|
Search over 100 encyclopedias and dictionaries: |
Research categories | Follow us on Twitter |
Research categories
View all topics in the newsView all reference sources at Encyclopedia.com |
|||
Sinai
Sinai , triangular peninsula, c.23,000 sq mi (59,570 sq km), NE Egypt. It is c.230 mi (370 km) long and 150 mi (240 km) wide and extends north into a broad isthmus linking Africa and Asia. Sinai is bounded on the E by the Gulf of Aqaba and on the W by the Gulf of Suez, which is linked to the Mediterranean Sea by the Suez Canal; the Negev desert is to the northeast. Level and sandy in the north, Sinai rises to the south in granitic ridges; Mt. Catherine (Arabic Jabal Katrinah ), c.8,650 ft (2,640 m), is the highest peak. Sharm el Sheikh, or Sharm ash Shaykh, a strategic promontory overlooking the Strait of Tiran, is near the southern tip of Sinai, at the mouth of the Gulf of Aqaba. Sinai has a very hot and dry climate and is sparsely vegetated; abandoned watercourses indicate that the region was once humid. Limestone quarrying and oil drilling are the main economic activities; nomadic herding is practiced. Jabal Musa [Arab.,=mount of Moses], or Mt. Sinai, c.7,500 ft (2,290 m), is said to be the place where Moses received the Ten Commandments; however, some authorities suggest that the site could have been any one of several nearby peaks. On Jabal Musa is the famed Greek Orthodox monastery of St. Catherine, founded c.AD 250; in 1844 the Codex Sinaiticus, one of the oldest manuscripts of the New Testament, was found there. (The manuscripts were purchased from the USSR by the British Museum in 1933, and by 1950 the 3,000 volumes were microfilmed.) In ancient times Sinai was ruled by the Arabs of Petra; however, for most of its history it was under the Egyptian kings, who worked its copper mines. Sinai was the scene of fighting during the Arab-Israeli Wars of 1956, 1967, and 1973. Israel occupied, then withdrew from, the peninsula in 1956. In 1967, Israel again drove the Egyptians from Sinai, establishing a defense line along the Suez Canal and capturing strategic outposts overlooking the Gulf of Aqaba. In the 1973 war, the Egyptian army crossed the Suez Canal and recaptured territory in the Sinai; still, Israel retained control over a large part of it. Under the Camp David accords (1978) and Egyptian-Israeli peace treaty (1979), Israel returned virtually the whole of Sinai back to Egypt; the process was completed in 1982. The remaining border area of Taba, at the tip of the peninsula, was negotiated and relinquished by Israel in the early 1990s. Overall, the Sinai is sparsely populated, although some Bedouins and tourists dwell in the seaboard towns on the Gulf of Aqaba and along the Red Sea. |
|
|
Cite this article
"Sinai." The Columbia Encyclopedia, 6th ed.. 2008. Encyclopedia.com. 10 Feb. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. "Sinai." The Columbia Encyclopedia, 6th ed.. 2008. Encyclopedia.com. (February 10, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1E1-Sinai.html "Sinai." The Columbia Encyclopedia, 6th ed.. 2008. Retrieved February 10, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1E1-Sinai.html |
|
Sinai
Sinai Identified since the 4th cent. CE (but other locations are proposed) as the peninsula which joins Africa and Asia; on the north is the Mediterranean, on the south the Red Sea; much of it is desert, though the area has always managed to support a smallish nomadic population. The Israelites trekked through the wilderness of Sinai when they left the slavery of Egypt. At Mount Sinai, in the south of the peninsula, Moses had witnessed the Burning Bush (Exod. 3: 1–2). It was to this mountain that the Hebrews escaping from Egypt at the Exodus made their way. This was the sacred mountain where Yahweh was believed to dwell, and it was natural that because they associated him with their rescue from slavery they would proceed to Sinai before going on to the promised land of Canaan. At Sinai the people received the Law (Exod. 20–3) and the covenant was ratified. This ‘mountain of God’ is also known in the E and D sources, as Mount Horeb. One modern identification is with the volcanic peak Mount Bedr in N. Arabia—its eruptions would correspond to the cloud and fire (Exod. 19). The mount became so much identified with the revelation to Israel that when Paul discusses the relationship of the new covenant to the old, he makes Sinai in his allegory stand for the old system of Judaism (Gal. 4: 24–5).
|
|
|
Cite this article
W. R. F. BROWNING. "Sinai." A Dictionary of the Bible. 1997. Encyclopedia.com. 10 Feb. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. W. R. F. BROWNING. "Sinai." A Dictionary of the Bible. 1997. Encyclopedia.com. (February 10, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O94-Sinai.html W. R. F. BROWNING. "Sinai." A Dictionary of the Bible. 1997. Retrieved February 10, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O94-Sinai.html |
|
Sinai
Sinai Peninsula constituting a protectorate of Egypt, bounded by the Gulf of Suez and the Suez Canal (w), the Gulf of Aqaba and the Negev Desert of Israel (e), the Mediterranean Sea (n), and the Red Sea (s). It is a barren plateau region, sandy in the n, rising to granite ridges in the s, and still inhabited chiefly by nomads. The peninsula is the site of Jabal Musa (Mount Sinai). It was the scene of fierce fighting in the Arab-Israeli Wars (1956, 1967, 1973). After being occupied by the Israelis in 1967, it was returned to Egypt in 1982. The region divides into two Egyptian governorates of North and South Sinai. Total area: 58,714sq km (22,671sq mi). Pop. (1996) 307,300, all but 54,000 in North Sinai.
|
|
|
Cite this article
"Sinai." World Encyclopedia. 2005. Encyclopedia.com. 10 Feb. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. "Sinai." World Encyclopedia. 2005. Encyclopedia.com. (February 10, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O142-Sinai.html "Sinai." World Encyclopedia. 2005. Retrieved February 10, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O142-Sinai.html |
|
Sinai
Sinai. The mountain in the desert between Egypt and Palestine where the Law was given to Moses (Exod. 19: 1ff.). The region of the traditional Sinai (now Jebel Musa) was an early centre of Christian monasticism; the monastery dedicated to St Catherine of Alexandria claims to have been built on the site to which her body was miraculously transported.
The Church of Sinai is the smallest independent Church of the Orthodox Communion. It is ruled by the ‘Archbishop of Mount Sinai’, who is abbot of the monastery of St Catherine. See also CODEX SINAITICUS. |
|
|
Cite this article
E. A. LIVINGSTONE. "Sinai." The Concise Oxford Dictionary of the Christian Church. 2000. Encyclopedia.com. 10 Feb. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. E. A. LIVINGSTONE. "Sinai." The Concise Oxford Dictionary of the Christian Church. 2000. Encyclopedia.com. (February 10, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O95-Sinai.html E. A. LIVINGSTONE. "Sinai." The Concise Oxford Dictionary of the Christian Church. 2000. Retrieved February 10, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O95-Sinai.html |
|
Sinai
Sinai (Sīnā᾽), Egypt A peninsula and in the south a mountain peak, also known as Mount Horeb. It was here that, according to the Bible (Exodus 20), Moses was given the Ten Commandments and the Tablets of the Law. In Arabic Mount Sinai is called Jabal Mūsā ‘Mountain of Moses’. There are various theories as to the origin of its name: it may come from the Semitic sen ‘tooth’ to describe the shape of the mountain, or from Sin, the moon goddess worshipped by the prehistoric inhabitants of the region.
|
|
|
Cite this article
JOHN EVERETT-HEATH. "Sinai." Concise Dictionary of World Place-Names. 2005. Encyclopedia.com. 10 Feb. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. JOHN EVERETT-HEATH. "Sinai." Concise Dictionary of World Place-Names. 2005. Encyclopedia.com. (February 10, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O209-Sinai.html JOHN EVERETT-HEATH. "Sinai." Concise Dictionary of World Place-Names. 2005. Retrieved February 10, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O209-Sinai.html |
|
Sinai
Sinai
•leylandii • radii • bindi-eye • nuclei
•genii • Sinai • denarii • caducei
•minutiae • sestertii
|
|
|
Cite this article
"Sinai." Oxford Dictionary of Rhymes. 2007. Encyclopedia.com. 10 Feb. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. "Sinai." Oxford Dictionary of Rhymes. 2007. Encyclopedia.com. (February 10, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O233-Sinai.html "Sinai." Oxford Dictionary of Rhymes. 2007. Retrieved February 10, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O233-Sinai.html |
|
Search over 100 encyclopedias and dictionaries:
HighBeam™ Research, Inc. © Copyright 2012. All rights reserved.
The Encyclopedia.com advertising network includes:
