In Genesis, Shem is the first son listed among Noah’s family aboard the ark.
Genesis 7:13 names Noah’s sons in the order Shem, Ham, and Japheth when describing their entry into the ark. Genesis 5:32 also lists the same three sons, although the text does not necessarily establish their birth order from every occurrence.
Shem is especially important in the biblical genealogies that follow the flood. Genesis 11 traces a line from Shem to Terah and then to Abram, later known as Abraham. The term “Semitic” was historically derived from Shem’s name, although modern linguistic classification is more complex than that traditional association.
A common mix-up is to answer Japheth because some passages and later traditions discuss him first in other contexts. For the ark-entry list in Genesis 7:13, however, the order begins with Shem, followed by Ham and Japheth.