Sheba
A place in the Bible
A faraway kingdom in southern Arabia, rich in spices, gold, and precious stones.
What happened here
- The queen of Sheba: she heard of Solomon’s fame and came to Jerusalem to test him with hard questions. Solomon answered all of them.
- The gifts: she gave the king much gold, spices, and precious stones. Never again did so many spices come to Jerusalem.
- Jesus remembers her: Jesus said that “the queen of the south” came from the ends of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon, and that something greater than Solomon was here.
- Isaiah: the prophet announced that from Sheba they would come bearing gold and frankincense, praising the Lord. It is read at Mass on the Epiphany.
Today
It was probably in what is today Yemen.
Where it appears in the Bible
1 Kings 10:1-3; 1 Kings 10:10; Matthew 12:42; Isaiah 60:6
What the Bible says
1 Kings 10:1-3
1And the queen of Saba, having; heard of the fame of Solomon in the name of the Lord, came to try him with hard questions. 2And entering into Jerusalem with a great train, and riches, and camels that carried spices, and an immense quantity of gold, and precious stones, she came to king Solomon, and spoke to him all that she had in her heart. 3And Solomon informed her of all the things she proposed to him: there was not any word the king was ignorant of, and which he could not answer her.
1 Kings 10:10
And she gave the king a hundred and twenty talents of gold, and of spices a very great store, and precious stones: there was brought no more such abundance of spices as these which the queen of Saba gave to king Solomon.
Matthew 12:42
The queen of the south shall rise in judgment with this generation, and shall condemn it: because she came from the ends of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon, and behold a greater than Solomon here.
Douay-Rheims Bible (Challoner revision), public domain.
Source: Catholic Encyclopedia (1913), “Saba and Sabeans”; Easton’s Bible Dictionary (1897), “Sheba”; Lectionary, The Epiphany of the Lord