Shem is traditionally regarded in Genesis as the ancestor of the Semitic peoples.
Genesis names Shem, Ham, and Japheth as Noah’s three sons. Shem receives a prominent place in the genealogy leading to Abraham and the Israelite line, especially in Genesis 11.
The term “Semitic” was later formed from Shem’s name and became a historical language and cultural classification. Semitic languages include Hebrew, Arabic, Aramaic, Akkadian, and several others.
Modern scholars generally use “Semitic” primarily for a language family rather than as a simple biological category. The biblical genealogy and the later linguistic label are related by name, but they are not identical systems of classification.