Silver Coin King Solomon and Queen of Sheba 2 NIS Israel Biblical Art 2021 Proof

Series "Biblical Art" 2021 - King Solomon and Queen of Sheba

An exclusive silver coin issued by the Bank of Israel in 2021 focuses on the story of King Solomon and the Queen of Sheba, a familiar story from the Bible, the Koran and Ethiopian legend.

The coin is the twenty-fifth in the world's popular "Biblical Art" series, and its reverse depicts King Solomon welcoming the beautiful Queen of Sheba to his palace. The king is gathered among the twelve golden statues of the lions of Judah lining the staircase leading to his throne. The Queen of Sheba is adorned with costly jewels of gold and precious stones.
The Queen of Sheba is the subject of the Bible and other history books. She is not referred to by name in the biblical story. She is described as a queen who came to Jerusalem to meet King Solomon and judge his wisdom. "She came to test him with riddles" (1 Kings 10:1). "Solomon successfully answered all her questions" (1 Kings 10:3). What the queen of Sheba saw in the royal palace exceeded her expectations, and she remarked: "I saw that I had not been told the half of it. You have surpassed your reputation in wisdom and goodness" (1 Kings 10:7). In addition to her warm words, she brought with her beautiful gifts. King Solomon repaid her generosity in full, granting the queen "every wish she had expressed" (1 Kings 10:13). The story of the Queen of Sheba is interspersed with descriptions of King Solomon's greatness, his wealth and wisdom, and the splendor and glory of the royal court.
The Ethiopian chronicle Kebra Nagast (The Glory of Kings) continues the story. It says that the king invited the queen to dine with him before her departure. For the feast, he had a highly flavored meal prepared to induce great thirst. When the queen awoke in the night to drink water, the king came out of hiding. He told her that water was the most precious commodity in his kingdom and she would pay for it. The queen agreed to his request and became pregnant from this encounter. On her way back to her country, she gave birth to their son, whom she called "Son of the Wise" and became known as Menilek. Ethiopian royalty derives its origins from Emperor Menelik I, the illegitimate son of King Solomon and the Queen of Sheba.

The obverse depicts the national emblem of Israel with the inscription "ISRAEL", a small form of the Lion of Judah precedes the denomination "2 NEW SHEKELS". This is followed by the year of issue "2021" and the mint mark "מ". The description of the coin states the name of the coin "KING SALOMON AND THE QUEEN OF SHEBA (KINGS 1,10). The inscriptions are given in English, Hebrew and Arabic.

The coin comes in a gift box with a certificate of authenticity in a limited edition of only 2,800 pieces for the whole world!

This product is part of the following product sets: