Shem is traditionally regarded as the ancestor of the Israelites among Noah’s sons.
Genesis names Noah’s three sons as Shem, Ham, and Japheth. In the genealogies that follow, Shem’s line leads through Arpachshad and later generations to Abraham. Since the Israelite people are traced through Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, Shem is presented in biblical tradition as their ancestral line.
The term “Semitic,” used in modern historical and linguistic contexts, was later formed from Shem’s name. It has been applied especially to language families and peoples associated with languages such as Hebrew, Arabic, and Aramaic, although modern scholarship treats identity and language as more complex than a single genealogical descent.
Genesis also presents the three brothers as the starting points for post-Flood nations. The genealogical material is therefore both a family record and a traditional explanation of how peoples were distributed after the Flood.