In the Genesis account of Noah’s Ark, Shem is named first among Noah’s three sons. Genesis 6:10 lists Noah’s sons as Shem, Ham, and Japheth before describing the coming Flood.
The order in that verse is not necessarily a simple statement of birth order. Genesis later gives material that has led interpreters to debate the relative ages of Shem and Japheth. The names themselves, however, are consistently presented as Noah’s three sons in the Flood narrative.
All three sons enter the ark with Noah, Noah’s wife, and their wives. After the Flood, Genesis develops separate genealogical lines associated with them. These genealogies are part of the biblical account’s explanation of peoples and nations, while the ark story itself identifies the three men as Noah’s surviving sons.