Shem is listed first among Noah’s sons in Genesis’s account of the Ark family.
Genesis 5:32 names Noah’s sons as Shem, Ham, and Japheth, and Genesis 7:13 repeats that order when describing the family entering the Ark. The ordering is textual and does not by itself settle every question about their relative ages, since Genesis contains passages that require careful comparison.
Shem receives particular attention in later biblical genealogy. Genesis 10 associates peoples with his descendants, and Genesis 11 traces the line from Shem to Abram. For that reason, later Jewish and Christian readings often call Shem an ancestor in the line leading to Abraham.
The other two names remain central as well. Genesis 9–10 discusses Ham and Japheth, their descendants, and the nations connected with them, but Shem is the first name in the Ark-entry list.