Shem (Greek: Σημ, "Sēm" ; Arabic: "' ; Ge'ez: "Sham" ; "renown; prosperity; name") was one of the sons of Noah in the Bible. He is most popularly regarded as the eldest son, though some traditions regard him as the second son. Genesis 10:21 refers to relative ages of Shem and his brother Japheth, but with sufficient ambiguity in each to have yielded different translations. The verse is translated in the KJV as "Unto Shem also, … Wikipedia