Old Testament · Historical narrative

The First Book of Kings: Author, Context and Complete Study

First Kings follows Israel from the glory of Solomon, who built the temple in Jerusalem, to the division of the kingdom and the long slide into idolatry. Its second half is dominated by the prophet Elijah, who confronts King Ahab and the worship of Baal.

Updated on November 14, 2026

What is 1 Kings about?

First Kings tells how Israel went from its golden age to division and decline. Chapters 1-11 cover Solomon: his wisdom, his wealth, the building of the temple and his fall into idolatry through his many foreign wives. Chapters 12-16 show the kingdom splitting into Israel in the north and Judah in the south, with a series of mostly unfaithful kings. Chapters 17-22 follow Elijah, who defeats the prophets of Baal on Mount Carmel and confronts King Ahab and Jezebel (1 Kings 18:21).

Author: Anonymous. Jewish tradition names the prophet Jeremiah; the writer drew on royal annals such as the Book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Israel and of Judah (14:19, 29).
Date: Covers c. 970-853 BC; with 2 Kings it was completed during the Babylonian exile, after 561 BC (2 Kings 25:27).
First readers: The people of Judah in exile, who had lost their king, temple and land and needed to understand why, and whether God's promises to David still stood.
Genre: Historical narrative
Chapters: 22 chapters
Key verse: 1 Kings 9:4-5

Historical context

The book opens around 970 BC, when the aging David hands the throne to Solomon. Solomon inherited a kingdom at peace, stretching from the Euphrates to the border of Egypt (4:21), at a time when the great powers were weak. He married a daughter of Pharaoh (3:1), traded with Hiram of Tyre and sent ships from Ezion-geber to Ophir for gold (9:26-28). He began building the temple in his fourth year, about 966 BC (6:1), but his heavy taxes and forced labor sowed resentment (12:4).

After Solomon's death in 930 BC the ten northern tribes rejected his son Rehoboam and made Jeroboam king. Pharaoh Shishak, known from Egyptian records as Sheshonq I, raided Judah and took the temple treasures (14:25-26), and his victory list at Karnak names towns in the land. In the north, dynasties rose and fell by assassination until Omri founded Samaria; Assyrian records long afterward called Israel the house of Omri. His son Ahab married Jezebel, a princess of Sidon, and promoted the worship of Baal (16:31-33). An Assyrian inscription, the Kurkh Monolith, lists Ahab with 2,000 chariots at the battle of Qarqar in 853 BC, close to the time of his death.

Geographical context

Jerusalem is the center of the first half: Solomon is anointed at the spring of Gihon (1:38-39), and the temple and palace are built on the hill north of the City of David. Cedar comes from Lebanon through Tyre (5:6-11), the bronze furnishings are cast in the clay of the Jordan plain (7:46), and Solomon fortifies Hazor, Megiddo and Gezer to guard the main roads (9:15). The queen of Sheba travels from southern Arabia (10:1-2).

After the division, the northern kingdom is governed from Shechem, then Tirzah and finally Samaria (12:25; 16:23-24), and Jeroboam sets up golden calves at Bethel and Dan, at the southern and northern ends of his realm (12:29). Elijah's story ranges from the brook Cherith east of the Jordan to Zarephath on the coast of Sidon, Jezebel's homeland (17:3, 9), then to Mount Carmel above the Mediterranean, Ahab's palace at Jezreel, and as far south as Beersheba and Mount Horeb, the mountain of the covenant (18:19-46; 19:3-8). The wars with Aram are fought at Samaria, Aphek and Ramoth-gilead (20:1, 26; 22:3).

Why does the book of 1 Kings exist?

First Kings was written for a people asking hard questions in exile. How could the nation of Solomon's glory end in ruins? The answer runs through the book: the kingdom stood or fell by its loyalty to the covenant. God promised Solomon that if he walked before him with integrity, his throne would be established, but if Israel turned to other gods, the temple itself would become a heap of ruins (9:4-9). Solomon's heart turned away (11:4), Jeroboam made Israel sin with the golden calves, and Ahab served Baal; judgment followed, as God had warned.

Yet the book is not only a record of failure. God keeps his promise to David by preserving a lamp for him in Jerusalem (11:36; 15:4), and he does not leave his people without a voice: prophets such as Ahijah, Elijah and Micaiah declare his word to kings. On Mount Carmel the Lord shows that he alone is God (18:39), and at Horeb he assures Elijah that seven thousand have not bowed to Baal (19:18). For exiles, the message was clear: return to the Lord with an undivided heart, for he is faithful.

Outline of 1 Kings

Chapters 1-2
Solomon secures the throne
As David grows old, Adonijah tries to make himself king, but Nathan and Bathsheba secure the throne for Solomon, who is anointed at Gihon. David charges Solomon to keep God's law and dies, and Solomon removes Adonijah, Joab and Shimei.
- 1
- 2
Chapters 3-4
Solomon's wisdom
At Gibeon God offers Solomon whatever he asks, and he requests an understanding heart to govern. His wise judgment between two mothers amazes Israel. His officials, his prosperous kingdom and his fame as the author of proverbs and songs are described.
- 3
- 4
Chapters 5-8
The temple built and dedicated
With cedar from Hiram of Tyre, Solomon builds the temple in seven years and his palace in thirteen. The ark is brought into the Most Holy Place, the cloud of God's glory fills the house, and Solomon offers a great prayer of dedication.
- 5
- 6
- 7
- 8
Chapters 9-11
Solomon's glory and his fall
God warns Solomon to remain faithful. The queen of Sheba visits, and his wealth becomes legendary. But his seven hundred wives turn his heart to other gods, adversaries rise, and the prophet Ahijah promises ten tribes to Jeroboam.
- 9
- 10
- 11
Chapters 12-14
The kingdom divided
Rehoboam answers the people harshly, and the ten northern tribes make Jeroboam king. Jeroboam sets up golden calves at Bethel and Dan. A man of God from Judah condemns the altar at Bethel, Ahijah announces judgment on Jeroboam's house, and Shishak plunders Jerusalem.
- 12
- 13
- 14
Chapters 15-16
Kings of Judah and Israel
In Judah, Abijam follows his father's sins while Asa removes idols. In Israel, Nadab, Baasha, Elah and Zimri fall in quick succession until Omri builds Samaria. His son Ahab marries Jezebel and builds a temple for Baal.
- 15
- 16
Chapters 17-19
Elijah: drought, Carmel and Horeb
Elijah announces a drought and is fed by ravens and by a widow of Zarephath, whose son he raises. On Mount Carmel fire from the Lord answers his prayer. Fleeing Jezebel, he meets God at Horeb in a low whisper and calls Elisha.
- 17
- 18
- 19
Chapters 20-22
Ahab's wars, Naboth and Ahab's death
Ahab defeats Ben-hadad of Aram but spares him against God's will. Jezebel has Naboth killed so Ahab can take his vineyard, and Elijah pronounces judgment. Ignoring Micaiah's warning, Ahab dies at Ramoth-gilead, and the reigns of Jehoshaphat and Ahaziah begin.
- 20
- 21
- 22

Famous passages in 1 Kings

1 Kings 3:5-14
Solomon asks for wisdom
At Gibeon the Lord appears to Solomon in a dream and invites him to ask for anything. Solomon, feeling like a little child, asks for an understanding heart to govern God's people and to discern between good and evil (3:7-9). God is pleased and gives him wisdom, along with riches and honor he did not ask for.
Study 1 Kings 3 →
1 Kings 3:16-28
Two mothers and one baby
Two women come before Solomon, each claiming the same living child. The king calls for a sword to divide the baby, and the true mother gives up her claim to save him, revealing herself. All Israel sees that God's wisdom is in the king to do justice (3:28). It is the best-known example of Solomon's wisdom.
Study 1 Kings 3 →
1 Kings 8:22-30
Solomon's prayer at the temple
Standing before the altar with hands spread toward heaven, Solomon praises the God who keeps covenant and asks how God could dwell on earth when even the highest heaven cannot contain him (8:27). He asks God to hear every prayer made toward this house, including the prayers of foreigners (8:41-43).
Study 1 Kings 8 →
1 Kings 10:1-13
The queen of Sheba visits Solomon
Hearing of Solomon's fame, the queen of Sheba comes from southern Arabia with spices, gold and precious stones to test him with hard questions. Overwhelmed by his wisdom and his court, she says she had not been told even half (10:7) and blesses the Lord. Jesus later mentions her as the queen of the South (Matthew 12:42).
Study 1 Kings 10 →
1 Kings 12:1-20
Rehoboam and the division of the kingdom
At Shechem the northern tribes ask Solomon's son Rehoboam to lighten their burden. Rejecting the advice of the older men, he follows his young friends and promises a heavier yoke (12:13-14). Israel rebels, and only Judah, with Benjamin, remains loyal to David's house. The narrator says the turn of events was from the Lord (12:15).
Study 1 Kings 12 →
1 Kings 17:1-16
Elijah, the ravens and the widow
Elijah announces to Ahab that there will be no dew or rain except at his word. God feeds him by ravens at the brook Cherith and then through a poor widow of Zarephath, whose jar of flour and jug of oil do not run out (17:14-16). Jesus recalls this widow in his sermon at Nazareth (Luke 4:25-26).
Study 1 Kings 17 →
1 Kings 18:20-40
Fire on Mount Carmel
Elijah challenges Israel to stop wavering between two opinions (18:21). The 450 prophets of Baal cry out all day with no answer, while Elijah drenches his altar with water and prays once. Fire from the Lord consumes the sacrifice, the stones and the water, and the people fall down, confessing that the Lord is God (18:38-39).
Study 1 Kings 18 →
1 Kings 19:9-18
The still small voice at Horeb
Exhausted and afraid of Jezebel, Elijah flees to Horeb. The Lord passes by, but he is not in the wind, the earthquake or the fire; then comes a low whisper (19:11-12). God gives Elijah new tasks and reveals that seven thousand in Israel have not bowed to Baal (19:18), a passage Paul cites in Romans 11:2-5.
Study 1 Kings 19 →

Main themes

Covenant faithfulness: Every king is measured by one standard: did he walk in the ways of the Lord like David, or did he follow other gods? God's promises to Solomon are tied to obedience (9:4-9), and the history that follows shows those words coming true.
The temple and God's presence: Solomon's temple is the place where God puts his name and where his glory fills the house (8:10-11), yet Solomon confesses that heaven itself cannot contain God (8:27). God's presence is a gift, never a guarantee for a disobedient people.
Wisdom and its limits: Solomon receives extraordinary wisdom (3:12; 4:29-34), but wisdom does not protect a heart that turns away. His many marriages to foreign princesses lead him to worship other gods (11:1-8), showing that knowledge without devotion fails.
The danger of idolatry: Solomon's high places, Jeroboam's golden calves and Ahab's Baal worship drive the story toward judgment. The phrase the sins of Jeroboam becomes the narrator's verdict on king after king in the north (15:34; 16:26).
The power of the prophetic word: Prophets announce and interpret events: Nathan, Ahijah, the man of God from Judah, Jehu son of Hanani, Elijah and Micaiah. What they say comes to pass, often in striking detail (13:2; 16:34; 22:38), proving that the Lord rules history.
The Lord alone is God: On Mount Carmel the contest is not between two prophets but between the Lord and Baal, the storm god who cannot bring fire or rain (18:24, 39). Elijah's very name means my God is the Lord.

Main characters

Solomon: Son of David and Bathsheba, king for forty years (11:42). He asks God for wisdom, builds the temple and becomes famous for his wealth and learning, but his seven hundred wives and three hundred concubines turn his heart to other gods in his old age (11:3-4).
Adonijah: David's fourth son, who proclaims himself king with the support of Joab and Abiathar (1:5-7). Solomon spares him at first, but executes him after he asks to marry Abishag, David's attendant (2:13-25).
The queen of Sheba: A ruler from southern Arabia who travels to Jerusalem with a great caravan to test Solomon's wisdom. She praises the Lord for placing Solomon on the throne and exchanges lavish gifts with him (10:1-13).
Rehoboam: Solomon's son, who rejects the counsel of the elders and threatens the northern tribes with a heavier yoke, losing ten of them (12:1-20). Under him Judah falls into idolatry and Shishak plunders Jerusalem (14:21-28).
Jeroboam: A capable official of Solomon from Ephraim, promised ten tribes by the prophet Ahijah (11:26-40). As the first king of the northern kingdom, he sets up golden calves at Bethel and Dan, the sin that marks Israel's kings for generations (12:25-33).
Ahab: Son of Omri and king of Israel for twenty-two years, who did more evil than all before him (16:29-33). He marries Jezebel, serves Baal, covets Naboth's vineyard and dies at Ramoth-gilead, though he once humbles himself before God (21:27-29).
Jezebel: Daughter of Ethbaal, king of the Sidonians, and Ahab's wife (16:31). She kills the Lord's prophets, supports hundreds of prophets of Baal and Asherah, threatens Elijah's life and arranges Naboth's murder (18:4, 19; 19:2; 21:5-16).
Elijah: A prophet from Tishbe in Gilead who announces the drought, raises the widow's son, defeats the prophets of Baal on Mount Carmel and meets God at Horeb. He confronts Ahab over Naboth and calls Elisha as his successor (17:1; 19:19-21).
Naboth: A man of Jezreel who refuses to sell Ahab his vineyard because it is his ancestral inheritance (21:3). Jezebel has him falsely accused of cursing God and the king, and he is stoned. His death brings God's judgment on Ahab's house.
Micaiah son of Imlah: A prophet whom Ahab hates because he never prophesies good about him (22:8). Alone against four hundred prophets, he foretells Ahab's death at Ramoth-gilead and is imprisoned for it; his word comes true (22:17-28, 34-37).

In-depth study of 1 Kings

Introduction

First Kings begins with a king too old to keep warm and, near its close, shows another king's blood licked by dogs at the pool of Samaria (22:38). Between those two scenes lies the story of Israel's greatest splendor and the beginning of its long decline: Solomon's wisdom and temple, the tearing of the kingdom in two and the confrontation between the prophet Elijah and the house of Ahab.

The book is history written with a purpose. It evaluates every king by one question: did he do what was right in the eyes of the Lord, like David, or did he follow other gods? The answer explains why the kingdom that began in glory would one day end in exile. At the same time, the book shows a God who keeps his promises to David, answers prayer, sends prophets and proves on Mount Carmel that he alone is God (1 Kings 18:39).

Who wrote 1 Kings and when?

One book with 2 Kings

In the Hebrew Bible, 1 and 2 Kings were a single book. The ancient Greek translation divided it, calling the two parts the third and fourth books of Kingdoms, after the two books of Samuel. The break between them falls in the middle of a story, during the reign of Ahaziah of Israel.

Author and sources

The author is not named. The Talmud attributes Kings to Jeremiah, which would fit its prophetic tone and the closeness between 2 Kings 24-25 and Jeremiah 52, but most scholars think of an unnamed prophet or group of scribes. The writer names his sources: the Book of the Acts of Solomon (11:41), the Book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Israel (14:19) and the Book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Judah (14:29). These were royal annals now lost, not the biblical books of Chronicles.

Date

The last event in the combined work is the release of King Jehoiachin from prison in Babylon, about 561 BC (2 Kings 25:27-30), so the book was completed during the exile. Many of its sources are much older: remarks that something remains to this day, such as the poles of the ark still visible in the temple (8:8), were written while the temple still stood. Many scholars consider Kings the last part of a larger history that runs from Deuteronomy through 2 Kings.

Literary style and structure

Solomon at the center

The first eleven chapters form a carefully balanced story. Solomon's rise and wisdom (1-4) and his decline and adversaries (9-11) frame the building and dedication of the temple (5-8), which stands at the center. Twice God appears to Solomon: first to give him wisdom (3:5-14), then to warn him to remain faithful (9:1-9).

A synchronized history

From chapter 12 the narrator alternates between the two kingdoms, dating each king by the reign of his counterpart (for example 15:1, 9, 25, 33). Each reign follows a pattern: an opening formula with the date and, for Judah, the king's age and mother's name; an evaluation compared with David or with Jeroboam; selected events; a reference to the royal annals; and a closing notice of death and burial.

Prophetic stories

Into this framework the author places long prophetic narratives, above all the Elijah stories (17-19; 21). They are vivid, full of dialogue and miracles, and show that the real power in Israel belongs not to kings but to the word of the Lord. Repeatedly the narrator notes that something happened according to the word of the Lord spoken by a prophet (for example 15:29; 16:12, 34).

1 Kings in the story of the Bible

First Kings continues the story of 2 Samuel and shows the first son of David building the house God promised (2 Samuel 7:12-13). It also measures Israel against Deuteronomy: the warning that a king must not multiply wives or gold or horses (Deuteronomy 17:16-17) is exactly where Solomon fails (10:14-11:3), and Deuteronomy's call to worship at the place God chooses explains the narrator's condemnation of Jeroboam's shrines. First and Second Chronicles later retell the same period with a focus on Judah and the temple.

Many writings connect to this book. Solomon is linked with Proverbs, Ecclesiastes and the Song of Solomon, and his wisdom is summarized in 4:29-34. The prophets who follow, such as Amos and Hosea in the north, preach against the same idolatry that Jeroboam began.

The New Testament refers to the book often. Jesus speaks of Solomon in all his glory (Matthew 6:29), of the queen of the South (Matthew 12:42) and of Elijah and the widow of Zarephath (Luke 4:25-26). Stephen recalls that Solomon built God a house, yet the Most High does not dwell in houses made by hands (Acts 7:47-48). Paul cites the seven thousand faithful as a picture of the remnant chosen by grace (Romans 11:2-5), and James presents Elijah as a man like us whose prayer stopped and restored the rain (James 5:17-18).

1 Kings and Jesus Christ

Someone greater than Solomon. Jesus says that the queen of the South came from the ends of the earth to hear Solomon's wisdom, and that something greater than Solomon is here (Matthew 12:42). Christ is the wisdom of God (1 Corinthians 1:24, 30), in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge (Colossians 2:3).
The true temple. Solomon wondered whether God would really dwell on earth (8:27). In Jesus the Word became flesh and dwelt among us (John 1:14), and he spoke of his body as the temple that would be destroyed and raised in three days (John 2:19-21).
The Son of David. Solomon partly fulfilled God's promise to David, but his kingdom broke apart. Jesus is the Son of David whose kingdom will never end (Luke 1:32-33).
Elijah and the forerunner. Malachi 4:5 promised that Elijah would come before the day of the Lord, and Jesus identified John the Baptist as the Elijah who was to come (Matthew 11:14; 17:10-13). Elijah himself appears with Moses at Jesus' transfiguration (Matthew 17:1-3).
Signs that point to Jesus. Elijah raised a widow's only son (17:17-24); Jesus raised the only son of a widow at Nain, and the crowd declared that a great prophet had arisen (Luke 7:11-16). Elijah went forty days and nights in the strength of God's food (19:8); Jesus fasted forty days in the wilderness (Matthew 4:2).

Interpretive challenges

What does the 480 years of 6:1 mean?

The temple was begun in the 480th year after the exodus, in Solomon's fourth year, about 966 BC. Read literally, this places the exodus about 1446 BC, the basis for the early date. Others take 480 as a symbolic figure for twelve generations of forty years and prefer a 13th-century exodus. Both views accept the exodus as history; they differ on how to read the number.

How could the wise Solomon fall so far?

Solomon asked for wisdom and received it, yet he married hundreds of foreign wives, many from the very nations God had warned about, and built high places for their gods (11:1-8). The book does not explain the contradiction away. It shows that wisdom is a gift that must be joined to a whole heart for God; Solomon's heart was not wholly true to the Lord, as David's had been (11:4).

A lying spirit from the Lord?

In Micaiah's vision a spirit offers to be a lying spirit in the mouth of Ahab's prophets, and the Lord permits it (22:19-23). The scene shows God's sovereignty even over deception used as judgment on a king who refused the truth. Yet God also sends Micaiah to tell Ahab exactly what is happening, so Ahab dies with the truth before him (22:23, 28).

Why do the reign lengths not add up?

The years given for the kings of Israel and Judah do not always match when simply added together. Scholars have shown that overlapping reigns (coregencies) and different ways of counting a king's first year in the two kingdoms explain most of the differences, and dated Assyrian records, such as the battle of Qarqar in 853 BC, help anchor the chronology.

Little-known facts

No hammer, axe or iron tool was heard at the temple site while it was being built, because the stones were prepared at the quarry (6:7).
Solomon spoke three thousand proverbs and wrote one thousand and five songs, and he could speak about trees, animals, birds, reptiles and fish (4:32-33).
The two great bronze pillars at the entrance of the temple had names: Jachin and Boaz (7:21).
King Zimri of Israel reigned only seven days before setting the palace on fire around himself (16:15-18).
A man of God from Judah named King Josiah about three centuries before his birth and foretold what he would do to the altar at Bethel (13:2), fulfilled in 2 Kings 23:15-16.
Obadiah, Ahab's palace manager, secretly hid a hundred of the Lord's prophets in two caves and fed them during Jezebel's persecution (18:3-4).

How to study 1 Kings

Reading plan

At one chapter a day, 1 Kings takes just over three weeks. A group can use eight sessions following the outline: Solomon's accession (1-2), his wisdom (3-4), the temple (5-8), his glory and fall (9-11), the division (12-14), the kings of the two kingdoms (15-16), Elijah (17-19) and Ahab's end (20-22).

What to look for

The evaluation formula for each king and the standard it uses: David or Jeroboam.
Every time a prophet speaks, and how the word comes true.
Contrasts: Solomon's prayer and his idolatry, Ahab's power and Naboth's faithfulness, the noise of Baal's prophets and the quiet whisper at Horeb.
A simple chart or timeline of the kings of Israel and Judah.

Teaching it in a Sunday school class or small group

With children, focus on Solomon's request for wisdom, the building of the temple, the ravens feeding Elijah and the fire on Mount Carmel. With youth groups, discuss Rehoboam's choice of advisers, Elijah's discouragement after a great victory and what it means not to waver between two opinions. With adults, explore how gifts like wisdom and success can lead the heart away from God, and how God meets weary servants. Close each session by asking where the passage points to Christ, the King greater than Solomon.

1 Kings chapter by chapter

Every chapter of 1 Kings with a summary, key verses explained, themes, people, questions with answers and application.

Frequently asked questions about 1 Kings

Who wrote 1 Kings?

The book does not name its author. Jewish tradition in the Talmud attributes Kings to the prophet Jeremiah, though many doubt it. The writer clearly used older sources, which he names: the Book of the Acts of Solomon (11:41) and the Books of the Chronicles of the Kings of Israel and of the Kings of Judah (14:19, 29). He may have been a prophet or a group of faithful scribes who wrote from a prophetic viewpoint.

When was 1 Kings written?

First and Second Kings were originally one book, and the final chapter mentions the release of King Jehoiachin in Babylon in the thirty-seventh year of his exile, about 561 BC (2 Kings 25:27-30). So the work was completed during the exile, though it uses much older records. Notes such as the temple poles being there to this day (8:8) come from sources written while the temple still stood.

What is the main message of 1 Kings?

The fortunes of God's people depend on their faithfulness to the covenant. Solomon prospered while he followed the Lord, and the kingdom split when his heart turned to other gods. Yet God remains faithful to his promise to David and keeps speaking through prophets like Elijah, who calls Israel to choose the Lord alone (18:21, 39).

How many chapters does 1 Kings have and how is it organized?

First Kings has 22 chapters. Chapters 1-11 tell the story of Solomon's reign, including the building and dedication of the temple (5-8). Chapters 12-16 describe the division of the kingdom and the kings of Israel and Judah up to Ahab. Chapters 17-22 focus on the ministry of Elijah and the reign of Ahab, ending with Ahab's death.

Why did the kingdom of Israel divide?

The text gives two levels of explanation. Spiritually, God tore the kingdom from Solomon's son because Solomon turned to other gods (11:9-13, 31-33). Politically, the northern tribes resented Solomon's heavy yoke of taxes and forced labor, and Rehoboam refused to lighten it (12:4, 13-16). Old rivalries between Judah and the northern tribes also played a part, as 2 Samuel 19:41-43 and 20:1-2 already show.

What happened on Mount Carmel?

Elijah challenged 450 prophets of Baal to a test: each side would prepare a bull, and the God who answered by fire would be acknowledged as God. Baal's prophets cried out and cut themselves until evening with no answer. Elijah soaked his altar with water and prayed, and fire from the Lord consumed everything. The people confessed that the Lord is God, and soon rain ended the drought (18:20-46).

What does the still small voice mean in 1 Kings 19?

At Horeb, God was not in the great wind, the earthquake or the fire, but in a low whisper or gentle sound (19:11-12). After the spectacle of Carmel, God met his discouraged prophet quietly, gave him rest, food and new tasks, and assured him he was not alone (19:18). The scene teaches that God often works in quiet ways, not only in dramatic displays of power.

Who was the queen of Sheba?

She was the ruler of Sheba, most likely the land of the Sabeans in southwestern Arabia, a region rich from the trade in incense and spices. She visited Solomon to test his wisdom, praised the Lord and exchanged gifts with him (10:1-13). Jesus called her the queen of the South, who will rise in judgment against those who ignore someone greater than Solomon (Matthew 12:42). Later legends added much the Bible does not say.