Arabia Felix
Archimandrite Nikifor’s Biblical Encyclopedia
— was considered, and was, a very fertile land. Its inhabitants, who considered themselves descendants of Shem, bore little resemblance to the nomadic shepherds and marauders who populated the rest of Arabia. They had permanent dwellings, lived by agriculture and trade, and once possessed considerable wealth and learning. The famous ancient kingdom of Sheba, or the Sabaeans (the Queen of Sheba) lay on the elevated, fertile plateau of the southwestern end of Arabia, in present-day Yemen.
The land abounded in perfumes, spices, balsam, gold, and precious stones; it carried on extensive trade with Tyre, India, and all of western Asia. The Queen of Sheba, or the South, hearing of Solomon’s fame, came with great gifts to Jerusalem to hear him (1 Kings 10:2), a fact to which the Lord Jesus Christ Himself refers (Matt. 12:42).