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. Later genealogical material in Genesis traces Abraham’s line through Shem’s descendants, including Arpachshad, Shelah, Eber, and Terah. Abraham is then presented as the ancestor of the Israelite people through Isaac and Jacob.
The association is also reflected in the term “Semitic,” which was coined from the name Shem and later used in linguistic and historical classifications. In modern usage, Semitic primarily refers to a family of languages, including Hebrew and Arabic; it should not be treated as a simple biological category.
Genesis also presents distinct traditions about the descendants of Ham and Japheth. The genealogies are theological and ethnographic accounts from the ancient world, not modern population genetics. The answer is therefore a traditional biblical genealogy, not a claim that can be established through contemporary ancestry testing.