Editing Shem (section)

{{short description|Biblical figure, son of Noah}}
{{other uses}}
{{Infobox person
| name               = Shem
| alt                = 
| image              = Shem02.jpg
| caption            = Portrait from ''[[Promptuarium Iconum Insigniorum]]'' (1553) by [[Guillaume Rouillé]]
| birth_date         = 
| birth_place        = 
| death_date         = 
| death_place        = 
| nationality        = 
| other_names        = 
| known_for          = 
| occupation         = 
| parents            = 
| family             = [[Japheth]] and [[Ham (son of Noah)|Ham]] (brothers)
| father             = [[Noah]]
| children           = [[Elam, son of Shem|Elam]]<br />[[Ashur (Bible)|Ashur]]<br />[[Arphaxad]]<br />[[Lud, son of Shem|Lud]]<br />[[Aram, son of Shem|Aram]]
}}
[[File:Shem, Ham and Japheth.jpg|thumb|''Shem, [[Ham (son of Noah)|Ham]] and [[Japheth]]'' by [[James Tissot]] {{ca}} 1900. Shem is on the far right with stereotypically Asian features.]]

'''Shem''' ({{IPAc-en|ʃ|ɛ|m}}; {{langx|he|שֵׁם}} ''Šēm''; {{langx|ar|سَام|Sām}}){{Efn|{{langx|el|Σήμ}} ''Sḗm''; [[Ge'ez language|Ge'ez]]: ሴም, ''Sēm''}} is one of the [[sons of Noah]] in the [[Bible]] ([[Book of Genesis|Genesis]] 5–11<ref>Genesis 5:32, 6:10; 7:13; 9:18, 23, 26–27; 10; 11:10</ref> and [[1 Chronicles]] 1:4). 

The children of Shem are [[Elam (Hebrew Bible)|Elam]], [[Ashur (Bible)|Ashur]], [[Arpachshad|Arphaxad]], [[Lud, son of Shem|Lud]] and [[Aram, son of Shem|Aram]], in addition to unnamed daughters. [[Abraham]], the patriarch of [[Jews]], [[Christians]], and [[Muslims]], is one of the descendants of Arphaxad.

In [[Middle Ages|medieval]] and [[Early modern Europe|early modern European]] tradition he was considered to be the ancestor of the [[peoples of Asia]],<ref name="Medieval 1983, pp. 375-90">{{cite journal |last=Reynolds |first=Susan |author-link=Susan Reynolds |date=October 1983 |title=Medieval ''Origines Gentium'' and the Community of the Realm |journal=[[History (journal)|History]] |location=[[Chichester|Chichester, West Sussex]] |publisher=[[Wiley-Blackwell]] |volume=68 |issue=224 |pages=375–390 |doi=10.1111/j.1468-229X.1983.tb02193.x |jstor=24417596}}</ref><ref name="Ivane Javakhishvili 1950, pp. 130">[[Ivane Javakhishvili|Javakhishvili, Ivane]] (1950), ''Historical-Ethnological problems of Georgia, the Caucasus and the Near East''. [[Tbilisi]], pp. 130–135 (in [[Georgian language|Georgian]]).</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Kidd |first=Colin |author-link=Colin Kidd |year=2004 |orig-date=1999 |title=British Identities Before Nationalism: Ethnicity and Nationhood in the Atlantic World, 1600-1800 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=I2EIlJISeUMC&pg=PA28 |location=[[Cambridge]] |publisher=[[Cambridge University Press]] |isbn=0-521-62403-7 |pages=28–31}}</ref> and he gives his name to the title "[[Semites]]" formerly given to West Asian peoples.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.myjewishlearning.com/article/who-are-the-semites/|title=Who Are the Semites?}}</ref>

Islamic literature describes Shem as one of the believing sons of [[Noah]]. Some sources even identify Shem as a prophet in his own right and that he was the next prophet after his father.<ref>Scott B. Noegel and Brannon M. Wheeler (2002). "Shem". In the ''Historical Dictionary of Prophets in Islam and Judaism''. p. 301</ref> 
[[File:Josephustable 3.svg|thumb|Geographic identifications for the Sons of Noah ([[Flavius Josephus]], {{circa|100 AD}}); Shem's sons are in green.]]