Sinim
Isa 49:12. The people of southern China. An inland commercial route connected the extreme East with the West very early. (See SILK) The Sinims and the Scythians interchanged commodities as the Chinese and Russians do now. Sinae was the name of the "Chinese traders". Their town was Thinae, one of the great emporiums in western China, now Thsiu or Tin in the province of Schensi. In the eighth century B.C.
the Sinae became independent in western China, their princes reigning there for 650 years before they attained dominion over the whole land; in the third century B.C. the dynasty of Tsin (from whence came "China") became supreme over the empire. The Chinese "came from far," (distinct from "the N. and the W."), namely, from the far East, answering the requirements of Isa 49:12. The western part becoming first known to India, the name of this part was given to the whole.
The Chinese seldom call themselves so, being in the habit of giving themselves high sounding titles, or else naming themselves from the reigning dynasty.
Hastings' Dictionary of the Bible on Sinim
The 'land of Sinira' (Is 49'^) must, from the context, have been in the extreme south or east of the known world. In the south. Sin [Pelusiiun, Ezk 30'°'-) and Syene (Ezk 29'" 30") have been suggested (the former by Saadya, Bochart, and Ewald ; the latter by ChejTie [In'trod. to Li. 275, and in SHOT], who would read D'ii;, with J. D. Michaelis, Klostermann, Marti), but these places are perhaps too near. "The LXX favours the view that a country in the east was intended, and modern commentators have identified Sinim with China, the land of the Sinae. The name Tsin was known as early as the 12th cent. B.C. ; and it was not improbably familiar to the Phienicians. There was a trade, at a very early date, between the extreme east and southern Arabia and the Persian Gulf. This interpretation of the name i!inim as referring to China, which was first suggested by Gesenius, is strongly opposed by Dilliu. (Jesaja, ad he), Duhm, and Rit-lithofen {China, i. 436f., 504). Dillm. e.g. points out that no Israelites could have been in China at the time of this prophecy, that we should expect d':'s not…
Smith's Bible Dictionary on Sinim
a people noticed in (Isaiah 49:12) as living at the extremity of the known world. They may be identified with the classical Sinoe, the inhabitants of the southern part of China.
References
- Orr, J. (ed.) (1915) The International Standard Bible Encyclopedia. Chicago: Howard-Severance Company. [Public Domain]
- Easton, M.G. (1893) Easton's Bible Dictionary. 3rd edn. Thomas Nelson. [Public Domain]
- Nave, O.J. (1897) Nave's Topical Bible. Topical Bible Publishing Co.. [Public Domain]
- Hastings, J. (ed.) (1909) A Dictionary of the Bible. Edinburgh: T&T Clark. [Public Domain]
- Smith, W. (ed.) (1884) Smith's Bible Dictionary. London: John Murray. [Public Domain]
- Fausset, A.R. (1878) Fausset's Bible Dictionary. [Public Domain]A Critical and Expository Bible Cyclopaedia