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  • From: JimStinehart AT aol.com
  • To: b-hebrew AT lists.ibiblio.org
  • Subject: [b-hebrew] "Shinar" at Genesis 14: 1 Is Not "Sumer", Part II
  • Date: Fri, 1 Feb 2008 15:37:22 EST


Now we can conclude our discussion of why “Shinar” means Mt. Lebanon, not
southern Mesopotamia, at Genesis 14: 1..

7. In a different context, “Shinar” could mean Syria, because Sangar was an
important city in eastern Syria. It’s a great pun, contrasting ayin with
archaic ghayin. In a different context, such as later books in the Bible,
Shinar
could mean the land between Mt. Lebanon (Shinar) and Sangar (Shinar again,
but with an archaic ghayin). But not Babylonia, or any part of Kassite
Babylonia.

8. I am delighted you agree that “Shinar” is not “Sumer”, and that the
author of the Patriarchal narratives knew the Kassites, so that “Kasdim”
could
be a reference to the Kassites, instead of an anachronistic reference to the
Chaldeans. In fact, the name of the Kassite ruler of Babylonia in the
mid-14th
century BCE Patriarchal Age started out with the letters KDSM. If one just
inverts the two interior letters, one gets KSDM, or Kasdim.

In a different context, I would be glad to discuss a G/archaic ghayin
sometimes being in “Shinar”, which in other books of the Bible would give a
meaning
of Syria, not southern Babylonia (except in the very late Book of Daniel,
where Shinar means all of both Syria and Mesopotamia).

But here, the context is that the ruler from Shinar has a virgin pure west
Semitic name: Amrapel. That’s the name of Aziru’s most prominent brother!

Given that Amrapel is a virgin pure west Semitic name, “Shinar” in context
means, per Deuteronomy 3: 8-9, Mt. Hermon/Mt. Lebanon/Shenir, in west
Semitic-speaking Lebanon/northern Canaan. You keep dreaming of southern
Mesopotamia,
in order to try to make chapter 14 of Genesis non-historical and nonsensical,
but a virgin pure west Semitic name just won’t fit there. Why not go with
Deuteronomy 3: 8-9? Then everything makes historical sense, in a mid-14th
century
BCE context.

9. Are you now willing to admit that it is child’s play to analyze the name “
Chedorlaomer” in terms of its three constituent Hebrew words, and its three
constituent Ugaritic words? With both “Chedorlaomer” and “Amrapel” making
perfect sense in Hebrew, we’re not talking the predecessor of Persia and a
portion of Kassite Babylonia. No way. We’re talking west Semitic Amurru and
west
Semitic Ugarit.

Why fight the text? West Semitic names mean west Semitic-speaking rulers of
west Semitic countries. There’s no southern Babylonia or its eastern
neighbor
in sight. The pinpoint historical accuracy of chapter 14 of Genesis in
documenting the historical “four kings against the five” is in fact
breathtaking.

Am I starting to get you excited about the Patriarchal narratives? It’s all
straight out of the well-documented secular history of the mid-14th century
BCE. There’s no J, no E, no P, and no D in sight. Those mid-1st millennium
BCE
southern Hebrews knew nothing, and cared less, about these mid-14th century
BCE northern Canaan matters.

Amrapel of Shinar is a clever nickname for Aziru, the iniquitous Amorite of
Amurru in the mid-14th century BCE. All the way, in every way.

Thanks again for clarifying that “Shinar” does not mean “Sumer”, and that
the author of the Patriarchal narratives was well aware of the Kassites. At
least we agree on those two important points. Now if you could only see “
Chedorlaomer” and “Amrapel” as being west Semitic names.

Jim Stinehart
Evanston, Illinois




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  • [b-hebrew] "Shinar" at Genesis 14: 1 Is Not "Sumer", Part II, JimStinehart, 02/01/2008

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