Reina de Sabá

The Queen of Sheba is the unnamed ruler who traveled to Jerusalem to test Solomon's wisdom 'with hard questions' (1 Kings 10:1–13; 2 Chronicles 9:1–12). She brought enormous wealth—camels laden with spices, gold, and precious stones—and was overwhelmed by Solomon's wisdom, palace, staff, offerings, and wealth: 'The half was not told me; your wisdom and prosperity surpass the report that I heard' (1 Kings 10:7). Jesus cited her visit as a model of seeking wisdom: 'The queen of the South will rise up at the judgment with this generation and condemn it, for she came from the ends of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon, and behold, something greater than Solomon is here' (Matthew 12:42). Ethiopian tradition identifies her as Queen Makeda, ancestor of the Solomonic dynasty, a tradition developed in the medieval text Kebra Nagast.