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"Kebra Negast" ("The Glory of
Kings") tells the story of how the
Ark of the Covenant -- the resting
place for the Ten Commandments --
came to Ethiopia. A myth of epic
proportions, it is also the tale of
the Queen of Sheba, believed to
have lived in southern Arabia or
Ethiopia, and the biblical King
Solomon of Israel. The child that
resulted from this love match,
known to Ethiopians as Menelik,
is revered as the founder of the
Solomonic dynasty that ruled
Ethiopia until 1976.
 akeda, queen of Sheba, was a beautiful woman who valued wisdom
above gold or silver. From traveling merchants she heard of the
extraordinary brilliance of King Solomon of Judah and decided to visit
him in his capital, Jerusalem. There, King Solomon told her that his
wisdom came not from man, but from the God of Israel. Impressed,
she swore allegiance to this god and tried to learn every detail about
how Solomon ruled his land. Judah had fallen afoul of God and during
this time, King Solomon dreamed that the sun of Zion moved to shine
over Ethiopia. When the queen finally returned home, she bore King
Solomon a son. As a young man, this son, Menelik, traveled to
Jerusalem to visit his father. There, all the treasures of Judah were
shown to him and he was named King of Ethiopia. When King Menelik
left for Ethiopia, he took the Ark of the Covenant with him. The
armies of King Solomon gave chase, but God lifted Menelik up over
the Red Sea and set him down in Ethiopia with the Ark. Thus, as it is
written in the Book of Psalms, "Ethiopia shall stretch out her hands to
God and He shall receive her with honor . . ."
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