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I surmised in a novel excerpt a similar conversation about these same subjects that King Solomon and the Queen of Sheba may have had three thousand years ago and their different beliefs and opinions in relation to wisdom regarding unmarried women, single parent mothers, and roles of men and women. The novel is a contemporary application of a story form to promote understanding of proverbs and ancient wise sayings in relation to our modern times.
Excerpt
Bilqis moved further away from me before she posed her next question.
“I have read the poem you sent to me of an ideal wife. The role of an Israelite woman appears to me to be mainly a support role for their husbands. Their roles even appear to me to be somewhat as property of males. Yet you speak about your beliefs in a perfect union of male and female of your seal. How can there be a perfect union if one dominates over the other? I do not understand the wisdom of this belief.” Bilqis concluded in an obvious tone of disagreement.
“We believe Yahweh created women from the rib of a man. I believe a wise man will interpret this to be that a woman is both equal and a part of man. A fool believes this to mean that a man is superior to a woman.”
“A wise man will not dominate his wife because he will understand the order of all creatures of Yahweh and recognize the individuality of both sexes. For example, while the queen honeybee rules the beehives, the male lion rules his female hunters. We have had a number of Israelite female leaders in our past that Israelite men chose to follow because they recognized their wisdom and individuality. I will gladly share their stories with you anytime you wish to hear about them.”
Bilqis face continued to indicate her displeasure of our beliefs.
“Bilqis, I knew when we began this conversation that the subject of my many wives would not be pleasing or agreeable with you. However, it is what we Israelite men believe to be the role of our woman.”
“What do men really know about women? I believe you stated that women know better than men the perceptions of women.” Bilqis commented cynically.
“Perceptions of women are indeed a difficult matter for men to comprehend.” I acknowledged.
“Solomon, why are men favored to have more wives rather than woman having more husbands? Seems even your Yahweh does not appear to be fair to woman on this matter.”
“Bilqis, there is a Babylonian saying, laborers without a supervisor, a field without a ploughman, a house without an owner, a woman without a husband.”
“And how does that saying relate to my statement?” Bilqis quickly asked in a tone hinting of frustration.
“A woman without a husband is like a field without cultivation. To plant a seed in a field and not know what kind of plant will grow is foolishness. It would be similar to a building a house on land that you do not own or know its owner. A child needs a father figure to emulate as well. A father must teach and supervise their children to help a child gain experience to harvest their potential. Same as a laborer learns how to plant a seed and watch the harvest bloom because of his labors. A child must know his father as well as his mother so he may learn to know of himself.”
Bilqis again became silent for a long while in apparent contemplation of my explanations.
Then her face appeared to signal a look of both resignation and exasperation. She called out to her servants to bring us some wine as a signal that her inquiry on this subject had ended.
Source: As A Lily Among Thorns – A Story of King Solomon, the Queen of Sheba, and the Goddess of Wisdom by Rudy U Martinka.
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