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.

Psalms 72:10

72:10 The kings of Tarshish ¹²  and the coastlands will offer gifts;

the kings of Sheba ¹³  and Seba ¹⁴  will bring tribute.

Isaiah 45:14

The Lord is the Nations’ Only Hope

45:14 This is what the Lord says:

“The profit ¹⁵  of Egypt and the revenue ¹⁶  of Ethiopia,

along with the Sabeans, those tall men,

will be brought to you ¹⁷  and become yours.

They will walk behind you, coming along in chains. ¹⁸ 

They will bow down to you

and pray to you: ¹⁹ 

‘Truly God is with ²⁰  you; he has no peer; ²¹ 

there is no other God!’”

Ezekiel 23:42

23:42 The sound of a carefree crowd accompanied her, ²²  including all kinds of men; ²³  even Sabeans ²⁴  were brought from the desert. The sisters ²⁵  put bracelets on their wrists and beautiful crowns on their heads.

Joel 3:8

3:8 I will sell your sons and daughters to ²⁶  the people of Judah. ²⁷ 

They will sell them to the Sabeans, ²⁸  a nation far away.

Indeed, the Lord has spoken!

[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.

[72:10]  ¹² sn Tarshish was a distant western port, the precise location of which is uncertain.

[72:10]  ¹³ sn Sheba was located in Arabia.

[72:10]  ¹⁴ sn Seba was located in Africa.

[45:14]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “labor,” which stands metonymically for the fruits of labor, either “monetary profit,” or “products.”

[45:14]  ¹⁶ tn Or perhaps, “merchandise” (so KJV, NASB, NIV, NRSV); NAB “the gain of Ethiopia”; CEV “the treasures of Ethiopia.”

[45:14]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “they will pass over to you”; NASB, NIV “will come over to you”; CEV “will belong to you.”

[45:14]  ¹⁸ sn Restored Israel is depicted here in typical ancient Near Eastern fashion as an imperial power that receives riches and slaves as tribute.

[45:14]  ¹⁹ sn Israel’s vassals are portrayed as so intimidated and awed that they treat Israel as an intermediary to God or sub-deity.

[45:14]  ²⁰ tn Or perhaps, “among.” Cf. KJV, ASV “Surely God is in thee.”

[45:14]  ²¹ tn Heb “there is no other” (so NIV, NRSV). The same phrase occurs at the end of v. 18, in v. 21, and at the end of v. 22.

[23:42]  ²² tn Heb “(was) in her.”

[23:42]  ²³ tn Heb “and men from the multitude of mankind.”

[23:42]  ²⁴ tn An alternate reading is “drunkards.” Sheba is located in the area of modern day Yemen.

[23:42]  ²⁵ tn Heb “they”; the referents (the sisters) have been specified in the translation for the sake of clarity.

[3:8]  ²⁶ tn Heb “into the hand of.”

[3:8]  ²⁷ tn Heb “the sons of Judah.”

[3:8]  ²⁸ sn The Sabeans were Arabian merchants who were influential along the ancient caravan routes that traveled through Arabia. See also Job 1:15; Isa 43:3; 45:14; Ps 72:10.