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 25:3

25:3 Jokshan became the father of Sheba and Dedan. ⁸  The descendants of Dedan were the Asshurites, Letushites, and Leummites.

Genesis 25:1

The Death of Abraham

25:1 Abraham had taken ⁹  another ¹⁰  wife, named Keturah.

Genesis 10:1

The Table of Nations

10:1 This is the account ¹¹  of Noah’s sons Shem, Ham, and Japheth. Sons ¹²  were born ¹³  to them after the flood.

Psalms 72:10

72:10 The kings of Tarshish ¹⁴  and the coastlands will offer gifts;

the kings of Sheba ¹⁵  and Seba ¹⁶  will bring tribute.

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.

[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.

[25:3]  ⁸ 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.

[25:1]  ⁹ tn Or “took.”

[25:1]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “And Abraham added and took.”

[10:1]  ¹¹ tn The title אֵלֶּה תּוֹלְדֹת (’elle tolÿdot, here translated as “This is the account”) here covers 10:1–11:9, which contains the so-called Table of Nations and the account of how the nations came to be dispersed.

[10:1]  ¹² sn Sons were born to them. A vertical genealogy such as this encompasses more than the names of sons. The list includes cities, tribes, and even nations. In a loose way, the names in the list have some derivation or connection to the three ancestors.

[10:1]  ¹³ tn It appears that the Table of Nations is a composite of at least two ancient sources: Some sections begin with the phrase “the sons of” (בְּנֵי, bÿne) while other sections use “begot” (יָלָד, yalad). It may very well be that the “sons of” list was an old, “bare bones” list that was retained in the family records, while the “begot” sections were editorial inserts by the writer of Genesis, reflecting his special interests. See A. P. Ross, “The Table of Nations in Genesis 10 – Its Structure,” BSac 137 (1980): 340-53; idem, “The Table of Nations in Genesis 10 – Its Content,” BSac 138 (1981): 22-34.

[72:10]  ¹⁴ sn Tarshish was a distant western port, the precise location of which is uncertain.

[72:10]  ¹⁵ sn Sheba was located in Arabia.

[72:10]  ¹⁶ sn Seba was located in Africa.