was told, “The king had twelve thousand stalls for horses and twelve thousand chariots that he bought from Egypt. For the chariots he paid six hundred shekels and for each horse one hundred fifty.”
She traveled through the rich valley of Jezreel and heard how Solomon had divided his country into twelve sections and appointed stewards over each section. The stewards were responsible for supplying the food for the king on their assigned month.
She talked to the priests and heard how different ones went up in regular succession to serve in the temple. In one village she visited in the home of a priest who was making a harp of the berosh and prized almug wood. He told her the harp would be used in the temple service to praise God for His goodness. She pondered this. She had never heard of people praising any god. She wondered what this God had done for these people. She resolved to ask further about this later.
She visited the sea coast and saw the dye vats where the murex shellfish produced the rich purple dyes that made the king’s best garments. She watched with great interest as craftsmen inlaid mother of pearl in furniture and carved wedding chests made of cedar.
As the time passed she traveled to the source of the Jordan, then to Tadmor, the new chariot city being built in the desert beyond Damascus. Finally, coming down the Jordan, she saw the place at Zarethan where Solomon’s most accomplished craftsman, Huram-Abi, molded in the natural clay all the brass objects used in the temple and the king’s house.
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