Shem is the son of Noah traditionally described in Genesis as an ancestor of the Israelites. Genesis 10 and 11 place Abraham’s lineage within the genealogy that descends from Shem.
Genesis names Noah’s three sons as Shem, Ham, and Japheth. After the Flood, the text presents a “Table of Nations” linking their descendants with different peoples and regions. The genealogy from Shem leads through Arpachshad, Shelah, Eber, and later Terah and Abraham.
The term “Semitic,” used in historical and linguistic classification, is derived from the name Shem. In modern scholarship, “Semitic” primarily refers to a language family that includes Hebrew, Arabic, Aramaic, and others; it is not a simple biological label for all descendants of one person.
The biblical genealogies are theological and literary texts. They should not be read as a complete modern population history or as proof that every later group assigned to one son has a single literal origin.