Interesting Facts

• Sina’ar is identified solely as the father of Lomna, who married Peleg. No further details about him are provided.
• The land of Shinar is where the ambitious project of building the Tower of Babel was initiated.
• It is stated that during the time of the Tower of Babel’s construction in Shinar, all the earth was of one language and one speech.
• Nimrod established the beginning of his kingdom in Shinar, including the cities of Babel, Erech, Accad, and Calneh.
• After the confounding of languages, Nimrod continued to reign in the land of Shinar and built four cities, naming them after the events related to the Tower of Babel.

Genealogy

• Sina’ar: Father of Lomna. Lomna married Peleg. No information is given regarding Sina’ar’s ancestry, birth, or other offspring.
• Land of Shinar: Not a person; therefore, genealogical information is not applicable.

Historical Context

The land of Shinar emerges as a significant geographical location in the narrative following the dispersal of Noah’s descendants. It became the focal point for a renewed effort towards centralized human civilization under the leadership of Nimrod. This period was characterized by a unified language and a collective endeavor to construct a city and a tower reaching into the heavens. This ambition, however, was met with divine intervention, resulting in the confounding of languages and the scattering of the people from Shinar. Despite this major upheaval, Nimrod maintained his dominion in Shinar, consolidating his power and undertaking further construction of cities that commemorated the events of the tower. This context highlights a tension between humanity’s aspirations for unity and dominion and the perceived will of the divine, setting the stage for the subsequent diversification and dispersal of nations from this central location.

Narrative

Sina’ar’s role in the narrative is limited to being the father of Lomna, who married Peleg in the thirty-third jubilee. This connection places Sina’ar within the genealogical timeline leading to the division of the earth, as Peleg’s name signifies this event. While Sina’ar’s personal story is absent, his daughter’s marriage links him to a critical juncture in the post-flood world. The land of Shinar, conversely, plays a more active role as the stage for human ambition and its consequences. Initially, it represents a place of unity and shared purpose under Nimrod, where the vision of a towering city was conceived and executed by a large populace speaking a common tongue. However, this endeavor is portrayed as misguided, leading to divine judgment and the fragmentation of humanity through the introduction of diverse languages. Shinar then transforms into the center of Nimrod’s established kingdom, a testament to his enduring power despite the disruption caused by the Tower of Babel incident. The narrative surrounding Shinar serves as a cautionary tale about the limits of human ambition when it potentially challenges divine will, and it marks a pivotal point in the dispersion and differentiation of human societies as described in the sources.