Shinab (Hastings' Dictionary)

The king of Admah who was attacked bj- Chedorlaomer and his allies (Gn 14-). The name has been supposed (cf. Frd. Delitzsch, Parcidia; 294) to be the same as that of Sanibu who is mentioned by Tiglath- pileser III. as king of Ammon. The reading, how- ever, is quite uncertain, the LXX form havmg the support also of the Sam. ittia, SHINAR i^-j-.v; LXX Zcvv<xdp,Y, ^e^adp Gn 14'; 7^ —it'adp [Thcod. ~cyi'a.dp] Dn 1- ; Sennanr).

— The name given, in the OT, to the country known as Babylonia, elsewhere called Babel or land of Babel ('ires Babel), from the name of its chief city. In Gn 10'° it is described as the district in which were situated the four great cities of Babylonia, namely.

Babel, Erech, Accad, and Calneh, whi^h were tlie beginning of Nimrod's kingdom, and in Gn 11- it is spoken of as a place where there was a plain, wherein early migrants in the east settled, founded the city Babel or Babylon, and built a tower, afterwards known as ' the Tower of Babel.' In Is 11" the Heb. Shin'ar is rendered bj' the LXX as ' Babylonia,' and in Zee 5" by ' the land of Babylon,' thus showing that the two terms were practically synonymous.

To all appearance EUasar or Larsa, and the district of which it was capital, does not seem to have been included in this term (Gn 14'- '). In Syriac Sen'ar was used of the country around Baghdad (Ges. s.v.) The most common explanation of the word Shinar is, that it is derived from an earlier form of the Babylonian ,iunier,jBi dialectic form of an as yet unfound non-Semitic Senger, just as dimmer is the dialectic form of the non-Semitic dingir, ' god.'

It cannot be said, however, that this explanation, plausible as it seems to be, is entirely^satisfactory. Jensen objects (ZKSF ii. 419) that Sumer stands for south Babylonia, whilst Shinar, on the con- trary, indicates the north, and he puts forward for consideration, whether Tindir, the name of the city of Babjlon as the ' Seat of Life,' may not go back to an original form Singar (Singir), comparing, for the interchange between d and g, agar and its dialectic form adar.

Like most of Jensen's pro- posals, this is .suggestive, but at the same time Iiardly convincing. Hommel, in the art. Baby- lonia (vol. i. p. 224''), derives Shinar from A'i- Iingir through the intermediate forms Shingar, Shtimir ( = Sunier), and Shimir, Ki-Im"ir being an older form of Ki-Ingi, ' the region of Ingi,' wiiich was rendered Sumer by the Semitic Babj'lonians. It will thus be seen that he does not recoRnizc the force of Jensen's objection with regard to the geographical position.

One thing, liowever, is certain, and that is, that the Heb. Shinar to all appearance ro|)resents the whole of Babylonia, exceptmg the district of which Larsa was the capital (see above). This being the case, it corresponds with the Kingi-Uraof the non- Semitic texts, which is translated in the bilingual inscriptions by the expression ' Sumer and Akkad ' — that is to say, not only N. Babylonia, but S. Babylonia also.

The question, therefore, naturally arises, whether a modili(-ation of Ilommel's theory would not furnish the best explanation. That « changed, in the non-Semitic idiom, into i, is proved by the post-position for ' to,' which was pronounced either /.:« or i«. This would produce the torui iiingi- Ura, from which the Heb. Shin'ar {Siiiar) might easily have been derived.* It is noteworthy that, from the geographical point of view, such an ex- planation of the word would leave nothing to be desired.

The latest or one of the latest identtflcAtions of Shinar ii with 5anJor of the Tel el-Amama tablets (Winckler 25 = London * At least one compound group indicates the possible value ol ii lor the character Ki, whilst two others suggest that ol Mc. 504 SHINAR SniXAR No. 5). This, however, requires much further li^^ht before it can be admitted into the bounds of likely theories.

The only statement with regard to Sanhar made by" the letter in question is a reference to pifts which the kinj^ of IJatti (Heth, the Hittites)aiid the kmg of Saniiar had made to the writer, the king of ^laiia. W. Max Muiler (Aifuni und Europa, p. 279) identifies Sanhar with :iiyyotpx, the modern Sinjar. Sumer, jjeuerally retrarded as the Habylonian orijrinal of Shinar, is usually found coupled with the name of the sister- province Akkad, of which the Accad of (Jn 10i"> was the capital.

As stated ahove, the two provinces toj^ether are called Kingi- Ura in the non-Semitic inscriptions, rendered, in the bilingual texts, by the words mdt hu-ine-ri u Ak-ka~di-i^ 'the land of Sumer and Akk.ad-' The first component of the non-Semitic equivalent, Kitigi (also written Keiiijt\ is explained as jndtu, 'country,' and t/ra as Jkkadu or Akkad. Kiiufi therefore meant 'country ' par exceiteiiee — in fact, in the bilint;ual inscrip- tion of SamaS-sum-ukin (5 R.

62, 40ab), kimji-Ura is translated by the words mdt Akkadi, ' the land of Akkad-* The original language of the country of Shinar was to all appearance non-Semitic, and it is very likely that, as already indicated, the Heb. word in question may be derived from that idiom. It is true that several Assyriologists (notably Halevy, the leader of the school) regard this language as being more or less artificial (see art.

AccAD) ; but that it should be so is hardly likely, the idiom in question (often called Akkadian in England, and generally called Sumerian on the Continent) ditler- mg considerably from Semitic Babylonian, not only in words, but also in grammatical forms. Among the chief differences may be cited tlie use of suttixes instead of preh.xes to express the pre- positions {ea-ni-iu or ea-ni-ku, 'to his house,' lit.

'house-his-to'), the use of long strings of verbal prefixes, suffixes, or infixes (innan-lal for inna-in- lal, ' it he weighed,' gab-indaria, 'he opposed,' lit. 'breast-hini-with-(he)-set'), the use of compound woTiXa (ki-dur, 'seat,' lit. ' place- (of )-sitting,' (lu)- qubbri-igi, ' attendant,' lit. ' (man)-standing-before,' sa-bat, ' sabbath,' lit.

' heart-rest,' ia-hula, ' heart- joy,' and many others), and the numerical system, ■vhich goes up to 5, and then begins a new series, combining the numbers of the first {dS for ia-as, ' live-one ' = ' six,' tmina for ia-mina, 'five-t%vo' = 'seven,' etc.)

The objection that this ancient idiom cannot be a real language, but only a system of writing, because the same or similar words occur in it and in Semitic Babylonian, is easily explained away by the fact that, when two nationalities live together, in close intercourse, words and phrases are extensively borrowed on both sides : and this was certainly the case here.

In support of the contention that there was another race and another language in the land of Shinar than the Semitic, may be cited the fact that tlie oldest sculptures give, to all appearance, examples of a race not possessing the Semitic tj'pe of the later Babj'lonians. but one differing con- siderably from it.

The Semitic inliabitants of Shinar were thick -set and muscular, as the cylinder-seals of Semitic work and the later monu- ments, such as the boundary-stone witli the bas- relief of king Marduk-nadinahi, show. Tlie type of at lea.st one section of the non-Semitic inhabit- ants, on the other hand, was slim and spare, and is illustrated by the bronze statuettes of the time of king f;udea{c. 2700 B.C.)

, representing a kneeling fifpire holding what is generally regardoil as a fire- stick ; the human figures found in bas-rcliofs from Lagas ; and those on a large number of cylinder- seals. It would, moreover, seem tliat the ancient inhabitants of .Sliinar were accustomed to do a thing which the Semites do only under foreign influence, namely, shave the hair from the face and head. This is shown not only by the heads of statues and statuettes from Tel-loh (the ancient Lagas), but al.

so from numerous cylinder -seals and impressions of cylinder -seals of the later Akkadian (or Sumerian) period, in which an olli- cial is represented bein^; introduced to the god whom lie worshipped. The KO<l himself, however. generally wears a beard. Whether they regar led the licads of tlieir divinities as being shaved or not is uncertain, as they are commonly represented wearing hats.

In connexion with this may be mentioned, that the frreab majority of the names of the deities of the Babylonian pantlieoa are non-Semitic, and thisshows what a preponderating inflnenco that part of the population must have had. Indeed the reli'.noui system of the Assyro-lJahyloniaiis was probably to a great e-vtent alien, and the comparatively few Semitic divine names which are found are to all appearance often applied to deities which were at first non-Semitic.

As to the order of precedence of the two races— the non-Semites and the Semites — in occupying the country, we have no certain information.

It is worthy of note, however, tliat Nimrod, the founder of the great cities of the land of Shinar, is represented as a son of Cush (Gn 10*), and that in Gn IP the name Sliinar is spoken of as if it existed before the foundation of Babylon and ita tower, — in other words, botli passages suggest that the non-Semitic occupation of Shinar preceded that of the Semites. This seems also to be confirmed by the indications of the ancient monuments of tlie country.

The fiojures of non-Semitic type, for the most jiart, precede those of the Semitic period in chronological order ; the earliest inscriptions are in the language which the majority of Assyriolo- gists regard as the non-Semitic (Sumerian or Akka- dian) idiom ; the contract-tablets of the dynasty of Ur, called by Radau the fourth, are written in it, as are also, wholly or partlj', numbers of tablets of the dynasty of Babylon (that to which Ham- murabi belonged), though Semitic Babylonian at tliis period begins to take its place.

The Semitic renderings of the early non-Semitic texts are some- times as much of the nature of glosses as of real translations, for they are written, where possible, in the blank spaces left for that purpose between the beginning and the end of the line.j of the original text.* Wlien not arranged thus, the non- Semitic te.xt of these bilingual tablets occupies the first, third, and remaining alternate lines of the inscription, or the left-hand (or first) column.

The early languages of Shinar (Sumerian or Akkadian) are mentioned more than once in the inscriptions of Babj'lonia and Assyria. Thus the tablet S. 1190 is described as containing 'two Sumerian incantations used (seeminglj') for the stUling of a weeping child'; another fragment .«a.ys 'the tongue of Sumer (?

assumed) the likeness (of the tongue) of Ak(kad) ' ; whilst a third informs us that ' Akkad is above, SH(mer below),' but what this refers to is doubtful, — perhaps the position of the tablets of each dialect on tlie library shelves, or in the rooms. The tablet K. 11,856, a fragment which refers to 'the great tablet- house,' states that ' the tongue of Akkad is in the third . .' (?room, space, division).

What these di-sconnected statements refer to in reality will probably for some time be a matter for discussion, but the existence of other languages than Semitic Baby- lonian in Sliinar or ancient Babylonia can no longer be doubted. To the above indications that this was the case may be added the fact that Sumer was called also kura Emc-laha, ' the land of the noble (or pure) tongue,' as well as Kiiigi.

The bilingual lists of Babylonia and Assyria distinguish th« two dialects, but do not mention by what name the standard idiom (probably the older of the two) was known. The other, generally called by modem scholars * the dialect,' is distin- guished in the bilingual lists by the term eine-sala, generally translated ' tongue (of) the woman,' or ' women's tongue,' per- haps so called because it was softer, being more affected by phonetic decay.

The possibility that this refers to women of ft conquered race taken as wives by the conquerors has been sug- gested, but seems unlikely. To all appearance the non-Semitic idiom and it* • The tablet inscribed with the bilingual story of the Creation is written almost wholly in this way, and haa therefore th« appearance of a text in three columns.

SHIOX dialect pave way to Semitic Babylonian about tlie time of the dynasty to which Oaiuniurabi belonged, but when it linally ceased to be spoken is not known. Compositions were probabf}- made in it from time to time until a very late date. This is shown by the existence of a i)ilinf;ual hymn con- taining tlie name of As.5ur -bani, apli or Assur- bani))al, though the text bears the appearance of an ancient composition into which that king's name has been introduced.

His brother Samas- sum-uktn (Saosduchinos), king of Babylonia, how- ever, seems to have had original com|iositions in this olil language made for him, as in tlie case of the text referred to above (5 R. pi. 62). It is noteworthy that all these late inscriptions, made when the non-Semitic idiom was a dead language, are in the 'dialect.' There is not much doubt that Semitic Babylonian was the language of tlie country from aliout B.C.

2000 onwards, and con- tinued in use until about the Christian era. Besides the archaic historical inscri|)tions, of which the best examples come from the French excavations at Tel-loh ; the brick-inscriptions, of which most really ancient Babj'loiiian sites furnish many examples ; and numerous short inscrijitions on cylinder-seals, the bulk of the non, Semitic literature of Shinar consists of incantations, lij'mns, and penitential psalms.

Several interest- ing but fragmentary liistorical inscriptions exist (accompanied by translations into the Semitic idiom), together with the remains of a chrono- logical text supposed to be that made use of by Berosua in his nistory. It is also worthy of note that several fragments of a glossary of the Semitic story of the Creation (art. Bahvlonia, vol. i. p. 2io'>, and NuiKOD, vol. iii. p.

523»), or the story of Bel and the Dragon, imply that tliat composi- tion existed in the old language of Shinar, and that it was a ' dialectic ' text. Classified lists of words, ^vithout Semitic translation, are also found. In all probability, however, many other inscrip- tions known only in their Semitic dress are really of non-Semitic origin. For an account of these, as also for a descriiition of the country, its historj', etc, see the article Babylonia. LnTRATCRR.

— Radau, Early Babylonuzn ffUtftrtf ; Lenor- manl, f:iuda Accafli'-nnft, U. 3, p. 70; Schnider, KAT^ llSlt., AViViiwcAr. u. Qe^cUicktgforgchuiyj , 2^, 533; Weistibach, jiur Lofuitfj der Sumfriscften Fra^f, Lcijizij;, 1897 ; Piiicbes, * Lun- ffua^cs of the Early Inhabitant'^ of .Mesopotamia' in J HAS, 1S84, p. 301 a., 'Sumerian or Cr}n>toi,'raiili.v,' ilt. 1900, p. 7511., iiZ, 344, 651, 652 ; and the works mentioned at the end of the urticles Accad and Babtlonu. X. G. PINCHES.

8HI0N (i^KT' ; B Z^wvi, A Setrfv ; Seon).—A town of l.ss.icliar (.Jos 19") mentioned between Hapha- raim and Anaharath. Eusebiusand Jerome (Oywm.) place it near Mount Tabor, (ts identilication by Eli Smith with 'Ayiin es/i-S/iatn, about 3 miles east of Nazareth, has been verv generally accepted. ' C. W. Wilson. SHIPHI Ci-C^ ; B Sa^dX, A IZiixlf, Luc. 2u0«i). — A Sinieonite prince, 1 Ch 4" '*"'.