Lectionary Calendar
Tuesday, March 19th, 2024
the Fifth Week of Lent
There are 12 days til Easter!
Attention!
StudyLight.org has pledged to help build churches in Uganda. Help us with that pledge and support pastors in the heart of Africa.
Click here to join the effort!

Bible Encyclopedias
Shem

1911 Encyclopedia Britannica

Search for…
or
A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W Y Z
Prev Entry
Shell-Shock
Next Entry
Shemakha
Resource Toolbox
Additional Links

(Hebrew for "name, renown, posterity"), in the Bible, the eldest of the three sons of Noah, whose superiority over Canaan is reflected in the tradition that Noah pronounced a curse upon the latter (Gen. ix. 20-27). In the genealogies (x. 21 sqq.), Shem numbers among his descendants Assyrian, Arabian, Aramaean and Hebrew populations, whence the ethnic Semitic (strictly speaking, Shemitic) has been coined as a convenient term for these peoples. It is not altogether scientific, since the Lydians (Lud) and Elamites are included among Shem's "sons," apparently on account of their geographical position or because of their indebtedness to Assyrian culture. On the traditions of Shem, see E. Meyer, Israeliten u. Nachbarstamme (Halle, 1906), pp. 219 sqq.

Bibliography Information
Chisholm, Hugh, General Editor. Entry for 'Shem'. 1911 Encyclopedia Britanica. https://www.studylight.org/​encyclopedias/​eng/​bri/​s/shem.html. 1910.
adsFree icon
Ads FreeProfile