the Fourth Week of Advent
Click here to learn more!
Bible Encyclopedias
Shem
The 1901 Jewish Encyclopedia
or âBiblical Data:
The eldest of Noah's sons, according to the position and sequence of the names wherever all three are mentioned together; e.g., "and Noah begat Shem, Ham, and Japheth" (Genesis 5:32). In the table of nations in Genesis 10, however, Shem and his posterity are placed last, probably because the compiler of that record expected to trace his descendants far down into history, while those of the other two sons were confined to early ages. Shem's prominence among the peoples of pre-Christian times may be partially suggested by the ethno-geographical table of Genesis 10 For descendants see see see SEMITES.
The Most Important Son of Noah.
âIn Rabbinical Literature:
Although Shem is unanimously declared by the Rabbis to have been the youngest son of Noah (comp. Japheth in Rabbinical Literature), yet he is always named first, being the most important of the three brothers. Indeed, he was born circumcised; he was the ancestor of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob; he was priest and prophet; and he was one of the eight righteous who are mentioned twice in Genesis 11:10 and who were allotted a portion both in this world and in the world to come (Sanh. 69b; Tan., Yelammedenu, Noaḥ; Midr. ha-Gadol on Genesis 9:18, 11:10, ed. Schechter, cols. 142, 186). Shem is styled "the' great one" ("Shem rabba"; Sanh. 108b). According to Gen. R. 30:6, it was Shem who offered the sacrifices on the altar after Noah came out of the ark (comp. Genesis 8:20), as the latter, having been crippled by the lion (Noah in Rabbinical Literature), was unfit for the priestly office. Noah gave to Shem the priestly garments which he had inherited from Adam (Num. R. 4:6). Shem is extolled by the Rabbis for his filial devotion in covering his father's nakedness (Genesis 9:23). Although his brother Japheth assisted in this praiseworthy act, it was Shem who suggested and began it, his brother not arriving on the scene until Shem was already on his way with the garment. Therefore Noah, in blessing these two sons (ib. verse 27), declared, so the Rabbis think, that the Shekinah was to dwell only in the tents of Shem (Yoma 10a; Tan., Noaḥ, 21; Gen. R. 37:9; comp. Jubilees, 7:9, where it is said that the garment was Shem's). Shem's reward for this deed is seen in the fact that the Jews, his descendants, cover themselves with the á¹allit and phylacteries, and remained untouched when the Assyrians, who also were descendants of Shem, were destroyed by an angel in the time of Hezekiah (Tan., Yelammedenu, c.; Ex. R. 18:5).
Legends.
The Rabbis identify Shem with Melchizedek, King of Salem, who is termed "a priest of the Most High," and who came to meet Abraham after the latter had defeated the four kings led by Chedorlaomer (Genesis 14:18-20). According to this account, Shem, as a priest, came to Jerusalem (with which Salem is identified by the Rabbis), of which city he became king, it being the proper place for the establishment of the cult of Yhwh. He went to meet Abraham to show him that he was not angry with him for having killed the Elamites, his descendants (Midr. Agadah on Gen. c.). Shem, however, forfeited the priesthood by mentioning in his blessing Abraham's name before that of God, so that God took his office from him and gave it to Abraham (Ned. 32b; Pirḳe R. El. ). According to the Midrash Agadah (c.) Shem himself asked God togive the priesthood to Abraham, as he, in his prophetic capacity, knew that he (Shem) would have no children eligible for the sacerdotal office. Contrary to the Pirḳe R. El. and Gen. R. (43:10), the Midrash Agadah explains that it was Shem who gave tithes to Abraham, showing that he recognized him as priest (see Gen. R. 43:7). The Rabbis point out that in certain cases Shem ranked as the equal of Abraham; so that the latter was afraid lest Shem might be angry at him for having slain the Elamites and might curse him (Gen. R. 44:8; Tan., Lek Leka, 19). In another instance God made a compromise between Shem and Abraham, namely, with regard to the name of the Holy City, the place of the Temple, which Abraham had called "Jireh" (Genesis 22:14; JEHOVAH-JIREH) and which Shem had called "Salem." God united both names; and thus arose the name "Jerusalem" (Gen. R. 56:16).
Shem is supposed by the Rabbis to have established a school ("bet ha-midrash") in which the Torah was studied, and among the pupils of which was Jacob. Later, Shem was joined by Eber; and the school was called after both of them. Besides, the school was the seat of a regular bet din which promulgated the laws current in those times. Thus Esau was afraid to kill Jacob, lest he should be condemned by the bet din of Shem and Eber. The bet din of Shem proclaimed the prohibition of and the punishment for adultery; and according to this law Judah condemned Tamar to be burned ('Ab. Zarah 36b; Gen. R. 63:7, 67:8). Shem's bet din was one of the three in which the presence of the Shekinah was manifested (Mak. 23b). At Abraham's death Shem and Eber marched before his bier; and they indicated the place that was suitable for his burial (Gen. R. 62:6, according to the emendation of the text in Yalḳ., Gen. 110). At the division of the earth among the three sons of Noah, Shem's lot consisted of twenty-six countries, thirty-three islands, twenty-six out of seventy-two languages, and six out of sixteen scripts. Thus Shem took one script more than either of his two brothers: and this was the Hebrew script, in which the Torah was written. The other five were Egyptian, Libyan, Assyrian, Chaldean, and Guá¹azaki (Guzarati ?) (Midr. ha-Gadol on Genesis 10:32, col. 182).
âCritical View:
Shem is not an individual, in the sense that one person by that name came forth with his father and brothers from the ark, and had a share in the scene described in Genesis 9:18-27. Neither does the name in itself suggest geographical or racial entities. It recalls more probably some ethnic deity that had become the "heros eponymus" of his worshipers. As it now occurs, the name has no theophorous character; but it has been suggested that "Shem" must be considered a corruption or abbreviation of a name similar to Shemu'el (see SAMUEL (3)), the element "Shem" meaning "son" in the combination. This suggestionâthough none of the critics seems to have noticed itâreceives a strong degree of probability from the blessing spoken over Shem (ib. verse 26). There is no doubt that the pointing of the text is incorrect. Budde proposes to omit the 
(which Grätz would read "ohole" = "tents"), and then vocalize: "Beruk Yhwh Shem" = "Shem is blessed of Yhwh." This would at once place this "blessing" in the category, so numerously represented in Genesis, of name oracles. From the oracle the name is readily reconstructed as "Shemaiah" or "Shemu'el," the "Elohe Shem" in the text indicating the latter possibility.
These oracles are always the primary elements from which the legend in which they are found embedded is a development. That Japheth also originally had a theophorous form is indicated in the oracle spoken concerning him (Genesis 9:27; comp. the name 
). It is plain that Canaan should not appear in this group. Ham is the brother of Shem; and it was he who committed the unseemly deed. The substitution of Canaan for Ham is secondary. The curse upon him (Canaan) displays the temper of the centuries when Yhwh and Baal were struggling for the ascendency (see ELIJAH). As Shem represents Yhwh, he is proclaimed the master, while Canaan is doomed to servitude. As Israel is the people of Yhwh, Shem(yahu), e., "the son [of Yhwh]," naturally must be Israel's progenitor. In substance this is also the explanation of those scholars who reject the suggestion that "Shem" is a name like "Shemu'el." They read into "Shem" the signification of "prominence," "mastership." The people descended from Shem is thus the master people destined to "lord it" over Canaan, the slave people committing such dire atrocities as are hidden in the legend of Noah's exposure. According to Budde, Japhethâwhich name means "beauty"ârepresents the Phenicians, while Canaan, signifying "lowness," "vulgarity," represents the aboriginal population of Palestine. Thus this triad would result: lordship (Shem), beauty (Japheth), and meanness (Canaan).
In the table given in Genesis 10:1-11:9 Shem is recorded as the father of five sons, among whom are named some that are not Semites. This catalogue, however, is geographical and not ethnic. In this list of Shem's descendants (ib. ) verses 22 and 23 are assigned to P, verse 24 to R, and verses 25-30 to J. In the last-mentioned passage the tendency to connect Shem and Eber is patent. See SEMITES.
These files are public domain.
Singer, Isidore, Ph.D, Projector and Managing Editor. Entry for 'Shem'. 1901 The Jewish Encyclopedia. https://www.studylight.org/encyclopedias/eng/tje/s/shem.html. 1901.
