The Sabeans who attacked Job
The clearest appearance of the Sabeans comes in Job's opening chapter. While Job's oxen were ploughing and his donkeys were feeding nearby, Sabeans attacked. They took the animals, killed the servants with the sword, and left one person alive to report the disaster to Job (Job 1:15).
This was one terrible event in a day full of loss for Job. The passage does not say that every Sabean was a raider or that violence defined an entire people. It reports what this particular attacking group did. Job's story then wrestles honestly with suffering, faith, and the mystery of God's wisdom.
And the Sabeans fell upon them, and took them away; yea, they have slain the servants with the edge of the sword; and I only am escaped alone to tell thee.
Their name is connected with Sheba
The name Sabeans is connected with Sheba. Genesis records more than one man named Sheba among the descendants of Noah and Abraham. One Sheba appears in Joktan's family line, and another appears among Abraham's descendants through Keturah (Genesis 10:28; Genesis 25:3).
That does not give us a neat modern map or prove that all people called Sabeans came from one ancestor. In the ancient world, family names, tribal names, and place names often became closely linked. Scripture's picture is that the Sabeans were people identified with Sheba, rather than an Israelite tribe.
Known as a distant people
The prophets mention the Sabeans too. Isaiah speaks of them in a vision where other nations recognise that God is with his people, describing them as people of stature (Isaiah 45:14). Joel refers to selling captives to the Sabeans, calling them a nation far away (Joel 3:8).
These references suggest that Israel knew the Sabeans as a real and distant people. The Bible does not pause to provide a full account of their land, rulers, or customs. Its concern is bigger: the God of Israel is not limited to Israel, and the nations are part of his purposes.
Thus saith the Lord, The labour of Egypt, and merchandise of Ethiopia and of the Sabeans, men of stature, shall come over unto thee, and they shall be thine: they shall come after thee; in chains they shall come over, and they shall fall down unto thee, they shall make supplication unto thee, saying, Surely God is in thee; and there is none else, there is no God.
What about the queen of Sheba?
The queen of Sheba came to Jerusalem after hearing about Solomon's wisdom. She tested him with difficult questions and brought rich gifts, including spices, gold, and precious stones (1 Kings 10:1; 1 Kings 10:10). Her title links her naturally with the same place-name, Sheba.
Still, the KJV does not directly call her a Sabean. So it is best to say she was queen of Sheba, while recognising the likely connection between Sheba and the people called Sabeans. Her visit gives a very different picture from Job's raiders. She came to seek wisdom and honoured the Lord when she saw what he had done through Solomon (1 Kings 10:9).
Blessed be the Lord thy God, which delighted in thee, to set thee on the throne of Israel: because the Lord loved Israel for ever, therefore made he thee king, to do judgment and justice.