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SHEBA (Place)
1. One of 14 cities listed in Joshua 19:2 that were assigned to Simeon’s tribe within the southern portion of Judah’s inheritance. Since the verse says there were 13 cities, not 14, it is possible that “Shebe” was repeated in the list as a shortened form of “Beersheba,” as many translations indicate. The LXX, however, names this town Shema (cf. Jos 15:26).
2. Territory located in southwestern Arabia known also as the kingdom of Saba (Hebrew Seba’). The Sabeans were of Semitic descent and were governed by a priest-king in the royal city of Ma’rib.
They were a merchant people holding trade relations with Israel and other countries as far east as India. Rich in spices, precious stones, and agricultural commodities, the people of Sheba (Saba) established a network of overland and sea routes to trade their wares (Ps 72:10, 15; Is 60:6; Jer 6:20; Ez 27:22-23). Numerous inscriptions have been found, attesting to the Sabean civilization in southern Arabia and their travels.
During the Solomonic era (970–930 BC), the queen of Sheba traveled to Jerusalem to see Solomon’s riches and to test his wisdom with riddles. Solomon exceeded her expectations on both counts (1 Kgs 10:1-13; 2 Chr 9:1-12).