Wisdom's Daughter: A Novel of Solomon and Sheba (53 page)

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Authors: India Edghill

BOOK: Wisdom's Daughter: A Novel of Solomon and Sheba
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Abishag
My only true sorrow was that I could not give Solomon a son. His other women quickened with child, and I did not; other women bore sons, and I remained unchanged, barren. In secret, I wept, for the loss of my hopes, and Solomon’s. Our child would not wear a crown.
By the time I could go to my husband and say, “I am with child,” half-a-dozen princes stood between any son I might bear and the throne. But we rejoiced nonetheless, for any child is a precious gift.
“Pray for a girl,” my mother told me, and I smiled and laid my hands over my rounding body. “Yes” I said, “that would make all simple, would it not?”
“Simple—and safe. If you bear a son, Abishag, guard him as you would a casket of rubies, for you will be unable to trust a single one of the king’s wives to so much as touch his cheek.”
My mother cradled my hand in hers and closed my fingers over a small smooth object. “Pray to Her; She loves girls, as your husband’s god does not.”
Upon my palm lay an Asherah in ivory warm from my mother’s skin; ivory old as love and dark as wild honey. And I did as my mother bade me, I prayed with all my heart and soul that my child be a girl. King Solomon already had too many sons.
My prayers were answered; I bore the king a daughter, But I would not live to see her grow, to raise her to be a queen in her turn. To cherish and to protect her—that task would fall upon my mother, and upon Solomon’s. For I fought hard to bring my daughter into the world, and that bloody battle took all my strength. And as Solomon bent over me, I knew I looked upon him for the last time in this life.
“Beloved, we have a daughter,” he said. “A girl almost as beautiful as you, my heart. Do you wish to see her now?”
Already he seemed far away, his image unclear, as if I saw him through rainwater, or through tears. And I knew that I must see my daughter now, or never. “Yes.” The word seemed no more than a sigh; I hardly heard my own voice.
Solomon laid her in my arms; she curled there warm and small and perfect, her eyes seeming to seek mine. But that was illusion. My daughter would never know me; I could give her nothing. Nothing except a name I did not even know why I chose for her.
“Baalit,” I said. “Her name is Baalit. Tell her I give her that, when she asks about me.”
“You will tell her yourself,” Solomon said.
“Solomon, my wise and foolish love, we both know I am dying.” I thought I spoke the words, but Solomon did not seem to hear them. And I knew he would never hear my voice again.
Only one hope remained: that my daughter might someday hear me whisper in her dreams. Hear, and understand.
And—perhaps—remember.
Baalit Sings
This is how the harpers sing it, when they sing the end of the Song of Solomon and Sheba. It is, in its fashion, truth.
And when King Solomon the Wise and Mighty had proved himself a worthy match, the Queen of the South praised him, calling his land happy and his people blessed to own so great a king. And then she returned to her own land … .
And the king’s daughter returned with her, gift of King Solomon to the Queen of Sheba. When we rode south, away from Jerusalem, she looked back. But Princess Baalit did not.
The visit of the Queen of Sheba to the court of Solomon the Wise had ended as all such formal visits ended: with treaties guaranteeing trade, with promises of eternal friendship, with gifts of treasure enough to ransom king or queen at need.
Other gifts had been given, and taken, and I knew why Queen Bilqis looked back, and why I did not. She in her wisdom had given my father back his heart—and he in his had gifted her with a past she could turn to for comfort in all her days to come.
But the gift he gave me was far greater: my father, who had always given me every precious thing I might desire, gave me a future. What I did with it would be my own affair.
If I had learned nothing else from my father’s wisdom, I had at least learned that. I hoped it would be enough to help me live my life wisely and well. And if it were not—
If it were not, that too would be my own doing. The gods give us life for good or for ill. If we do not use their gift wisely—well, that is our own fault.
Not theirs.
WISDOM’S DAUGHTER
IS A NOVEL, A TALE SPUN FROM A BIBLICAL story, historical and folkloric sources, and the author’s imagination. It is not history.
The story of King Solomon and the Queen of Sheba has been popular for three thousand years, inspiring poems, paintings, novels, and in the fullness of time, movies (including the truly unforgettable 1959 epic
Solomon and Sheba,
starring Yul Brynner as the king, Gina Lollobrigida as an extremely pagan queen, and for reasons passing understanding, the suave lounge lizard George Sanders as Prince Adonijah).
Sheba itself has been identified with a number of places, Yemen and Ethiopia being the strongest claimants to the title of home of the Queen of Sheba.
Although dogs are rarely mentioned favorably in the Bible, and cats are mentioned only once, both animals were well-established as pets and working animals in the ancient Middle East. The saluki is, of course, one of the oldest of all dog breeds. As is the Maltese; according to the Maltese breed club, the little white dogs have a history that dates back three thousand years.
Those who wish to read the official accounts of King Solomon’s reign can find it in the Bible in I Kings 10:1–13, and in II Chronicles 9: 1–12. In the Qu’ran, the story of Solomon and Sheba can be found in chapter 27,
alNaml
(The Ant). The Ethiopian sacred text the Kebra Nagast (The Glory of Kings) also chronicles the famous visit of the queen to the king’s court, and its results. As for the king’s children—
When Solomon died and Rehoboam ascended the throne, the people asked him to lighten the burdens King Solomon had placed upon them. The new king asked his father’s expert and experienced advisers what he should do; the old men counseled patience, prudence, moderation, and soft words. Then Rehoboam asked his rowdy friends what he should do—resulting in a rousing speech to the people that led to instant civil war (I Kings 12:1–20; Rehoboam’s people skills seem to have been staggeringly bad) and a divided kingdom. As Ahijah had prophesied, Jeroboam became king over Israel, while Rehoboam reigned in Judah.
And according to I Kings 4:11 and 4:15, King Solomon had at least two daughters, Taphath and Basemath, who were married to two of his governors. Obviously, they were born to his wives after Princess Baalit went south with the Queen of Sheba—Solomon was wise enough to take a woman’s advice, even if that woman was his mother-in-law!
India Edghill is a librarian living in mid—Hudson Valley, New York.
Queenmaker: A Novel of King David’s Queen
Picador
Discussion
1.
Who was Abishag, and why does she play such an integral part in the story? What was her relationship to King David, King Solomon, Queen Michal, and Princess Baalit?
2.
What are the advantages of Sheba being a matriarchy? What are the disadvantages? How do they compare to those nations ruled by men, rather than women?
3.
What had the Israelites given up to gain a king? In exchange, what did the king bring them?
4.
Consider Solomon’s attitude toward his heir, Rehoboam. Was he right or wrong to allow this unsuitable son to inherit to avoid competition among his other sons?
5.
Why does Bilqis, the Queen of Sheba, hide her real reason in coming to King Solomon’s court? How does her attitude toward Solomon change once she reveals her true purpose to him? How does he change toward her?
6.
Why does Rehoboam hate Baalit so much? What does the incident of the cat reveal? What were his plans for Baalit when he eventually became king? Do you believe her life was really endangered?
7.
What is the catalyst that makes Baalit begin to look at her father’s wives and realize they are not all content? What does she find?
8.
What was the significance of the ivory spindle? How did it reappear after being lost for so many years?
9.
Who were Moonwind, Shams, and Uri? What do you think they represent to Baalit? How does Baalit endanger Uri?
10.
Why did Baalit request that the Lady Helike accompany her to Sheba? What was King Solomon’s reaction to Baalit’s request?
11.
Do you believe that Baalit will eventually marry Rahbarin? Why?
12.
Why do you believe Nikaulis turned back to remain with Benaiah? What were her plans thereafter?
13.
What did King Solomon really learn from his foster mother, Queen Michal? What did Baalit really learn from her father, King Solomon?
14.
The author says that Queen Michal forged King Solomon into a king who was “human fire and royal ice.” Which other characters fit that description?
15.
The narrative says, “Love, honor, duty—even wisdom, in the end, must yield to that.” Which characters yielded to “love, honor, and duty”? Which characters did not?
16.
Baalit says, “ … all women and men are different—and they are all the same. Some would be happy anywhere, and some happy nowhere.” Do you think this is true? What lessons are there in this book for today’s women?
What to Read Next
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WISDOM’S DAUGHTER. Copyright © 2004 by India Edghill. All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles or reviews. For information, address Picador, 175 Fifth Avenue, New York, N.Y 10010.
 
 
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First published in the United States by St. Martin’s Press
 
 
Map and family trees by David Cain
Quotation from “The Teak Forest” by Laurence Hope used by kind permission of Fredonia Books.
 
 
eISBN 9781466821378
First eBook Edition : May 2012
 
 
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Edghill, India.
Wisdom’s daughter / India Edghill.
p. cm.
ISBN 0-312-28940-5
EAN 978-0-312-28940-9
1. Sheba, Queen of—Fiction. 2. Solomon, King of Israel—Fiction. 3. Bible.O.T.—History of biblical events—Fiction. 4. Israel—Kings and rulers—Fiction. 5. Queens—Sheba (Kingdom)—Fiction. 6. Women in the Bible—Fiction. I. Title.
PS3555.D474W57 2004
813’.54—dc22
2004050714
First Picador Edition: December 2005

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