xix. 253; Homm. SA Chrest. 119); or the (
Greek characters) of Ptol. vi. 7. 30,
an inland town lying (according to Glaser, 252) W of El-Ḳaṭīf.
(8) (Hebrew characters) ((Greek characters) or (Greek characters))] coupled with (Hebrew characters) (? and (Hebrew characters)) in Ezk.
2722 as a tribe trading in spices, precious stones, and gold. It is doubtless
the (Hebrew characters) (Raǧmat) of a Minæan inscr.,[1] which speaks of an attack
by the hosts of Saba and Ḥaulân on a Minæan caravan en route between
Ma'ân and Ra'mat. This again may be connected with the (Greek characters)
of Strabo (xvi. iv. 24) N of Ḥaḍramaut. The identification with the
(Greek characters)[(Greek characters)](Greek characters) (a seaport on the Persian Gulf) of Ptol. vi. 7. 14 (Boch.
al.; so Glaser) is difficult because of its remoteness from Sheba and
Dedan (v.i.), and also because this appears on the inscr. as Rǧmt
(Glaser, 252).
(9) (Hebrew characters) ((Greek characters))] unknown. (Greek characters) in Carmania[2] (Ptol. vi.
8. 7 f., 11) is unsuitable both geographically and phonetically. Je. suggests
that the word is a duplicate of (Hebrew characters).
(10) (Hebrew characters) ((Greek characters))] (properly, as inscrs. show, (Hebrew characters): see No. 5 above) is
assigned in v.29 to the Joḳṭanites, and in 253 to the Ḳetureans. It is
the OT name of the people known to the classical geographers as
Sabæans, the founders of a great commercial state in SW Arabia, with
its metropolis at Marib (Mariaba), some 45 miles due E of San'a, the
present capital of Yemen (Strabo, xvi. iv. 2, 19; Pliny, HN, vi. 154 f.,
etc.). "They were the centre of an old S Arabian civilisation, regarding
the former existence of which the Sabæan inscriptions and architectural
monuments supply ample evidence" (Di. 182). Their history is still
obscure. The native inscrs. commence about 700 B.C.; and, a little
earlier, Sabæan princes (not kings)[3] appear on Ass. monuments as
paying tribute to Tiglath-pileser iv. (B.C. 738) and Sargon (B.C. 715).[4]
It would seem that about that time (probably with the help of the
Assyrians) they overthrew the older Minæan Empire, and established
themselves on its ruins. Unlike their precursors, however, they do
not appear to have consolidated their power in N Arabia, though their
inscrs. have been found as far N as el-Ǧ]ōf. To the Hebrews, Sheba
was a 'far country' (Jer. 620, Jl. 48), famous for gold, frankincense, and
precious stones (1 Ki. 101ff., Is. 606, Jer. 620, Ezk. 2722, Ps. 7215): in all
these passages, as well as Ps. 7210, Jb. 619, the reference to the southern
Sabæans is clear. On the other hand, the association with Dedan (253,
Ezk. 3813 and here) favours a more northern locality; in Jb. 115 they
appear as Bedouin of the northern desert; and the Ass. references
appear to imply a northerly situation. Since it is undesirable to assume
the existence of two separate peoples, it is tempting to suppose that the
pass. last quoted preserve the tradition of an earlier time, before the
- ↑ Halevy, 535, 2 (given in Homm. SA Chrest. 103) = Glaser, 1155: translated by Müller, ZDMG, xxx. 121 f., and Homm. AA, 322, AHT, 249 f.
- ↑ Boch.: so Glaser, ii. 252; but see his virtual withdrawal on p. 404.
- ↑ It is important that neither in their own nor in the Ass. inscrs. are the earliest rulers spoken of as kings.
- ↑ Cf. KIB, ii. 21, 55.
