Shem (; ;
Sēm;
Ge'ez: ሴም,
Sēm; "renown; prosperity; name";
Arabic:
Sām) was one of the
sons of Noah in the
Hebrew Bible as well as in
Islamic literature. Genesis 10:21 refers to relative ages of Shem and his brother
Japheth, but with sufficient ambiguity to have yielded different English translations. The verse is translated in the
KJV as "Unto Shem also, the father of all the children of
Eber, the brother of Japheth the elder, even to him were children born.". However, the
New American Standard Bible gives, "Also to Shem, the father of all the children of Eber, and the older brother of Japheth, children were born."
