Sheba was an ancient kingdom in southern Arabia, in the region that today corresponds to Yemen, famous for its trade in gold, precious stones, and fragrant spices such as frankincense and myrrh.
The Bible does not narrate any event taking place within Sheba. The place always appears as a point of origin: of a queen, of merchants, of riches sent to other lands.
The best known episode is the journey of the queen of Sheba to Jerusalem, drawn by the fame of Solomon’s wisdom. She arrived there with an enormous caravan of spices, gold, and precious stones (1 Kings 10:1-2).
Genesis lists the name Sheba twice in ancient genealogies, tracing it to descendants of both Ham and Shem (Genesis 10:7,28). This shows that the region was already known to the biblical peoples from early on.
Prophets and psalmists cite Sheba as a symbol of a distant wealth that would one day acknowledge the God of Israel, bringing gold, frankincense, and gifts (Psalm 72:10; Isaiah 60:6).
Jesus uses the queen of Sheba as an example to rebuke his generation: she came from the ends of the earth to hear Solomon, yet here was someone greater than he (Matthew 12:42).
