Genesis 10:7

10:7 The sons of Cush were Seba, ¹  Havilah, ²  Sabtah, ³  Raamah, ⁴  and Sabteca. ⁵  The sons of Raamah were Sheba ⁶  and Dedan. ⁷ 

Genesis 10:28

10:28 Obal, ⁸  Abimael, ⁹  Sheba, ¹⁰ 

Genesis 25:3

25:3 Jokshan became the father of Sheba and Dedan. ¹¹  The descendants of Dedan were the Asshurites, Letushites, and Leummites.

Job 6:19

6:19 The caravans of Tema ¹²  looked intently ¹³  for these streams; ¹⁴ 

the traveling merchants ¹⁵  of Sheba hoped for them.

Psalms 72:10

72:10 The kings of Tarshish ¹⁶  and the coastlands will offer gifts;

the kings of Sheba ¹⁷  and Seba ¹⁸  will bring tribute.

Psalms 72:15

72:15 May he live! ¹⁹  May they offer him gold from Sheba! ²⁰ 

May they continually pray for him!

May they pronounce blessings on him all day long! ²¹ 

Isaiah 60:6

60:6 Camel caravans will cover your roads, ²² 

young camels from Midian and Ephah.

All the merchants of Sheba ²³  will come,

bringing gold and incense

and singing praises to the Lord. ²⁴ 

Jeremiah 6:20

6:20 I take no delight ²⁵  when they offer up to me ²⁶ 

frankincense that comes from Sheba

or sweet-smelling cane imported from a faraway land.

I cannot accept the burnt offerings they bring me.

I get no pleasure from the sacrifices they offer to me.’ ²⁷ 

Ezekiel 27:22-23

27:22 The merchants of Sheba and Raamah engaged in trade with you; they traded the best kinds of spices along with precious stones and gold for your products. 27:23 Haran, Kanneh, Eden, merchants from Sheba, Asshur, and Kilmad were your clients.

Ezekiel 38:13

38:13 Sheba and Dedan and the traders of Tarshish with all its young warriors ²⁸  will say to you, “Have you come to loot? Have you assembled your armies to plunder, to carry away silver and gold, to take away cattle and goods, to haul away a great amount of spoils?”’

[10:7]  ¹ sn The descendants of Seba settled in Upper Egypt along the Nile.

[10:7]  ² sn The Hebrew name Havilah apparently means “stretch of sand” (see HALOT 297 s.v. חֲוִילָה). Havilah’s descendants settled in eastern Arabia.

[10:7]  ³ sn The descendants of Sabtah settled near the western shore of the Persian Gulf in ancient Hadhramaut.

[10:7]  ⁴ sn The descendants of Raamah settled in southwest Arabia.

[10:7]  ⁵ sn The descendants of Sabteca settled in Samudake, east toward the Persian Gulf.

[10:7]  ⁶ sn Sheba became the name of a kingdom in southwest Arabia.

[10:7]  ⁷ sn The name Dedan is associated with àUla in northern Arabia.

[10:28]  ⁸ sn Obal was a name used for several localities in Yemen.

[10:28]  ⁹ sn The name Abimael is a genuine Sabean form which means “my father, truly, he is God.”

[10:28]  ¹⁰ sn The descendants of Sheba lived in South Arabia, where the Joktanites were more powerful than the Hamites.

[25:3]  ¹¹ sn The names Sheba and Dedan appear in Gen 10:7 as descendants of Ham through Cush and Raamah. Since these two names are usually interpreted to be place names, one plausible suggestion is that some of Abraham’s descendants lived in those regions and took names linked with it.

[6:19]  ¹² sn Tema is the area of the oasis SE of the head of the Gulf of Aqaba; Sheba is in South Arabia. In Job 1:15 the Sabeans were raiders; here they are traveling merchants.

[6:19]  ¹³ tn The verb נָבַט (navat) means “to gaze intently”; the looking is more intentional, more of a close scrutiny. It forms a fine parallel to the idea of “hope” in the second part. The NIV translates the second verb קִוּוּ (qivvu) as “look in hope.” In the previous verbs the imperfect form was used, expressing what generally happens (so the English present tense was used). Here the verb usage changes to the perfect form. It seems that Job is narrating a typical incident now – they looked, but were disappointed.

[6:19]  ¹⁴ tn The words “for these streams” are supplied from context to complete the thought and make the connection with the preceding context.

[6:19]  ¹⁵ tn In Ps 68:24 this word has the meaning of “processions”; here that procession is of traveling merchants forming convoys or caravans.

[72:10]  ¹⁶ sn Tarshish was a distant western port, the precise location of which is uncertain.

[72:10]  ¹⁷ sn Sheba was located in Arabia.

[72:10]  ¹⁸ sn Seba was located in Africa.

[72:15]  ¹⁹ tn The prefixed verbal form is jussive, not imperfect. Because the form has the prefixed vav (ו), some subordinate it to what precedes as a purpose/result clause. In this case the representative poor individual might be the subject of this and the following verb, “so that he may live and give to him gold of Sheba.” But the idea of the poor offering gold is incongruous. It is better to take the jussive as a prayer with the king as subject of the verb. (Perhaps the initial vav is dittographic; note the vav at the end of the last form in v. 14.) The statement is probably an abbreviated version of the formula יְחִי הַמֶּלֶךְ (yÿkhiy hammelekh, “may the king live”; see 1 Sam 10:24; 2 Sam 16:16; 1 Kgs 1:25, 34, 39; 2 Kgs 11:12).

[72:15]  ²⁰ tn Heb “and he will give to him some gold of Sheba.” The prefixed verbal form is understood as a jussive with a grammatically indefinite subject (“and may one give”). Of course, the king’s subjects, mentioned in the preceding context, are the tribute bearers in view here.

[72:15]  ²¹ tn As in the preceding line, the prefixed verbal forms are understood as jussives with a grammatically indefinite subject (“and may one pray…and may one bless”). Of course, the king’s subjects, mentioned in the preceding context, are in view here.

[60:6]  ²² tn Heb “an abundance of camels will cover you.”

[60:6]  ²³ tn Heb “all of them, from Sheba.”

[60:6]  ²⁴ tn Heb “and they will announce the praises of the Lord.”

[6:20]  ²⁵ tn Heb “To what purpose is it to me?” The question is rhetorical and expects a negative answer.

[6:20]  ²⁶ tn The words “when they offer up to me” are not in the text but are implicit from the following context. They are supplied in the translation for clarity.

[6:20]  ²⁷ tn Heb “Your burnt offerings are not acceptable and your sacrifices are not pleasing to me.” “The shift from “your” to “their” is an example of the figure of speech (apostrophe) where the speaker turns from talking about someone to addressing him/her directly. Though common in Hebrew style, it is not common in English. The shift to the third person in the translation is an accommodation to English style.

[38:13]  ²⁸ tn Heb “young lions.”