Hebrew
Šinʿār is equivalent to the Egyptian
Sngr and Hittite
Šanḫar(a), all referring to southern Mesopotamia. Some Assyriologists considered
Šinʿār a western variant or cognate of
Šumer (
Sumer), with their original being the Sumerians' own name for their country,
ki-en-gi(-r), but this is "beset with philological difficulties". Another hypothesis derives the name from a
Kassite tribe known as the
Šamharu, whose name would have been later used for
Babylonia in general. Sayce (1895) identified
Shinar as cognate with the following names:
Sangara/
Sangar mentioned in the context of the Asiatic conquests of
Thutmose III (15th century BC);
Sanhar/
Sankhar of the
Amarna letters (14th century BC); the Greeks'
Singara; and modern
Sinjar, in
Upper Mesopotamia, near the
Khabur River. Accordingly, he proposed that Shinar was in Upper Mesopotamia, but acknowledged that the Bible gives important evidence that it was in the south. Albright (1924) suggested identification with the
Kingdom of Ḫana. ==Hebrew Bible==