Noach 10:10 · unit 3

TT #68 · Parashas Noach · Sixth Aliyah · Passuk 10:10

The Complete Passuk

…בְּאֶ֖רֶץ שִׁנְעָֽר׃

…in the land of Shinar.

Chabad.org — 10:10

Source Citation

Torah Temimah records an additional etymology (death without lamp or bath).

Sefaria — Yoma 10a

Core Text of Chazal

Core Text
לָמָּה נִקְרָא שְׁמָהּ שִׁנְעָר? שֶׁהֵם מֵתִים בְּתַשְׁנוּק בְּלֹא נֵר וּבְלֹא מֶרְחָץ.

English: Why was it called Shinar? Because they die in choking (or degradation) without a lamp and without a bath (i.e., without the dignities of burial preparation).

Type of Learning

Custom (negative etymology of the land).

What Is Learned

An alternative reading associates Shinar with a form of death lacking the ordinary honors of care for the dead.