Shinar

Biblical Text

Shinar appears eight times in the Hebrew Bible.

• Genesis 10:10: The kingdom of Nimrod, a descendant of Ham, is said to have begun at "Babel, and Erech, and Accad, and Calneh, in the land of Shinar."
• Genesis 11:2: As people journeyed from the east, "they found a plain in the land of Shinar; and they dwelt there." The Tower of Babel narrative, in which they build a city and a tower, follows.
• Genesis 14:1, 9: Amraphel king of Shinar joins forces with Chedorlaomer king of Elam in battle, and Lot is taken captive. As Abraham returns from rescuing Lot, he meets Melchizedek.
• Joshua 7:21: Among the items Achan secretly took at Jericho was a fine mantle from Shinar (rendered in the KJV as "a goodly Babylonish garment"). The expression refers to a garment made in that region.
• Isaiah 11:11: God will gather again the remnant scattered in Assyria, Egypt, Elam, Shinar, and other lands.
• Daniel 1:2: Nebuchadnezzar carries the vessels of the Jerusalem temple "into the land of Shinar to the house of his god."
• Zechariah 5:11: A woman symbolizing "wickedness," shut inside an ephah (a vessel for measuring grain), is carried to the land of Shinar, where a house is built for her.

Background

The Hebrew name is Shin'ar, and its etymology is uncertain. It is generally identified with the plain of the lower Tigris and Euphrates rivers, that is, the region of Babylonia, including ancient Sumer and Akkad. Erech and Accad, mentioned in Genesis 10:10, are usually identified with the Mesopotamian cities of Uruk and Akkad. The statement in Genesis 11:3 that the people used brick instead of stone and slime (bitumen) instead of mortar fits well with building practices in this region, where stone was scarce.

Significance Across Scripture

From the Tower of Babel narrative in Genesis to Daniel and Zechariah, which deal with the Babylonian exile, Shinar is portrayed as a stronghold of human power set against God. In Daniel it is where Nebuchadnezzar placed the temple vessels in a pagan temple; in Zechariah it is where "wickedness" is carried off and established. For this reason, many commentators read Shinar as carrying the same symbolic meaning as Babylon.

The name "Shinar" does not appear in the New Testament. Many interpreters, however, see "that great city Babylon" in Revelation as taking up this symbolism. Interpreters across denominations also commonly contrast the proclamation of the gospel in many languages at Pentecost with the confusion of languages at Babel.

Interpretations and Debates

• Nimrod and the Tower of Babel: The biblical text does not say who led the building of the tower. The tradition that Nimrod directed its construction comes from later Jewish sources such as Josephus.
• The identity of Amraphel: Amraphel was at one time identified with Hammurabi, king of Babylon. Today this view is widely regarded as poorly supported, and his identity remains undetermined.
• Precise extent: Scholars differ on whether Shinar refers to the whole of southern Mesopotamia or only part of it.

In the Korean Church

The name Shinar appears chiefly in the phrase "the plain of Shinar" in sermons and Bible studies on the Tower of Babel passage in Genesis 11. In such settings it is often mentioned as the backdrop for contrasting human pride with God's sovereignty.