What is the…
Land of Shinar

Hebrew: שִׁנְעָר —transliteration: Shinar —occurrences: 8

Septuagint and Vulgate: Senaar

Inscriptions: Shumir

Shinar is probably identical with Babylonia or Southern Mesopotamia, extending almost to the Persian Gulf.

In this land the tower of Babel was built (Genesis 11:1-6), and the city of Babylon.

• What is Babel / Babylon?
• What is the Tower of Babel?
• Read about the events at the Tower of Babel
• Is there archaeological evidence of the Tower of Babel? Answer
• Wordsearch: What Happened at Babel?
• What is the Kingdom of Babylon?

The name Shinar occurs 8 times in Scripture:

• “The beginning of his [Nimrod’s] kingdom was Babel and Erech and Accad and Calneh, in the land of Shinar.” —Genesis 10:10 NASB
• “they found a plain in the land of Shinar and settled there” —Genesis 11:2 NASB
• “Amraphel king of Shinar” —Genesis 14:1; 14:9
• “a beautiful mantle from Shinar” —Joshua 7:21
• “Then it will happen on that day that the Lord
  Will again recover the second time with His hand
  The remnant of His people, who will remain,
  From Assyria, Egypt, Pathros, Cush, Elam, Shinar, Hamath,
  And from the islands of the sea.” —Isaiah 11:11
• “he brought them to the land of Shinar” —Daniel 1:2
• “build a temple for her in the land of Shinar” —Zechariah 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 King Hammurabi (Khammurabi), the son of Amraphel (Amarpel) “king of Shinar” (Genesis 14:1), who became the founder of the new empire of Chaldea.

More information

• NIMROD—Who was he? Was he godly or evil?
• Who is King Amraphel?
• Mesopotamia
• Chaldea
• What is dispersion?