Isaiah 49:12

From far. From all lands the exiles of Israel would return to their homeland, and from the ends of the earth men would come to the true light (see on v. 11; see ch. 56:6-8).

Sinim. A land apparently to either the south or the east of Judah, as the north and west have already been mentioned, and probably very distant. Of the various attempts made to identify the “land of Sinim,” none are conclusive. The traditional interpretation, that it refers to China, is based on a supposed similarity between the Heb. Sinim, “Sinim,” and Ch’in, a dynasty that ruled China during the latter part of the 3d century B.C. In very early times China had commercial contacts with countries to the west. Porcelain with Chinese inscriptions has been found at ancient Thebes in Egypt. Persian Jews seem also to have had dealings with silk merchants from China. There is, however, no evidence for the use of either Sinim or Ch’in as a designation for China until centuries after the time of Isaiah. Because of this lack of historical evidence for China as the land designated, some scholars have suggested the reading Sewen[im], or Syene (Aswan) in Upper Egypt. Aramaic usage tends to confirm this suggestion. Dead Sea scroll 1QIs reads Sewenyyim, which also apparently favors the identification with Syene. The LXX reads “Persia.” Other proposed identifications are Sinai, in the Wilderness of Sin (Ex. 16:1), Phoenicia, and the northern Arabian Desert.