Hello Meltingpot Readers,
Tomorrow is Valentine’s Day, so you’re probably looking for some good love stories to consume. Even if you don’t have a special boo in your life, it’s always nice on February 14, to remind yourself that love is a powerful force in the world. Especially when that love crosses racial and ethnic barriers.
Solomon and Sheba Started it All
A few years ago, I wrote this post about the epic Biblical interracial love story between King Solomon and the Queen of Sheba. King Solomon is an Israeli king, Sheba rules over the land that will become Ethiopia. In other words, he’s white, she’s Black. Depending on whose version of the story you’re reading, they may or may not marry, but they do have a son together, Menelik who will rule Ethiopia in the future.
That post continues to be one of my most popular, and I can see why. It’s a love story that for some proves that God/Christianity/Judaism/Islam sanctions interracial relationships. For others, it’s just a beautiful story of two powerful figures who fall in love despite outward, cultural differences. It’s like the story of Richard and Mildred Loving, but it takes place in ancient Africa and Israel instead of Virginia and Washington DC.
Interracial Romance is Biblical
Here’s the thing, after writing that post I became curious. Were Solomon and Sheba the only interracial couple in the Bible? Turns out, they weren’t. They were simply one of many, like Samson and Delilah and David and Bathsheba. But don’t take my word for it because I am not a Biblical scholar. Check out this website and this one for a list of interracial couples mentioned in the Bible and then draw your own conclusions about interracial relationships in a Biblical context. Or, grab yourself some popcorn and enjoy these stories for your Valentine’s Day reads.
Considering there are still people who claim to be Christians who also claim interracial relationships are unnatural and amoral, I have to wonder if they’ve even read the Good Book. Interracial relationships (both romantic and platonic) form a crucial part of Biblical history. Believe it or not, the proof is on the page.
