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Tyndale Open Bible Dictionary

IntroIndex©

SHINAR*

Name for a district of Babylonia mentioned exclusively in the Bible. The plain of Shinar comprised the region approximately from modern Baghdad to the Persian Gulf. In the ancient world this was the region of Sumer (south) and Akkad (north), which later became generally known as Babylonia (Dn 1:2, NLT mg). The renowned cities of Erech, Akkad, and Babel (Babylon) all were in Shinar as a part of the kingdom of Nimrod, son of Cush (Gn 10:10). Genesis 11:2 also mentions Shinar in connection with the Tower of Babel. In Genesis 14:1 and 9, we read about Amraphel, “king of Shinar,” who was part of an eastern league in war with Abraham and the residents of Transjordan. Shinar’s identification with a district of Babylon becomes clear in Israel’s exile. Shinar is the destination of Nebuchadnezzar’s new subjects (Dn 1:2) and the place of Israel’s later rescue (Is 11:11; cf. Zec 5:11).

See also Babylon, Babylonia.