The Scriptures in various parts speak of those men. We meet with them Job i. 15. And it is very probable that by the men of Sheba is meant the same. (Ps. lxx2: 10. 1 Kings x. 1, 2.) In the writings of Isaiah they are spoken of as men of stature. (Isa. xlv. 14.) But who they are, or to what purpose designed, there is no mention. It is a blessed thought however, what is said, Ps. lxx2: throughout, concerning the ultimate extension and prosperity of the Redeemer’s kingdom "when the kings of Sheba and of Seba shall offer gifts; yea, when all kings shall fall down before him, all nations shall serve him." (Ps, lxx2: 10. 11.) Oh, what wonders will by and by break out in the earth, when from the rising of the sun even unto the going down of the same Jesus’s name shall be great among the Gentiles, and in every place incense shall be offered unto his name and a pure offering! (Mal. i. 11.)
or “men of stature,” Isa 45:14. These men were probably the Sabeans of Arabia Felix, or of Asia. They submitted to Cyrus. The Sabeans of Arabia were descended from Saba; but as there are several of this name, who were all heads of peoples, or of tribes, we must distinguish several kinds of Sabeans.
1. Those Sabeans who seized the flocks of Job 1:15, were, probably, a people of Arabia Deserta, about Bozra; or, perhaps, a flying troop of Sabeans which infested that country.
2. Sabeans, descendants from Sheba, son of Cush. Gen 10:7, are probably of Arabia Felix: they were famous for spices; the poets gave them the epithet of soft and effeminate, and say they were governed by women:
Medis, levibusque Sabaeis
Imperat hic sexus.
[This sex governs the Medes, and the gentle Sabeans.] Several are of opinion, that from them came the queen of Sheba, 1Ki 10:1-2; and that of these Sabeans the psalmist speaks, Psa 72:10, “The kings of Arabia and Sheba shall give gifts;” and Jer 6:20: “What are the perfumes of Sheba to me?” and Isa 60:6: “All who come from Sheba shall offer gold and perfumes.”
3. Sabeans, sons of Shebah, son of Reumah. Gen 10:7, probably dwelt in Arabia Felix. Probably it is of these Ezekiel speaks, Eze 27:22, who came with their merchandise to the fairs of Tyre: and Joe 3:8: “I will deliver up your children to the tribe of Judah, who shall sell them to the Sabeans, a very distant nation.”
4. Sabeans, descendants from Joktan, may very well be those mentioned by Eze 27:23: “Saba, Assur, and Chelmad, thy dealers.” They are thought to have inhabited beyond the Euphrates; whence they are connected with Asshur and Chilmad, Gen 10:28; 1Ch 1:22.
5. Sabeans are also placed in Africa, in the isle of Meroe. Josephus brings the queen of Sheba from thence, and pretends that it had the name of Sheba, or Saba, before that of Meroe.
[SHEBA]
This word represents two distinct people, who, in accordance with the original Hebrew, might have been more properly called Sebaeans and Shebaeans.\par 1. The first denotes the inhabitants of the country called SEBA. This appears to have been the great island, or rather peninsula of Meroe, in northern Ethiopia, or Nubia, formed between the Nile and the Astaboras, now Atbara. Upon this peninsula lay a city of the like name, the ruins of which are still visible a few mile north of the modern Shendy. Meroe was a city of priests, whose origin is lost in the highest antiquity. The monarch was chosen by the priests from among themselves; and the government was being theocratic, being managed by the priest according to the oracle of Jupiter Ammon. This was the Seba of the Hebrews, according to Josephus, who mentions at the same time that it was conquered by Cambyses, and received from him the name Meroe, after his sister. With this representation accord the notices of Seba and its inhabitants in Scripture. In Gen 10:7, their ancestor is said to be a son of Cush, the progenitor of the Ethiopians. In Isa 43:3 and Psa 72:10, Seba is mentioned as a distant and wealthy country; in the former passage, it is connected with Egypt and Ethiopia; and Meroe was one of the most important commercial cities of interior Africa. These Sabeans are described by Herodotus as men of uncommon size. Compare Isa 45:14 . A branch of this family, it is thought, located themselves near the head of the Persian Gulf; and the Sabeans mentioned in Job 1:15 were probably Cushites. See CUSH and RAAMAH.\par 2. The inhabitants of the country called SHEBA. The Sheba of Scripture appears to be the Saba of Strabo, situated towards the southern part of Arabia, at a short distance from the coast of the Red Sea, the capital of which was Mariaba, or Mareb. This region, called also Yemen, was probably settled by Sheba the son of Joktan, of the race of Shem, Gen 10:28 1Ch 1:22 .\par The queen of Sheba, who visited Solomon, 1Ki 10:1-29 2Ch 9:1-31 Mat 12:42, and made him presents of gold, ivory, and costly spices, was probably the mistress of this region; indeed, the Sabeans were celebrated, on account of their important commerce in these very products, among the Greeks also, Job 6:19 Isa 60:6 Jer 6:20 Eze 27:22 38:13 Psa 72:10, 15 Joe 3:8 . The tradition of this visit of the queen of Sheba to Solomon has maintained itself among the Arabs, who call her Balkis, and affirm that she became the wife of Solomon.\par Besides the Joktanite Sabaeans, two others of the same name are mentioned in the Bible. 1. A son of Jokshan, and grandson of Abraham and Keturah, Gen 10:28 2. A grandson of Cush. It is possible that these descendants of the Ethiopian Sheba may have had their residence in Africa; but the question of these two Shebas is obscure and difficult to determine. The Sebaeans and Shebaeans are both mentioned in the same prophecy, Psa 72:10, as coming to lay their offerings at the feet of Christ.\par
Sabe’ans. See Sheba.
Sabeans (sa-bç’anz). 1. Descendants of Seba. Isa 45:14. It should be simply "people of Seba," son of Cush. 2. In Joe 3:8 the descendants of Sheba, son of Joktan, are meant. Possibly a third tribe is spoken of in Job 1:15. The translation "Sabeans" in Eze 23:42 is incorrect: read "drunkards," as in the margin and In the R. V.
[Sabe’ans]
There are four persons who have been regarded as progenitors of the Sabeans.
1. Seba, son of Cush. Gen 10:7.
2. Sheba, grandson of Cush. Gen 10:7.
3. Sheba, descendant of Joktan. Gen 10:28.
4. Sheba, son of Jokshan. Gen 25:3.
The first two are descendants of Ham, and the last two descendants of Shem. For their localities see SEBA and SHEBA. Some were marauders who swept away the oxen and asses of Job. Job 1:15. In Isa 45:14 they were travelling merchants. In Joe 3:8 they are represented as a people ’far off,’ to whom Judah will sell their enemies. These passages may not all refer to the same people. In Eze 23:42 the chethib reads ’drunkards,’ as in the margin of the A.V. and the text of the R.V.
By: Joseph Jacobs, Louis H. Gray
The inhabitants of the ancient kingdom of Sheba in southeastern Arabia, known from the Bible, classical writers, and native inscriptions. The genealogies of Genesis give three pedigrees for Sheba, the eponymous ancestor of the Sabeans, who is variously termed (1) the son of Raamah and the grandson of Cush (Gen. x. 7; I Chron. i. 9; comp. Ezek. xxvii. 22, xxxviii. 13), (2) the son of Joktan and a great-great-great-grandson of Shem (Gen. x. 28; I Chron. i. 22), and (3) the son of Jokshan and a grandson of Abraham by Keturah (Gen. xxv. 3; I Chron. i. 32). There seem, therefore, to have been three stocks of Sabeaus: one in Africa (comp. the Ethiopian city of Saba mentioned by Strabo, "Geography," p. 771), and the other two in Arabia. Of the latter one is connected with the story of Abraham, and the other with that of the kingdom localized by Gen. x. 30, including the Joktanites generally, and extending "from Mesha, as thou goest unto Sephar, a mount of the east." In Job vi. 19 the Sabeans are mentioned in close association with the Temeans, an Ishmaelite stock (Gen. xxv. 15) that dwelt in Arabia (Isa. xxi. 14; comp. Jer. xxv. 23-24).
In the Bible.
The Psalms and the prophetical books lay special emphasis upon the wealth and commercial activity of the Sabeans. The gifts of the kings of Sheba (
) and of Seba (
) to Solomon are noted in Ps. lxxii. 10, gold being especially mentioned among these presents (ib. verse 15). In both these passages the Septuagint, followed by the Vulgate, identifies Sheba with Arabia (
The only mention of the Sabeans in a warlike connection is in Job i. 15, where they are described as attacking and killing the servants of Job to rob them of cattle; but according to Joel iv. [A. V. iii.] 8, they dealt in slaves, including Jews. In the New Testament there is a reference to the kingdom of Sheba in the allusion to "the queen of the south" (Matt. xii. 42; Luke xi. 31). Sheba must be carefully distinguished from the Cushite or African Seba (comp. Gen. x. 7; I Chron. i. 9), as is shown by the discrimination between the "kings of Sheba and Seba" in Ps. lxxii. 10, and by the collocation of Egypt, Ethiopia, and Seba in Isa. xliii. 3, xlv. 14.
In the Classical Writers.
Strabo, basing his account for the most part on Eratosthenes, an author of the third century B.C., gives considerable information of value concerning the Sabeans ("Geography," ed. Müller, pp. 768, 778, 780). Their territory was situated between those of the Mineans and Cattabanes; and their capital, Mariaba, stood on the summit of a wooded hill. The country, like those adjoining, was a flourishing monarchy, with beautiful temples and palaces, and with houses which resembled those of the Egyptians. The mode of succession to the throne was peculiar in that the heir apparent was not the son of the king, but the first son born to a noble after the monarch's accession. The king himself was also the judge; but he was not allowed to leave the palace under penalty of being stoned to death by the people.
Commerce, Agriculture, and Religion.
Inscriptions of the Sabeans are numerous, but the information which these records furnish is comparatively meager. They cover, it is true, a period of about 1,300 years, ceasing only with the extinction of the kingdom in the sixth century C.E.; but only of the period just before and just after the beginning of the present era are they sufficiently abundant to allow even an approximation to a coherent history. The earliest inscription known is one containing the name of Yetha-amara, who has been identified with the "Ithamara the Sabean" of an inscription of Sargon dated 715 B.C. Besides the epigraphical remains, there is a large number of coins, dating chiefly from 150 B.C. to 150 C.E. These are of special value for the history of the nation, even during its period of decline, since they bear both the monograms and the names of numerous kings. The Sabean inscriptions are dated by eponymous magistrates previous to the introduction of an era which has been identified with the Seleucidan (312 B.C.), and which has also been fixed by other scholars as beginning in 115 B.C., although there are traces of other chronological systems as well. These texts frequently allude to commerce, agriculture, and religion. The chief articles of trade are the same as those mentioned in the Bible and the classics, with the addition of horses and camels. The agricultural texts are chiefly prayers for increase in crops and live stock, with the inevitable petition of the Semite for male offspring. They contain also a number of plant-names, as well as occasional references to systems of irrigation. The military texts, in their accounts of successful raids on and repulses of other marauding tribes, confirm the allusion in Job i. 15.
Deities.
The references to religion are for the most part names of deities; but the entire lack of description renders a reconstruction of the Semitic pantheon practically impossible. It is clear, however, from the appellations of the gods that the religion of Sheba closely resembled the pre-Islamic Arabian cult, and showed certain affinities with the Assyro Babylonian system as well. Among the Sabean gods the most important were Almaḳah ("the hearing god"?), Athtar (a protective deity and the male form of "Ashtaroth," to whom the gazel seems to have been sacred), Haubas (possibly a lunar deity), Dhu Samawi ("lord of heaven"), Ḥajr, Ḳainan, Ḳawim ("the sustaining"), Sin (the principal moon-god), Shams (the chief solar deity), Yaṭa', Ramman (the Biblical Rimmon), El ("god" in general), Sami' ("the hearing"), Shem (corresponding in functions to the general Semitic Ba'al), Ḥobal (possibly a god of fortune), Ḥomar (perhaps a god of wine), Bashir ("bringer of good tidings"), Raḥman ("the merciful"), Ta'lab (probably a tree-god), and Wadd (borrowed from the Mineans). A number of goddesses are mentioned, among them Dhat Ḥami ("lady of Ḥami"), Dhat Ba'dan ("lady of Ba'dan"), Dhat Gaḍran ("lady of Gaḍran"), and Tanuf ("lofty").
It becomes clear, even from this scanty information, that the religion was in the main a nature-cult, like the other Semitic religions; and this is borne out by a statement in the Koran (sura xxvii. 24) that the Sabeans worshiped the sun. Few details of the cult are given, although there are frequent mentions of gifts and sacrifices, as well as of "self-presentation," a rite of doubtful meaning, but one which evidently might be performed more than once. Ritual purity and abstinence of various forms also seem to have formed part of the Sabean religion, and the name of the month Dhu Ḥijjat or Maḥijjat, the only one retained by the Arabs (Dhu'l-Ḥijja, the twelfth month), implies a custom of religious pilgrimage to some shrine or shrines.
Government and Society.
To the account of the government as described by Strabo the Sabean inscriptions add little. The word for "nation" is "khums" (fifth), which apparently implies an earlier division of Arabia or of a portion of it into five parts; and the people were divided into tribes ("shi'b"), which, in their turn, were composed of "tenths" or "thirds." The kings at first styled themselves "malik" (king) and, possibly later, "mukarrib," a term of uncertain meaning, while they afterward were called "kings of Saba and Dhu Raidan," and finally monarchs of Ḥaḍramaut and Yamanet as well. There were likewise kings of a number of minor cities. From a late text which mentions a king of Ḥimyar and Raidan and of Saba and Silḥin, it has been inferred that the capital of Sheba was later removed to Raidan while the actual palace remained at Ḥimyar, and that from this circumstance the dynasty and all that it ruled were formerly called Himyaritic (the "Homeritæ" of Ptolemy and of Christian ecclesiastical authors), a designation now generally discarded.
The state of society in Sheba seems to have been somewhat feudal in character. The great families, which evidently possessed large landed estates, had castles and towers that are frequently mentioned in the inscriptions; and remains of some of these buildings are still extant. The status of woman was remarkably high. The mistress of a castle is mentioned in one inscription, and the epigraphical remains represent women as enjoying practical equality with men, although a few passages imply the existence of concubinage.
Language.
The Sabean language belonged to the Semitic stock. While some of the inscriptions differ little from classical Arabic, most of them show a close affinity with Ethiopic. The weak letters occasionally possessed their consonantal value as in Ethiopic, although they have become vowels in Arabic. On the other hand, the article is affixed as in Aramaic, instead of being prefixed as in Arabic, and certain syntactic phenomena recall Hebrew rather than the South-Semitic dialects. The alphabet, which, like all the Semitic systems except Ethiopic, represents the consonants only, is plausibly regarded by many as the earliest form of Semitic script.
Bibliography:
Osiander, Zur Himjaritischen Alterthumskunde, in Z. D. M. G. xix., Leipsic, 1865;
Halévy, Etudes Sabéennes, Paris, 1875;
D. H. Müller, Burgen und Schlösser Süd-Arabiens, Vienna, 1879-81;
idem, Epigraphische Denk-Müler aus Arabien, ib. 1889;
idem, Süd-Arabische Alterthümer. ib. 1899;
Mordtmann and Müller, Sabäische Denkmüler, ib. 1883;
Schlumberger, Le Trésor de San'a, Paris, 1880;
Glaser, Skizze der Geschichte Arabiens, Munich, 1889;
idem, Geschichte und Geographie Arabiens, Berlin, 1889-1890;
idem, Die Abessinier in Arabien und Afrika, Munich, 1895;
Hommel, Aufsätze und Abhandlungen, ib. 1892-1901;
idem, Südarabische Chrestomathie, ib. 1893;
Mordtmann, Himjaritische Inschriften in den Königlichen Museen zu Berlin, 1893;
Derenbourg, Les Monuments Sabéens du Musée d'Archéologie de Marscille, Paris, 1899;
C. I. S. iv. (Inscriptiones Himjariticæ et Sabææ), ib. 1889 et seq.
Saba lies in the Southern Arabian Jof, about 200 miles northwest of Aden. The Sabeans are mentioned in the Bible as a distant people (Joel 3); famous traders (Ezechiel 27), who exported gold and frankincense (Isaiah 60), precious stones (Ezechiel 27), and perfumes (Jeremiah 6). The genealogies of Genesis call them sons of Chus and Regma (Genesis 10) and sons of Jecsan (Genesis 25). These details point to two Sabas, one in the south near Hadhramot, one in the north near Taima; the place of their original home cannot be decided, some identify it with the Saba whose queen visited Solomon (3 Kings 10). They were very prosperous, agriculture flourished, gold, silver, and precious stones abounded, but their chief source of wealth was the trade route from India to Egypt and Northern Syria. Their government was feudal and shared by two kings. Recent writers attribute to them the invention of the Semitic alphabet.