Sambethe
Sambethe
The Jewish Sibyl. Name variations: Sabba; Sambathe. Daughter of Berosos and Erymanthe.
Believed to have been a sibyl (female prophet), Sambethe, the daughter of Berosos and Erymanthe , was raised among the Jews of Palestine. Sources are unclear about her ethnicity, for while they place her among the Palestinian Jews, some call her a Babylonian, others an Egyptian, and still others a Persian. The name Sambethe itself, however, is derived from the Jewish word "Sabbath," so that whatever her origin, it appears that she (if, indeed, she was even a historical figure) plied her trade in the general vicinity of Judea. When Sambethe might have lived is unknown. One tradition had her on Noah's ark and perhaps the wife of one of his sons; the first unambiguous reference to her did not come until the 2nd century ce, although it is possible that some contemporaries of Alexander the Great (356–323 bce) believed that she had foretold of his achievements.
William Greenwalt , Associate Professor of Classical History, Santa Clara University, Santa Clara, California