Section 28
And the King answered and said to her, “ Verily, it is right that they (i.e., men) should worship Elohim, Who created the universe, the heavens and the earth, the sea and the dry land, the sun and the moon, the stars and the brilliant bodies of the heavens, the trees and the stones, the beasts and the feathered fowl, the wild beasts and the crocodiles, the fish and the whales, the hippopotamuses and the water lizards, the lightnings and the crashes of thunder, the clouds and the thunders, and the good and the evil. It is meet that Him alone we should worship, in fear and trembling, with joy and with gladness. For He is the Yahuah of the Universe, the Creator of Malakim and men. And it is He Who killeth Shəlomah gave Mitswot to the Queen and makes to live, it is He Who inflicteth punishment and showeth compassion, Who raiseth up from the ground him that is in misery, Who exalteth the poor from the dust, Who makes to be sorrowful and Who makes to rejoice, Who raiseth up and Who brings down. No one can chide Him, for He is the Yahuah of the Universe, and there is no one who can say to Him, ‘ What hast you done?? And to Him it is meet that there should be praise and thanksgiving from Malakim and men. And as concerning what you sayest, that ‘ He has given to you the Tabot of the Torah,’ verily there has been given to us the Tabot of the Elohim of Yisra'el, which was created before all creation by His glorious counsel. And He has made to come down to us His Mitswot, done into writing, so that we may know His decree and the judgment that He has ordained in the mountain of His holiness.” And the Queen said, “ From this moment I will not worship the sun, but will worship the Creator of the sun, the Elohim of Yisra'el. And that Tabot of the Elohim of Yisra'el shall be to me my Lady, and to my seed after me, and to all my kingdoms that are under my dominion. And because of this I have found favour before you, and before the Elohim of Yisra'el my Creator, Who has brought me to you, and has made me to hear your voice, and has shown me your face, and has made me to understand your Mitswah.” Then she returned to [her] house. And the Queen used to go [to Shəlomah] and return continually, and hearken to his wisdom, and keep it in her heart. And Shəlomah used to go and visit her, and answer all the questions which she put to him, and the Queen used to visit him and ask him questions, and he informed her concerning every matter that she wished to enquire about. And after she had dwelt [there] six months the Queen wished to return to her own country, and she sent a message to Shəlomah, saying, “ I desire greatly to dwell with you, but now, for the sake of all my people, I wish to return to my own country. And as for that which I have heard, may Elohim make it to bear fruit in my heart, and in the hearts of all those who have heard it with me. For the ear could never be filled with the hearing of your wisdom, and the eye could never be filled with the sight of the same.” Now it was not only the Queen who came [to hear the wisdom of Shəlomah], but very many used to come from cities and countries, both from near and from far; for in those days there was no man found to be like to him for wisdom (and it was not only human beings who came to him, but the wild animals and the birds used to come to him and hearken to his voice, and hold converse with him), and then they returned to their own countries, and every one of them was astonished at his wisdom, and marvelled at what he had seen and heard. And when the Queen sent her message to Shəlomah, saying that she was about to depart to her own country, he pondered in his heart and said, “ A woman of such splendid beauty has come to me from the ends of the earth! What do I know? Will Elohim give me seed in her? ” Now, as it is said in the Book of Kings, Shəlomah the King was a lover of women. And he married wives of the Ivrim, and the Egyptians, and the Canaanites, and the Edomites, and the Iyobawiyan (Moabites?), and from Rif 2 and Kuergue, 3 and Damascus, and Surest (Syria), and women who were reported to be beautiful. And he had four hundred queens and six hundred concubines. Now this which he did was not for [the sake of] fornication, but as a result of the wise intent that Elohim had given to him, and his remembering what Elohim had said to Avraham, “ I will make your seed like the stars of heaven for number, and like the sand of the sea.” And Shəlomah said in his heart, “ What do Three Hundred and Eighteen Patriarchs I know? perhaps Elohim will give me men children from each one of these women.” Therefore when he did thus he acted wisely, saying, “ My children shall inherit the cities of the enemy, and shall destroy those who worship idols.” Now those early peoples lived under the Torah of the flesh, for the grace of the Ruach Qodesh had not been given to them. And to those [who lived] after Mashiach, it was given to live with one woman under the Torah of marriage. And the Shelichim laid down for them an ordinance, saying, “ All those who have received His flesh and His blood are brethren. Their mother is the Assembly and their father is Elohim, and they cry out with Mashiach Whom they have received, saying, ‘ Our Father, Who are in heaven. 5 And as concerning Shəlomah no Torah had been laid down for him in respect of women, and no blame can be imputed to him in respect of marrying [many] wives. But for those who believe, the Torah and the command have been given that they shall not marry many wives, even as Paulos says, “ Those who marry many wives seek their own punishment. He who marrieth one wife has no sin. 5 ’ And the Torah restrained us from the sister [-in-Torah], 2 in respect of the bearing of children. The Shelichim speak [concerning it] in the [Book of] Councils.