The Wisdom of Solomon

Chapter 10

This chapter deals with the visit of the Queen of Sheba, her fascination with Shelomo's wisdom and manners, the huge retinue of spices, gold, and precious stones that she brought with her. The contrast between wisdom, on the one hand, and luxuries such as gold, spices, and precious stones, pervade this chapter. Let's explore this contrast in greater detail.

Nature of gold

The Talmud only occasionally refers to this chapter. One fascinating reference is in the Jerusalem Talmud Yoma 4:4.

שִׁבְעָה זְהָבִים הֵן. זָהָב טוֹב. זָהָב טָהוֹר. זָהָב סָגוּר. זָהָב מוּפַז. זָהָב מְזוקָּק. זָהָב שָּׂחוּט. זָהָב פַּרְוַיִים.

 There are seven kinds of gold: good gold , pure gold, closed gold, Mufaz gold, refined gold, drawn gold, Parwayim gold.

Each type of gold is then analysed in detail, along with appropriate source texts.

זָהָב טוֹב. כְּמַשְׁמָעוֹ. [וּֽזֲהַ֛ב הָאָ֥רֶץ הַהִ֖וא ט֑וֹב.] אָמַר רִבִּי יִצְחָק. טוֹבוֹי דִי בְבֵייתֵיהּ. טוֹבוֹי דוּ בִלְווִייָתֵיהּ.

Good gold, as its name says. [And the gold of this land is good. Gen.2:12. Corrector's addition, probably from the parallels.] Rebbi Isaac says, it is good to have in one’s house, it is good to accompany one.

The expression "good gold" comes from Bereishit 2:12, one of the verses that describes aspects fo the four rivers that watered the Garden of Eden.

וּֽזְהַ֛ב הָאָ֥רֶץ הַהִ֖וא ט֑וֹב שָׁ֥ם הַבְּדֹ֖לַח וְאֶ֥בֶן הַשֹּֽׁהַם׃

The gold of that land is good; bdellium is there, and lapis lazuli.

Cassuto deliberates at length on this concept. Ancient poets, he says, mused on the idea of gold and precious stones growing on trees within the Garden of Eden. The Tanach wants to make it clear that this is not so. Gold is an element that is found in the earth, in the same way that other metals are found in the earth. The same applies to precious stones.

Umberto (Moshe David) Cassuto

Umberto (Moshe David) Cassuto, a twentieth-century Italian historian, rabbi, and scholar, wrote a popular Hebrew commentary on the Bible, as well as more detailed commentaries on the book of Genesis and part of the book of Exodus. His commentary is marked by an assumption that in order to understand the Bible, one must understand the ancient Near Eastern cultural context in which it was composed. As such, he incorporates archeological findings, his understanding of ancient Semitic languages, and literary tools into his analysis of biblical verses.

Nature of wisdom

Perhaps one of the greatest accolades that a non-Jewish person has ever given to the G-d of Israel and his people is captured in her words to Shelomo in verse 9.

יְהִ֨י יְהֹוָ֤ה אֱלֹהֶ֙יךָ֙ בָּר֔וּךְ אֲשֶׁר֙ חָפֵ֣ץ בְּךָ֔ לְתִתְּךָ֖ עַל־כִּסֵּ֣א יִשְׂרָאֵ֑ל בְּאַהֲבַ֨ת יְהֹוָ֤ה אֶת־יִשְׂרָאֵל֙ לְעֹלָ֔ם וַיְשִֽׂימְךָ֣ לְמֶ֔לֶךְ לַעֲשׂ֥וֹת מִשְׁפָּ֖ט וּצְדָקָֽה׃

Praised be the ETERNAL your God, who delighted in you and set you on the throne of Israel. It is because of GOD’s everlasting love for Israel that you were made king—to administer justice and righteousness.”

Prior to this, the Queen of Sheba devotes herself to understanding the nature of Shelomo's wisdom. Gan Naul, a Hebrew work exploring Hebrew roots and their sources in Tanach, analyses the Queen of Sheba's concludions. A partial translation can be found here.

• Visit of the Queen of Sheba

• Solomon's throne