Encyclopedia entry
Shinar, The Land of
LXX. and Vulgate “Senaar;” in the inscriptions, “Shumir;” probably identical with Babylonia or Southern Mesopotamia, extending almost to the Persian Gulf. Here the tower of Babel was built (Gen. 11:1-6), and the city of Babylon. The name occurs later in Jewish history (Isa. 11:11; Zech. 5:11). Shinar was apparently first peopled by Turanian tribes, who tilled the land and made bricks and built cities. Then tribes of Semites invaded the land and settled in it, and became its rulers. This was followed in course of time by an Elamite invasion; from which the land was finally delivered by Khammurabi, the son of Amarpel (“Amraphel, king of Shinar,” Gen. 14:1), who became the founder of the new empire of Chaldea. (See AMRAPHEL.)
In the Bible
4
Verses where Shinar, The Land of is named. Berean Standard Bible (public domain).
- Daniel 1:2
And the Lord delivered into his hand Jehoiakim king of Judah, along with some of the articles from the house of God. He carried these off to the land of Shinar, to the house of his god, where he put them in the treasury of his god.
- Genesis 10:10
His kingdom began in Babylon, Erech, Accad, and Calneh, in the land of Shinar.
- Genesis 11:2
And as people journeyed eastward, they found a plain in the land of Shinar and settled there.
- Zechariah 5:11
“To build a house for it in the land of Shinar, ” he told me. “And when it is ready, the basket will be set there on its pedestal.”
Scripture on Shinar, The Land of
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Sources · Easton's Bible Dictionary (1897)
Public-domain text. Modernized only where archaic spelling impedes reading; original facts preserved. Verify against an authoritative modern reference before quoting.