People of the Bible

Shem

also called Sem · 2445 BC – 1845 BC · Genealogy of Jesus

Family

In the story

A dot is a moment; a bar is something that lasted, drawn to its length.

Birth of Shem · 2445 BC
Lifetime of Shem · 2445 BC
The Great Flood · 2347 BC
The Great Flood begins · 2347 BC
Water covers the earth · 2347 BC
The flood subsides · 2346 BC
Leaving the Ark · 2346 BC
Noah gets drunk and Canaan is cursed · 2345 BC
Birth of Arphaxad · 2345 BC
Death of Shem · 1845 BC

Easton’s Bible Dictionary

A name; renown, the first mentioned of the sons of Noah (Gen. 5:32; 6:10). He was probably the eldest of Noah’s sons. The words “brother of Japheth the elder” in Gen. 10:21 are more correctly rendered “the elder brother of Japheth,” as in the Revised Version. Shem’s name is generally mentioned first in the list of Noah’s sons. He and his wife were saved in the ark (7:13). Noah foretold his preeminence over Canaan (9:23-27). He died at the age of six hundred years, having been for many years contemporary with Abraham, according to the usual chronology. The Israelitish nation sprang from him (Gen. 11:10-26; 1 Chr. 1:24-27).

From M. G. Easton, Illustrated Bible Dictionary (1893), in the public domain.

Named in 17 verses

Genesis: 5:32, 6:10, 7:13, 9:18, 9:23, 9:26, 9:27, 10:1, 10:21, 10:22, 10:31, 11:10, 11:11
1 Chronicles: 1:4, 1:17, 1:24
Luke: 3:36

The family, dates and events on this page come from Theographic, a knowledge graph of the Bible by Robert Rouse, used and shared under CC BY-SA 4.0. It is a work in progress, and its dates follow one reconstruction of biblical chronology among several. The dictionary article above is separately in the public domain.