Where Did the Queen of Sheba RuleArabia or Africa?
In this version of the story, Suleiman rejects the queens emissaries and rich gifts. In contrast to the Bible and the Targum Sheni, it is Suleiman who tests the queens intellect. While she is traveling to visit him, the king sends a jinn to steal her throne and bring it to Jerusalem. There he disguises the throne in order to see if the queen will realize it is hers. She does, so Suleiman welcomes her to his impressive palace. Suleiman shows the queen a floor made of glass. When she sees it, she thinks it is a pool of water, so she lifts her skirts to avoid getting them wet. Her legs are revealed, and she does not shave them. Modern feminist commentators have interpreted this attribute as a sign that power has made her unfeminine. This episode also appears in the Targum Sheni: Your beauty is the beauty of women, but your hair is the hair of men, Solomon tells her. In Jewish literature, the Queen of Sheba is also identified with Lilith, an ancient demonic figure. Likewise, in the Quranic text, a jinn warns Suleiman about the queens demonic side, fearing the king might be tempted by her beauty. Instead, the queen submits to Solomon and commits herself to Allah, the Lord of all worlds.