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Commentary Index | Return to PrayerRequest.com | DownloadJames Hastings Dictionary of the Bible: Shem
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SHEM.—The word signifies ‘name,’ which can also denote ‘fame,’ ‘renown’ (cf. ‘the men of name,’ Gen_6:4). Possibly it is an abbreviation; cf. Shemuel (Samuel), ‘name of God.’ In one of the two traditions combined in J [Note: Jahwist.] (Gen_6:18 f., Gen_10:21-31) Shem, the ‘son’ of Noah, is the eponymous ancestor of several peoples, occupying, roughly speaking, the central portions of the known world. P [Note: Priestly Narrative.] has a parallel list in Gen_11:10-26. It is clear that Shem (from which is formed the frequently used title Shemites or Semites) stands merely for a geographical division, for some of the nations traced to him—e.g. Elam, and Lud (probably Lydians)—are certainly not Semitic. In the other tradition (Gen_9:20-27) ‘Shem’ stands for a people in Palestine—the Hebrews, or some portion of them—with whom ‘Japheth’ lived in close conjunction, and to whom ‘Canaan’ was subjugated. See Ham.
A. H. M‘Neile.