Gender Performance and the Queen of Sheba

Abstract:This article examines narratives about the Queen of Sheba found in Kings, Chronicles, the Targum Sheni to Esther, and the Alphabet of Ben Sira. The gender, performance, and power of the Queen of Sheba are explored through attention to descriptions (or lack thereof) of her body. Notably, Kings and Chronicles offer no description of the Queen of Sheba, which stands in contrast to the playful interest in her body hair found in the Targum Sheni to Esther and the Alphabet of Ben Sira. Special attention is paid to the economic valences of the Queen of Sheba's visit to Solomon's court, which have received less attention in scholarship than the significance of her gender. An intersectional analysis reveals that the literary effects of the gender of the Queen of Sheba is subtle in biblical texts; gender is a site of potential which gets explored more fully only in later periods.