Shinab is a name found in the King James Bible, appearing 1 time in the text.
Who This Was
Shinab was the king of Admah, one of the five cities of the plain that appear in the opening verses of Genesis 14. He is named only once in all of Scripture, in a single verse that lists the kings who went to war against Chedorlaomer and his allies. Admah was one of the cities later associated with Sodom and Gomorrah in the region around the Dead Sea, though the text here gives us no further description of Shinab’s city or his reign.
The setting is a period of conflict between rival coalitions of kings. Genesis 14:2 records that the kings of Sodom, Gomorrah, Admah, Zeboiim, and Bela (that is, Zoar) “made war with” Chedorlaomer and the kings who were with him. Shinab is listed alongside Bera king of Sodom, Birsha king of Gomorrah, Shemeber king of Zeboiim, and the unnamed king of Bela. These five kings joined forces against a stronger Mesopotamian coalition that had dominated the region for twelve years.
What Scripture says of Shinab is minimal and entirely contained in that one verse. He is identified by name, by title, and by his city, and he is shown taking part in a united military effort against a common enemy. The text does not record his motives, his speech, or his fate. The passage simply places him among the kings who “made war,” leaving the outcome of that campaign to the verses that follow, where the five kings are defeated and the cities of the plain are plundered.
The Name
The name Shinab is a Hebrew name of uncertain meaning. It is not one of the better-attested names in Scripture, and no widely accepted etymology is firmly established. Some have suggested a possible connection to a root meaning “to shine” or to a word for a tooth or ivory, but these proposals are speculative and not clearly recoverable from the biblical text itself. Because the meaning is not well established, it is best to say so plainly rather than assign a meaning that the evidence does not support.
A Closing Thought
Shinab appears in Scripture in a single line, a king named among kings, remembered only as one who joined a coalition and went to war. Most of us will live lives that seem, by the world’s measure, just as briefly noted. Yet even a single verse in the Word of God is not an accident. Shinab’s name was written down and preserved for thousands of years. There is comfort in that: God does not forget the small and the obscure. Our lives may never fill chapters, but they are still held in the hand of the One who numbers even the hairs of our heads.
At a Glance
- Gender: Male
- Testament: Old
- Mentions in the KJV: 1
Where It Appears in Scripture
- Genesis 14:2 — That these made war with Bera king of Sodom, and with Birsha king of Gomorrah, Shinab king of Admah, and Shemeber king of Zeboiim, and the king of Bela, which is Zoar.