In Genesis, what was Noah’s eldest son called?

In Genesis, Noah’s eldest son was called Shem.

Genesis names Noah’s three sons as Shem, Ham, and Japheth. Shem is listed first in the biblical account, although the text does not explicitly use the phrase “eldest son” in every passage, and some chronology discussions interpret the order differently.

Shem is especially important in biblical genealogies because Genesis 10 traces several peoples through his descendants. Genesis 11 then follows his line to Terah and Abraham, making Shem an ancestor within the biblical genealogy of the Israelites.

A common mix-up is confusing Shem with Noah’s father, Lamech, or with Shem’s brother Japheth. Later Jewish, Christian, and Islamic traditions also discuss Shem, but details beyond Genesis vary among sources and are not all part of the Ark narrative itself.