Shin’ar ( ; ; ) is the name for the southern region of

Mesopotamia Mesopotamia is a historical region of West Asia situated within the Tigris–Euphrates river system, in the northern part of the Fertile Crescent. Today, Mesopotamia is known as present-day Iraq and forms the eastern geographic boundary of ...

used by the

Hebrew Bible The Hebrew Bible or Tanakh (;"Tanach"
. '' Sumer Sumer () is the earliest known civilization, located in the historical region of southern Mesopotamia (now south-central Iraq), emerging during the Chalcolithic and Early Bronze Age, early Bronze Ages between the sixth and fifth millennium BC. ...

), with their original being the Sumerians' own name for their country, ''ki-en-gi(-r)'', but this is "beset with philological difficulties". Another hypothesis derives the name from a Kassite tribe known as the ''Šamharu'', whose name would have been later used for

Babylonia Babylonia (; , ) was an Ancient history, ancient Akkadian language, Akkadian-speaking state and cultural area based in the city of Babylon in central-southern Mesopotamia (present-day Iraq and parts of Kuwait, Syria and Iran). It emerged as a ...

in general. Sayce (1895) identified ''Shinar'' as cognate with the following names: ''Sangara''/''Sangar'' mentioned in the context of the Asiatic conquests of

Thutmose III Thutmose III (variously also spelt Tuthmosis or Thothmes), sometimes called Thutmose the Great, (1479–1425 BC) was the fifth pharaoh of the 18th Dynasty of Egypt. He is regarded as one of the greatest warriors, military commanders, and milita ...

(15th century BC); ''Sanhar''/''Sankhar'' of the Amarna letters (14th century BC); the Greeks' ''

Singara Singara (, ''tà Síngara''; Syriac: ܫܝܓܪ) was a strongly fortified post at the northern extremity of Mesopotamia, which for a while, as it appears from coins minted there, was occupied by the Romans as an advanced colony against the Persi ...

''; and modern ''

Sinjar Sinjar (; , ) is a town in the Sinjar District of the Nineveh Governorate in northern Iraq. It is located about five kilometers south of the Sinjar Mountains. Its population in 2013 was estimated at 88,023, and is predominantly Yazidi. History ...

'', in

Upper Mesopotamia Upper Mesopotamia constitutes the Upland and lowland, uplands and great outwash plain of northwestern Iraq, northeastern Syria and southeastern Turkey, in the northern Middle East. Since the early Muslim conquests of the mid-7th century, the regio ...

, near the Khabur River. Accordingly, he proposed that Shinar was in Upper Mesopotamia, but acknowledged that the Bible gives important evidence that it was in the south.Sayce, Archibald Henry (1895).
Patriarchal Palestine
', pp. 67-68. Albright (1924) suggested identification with the Kingdom of Khana.

Hebrew Bible

The name ''Šinʿār'' occurs eight times in the

Hebrew Bible The Hebrew Bible or Tanakh (;"Tanach"
. '' Babylonia Babylonia (; , ) was an Ancient history, ancient Akkadian language, Akkadian-speaking state and cultural area based in the city of Babylon in central-southern Mesopotamia (present-day Iraq and parts of Kuwait, Syria and Iran). It emerged as a ...

. That location of Shinar is evident from its description as encompassing both Babel/Babylon (in northern Babylonia) and Erech/Uruk (in southern Babylonia). In the

Book of Genesis The Book of Genesis (from Greek language, Greek ; ; ) is the first book of the Hebrew Bible and the Christian Old Testament. Its Hebrew name is the same as its incipit, first word, (In the beginning (phrase), 'In the beginning'). Genesis purpor ...

10:10, the beginning of

Nimrod Nimrod is a Hebrew Bible, biblical figure mentioned in the Book of Genesis and Books of Chronicles, the Books of Chronicles. The son of Cush (Bible), Cush and therefore the great-grandson of Noah, Nimrod was described as a king in the land of Sh ...

's kingdom is said to have been "Babel abylon and

Erech Uruk, the archeological site known today as Warka, was an ancient city in the Near East, located east of the current bed of the Euphrates River, on an ancient, now-dried channel of the river in Muthanna Governorate, Iraq. The site lies 93 kilom ...

/nowiki>Uruk">Uruk.html" ;"title="/nowiki>Uruk">/nowiki>Uruk/nowiki>, and Akkad (city)">Akkad, and Calneh">Uruk">/nowiki>Uruk">Uruk.html" ;"title="/nowiki>Uruk">/nowiki>Uruk/nowiki>, and Akkad (city)">Akkad, and Calneh, in the land of Shinar." Verse 11:2 states that Shinar enclosed the plain that became the site of the

Tower of Babel The Tower of Babel is an origin myth and parable in the Book of Genesis (chapter 11) meant to explain the existence of different languages and cultures. According to the story, a united human race speaking a single language migrates to Shin ...

after the Flood myth, Great Flood. In Genesis 14:1,9, King Amraphel rules Shinar. It is further mentioned in Book of Joshua, Joshua 7:21; Book of Isaiah, Isaiah 11:11; Book of Daniel, Daniel 1:2; and Zechariah 5#Verses 10-11, Zechariah 5:11, as a general synonym for Babylonia.

Jubilees

The

Book of Jubilees The Book of Jubilees is an ancient Jewish apocryphal text of 50 chapters (1,341 verses), considered canonical by the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church, as well as by Haymanot Judaism, a denomination observed by members of Ethiopian Jewish ...

9:3 allots Shinar (or, in the Ethiopic text, ''Sadna Sena`or'') to Ashur, son of

Shem Shem (; ''Šēm''; ) is one of the sons of Noah in the Bible ( Genesis 5–11 and 1 Chronicles 1:4). The children of Shem are Elam, Ashur, Arphaxad, Lud and Aram, in addition to unnamed daughters. Abraham, the patriarch of Jews, Christ ...

. Jubilees 10:20 states that the

was built with

bitumen Bitumen ( , ) is an immensely viscosity, viscous constituent of petroleum. Depending on its exact composition, it can be a sticky, black liquid or an apparently solid mass that behaves as a liquid over very large time scales. In American Engl ...

from the sea of Shinar.

In popular culture

The region's name in its Greek form is used in the title of '' Chants of Sennaar'', a video game that draws motifs from the

narrative.Schreier, Jason
Two Hobbyists Made One of This Year’s Best Video Games
''Bloomberg'', October 13, 2023.

References

{{reflist Sumer Torah places Noach (parashah) Nimrod Book of Jubilees