דברי הימים ב, פרק ט׳, פסוק א׳

The fame of King Solomon's wisdom crossed the borders of Israel, reaching the far corners of the earth and prompting a historic visit from a distant leader. This journey was not driven by political or diplomatic motives. Instead, it stemmed from a deep desire to explore the limits of human wisdom and to verify the widespread rumors of his greatness.

The origin of this visitor, from the land of Sheba, is traced to a region in southern Arabia, near modern-day Yemen, or possibly East Africa [ביאור שטיינזלץ]. The accounts of Solomon's brilliance likely reached her through his own ships that sailed southward [ביאור שטיינזלץ]. Regarding her royal status, she was not merely the wife of a king. She was the sole, sovereign ruler of her nation, either due to a royal system where the crown passed to a daughter or because her kingdom was entirely led by women [חומת אנך, ביאור שטיינזלץ].

She arrived in Jerusalem with an enormous display of wealth, bringing vast amounts of property and highly valuable items [מצודת ציון]. Her caravan consisted of camels, indicating that she undertook a long overland journey from the west rather than traveling by sea [ביאור שטיינזלץ].

Her primary goal was to test Solomon with riddles to see if the rumors of his intellect were true [רש״י]. These were not simple questions, but deeply obscure and profoundly difficult concepts to grasp [מצודת דוד, מצודת ציון]. When they finally met, she shared everything she had kept hidden in her heart. These were secrets she had actively concealed from everyone else. She purposely avoided revealing the content of her riddles ahead of time, fearing they might reach Solomon before their meeting. By keeping them strictly to herself, she ensured that her test of his wisdom would be completely sudden, genuine, and absolute [מצודת דוד].