Sinim

south country,

Sinim

a people noticed in (Isaiah 49:12) as living at the extremity of the known world. They may be identified with the classical Sinoe , the inhabitants of the southern part of China.

Sinim

Isaiah 49:12, a people very remote from the Holy Land, towards the east or south; generally believed to mean the Chinese, who have been known to Western Asia from early times, and are called by the Arabs Sin, and by the Syrians Tsini.

SINIM, LAND OF

si'-nim, sin'-im ('erets cinim; ge Person): The name occurs in Isaiah's prophecy of the return of the people from distant lands: "Lo, these shall come from far; and, lo, these from the north and from the west; and these from the land of Sinim" (Isaiah 49:12). The land is clearly far off, and it must be sought either in the South or in the East. Septuagint points to an eastern country. Many scholars have favored identification with China, the classical Sinae. It seems improbable that Jews had already found their way to China; but from very early times trade relations were established with the Far East by way of Arabia and the Persian Gulf; and the name may have been used by the prophet simply as suggesting extreme remoteness. Against, this view are Dillmann (Commentary on Isaiah), Duhm, Cheyne and others. Some have suggested places in the South: e.g. Sin (Pelusium, Ezekiel 30:15) and Syene (Cheyne, Introduction to Isaiah, 275). But these seem to be too near. In harmony with his reconstruction of Biblical history, Cheyne finally concludes that the reference here is to the return from a captivity in North Arabia (EB, under the word). While no certain decision is possible, probability points to the East, and China cannot be quite ruled out. See article "China," Encyclopedia Brittanica (11th edition), 188b.

W. Ewing

Sinim, The land of

(Isaiah 49:12), supposed by some to mean China, but more probably Phoenicia (Genesis 10:17) is intended.

5515. Sinim -- inhab. of unc. location
... << 5514, 5515. Sinim. 5516 >>. inhab. of unc. location. Transliteration: Sinim Phonetic
Spelling: (see-neem') Short Definition: Sinim. Word Origin of uncertainder ...
/hebrew/5515.htm - 5k

5482b. Sevenim -- Sevenim
... << 5482a, 5482b. Sevenim. 5483 >>. Sevenim. Transliteration: Sevenim Short Definition:
a. Word Origin another reading for Sinim, qv. << 5482a, 5482b. Sevenim. 5483 ...
/hebrew/5482b.htm - 5k