presents one episode from the tale of Solomon and the Queen of Sheba: Solomon’s sitting in “water,” the rolling up of the dress, the exposure of the hairy legs, and the depilatory ointment (the last serving as the link to the subsequent episode in the Tales of Ben Sira).41 This version adds that Nebuchadnezzar is a descendant of Solomon, exemplifying the idea expressed in the verse: “Thy destroyers and they that made thee waste shall go forth of thee” (Isa. 49:17).42
The Queen of Sheba is also well known in Christian traditions. Here, it is important to point out that even the allegorical interpretation of the story (that is, the meeting of the rulers) is based on another familiar allegorical model: the meeting is a unification of bride and groom. In this view, the king and queen may be perceived as analogous to Christ and the Church.43 Christian traditions are perhaps less relevant to our study, since we are focusing on Midrash Mishle, which was probably redacted in a Muslim environment.
The Queen of Sheba’s visit to Solomon captured the imagination of many storytellers. The examples given here underline a few aspects shared by the different traditions that may have been circulating at the time of our text. The Queen of Sheba stands out as a demonic power embodying an erotic threat; the riddles are part of her arsenal. All the different traditions (excluding the Quran) have a strong erotic charge—whether explicit or implicit.
It is difficult to trace the origins of these stories. We have seen that the biblical text, too, conceals great tensions; in this sense, it could be a censored version of bawdier traditions, as well as an inspiring basis for later developments. The Targum sheni seems to disclose Arabic or Muslim influences, which may have been initially inspired by Jewish sources. However, the issue of source and influence is not essential to our discussion. The point to be made is that these traditions existed in the period of Midrash Mishle’s composition and that they perceived the Queen of Sheba to be a threatening force: erotic, chaotic, and possibly demonic. To this should be added that all the traditions include stories about the queen being an infidel whose meeting with Solomon underlines the superiority of the true religion that he represents.
Solomon is, of course, a prominent figure in Jewish and Arabic traditions. The Jewish tradition praises his wisdom (including esoteric knowledge), which excelled that of all the inhabitants of the East. Some rabbinic traditions, unlike the Bible, do not mention his esoteric wisdom and even provide a rational explanation for it by emphasizing his wisdom as a judge, which finds its expression in a series of trials (Tanḥuma Buber, Ḥuqqat 15). Similarly, his rabbinical wisdom is stressed, and he is credited with being the author of three books: Song of Songs, Proverbs, and Ecclesiastes. In addition to being the wisest of men, he is also the richest king, and his dominion stretches far. Unfortunately, his later days are very different from his bright promising beginning: “At first, Solomon reigned over the higher beings…. Afterward, he reigned over the lower…. And still later, he reigned only over his couch…. And finally, he reigned over his cane” (bSanhedrin 20b). Solomon is accused of having committed three sins: having too many wives, too many horses, and too much gold and silver. His attraction to women is stressed as the main reason for his downfall and for the future destruction of the Temple.44 Solomon’s penchant for marrying foreign women is an issue over which three of the rabbis in the Palestinian Talmud disagree.45 The lengthy debate indicates that this point in Solomon’s biography was considered by the rabbis to be highly problematic.
An additional theme—one central to the legends that surround Solomon’s figure—is his connections with the demonic world; it is stated that “before Solomon sinned, fearlessly he ruled even over male and female demons” (Pesikta deRav Kahana 5). A well-known story tells of Ashmedai, king of the demons, who took Solomon’s place after the king had captured him in quest of a magical worm needed for the building of the Temple.46
Solomon’s contact with a demon or demons (which is implied in the Ashmedai story) is a dominant theme in Arabic traditions. These traditions that choose to emphasize the demonic aspects of the Queen of Sheba hold forth at length about Solomon’s dealings with the djinns. Thus we find in the Quran: “And unto Solomon [we gave] the wind, whereof the morning course was a month’s journey and the evening course a month’s journey, and [we gave him] certain of the djinn who worked before him by permission of his Lord” (Sura 34:12).47
The redactor(s) of Midrash Mishle was thus familiar with traditions that associated Solomon with a few central themes: wisdom (including esoteric wisdom), wealth, contact with the demonic world, and, especially important for our discussion, love of women, particularly an excessive love of foreign women, which, at least according to the Jewish tradition, caused a personal and national calamity.
The riddling tale in Midrash Mishle is devoid of witchcraft or overt demonological contacts. It introduces Solomon’s wealth and wisdom. As stated, it seems at first to bail Solomon out, without his having been convicted of yielding to temptation or even revealing an erotic weakness; the Queen of Sheba returns to her country convinced of his greatness. Still, a close reading of the narrative will shed a different light on this course of events.
Riddling Tales
The riddling tale was a familiar type of narrative in Babylonia and Persia at the time of Midrash Mishle’s composition. That is not to say that it was not known and practiced elsewhere—most likely, it was. Our midrash resembles two types of riddling tales: one is the story of the princess who is unable to solve her suitor’s riddle and is therefore obliged to marry him; the other is the tale of Princess Turandot, who poses riddles to her suitors. The young man who succeeds in solving the riddles will win her hand; if he fails, he is put to death. After a succession of severed heads, the hero appears who meets the challenge.48 The midrash clearly differs from this prototype in some respects. Nevertheless, since variants of the Turandot tale appear in Arabic story collections,49 we should consider them as possible references. In both types, the princess marries her suitor; in the Turandot model, the erotic consummation is opposed to death.
As we have seen with other co-texts, the Queen of Sheba possesses an erotic force that is threatening, potentially destructive, and even lethal. Solomon solves the riddles and, in keeping with the prototypes, escapes the princess’s devastating power. According to the classic form, he should marry her—yet he does not. In this, the midrash adheres to the biblical text. While hardly devoid of erotic suggestions, and while hinting at a possible marriage, the Bible does not express this theme explicitly.50 The riddling tale co-texts thus serve as a frame of meaning in one of two ways: they may cause the reader or auditor to sense the euphemistic nature of the midrashic story (and the biblical version, too); or, on the contrary, they may underline the uniqueness and greatness of Solomon, who, unlike the heroes of the model tales, does not require (sexual) consummation.
Our tale differs from these traditions in yet another crucial aspect: at the center of our narrative stands a mature queen—not a young princess—and she, rather than the male suitor, sets out on a voyage. This role reversal underlines the queen’s assertiveness—or rather, her male, princelike aspect is emphasized, an aspect suggested already by her hairy legs (as Solomon expresses it in the Targum sheni). This hairiness also signals her demonic nature. As mentioned earlier, the two references—hairiness and demonic qualities—are both expressions of the Queen of Sheba’s refusal to fulfill normative feminine requirements established in the Book of Proverbs and in Midrash Mishle:51 she breaks through the normative categories in a manner similar to the riddles she poses.
THE RIDDLING TALE—MIDRASH MISHLE 1:1
Let us turn now to the riddles themselves, to each individual riddle and to its place in the sequence of riddles that constitutes the narrative. The first riddle—“Seven exit and nine enter, two pour and one drinks”—expresses transformations between distinct categories, on two levels:
1. On the verbal level, it portrays a transition from the nonhuman (time)
