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Shem שֵׁם

Male Early Patriarch H8035 3 books

Noah's son, ancestor of Semitic peoples

Who is Shem in the Bible?

Shem was one of Noah's three sons and the ancestor of the Semitic peoples (Genesis 5:32, 6:10). Along with his wife, he survived the great flood aboard the ark and became one of the three progenitors of the nations that repopulated the earth after the flood (Genesis 7:13, 9:18). Shem fathered the line that led to the Elamites, Assyrians, Arameans, and Hebrews, making him the ancestor of Abraham and ultimately the Israelites (Genesis 10:21-31, 11:10-26). He is also listed in the genealogy of Jesus in the New Testament (Luke 3:36). Shem's significance lies in his role as the patriarch of a major branch of humanity and as a direct ancestor of God's covenant people, the Israelites.

Biography

Shem was one of the three sons of Noah, along with Ham and Japheth (Gen.5.32; 6.10). He and his wife were among the eight people who survived the great flood in the ark (Gen.7.13). After the flood, Shem and his brothers became the ancestors of the nations that repopulated the earth (Gen.9.18,19; 10.1).

Shem was the ancestor of the Semitic peoples, including the Elamites, Assyrians, Arameans, and Hebrews (Gen.10.21-31). He was also the ancestor of Abraham and, therefore, of the Israelites (Gen.11.10-26; 1Ch.1.17-27). In the New Testament, Shem is mentioned in the genealogy of Jesus in Luk.3.36.

Shem and Japheth showed respect for their father by covering his nakedness when he became drunk (Gen.9.23). As a result, Noah blessed Shem, saying, "Blessed be the Lord, the God of Shem" (Gen.9.26). This blessing implied that Shem's descendants would have a special relationship with God. Shem lived for 600 years (Gen.11.10-11).

Family

Parents

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Offspring

In Scripture

3 biblical books ; 2 with study content
Genesis 5 verses
  • Genesis 5:32

    "After Noah was 500 years old, he became the father of Shem, Ham, and Japheth."

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  • Genesis 6:10

    "And Noah had three sons: Shem, Ham, and Japheth."

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  • Genesis 7:13

    "On that very day Noah entered the ark, along with his sons Shem, Ham, and Japheth, and his wife, and the three wives of his sons—"

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  • Genesis 9:18

    "The sons of Noah who came out of the ark were Shem, Ham, and Japheth. And Ham was the father of Canaan."

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  • Genesis 9:23

    "Then Shem and Japheth took a garment and placed it across their shoulders, and walking backward, they covered their father’s nakedness. Their faces were turned away so that they did not see their father’s nakedness."

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1 Chronicles 3 verses
  • 1 Chronicles 1:4

    "The sons of Noah: Shem, Ham, and Japheth."

  • 1 Chronicles 1:17

    "The sons of Shem: Elam, Asshur, Arphaxad, Lud, and Aram. The sons of Aram: Uz, Hul, Gether, and Meshech."

  • 1 Chronicles 1:24

    "So from Shem came Arphaxad, Shelah,"

Luke 1 verse
  • Luke 3:36

    "the son of Cainan, the son of Arphaxad, the son of Shem, the son of Noah, the son of Lamech,"

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Names & Aliases

Form Language Script Transliteration Meaning
Named Hebrew שֵׁם šēm Shem , a son of Noah (often includ. his posterity)
Greek Greek Σήμ — —
Encyclopedia Article

Shem

ISBE 1915 (Public Domain)
Article Contents1 section

ee sons, Shem is always mentioned first (Ge 9:18; 10:1, etc.); and though "the elder" in "Shem the brother of Japheth the elder" (Ge 10:21 margin) is explained as referring to Shem, this is not the rendering of Onkelos. His five sons peopled the greater part of West Asia's finest tracts, from Elam on the East to the Mediterranean on the West. Though generally regarded as meaning "dusky" (compare the Assyr-Babylonian samu--also Ham--possibly = "black," Japheth, "fair"), it is considered possible that Shem may be the usual Hebrew word for "name" (shem), given him because he was the firstborn--a parallel to the Assyr-Babylonian usage, in which "son," "name" (sumu) are synonyms (W. A. Inscriptions, V, plural 23, 11,29-32abc).

2History, and the Nations Descended from Him

Shem, who is called "the father of all the children of Eber," was born when Noah had attained the age of 500 years (Ge 5:32). Though married at the time of the Flood, Shem was then childless. Aided by Japheth, he covered the nakedness of their father, which Ham, the youngest brother, had revealed to them; but unlike the last, Shem and Japheth, in their filial piety, approached their father walking backward, in order not to look upon him. Two years after the Flood, Shem being then 100 years old, his son Arpachshad was born (Ge 11:10), and was followed by further sons and daughters during the remaining 500 years which preceded Shem's death. Noah's prophetic blessing, on awakening from his wine, may be regarded as having been fulfilled in his descendants, who occupied Syria (Aramaic), Palestine (Canaan), Chaldea (Arpachshad), Assyria (Asshur), part of Persia (Elam), and Arabia (Joktan). In the first three of these, as well as in Elam, Canaanites had settled (if not in the other districts mentioned), but Shemites ruled, at some time or other, over the Canaanites, and Canaan thus became "his servant" (Ge 9:25,26). The tablets found in Cappadocia seem to show that Shemites (Assyrians) had settled in that district also, but this was apparently an unimportant colony. Though designated sons of Shem, some of his descendants (e.g. the Elamites) did not speak a Semitic language, while other nationalities, not his descendants (e.g. the Canaanites), did.

See HAM; JAPHETH; TABLE OF NATIONS.

T. G. Pinches

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