Shem
Noah's son, blessed by name, through whom the promised line ran
Place in the genealogy
- Luke · name 66 · Jesus back to AdamFrom Terah back to Adam, and to GodLuke 3:36
Where Scripture records this person
- Genesis 5:32; 6:10; 7:13
- Genesis 9:23-27
- Genesis 10:21-31
- Genesis 11:10-11
- Luke 3:36
Who this person is in Scripture
Shem survives the flood in the ark with his father, brothers and their wives. His defining act in Genesis is quiet: when Noah lies uncovered, Shem and Japheth walk backwards with a garment and cover him rather than look. Noah's blessing afterwards is unusual, because it does not bless Shem directly but blesses the Lord God of Shem, tying him to the God he served.
His descendants are traced in Genesis 10 and 11, and the line reaches Eber, from which the word Hebrew derives, then Terah and Abraham. Luke's genealogy runs straight through him, which places Jesus inside the family Noah blessed.
Family, as Scripture gives it
- Father
- Noah
- Children
- Arphaxad, Elam, Asshur, Lud, Aram
- Siblings
- Ham, Japheth
In order
- Before the floodBorn to NoahGenesis 5:32
- The floodEnters and leaves the ark with seven othersGenesis 7:13
- After the floodCovers his father and receives Noah's blessingGenesis 9:23-26
- Two years after the floodArphaxad bornGenesis 11:10
- At 600 yearsDiesGenesis 11:10-11
Promises and covenants this life carries
- The line of promise narrows here. From Noah's three sons God carries the promise through one, and from Shem it will narrow again to Abraham, then to Judah, then to David, then to one man.
How Scripture connects this person to Christ
- Shem covered his father's nakedness with a garment brought from outside. Christ covers those who trust him with a that is not their own (Isaiah 61:10; 2 Corinthians 5:21).
What this teaches
- How you handle another believer's exposed failure reveals your own heart. Shem walked backwards with a garment; his brother looked and told.
- Proverbs 10:12 says love covers all sins, and 1 Peter 4:8 repeats it. Covering is not concealing wrongdoing from those who must deal with it; it is refusing to enjoy or advertise a brother's shame.
Read further in Scripture
- Genesis 9:26-27
- Proverbs 10:12
- 1 Peter 4:8