In Genesis, Shem is listed as Noah’s eldest named son.
Genesis 5:32 names Shem, Ham, and Japheth as Noah’s sons, and Genesis 10 develops their family lines after the flood. Shem is especially prominent in biblical genealogy because Genesis traces a line from him through Arpachshad to later patriarchs.
The phrase “eldest” can cause confusion because different translations and readings of Genesis 10:21 discuss Shem’s relationship to Japheth in slightly different ways. The traditional ordering of the names, together with later chronology, commonly identifies Shem as the first-listed and eldest son.
Shem is also the source of the biblical term “Semite,” though modern linguistic and historical uses of “Semitic” refer to a language family and related cultural classifications, not simply to one individual’s descendants.