When wisdom finds its match.

For a previous blog-post, I had googled the 'Queen of Sheba', just so that I do not end up
posting inaccurate details. One link led to another and I found myself engrossed in the
Wiki page devoted to the Queen of Sheba.

I knew about King Solomon of Israel, both via the Bible and also via other general reading material. And I also remember reading somewhere about a meeting between him and the
Queen of Sheba, both renowned for their wisdom. But I never knew about this nugget that showcases a test of their wisdom and a brilliantly executed seduction move by the King.

Wikipedia mentions about this facet of their meeting which happens at Solomon's palace,
where she is a guest invited by King Solomon to a banquet. He ensures that she is served
spicy food to induce her thirst & then invites her to stay in his palace overnight. Not with
the best of intentions though. :-)

The Queen asked him to swear that he would not take her by force. He accepts upon the condition that she, in turn, would not take anything from his house by force. The Queen
assures that she would not, and is slightly offended by the implication that she, a rich and powerful monarch, would engage in stealing.

However, she wakes up in the middle of the night, feeling very thirsty. Just as she reaches
for a jar of water placed close to her bed, King Solomon appears, reminding her that she
was breaking her oath since water is one of the most valuable of all material possessions.

Thus, while quenching her thirst, she set the king free from his promise and they spent
the night together. Those guys sure had some ingenious seduction techniques back then.

Not at all surprising given that the guy had some 1000 wives, though I cannot fathom
how he would even recognise them all, let alone be able to devote time for them. Not to
mention handling the nagging - in these times, men find it tough to handle one nagging
wife itself and this guy managed a 1000 of them.

Hats off to your patience, King Solomon. And ofcourse your wisdom.