Misplaced Pages

Revision as of 01:31, 24 January 2007

Shem (שֵׁם "renown; prosperity; name", Standard Hebrew Šem, Tiberian Hebrew Šēm; Greek Σημ, Sēm; Arabic سام) was one of the sons of Noah in the Bible. He is most popularly regarded as the eldest son, though some traditions regard him as the second son. Genesis 10:21 refers to relative ages of Shem and his brother Japheth, but with sufficient ambiguity in each to have yielded different translations. The verse is translated in the KJV as "Unto Shem also, the father of all the children of Eber, the brother of Japheth the elder, even to him were children born.". However, the New American Standard Bible gives, "Also to Shem, the father of all the children of Eber, and the older brother of Japheth, children were born."

Genesis 11:10 records that Shem was 100 years old at the birth of to Arpachshad two years after the flood, making him 98 at the time of the flood; and that he lived for another 500 years after this, making his age at death 600 years which would suggest that Shem was still alive when Isaac was born.

The children of Shem were Elam, Asshur, Aram, Arpachshad and Lud, in addition to daughters. Abraham, the patriach to Jews, was one of the descendent of Shem.

Shem was the progenitor of the south-western nations of Asia, being the father of Elam (Persia), Ashur (Assyria), Arpachshad or Arpachaxad (according to Josephus, Chaldea), from whom descended the Hebrews and Arabs, Lud (Lydia) and Aram (Syria).

Terms like "Shemites" and "sons" of an eponymous "father" in general, are not supported outside of religious studies by modern historical scholarship. In the Ancient Near East (and in the Aegean), the earliest attempts at arriving at an ethnology that would explain the contemporary sense that there were relative similarities and differences among neighboring or distant tribes, was expressed in terms of genealogy; an approach reflected in terms like "Semite" and "Hamite". Neither "Semite" nor "Hamite" are broadly used now, and are sometimes perceived as offensive, because of their "racial" connotations.

However, the adjectival forms "Semitic" and "Hamitic," are more accepted, though the vague term 'Hamitic' dropped out of mainstream academic use in the 1960s. "Semitic" remains an indispensable technical term for, in particular, the Semitic languages, as a subset of the Afro-Asiatic languages, which show the common linguistic heritage of Hebrew, Arabic, Aramaic, Phoenician, Akkadian, and Ethiopic languages.

Semitic is also used in the fixed phrase "anti-Semitic" to refer to racial, ethnic or cultural prejudice exclusively aiming Jews.

According to some Jewish traditions (E.g., B. Talmud Nedarim 32b; Genesis Rabbah 46:7; Genesis Rabbah 56:10; Leviticus Rabbah 25:6; Numbers Rabbah 4:8.), Shem is believed to have been Melchizedek, King of Salem whom Abraham is recorded to have met after the battle of the four kings.

Shem is mentioned in Genesis 5:32, 6:10; 7:13; 9:18,23,26-27; 10; 11:10; also in 1 Chronicles 1:4.

Genealogies according to "Book of Jasher"

A book claiming to be the lost "Book of Jasher" that appeared around 1625, and is widely regarded as a forgery, provides some names not found in any other source. Some have reconstructed more complete genealogies based on this information as follows:

Shem. Also Sem. Literal meanings are named or renown (father of the Semitic races - Shemites). The sons of Shem were:

• Elam "eternity" (sons were Shushan, Machul and Harmon) - (Elamites)

• Asshur "a step" or "strong" (sons were Mirus and Mokil) - (Assyrians and Northern Iraqis);

• Arphaxad "I shall fail" (sons were Shelach, Anar and Ashcol) - (Chaldeans, Southern Iraqis, Hebrews, Israelites, Jews, Arabians, Bedouins, Moabites, Jordanians, Palestinians, and related groups);

• Lud "strife" (sons were Pethor and Bizayon) - (Ludim, Lubim, Ludians, Ludu, Lydians, Chubs, Berbers, and other related groups in Asia Minor and North Africa);

• Aram "exalted" (sons were Uz, Chul, Gather and Mash) - (Aramaeans, Syrians, Lebanese, other related groups), and remnant groups throughout Asia, the Middle East, and North Africa.

See also

• Sons of Noah
• Wives aboard the Ark
• Subarians
• Finnegans Wake

• City founders
• Major Torah figures
• Mandaen prophets