Bible Dictionaries
Semite

Holman Bible Dictionary

(ssehm' ite) A person who claims descent from Noah's son Shem (Genesis 5:32; Genesis 10:21-31 ) or, more precisely as a linguistic term, those peoples speaking one of the Semitic languages. The racial list of Genesis and the list of linguists do not always include the same peoples.

Genesis 10:21-31 lists five sons and twenty-one descendants/peoples derived from Shem. These people spread geographically from Lydia to Syria, to Assyria, to Persia. Armenia formed the northern boundary while the Red Sea and Persian Gulf formed the southern boundary. The Elamites, Assyrians, Lydians, Arameans, and numerous Arab tribes are said to have been descendants of Shem.

The place of origin for the Semites is difficult to determine. The Fertile Crescent contains evidence of Semitic influence at the dawn of civilization. One unproven theory is that they migrated from northern Arabia in waves of nomadic movements into the Fertile Crescent.

Three major divisions exist in the Semitic family of languages. East Semitic would include Akkadian used in ancient Babylon and Assyria. Northwest Semitic involves Hebrew, Aramaic, Syria, Phoenician, Samaritan, Palmyrene, Nabatean, Canaanite, Moabite. South Semitic includes Arabic, Sabean, Minean, and Ethiopic. Approximately 70 distinct forms of Semitic languages are known. Some have large libraries of literature while others remain entirely unwritten or only small collections of literature exist. See Languages of the Bible; Assyria; Babylon; Canaan.

Steve Wyrick