Shem is Noah’s first-listed son in Genesis.
Genesis 5:32 introduces Noah’s sons in the order Shem, Ham, and Japheth. The same sequence appears in several later passages, including accounts of the family leaving the Ark and the events following the Flood.
Genesis does not present the list as a modern birth certificate, and the ordering of the brothers has prompted discussion among translators and commentators. For a trivia question asking which son is named first in the biblical list, however, the textual order is clear: Shem comes before Ham and Japheth.
Noah’s three sons are important to the narrative because they and their wives survive the Flood with Noah’s wife. Later genealogical chapters trace peoples and nations through their descendants, especially in Genesis 10.