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Shinar
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'''"Shinar"''' (Hebrew שנער, Septuagint ''Senaar'') is a broad designation applied to
Mesopotamia, occurring eight times in the
Hebrew Bible. In the
Book of Genesis 10:10, the beginning of Nimrod's kingdom is said to have been "
Babel, and
Erech Uruk, and
Accad Akkad, and
Calneh, in the land of Shinar." The following chapter, 11:2, states that Shinar was a plain settled after the flood, where mankind, still speaking one language, built the
Tower of Babel. In ''Genesis'' 14:1,9 Shinar is the land ruled by king
Amraphel, usually identified with
Hammurabi, who reigned in Babylon. "Shinar" is further mentioned in ''
Book of Joshua Joshua'' 7:21; ''
Book of Isaiah Isaiah'' 11:11; and ''
Book of Zechariah Zechariah'' 5:11, as a general synonym for Babylonia.
If Shinar included both
Babylon ("Babel") and Erech, then "Shinar" broadly denoted both northern and southern Babylonia. Any cognate relation with "
Sumer" or "Shumer", an Akkadian name used for a non-Semitic people who called themselves ''Kiengir'', is not simple to explain and has been the subject of varied speculation. It is certain that the Egyptian term for Babylonia / Mesopotamia was ''Sangar'', a name appearing often in the
Amarna letters.
According to
H. Welsh, it is likely, arising from association with "
Ur Ur of the Chaldees", that ''Shinar'' signifies the land of the Mesopotamian moon god ''
Sin (mythology) Sin'', whose earliest temple was at Ur. Sin had a network of temples spanning across the fertile crescent, including a prominent temple in Babylon and one of its famous Gates, also a major temple in Harran, and probably another in Jericho, that most ancient city, whose name means "Place of the Moon God."
Some believe Shinar to be a reference to the land that is now
China. The very ancient
Arabic language Arabic name for China is 'Ṣīn' or 'Sina'. Likewise, in
Latin, China is referred to as ''Sinae'', whence the
English language English prefix Sino- (eg. ''Sino-Tibetan'') originates (see
Names of China).
External links
-
''Jewish Encyclopedia'': Shinar
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''Biblaridion magazine'': Shinar
Category:Mesopotamia
Category:Torah places
de:Schinar
et:Sinearimaa
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