3. The descendants of Sheba (whether of the line of Shem or of Ham is uncertain) who evidently formed a kingdom near the tip of the Arabian Peninsula. Likely the queen of Sheba who visited Solomon was from this land. (1Ki 10:1) Secular sources often refer to this kingdom as Sabean, and the Bible may do likewise.​—See SHEBA No. 6.

It is difficult to identify with certainty these Sabeans, since they might have been descendants of a number of different men named Sheba. Abraham’s son Jokshan had a son named Sheba (Ge 25:1-3), and the possibility of the Sabean raiders’ being from this line cannot be ruled out. However, scholars more commonly suggest that the Sabeans came through the Sheba who descended from Ham through Cush (Ge 10:6, 7) or Sheba the son of Joktan in Shem’s line.​—Ge 10:21-29.