In Genesis, Shem is the first of Noah’s three named sons. Genesis 5:32 names Shem, Ham, and Japheth, and Genesis 7:13 says Noah entered the ark with his wife, his sons, and their wives.
Shem receives particular attention in the genealogies that follow the Flood. Genesis 10 traces descendants through Noah’s sons, and Genesis 11 continues the line from Shem toward Abraham.
The text does not use a modern birth-order statement in the same simple way every time the sons are listed, so discussions of their exact ages can be complicated. Nevertheless, Shem is conventionally identified as the eldest in many readings of the Genesis genealogy.
Shem is distinct from Noah’s father, Lamech, and from his brothers Ham and Japheth.