King Solomon's UFO?

by Midnight Freemason Contributor

WB Darin A. Lahners

One legend that both Jewish and Islamic Tradition share is the idea of the Queen of Sheba visiting Solomon. The Old Testament mentions her visit twice, in: 1 Kings 10:1-12:

1 When the queen of Sheba heard about the fame of Solomon and his relationship to the Lord, she came to test Solomon with hard questions. 2 Arriving at Jerusalem with a very great caravan—with camels carrying spices, large quantities of gold, and precious stones—she came to Solomon and talked with him about all that she had on her mind. 3 Solomon answered all her questions; nothing was too hard for the king to explain to her. 4 When the queen of Sheba saw all the wisdom of Solomon and the palace he had built, 5 the food on his table, the seating of his officials, the attending servants in their robes, his cupbearers, and the burnt offerings he made at[a] the temple of the Lord, she was overwhelmed.
6 She said to the king, “The report I heard in my own country about your achievements and your wisdom is true. 7 But I did not believe these things until I came and saw with my own eyes. Indeed, not even half was told me; in wisdom and wealth you have far exceeded the report I heard. 8 How happy your people must be! How happy your officials, who continually stand before you and hear your wisdom! 9 Praise be to the Lord your God, who has delighted in you and placed you on the throne of Israel. Because of the Lord’s eternal love for Israel, he has made you king to maintain justice and righteousness.”10 And she gave the king 120 talents[b] of gold, large quantities of spices, and precious stones. Never again were so many spices brought in as those the queen of Sheba gave to King Solomon.
11 (Hiram’s ships brought gold from Ophir; and from there they brought great cargoes of almugwood[c] and precious stones. 12 The king used the almugwood to make supports[d] for the temple of the Lord and for the royal palace, and to make harps and lyres for the musicians. So much almugwood has never been imported or seen since that day.)


And, in: 2 Chronicles 9:1-13:


When the queen of Sheba heard of Solomon’s fame, she came to Jerusalem to test him with hard questions. Arriving with a very great caravan—with camels carrying spices, large quantities of gold, and precious stones—she came to Solomon and talked with him about all she had on her mind. 2 Solomon answered all her questions; nothing was too hard for him to explain to her. 3 When the queen of Sheba saw the wisdom of Solomon, as well as the palace he had built, 4 the food on his table, the seating of his officials, the attending servants in their robes, the cupbearers in their robes and the burnt offerings he made at[a] the temple of the Lord, she was overwhelmed.5 She said to the king, “The report I heard in my own country about your achievements and your wisdom is true. 6 But I did not believe what they said until I came and saw with my own eyes. Indeed, not even half the greatness of your wisdom was told me; you have far exceeded the report I heard. 7 How happy your people must be! How happy your officials, who continually stand before you and hear your wisdom! 8 Praise be to the Lord your God, who has delighted in you and placed you on his throne as king to rule for the Lord your God. Because of the love of your God for Israel and his desire to uphold them forever, he has made you king over them, to maintain justice and righteousness.”9 Then she gave the king 120 talents[b] of gold, large quantities of spices, and precious stones. There had never been such spices as those the queen of Sheba gave to King Solomon.10 (The servants of Hiram and the servants of Solomon brought gold from Ophir; they also brought algumwood and precious stones. 11 The king used the algumwood to make steps for the temple of the Lord and for the royal palace, and to make harps and lyres for the musicians. Nothing like them had ever been seen in Judah.)12 King Solomon gave the queen of Sheba all she desired and asked for; he gave her more than she had brought to him. Then she left and returned with her retinue to her own country.

She is also mentioned in the Quran in several surahs as having visited Solomon. (S27:22-44), as well as being mentioned in Charles Heckethorn's work: The Secret Societies of All Ages and Countries where he tells an alternative Hiramic legend which states that Sheba fell in love with Hiram Abiff when she visited King Solomon, and Solomon had the ruffians assassinate Hiram Abiff out of jealousy. You can read more about this here if you're interested. (http://www.midnightfreemasons.org/2018/08/the-real-legend-of-temple.html)


In any case, there are legends that speak of the Queen of Sheba being impregnated by King Solomon, and she gave birth to a son: Menelik I. The Ethiopian document, the Kebra Negast, discusses this and goes on to speak again of Solomon visiting both her and her son by flying in a "Heavenly Car", stating: "The king... and all who obeyed his word, flew on the wagon without pain and suffering, and without sweat or exhaustion, and traveled in one day a distance which took three months to traverse (on foot)."


King Solomon is attributed by both Jewish and Islamic traditions as having a flying "carpet". In his work, Legends of the Jews, Louis Ginzberg states:


"Great and powerful as Solomon was, and wise and just, still occasions were not lacking to bring home to him the truth that the wisest and mightiest of mortals may not indulge in pride and arrogance.

Solomon had a precious piece of tapestry, sixty miles square, on which he flew through the air so swiftly that he could eat breakfast in Damascus and supper in Media. To carry out his orders he had at his beck and call Asaph ben Berechiah among men, Ramirat among demons, the lion among beasts, and the eagle among birds. Once it happened that pride possessed Solomon while he was sailing through the air on his carpet, and he said: "There is none like unto me in the world, upon whom God has bestowed sagacity, wisdom, intelligence, and knowledge, besides making me the ruler of the world." The same instant the air stirred, and forty thousand men dropped from the magic carpet. The king ordered the wind to cease from blowing, with the word: "Return!" Whereupon the wind: "If thou wilt return to God, and subdue thy pride, I, too, will return." The king realized his transgression."


There are also several suras in the Quran that state that Allah gave Solomon command over the winds by which he could travel great distances in very little time.

And WE subjected to Solomon the violent wind. It blew, at his bidding, toward the land which WE had blessed. And WE have knowledge of all things.
S. 21:81 Sher Ali

And unto Solomon [We made subservient] the stormy wind, so that it sped at his behest towards the land which We had blessed: for it is We who have knowledge of everything
S 21:81 Muhammad Asad

And to Solomon WE subjected the wind; its morning course was a month's journey and its evening course was a month's journey too. And WE caused a fount of molten copper to flow for him. And of the jinn were some who worked under him by the command of his Lord. And WE said that whoever of them turned away from Our command, WE would make him taste the punishment of the burning fire.
S. 34:12 Sher Ali

AND UNTO Solomon [We made subservient] the wind: its morning course [covered the distance of] a month’s journey, and its evening course, a month’s journey. And We caused a fountain of molten copper to flow at his behest; and [even] among the invisible beings there were some that had [been constrained] to labour for him by his Sustainer’s leave and whichever of them deviated from Our command, him would We let taste suffering through a blazing flame.
S 34:12 Muhammad Asad

Sunni Commentator Ibn Kathir wrote regarding Sura 21:81:
He had a mat made of wood on which he would place all the equipment of his kingship; horses, camels, tents and troops, then he would command the wind to carry it, and he would go underneath it and it would carry him aloft, shading him and protecting him from the heat, until it reached wherever he wanted to go in the land. Then it would come down and deposit his equipment and entourage… (Tafsir Ibn Kathir (Abridged) (Surat Al-Isra’, Verse 39 To the end of Surat Al-Mu’minun), by a group of scholars under the supervision of Shaykh Safiur Rahman Al-Mubarakpuri [Darussalam Publishers & Distributors, Riyadh, Houston, New York, London, Lahore; First Edition: July 2000], Volume 6, pp. 476-477)


And about Sura 34:12 he wrote:
Having mentioned the blessings with which He favored Dawud, Allah follows this by mentioning what He gave to Dawud’s son Sulayman (Solomon), may peace be upon them both. He subjugated the wind o him, so that it could carry HIS CARPET one way for a month, then back again the next month. Al-Hasan al-Basri said, "He set out from Damascus in the morning, landed in Istakhar where he ate a meal, then flew on from Istakhar and spent the night in Kabil." Between Damascus and Istakhar is an entire month’s travel for a swift rider, and between Istakhar and Kabul is an entire month’s travel for a swift rider. (Tafsir Ibn Kathir (Abridged) (Surat Al-Ahzab, Verse 51 to the end of Surat Ad-Dukhan), Shaykh Safiur Rahman Al-Mubarakpuri [Darussalam Publishers & Distributors, Riyadh, Houston, New York, London, Lahore; First Edition: September 2000], Volume 8, p. 70)


Interestingly enough, there are other legends about Solomon having access to advanced technology. I previously have written about the Shamir, which could alter stone, iron and diamond by its gaze. (http://www.midnightfreemasons.org/2020/02/divested-of-all-metal.html) You also have the legends of the Seal of Solomon, which Ginzberg describes as stating that: "King Solomon ruled not only over men, but also the beasts of the field, the birds of the air, demons, spirits and the spectres of the night."

Ginzberg continues, stating:
"The demons were of greatest service to Solomon during the erection of the Temple. It came about in this wise: When Solomon began the building of the Temple, it once happened that a malicious spirit snatched away the money and the food of one of the king's favorite pages. This occurred several times, and Solomon was not able to lay hold on the malefactor. The king besought God fervently to deliver the wicked spirit into his hands. His prayer was granted. The archangel Michael appeared to him, and gave him a small ring having a seal consisting of an engraved stone, and he said to him: "Take, O Solomon, king, son of David, the gift which the Lord God, the highest Zebaot, hath sent unto thee. With it thou shalt lock up all the demons of the earth, male and female; and with their help thou shalt build up Jerusalem. But thou must wear this seal of God; and this engraving of the seal of the ring sent thee is a Pentalpha." Armed with it, Solomon called up all the demons before him, and he asked of each in turn his or her name, as well as the name of the star or constellation or zodiacal sign and of the particular angel to the influence of which each is subject. One after another the spirits were vanquished, and compelled by Solomon to aid in the construction of the Temple."


There are also passages in the Quaran that allude to Solomon having Demons working for him. S21:82 which comes directly after S21:81 that I quoted above states:
"And among the rebellious forces [which We made subservient to him] there were some that dived for him [into the sea] and performed other works, besides: but it was We who kept watch over them." 

S 21:82 Muhammad Asad


"And among the [devils] rebellious creatures, who dove into the sea for him and did other work, but it was We who kept watch over them."
S21:82 Safi Kaskas

The idea of this Seal of Solomon also is discussed in the story of "The Fisherman and the Jinn" in One Thousand and One Nights. What this tells me is that the idea of the Seal was well known and thought of as being powerful not only in the Jewish Tradition but in the Islamic as well.

Famous Science Fiction writer: Arthur C. Clarke famously wrote: Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic. Is it possible that King Solomon's "Flying Car" or "Flying Carpet", the Seal of Solomon, the Ark of the Covenant, and the Shamir that Solomon possessed were some form of advanced technology? Absolutely. It is also just as likely that these are just legends. However, for the sake of argument, I'm going to approach the former as a possibility. One reason for this is that throughout the Middle East, into Iran, Kashmir, and the Himalayas, there are mountains that are known as the "Thrones of Solomon".

The Famous Russian artist, Nicholas Roerich's travel diary "Altai-Himalaya" mentions this regarding one of the Thrones of Solomon, suggesting it was a landing place for his Flying Craft: "No song relates why the mountain “Throne of Solomon” bears this name. This is a place of such antiquity. Janaka, son of Asoka, had already dedicated one of the first Buddhist temples here. Seven centuries later the temple was rebuilt and consecrated to Mahadeva. . . . But whence comes the name of Solomon? The mountain received the name of Solomon from a legend that Solomon, desiring a respite from the conventions of a sovereign’s life and from the burdens of his court, transported himself upon a flying carpet to this mountain with his favorite wife. Here, again, we come upon the mention of that “flying apparatus” possessed by Solomon. A similar mountain is in Turkestan and in Persia."


It also mentions that his expedition saw a silver flying disk in the Himalayas on August 5, 1927. "On August fifth—something remarkable! We were in our camp in the Kukunor district not far from the Humboldt Chain. In the morning about half-past nine some of our caravaneers noticed a remarkably big black eagle flying above us. Seven of us began to watch this unusual bird. At this same moment another of our caravaneers remarked, “There is something far above the bird.” And he shouted in his astonishment. We all saw, in a direction from north to south, something big and shiny reflecting the sun, like a huge oval moving at great speed. Crossing our camp this thing changed in its direction from south to southwest. And we saw how it disappeared in the intense blue sky. We even had time to take our field glasses and saw quite distinctly an oval form with shiny surface, one side of which was brilliant from the sun."


Given that this idea of Solomon's flying craft/carpet/apparatus is so widespread, it begs to question if King Solomon really was in possession of such a device? If it could truly carry all of his horses, camels, tents, and troops, it would have had to be a very large craft and an amazing sight to behold. Our military's largest Cargo Airplane, the C-5 Galaxy can carry:
"73 troops and 36 standard 463L pallets. The aircraft is able to carry two M1 Abrams main battle tanks, or one Abrams tank plus two M2/M3 Bradley fighting vehicles, or six AH-64 Apache/Apache Longbow attack helicopters. Also, the C-5 is able to carry as many as 15 HMMWV (humvees)." If you know how large a C-5 Galaxy is, you extrapolate how large King Solomon's craft would have been.

This being said, it's not unheard of in modern UFOology to have witnesses describe giant UFO craft. Case in point, one of the better-documented cases, known as the Phoenix lights has multiple witnesses describe a giant V-shaped UFO that flew over them. One such witness was then Governor Fife Symington III, who at the time made a mockery of the situation, dressing up one of his aids in an alien Gray costume and having him arrested at a press conference. He later confessed that he also had seen the giant craft.

This was similar to a massive V-shaped craft seen over the Hudson Valley in New York State during the mid-1980s. The book: Night Siege-The Hudson Valley UFO sightings which was written by former Project Blue Book investigator: J. Allen Hynek, along with UFO investigators Philip Imbrogno and Bob Pratt describes: "The ""Westchester Boomerang'' was a UFO reported by hundreds of people in New York State and Connecticut between 1983 and 1986 and described by most witnesses as a hovering, immense V-shaped series of flashing lights connected by a dark structure." The book is "about the ``close encounters'' of some 900 people who filled out ``witness forms.'' (Famed UFO author Hynek died in 1986, ``as the book was being written,'' but the authors maintain that he participated in the investigation and include the transcript of a Hynek interview with a witness.)"

Looking at the two illustrations above, putting myself into the perspective of someone who might have witnessed this in the distant past, could the above not be described as a flying carpet? All it would take would be the sudden surprise visit of King Solomon to the Queen of Sheba in concert with a sighting of something like the above to begin a legend. As much as I'd like to believe that Solomon had a Flying Apparatus, given that there really isn't any historical evidence for either King David or King Solomon, let alone King Solomon's temple, I believe that it is all legend. Maybe labeling them as King Solomon's flying carpet/machine/apparatus, was an attempt to describe the sightings of these UAPs or UFOs in the distant past?



What is apparent is that whatever these things are, they most likely have been visiting us for a very, very long time. Perhaps they are the Watchers who are discussed in the Book of Enoch..in which case, this opens up some dangerous possibilities...
… they became servants of Satan and led astray those who dwell upon the dry ground.
1 Enoch 54:6
… These are the Watchers (Grigori), who turned aside from the Lord, 200 myriads, together with their prince Satanail.
2 Enoch 18:3

This being said, I don't believe that they are evil, fallen angels, or any of that. I say this because if they were, given their technological advantage, we would already be extinct or at the very least their servants. I do believe that whatever they are, they look upon and treat us like we currently treat the lower species of animals on this planet if the experiences of those who claim to have been abducted by these beings are to be believed. The honest truth is that we don't know what they are, what their motivations are, or why they are interested in us. While I believe that the idea of King Solomon having a flying machine is awesome, there may be another yet similarly equally fantastic reason for the legend.

~DAL

WB Darin A. Lahners is our Co-Managing Editor. He is a host and producer of the "Meet, Act and Part" podcast. He is currently serving the Grand Lodge of Illinois Ancient Free and Accepted Masons as the Area Education Officer for the Eastern Masonic Area. He is a Past Master of St. Joseph Lodge No.970 in St. Joseph. He is also a plural member of Homer Lodge No. 199 (IL), where he is also a Past Master. He’s also a member of the Scottish Rite Valley of Danville, a charter member of Illinois Royal Arch Chapter, Admiration Chapter No. 282, Salt Fork Shrine Club under the Ansar Shrine, and a grade one (Zelator) in the S.C.R.I.F. Prairieland College in Illinois. He is also a Fellow of the Illinois Lodge of Research. He was presented with the Torok Award from the Illinois Lodge of Research in 2021. You can reach him by email at darin.lahners@gmail.com.