Shinar

In the Tanakh, the Old Testament, "Shinar" is a broad designation applied to Mesopotamia that occurs eight times. In Genesis x.10 the beginning of Nimrod's kingdom is said to have been "Babel, and Erech, and Accad, and Calneh, in the land of Shinar." In the following chapter, xi. 2, Shinar is the site of the Tower of Babel (Genesis xi.2). In Genesis xiv.1 and 9, Shinar is the home of Amraphel, generally identified with Hammurabi, who reigned in Babylon. "Shinar" is also mentioned in Joshua vii. 21; Isaiah xi. 11; and Zechariah v. 11). If Shinar included both Babylon ("Babel") and Erech, then "Shinar" broadly denoted both northern and southern Babylonia. There is no simple cognate relation with "Sumer."

External link

\n*Jewish Encyclopedia: Shinar