Who was Shem in the Bible?

Eldest son of Noah and one of the three heads of mankind after the flood. Shem is specially blessed: "Blessed be Jehovah, the God of Shem, and Canaan shall be his servant. God shall enlarge Japheth, and he shall dwell in the tents of Shem." Gen. 9:26-27. This was verified by Jehovah being the God of the descendants of Shem through Abraham; the sons of Japheth (Gentiles) came into the tents for blessing.

Ham (black) is not mentioned in the curse, but the son of Ham, Canaan (the merchantman). Ham's deed revealed the unbelieving condition of his heart, while Shem's and Japheth's action manifest divine grace in covering up the nakedness. God's eye beheld Canaan and his subsequent career in his descendants. He inherits the curse. How literally it was carried out! Shem, meaning "name," becomes the family in which Jehovah, the Name, is to be revealed. Jehovah is the God of Shem. Soon we shall see a son of Shem, Abram, and his seed becoming the depository of Jehovah's revelation. Later Jehovah speaks and reveals His name by which He wishes to be known forever to another son of Shem, Moses. "Thus shalt thou say unto the children of Israel, Jehovah, the God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob hath sent me unto you; this is my name forever, and this is my memorial unto all generations" (Ex. 3:15). He does not call Himself "the God of Japheth" but "the God of Shem." Shem's supremacy is here indicated. It is a far-reaching prophecy. Japheth means "expansion." His sons are Gomer, Magog, Madai, Javan, Tubal, Meshech, Tiras, and the sons of Gomer and Javan are mentioned in the next chapter. They expanded and Japheth dwells in the tents of Shem, partakes of Shem's blessing and responsibility. Some take "He shall dwell in the tents of Shem," the "he" as referring to God, but this is incorrect. It means Japheth and reminds us of the parable of the olive tree in Romans 11. Shem's blessing consisted (1) In being the carrier of the Name, Jehovah. (2) In controlling Canaan and being the master over him. (3) The giving shelter to Japheth and let him be sharer of the blessing. It is the germ of all following prophecy and we wait still for its end fulfilment.

When we reach Noah, the tenth from Adam, the history again expands. To begin with, his father Lamech at his birth named him with prophetic insight. He acknowledged that the earth was under the curse of God and anticipated that his son would bring rest or comfort. This he did by building the ark at the command of God, thus carrying a few, that is, eight souls, into a new world. He lived apparently to the great age of 500 years before begetting his three sons, Shem, Ham, and Japheth. Shem is mentioned first, not because he was the oldest but because his was the line in which faith was preserved. He was apparently the second son, for Ham is called the "younger son" (Genesis 9:24), and Japheth is called "the elder" (Genesis 10:21).

The moral point at the end of chapter 9 is that the blessing given him is abused to destroy all his competency to govern. Noah gets drunk: this is not exercising authority. Afterwards comes in the wickedness of Ham; and then "blessed be the Lord God of Shem, and Canaan shall be his servant." In contrast with this He cursed Ham in Canaan, that is, in his family. Everything went by families now. Shem was the root of God's family, with the name of Jehovah even then attached to. it, whose lot it would be to judge the races of Canaan and to take their place.

89 In verse 27 the "he" is Japheth, who "shall dwell in the tents of Shem," and Canaan shall be Japheth's servant as well as Shem's.

The family of Japheth pushed out far and wide, and did dwell in the tents of Shem.

Shem, among the sons of Noah, was the sacred branch. Religion was connected with him rather than with his brothers, and from him came the separated people.

Jehovah connects His name with Shem (Gen. 9:26); from him the Seed should come.

This weakness also leads to another evil, as we see in Ham, the son of Noah. He showed serious disrespect for his father. Instead of covering Him when he saw him uncovered, he went and told his two brothers (v. 22). This is the evil of despising government, which has become most prevalent in the day in which we live (Jude 8). Though governments often fail sadly, this gives us no right to reject or disobey proper authority (Rom. 13:1-7).

Ham's brothers, Shem and Japheth, at least showed the respect that was due to their parent, by going backwards into the tent and covering their father. Whether it is a question of parental authority or of governmental authority, the same principle holds true, proper respect will seek to cover failure rather than to expose it. But it must be emphasized that this is in cases of failure, not in cases of wicked abuse of authority. Even in such cases, however, a believer is not given permission by God to fight against government.

When Noah awoke he knew that Ham had shown this disrespect toward him, though we are not told how he found out (v. 24). Then he pronounced a curse, not upon Him, but upon his son Canaan. It may be that this would hurt Ham more than if the curse had been on him. Canaan would be “a servant of servants” to his brethren. How far this curse would extend to Canaan's children we do not know. But Shem was blessed, or rather, the Lord God of Shem was blessed (v. 26). Of course we know that Israel came from Shem. From Shem have come the more introspective, contemplative races which tend toward mysticism, if not kept in check. Japheth is the father of the energetic, practical races whose tendency is materialistic. If both are controlled and kept in proper balance, all would be well, but it has not been so. God would enlarge Japheth, and it is true that the white races have multiplied greatly on earth. Japheth would dwell in the tents of Shem. His practical energy was not enough. He would need a dwelling of contemplative faith too. This may also have reference to the present age of grace, when Israel had rejected their Messiah and the Gentiles are “grafted in” to Israel's stock, virtually dwelling in Israel's tents until Israel is restored. In both cases Canaan would be their servant.

For a clear and concise explanation of the origin of the many different nations of the earth men search in vain among the ancient records of Nineveh, Babylon, and Egypt. The inspired record given in Gen. 10 stands alone in its very simple, clear, and accurate account of a matter, which, but for the information therein supplied, would to this day have remained an unsolved problem. (That many of these nations will take a prominent position in the ratter day, and be visited with swift judgments, is clear from Ezek. 38) Gen. 10:25 tells us exactly when that division of the earth amongst the nations took place; as Deut. 32:8 explains the purpose the Most High had in view in separating the sons of Adam. One remarkable fact (Gen. 11:10-26) disclosed is the longevity of Shem, who out-lived quite a number of generations of his own descendants; which in its turn discloses God's gracious purpose in his very long life. Eye-witness of the flood, and honoured saint of God (Gen. 9:26), he lived to bear witness to very many of the things which he had himself seen and heard. How the heart of Shem must have grieved when not only the sons of Ham and Japheth, but his own children, declined to gross idolatry (Joshua 24:2)! He was living at the time when God called Abram. The sons of Ishmael(Gen. 25:12-16), and the sons of Esau (Gen. 36) became great, numerous, and opulent, while as yet the chosen seed of Israel were born into adversity and bitter bondage. Both families are briefly mentioned in 1 Chron. 1 but the Spirit of God proceeds no farther in the register. Henceforth their posterity are not written with the righteous.

The races which sprang from Shem come before us in the last place. This is quite independent of the respective ages of Noah's three sons. Ham, we know, is declared to be "the little" one (Gen. 9:24), — generally translated "youngest"; and chronology shows that not Shem but Japheth was the eldest. Accordingly Leeser joins Mendelssohn in the rendering of the A.V. and the margin (not the text) of the R.V. The first place assigned to Shem, in the usual formula of "Shem, Ham, and Japheth," is due not to the order of birth, but to the spiritual purpose which gave Shem that position (Gen. 5:32, Gen. 6:10, Gen. 7:13, Gen. 9:18, Gen. 10:1). When, however, "the generations" are given in detail, Japheth's sons are enumerated first; and a similar order prevails in 1 Chron. 1. If primogeniture here in Japheth had its honour, if precocity in his rising to political place and natural power is recognised in Ham, for Shem was reserved, though named last, the honour Godward. "And to Shem also were [sons] born: he [was] father of all the sons of Eber, brother of Japheth the elder" (ver. 21).

Undoubtedly the manner of Shem's introduction is so peculiar as to arrest attention. He had descendants like the other chiefs derived from Noah. But he is specified, on the one hand as the father of all the sons of Eber, and on the other as the brother of Japheth the elder (or, great one). Of the latter enough has been said; but we may compare Gen. 14:13, "Abram the Hebrew," in order to understand better what seems meant. And here the LXX give περάτης, "the passer," as Aquila has ὁ περαΐτης. This at least gives a distinctive stamp, where as only tradition does it to Eber personally.

In Genesis 6:10, we find the names of Noah’s sons, Shem, Ham and Japheth, and turning to Genesis 10:1 and 1 Chronicles 1:4, we find in each chapter the same names in the same order; yet in the light of Genesis 9:24 and 10:21, we gather that the actual order of their birth was Japheth, Shem and Ham. Shem being, however, the one specially chosen in the sovereignty of God, his name is placed first.