Kebra Negast

The story contained in the excerpt from the Ethiopian Kebra Negast places great importance both on Israel and on Ethiopia, personified in Solomon and the Queen of Sheba, respectively. There are several ways in which Ethiopia is given a high status by the story. For instance, Sheba herself is lauded as being extraordinarily wise almost every time the subject of wisdom comes up. She is also modest, beautiful, and virtuous in the extreme. Since she represents the country of Ethiopia, these descriptors paint quite a complimentary picture of the country and her queen. Everyone, including King Solomon himself, see the queen as equal to Solomon in every way, including wisdom, which is his specialty. This gives Ethiopia an even footing with Israel from a cultural point of view.

Ethiopia is also raised in status from a religious standpoint. For the most part, the story centers around the people and their wisdom, but there is a very important dream near the end of our excerpt. Solomon dreams that a light arises over Israel, but it shortly moves to hover over Ethiopia, where it remains for ever. The implications of this for Ethiopia are obvious and obviously prestigious, as far as religion goes. It implies that as much as Israel is important for religious reasons, Ethiopia will be a sort of "new Israel," taking the place in esteem and importance that Israel has held for some time. This esteem is personified to some extent in the child of Solomon and Sheba, the new King of Ethiopia, who will change the customary ruling system in Ethiopia and presumably bring wealth and prosperity, not to mention wisdom and virtue, to the country and thence the region as a whole.

The excerpt from the Kebra Negast is quite laudatory towards Ethiopia, and anyone who reads it gets a sense of Ethiopia's importance to the world and to the Judeo-Christian religion. There are reasons to give Ethiopia a high place in our esteem based on many aspects, both secular and religious, including Sheba's beauty, wisdom, and virtue, and her ability to deal with all the situations she encounters with aplomb and poise (for instance, the incident with the water in Solomon's bedchamber). The religious implications are also very positive, claiming that Ethiopia is the true seat of the Christian religion, usurping Israel's position.