References (21)
[Ham's first son] The sons of Cush were:
Sheba (Saba) [Upper Egypt (southern Egypt)] and
Havilah (Hebr. Chavila) [the Ishmaelites, see ; eastern Arabia and the Persian Gulf] and
Savetta [people of Arabia] and
Raama [people of Arabia] and
Savettecha.
[Kush's fourth son] The sons of Raama were:
Sheba [meaning "seven" or "oath"; probably Saba in present-day Yemen or Aksum in Ethiopia]
and Dedan [people of Arabia; present-day Saudi Arabia].
[This chapter is thematically linked in chiastic parallelism with , where two women come to Solomon and he judges with wisdom.]
When the queen of Sheba (Hebr. Sheva) heard the rumors about Solomon and the name of the Lord [the connection between his glory and his relationship with God, his moral and spiritual wisdom], she came to test him with difficult questions (proverbs, problems).
[Sheba was probably located in southern Arabia and was a large kingdom that may have stretched across the Red Sea all the way to Ethiopia. The distance to Israel through desert and mountainous terrain is over 2,000 kilometers.]
When the Queen of Sheba herself saw all Solomon's wisdom, she saw the house he had built [his own palace or temple],
And she gave the king 120 talents [4 tons] of gold and spices in very large quantities and precious stones, and never again was there such a large quantity of spices as the Queen of Sheba gave to King Solomon.
And King Solomon gave the Queen of Sheba all she desired—whatever she asked for, besides what King Solomon freely gave her (literally: gave according to his hand). And she turned and went to her country, she and her servants.
[There are various interpretations of this verse. A Jewish legend claims that Solomon fathered a son by the queen, which was her "desire." The Ethiopian tradition is similar to the Jewish one and claims that the royal Abyssinian line was founded by the offspring of Solomon and the Queen of Sheba. Neither of these traditions has any historical basis, nor can they be substantiated by the biblical text. Jesus uses the queen as an example of the effort one should be willing to make to hear God's word (). She traveled over 2,000 miles to ask Solomon, but Jesus' listeners refused to listen to God's own Son.]
The sons of Cush were
Sheba and
Havilah (Hebr. Chavila) and
Sabta and
Raama and
Sabteka.
The sons of Raama were
Sheba and
Dedan.
When the queen of Sheba heard of Solomon, she came to Jerusalem to test him with difficult questions. She came with a very large retinue and with camels carrying fragrant spices, a large quantity of gold, and precious stones. When she came before Solomon, she spoke with him about everything that was on her mind.
When the queen of Sheba saw Solomon's wisdom and saw the house he had built,
She gave the king 120 talents [4 tons] of gold, a large quantity of fragrant spices, and precious stones. Fragrant spices of the kind that the Queen of Sheba gave to King Solomon have never been found again.
King Solomon gave the Queen of Sheba everything she desired and requested, except for gifts in return for what she had brought to the king. Then she turned and returned home with her servants to her country.
the Sabeans [a people from the south; Sheba was a grandson of Abraham who moved eastward, see , ] attacked us, carried off the animals, and killed all your servants (literally, "young men") with the sword. I, the only survivor, escaped to tell you this."
[The Sabeans were a tribe from Sheba, present-day Yemen in the southern part of the Arabian Peninsula. They were merchants, see . Later it is mentioned that they were unusually tall, see . The Queen of Sheba was also probably from here, see . The time seems to be late autumn, since the oxen were plowing. In total, Job had 1,000 oxen and 500 female donkeys. All of them were stolen by these pirates, who also killed the servants during the attack. This is the first of four misfortunes that befall Job.]
Caravans from Tema
search for them,
travelers from Sheba (Hebr. Sheva)
put their hope in them.
The kings of
Tarshish and distant shores
[in the west] shall bring gifts.
The kings of
Sheba [Hebr. Sheba; present-day Yemen or Aksum in Ethiopia] and Seba
[in the east] shall bring gifts.
May he live [long live the King] and may
gold from Sheba (Hebr. Sheva) be offered to him [].
May they constantly appeal to (fall down in prayer before) him
and bless (fall down and give gifts to) him all day long.
Thus says the Lord (Yahweh):
"The workers of Egypt and the merchants of Cush [Ethiopia and Sudan]
and the tall men of Sheba [Saudi Arabia]
shall all come over to you and be your slaves,
they shall follow you,
in chains they shall come over
and they shall fall down before you and they shall plead with you:
"God (El) truly dwells with you,
and there is no other, there is no other God (Elohim)."
Hordes of camels shall cover you [walk on your roads, Jerusalem],
young camels from Midian and Ephah [present-day Saudi Arabia].
All the merchants of Sheba [who once came to do business]
shall bring gold and frankincense and proclaim the praise (glory) of the Lord.
What use to me is the incense that comes from Sheba
and the sweet cane from distant lands?
Your burnt offerings do not bring me mercy (conditional mercy – Hebr. ratson),
and your sacrifices do not please me.
The merchants of Sheba and Raama, they are your merchants, they trade for your wars with all important spices and with all precious stones and gold.
Haran (Hebr. Charan), and Kane, and Eden, the merchants of Sheba, Assyria, were your apprentices in trade.
Then Sheba (Saba) and Dedan [present-day Saudi Arabia; Hebr. Sheba and Dedan, see ; ] and the merchants of Tarshish [in the west, near Gibraltar] and its young lions [young leaders – a young nation] will ask you, "Have you come to plunder? Have you gathered your hordes to loot, to take silver and gold, to take cattle and goods, to take great spoil?"
I will sell your sons and your daughters into the hands of the sons of Judah, and they will sell them to the Sabians [a people from the south; Sheba was a grandson of Abraham who moved eastward, see , ], to a land far away, for the Lord (Yahweh) has spoken.
