Biblical Hebrew Forum

[JimStinehart AT aol.com]

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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