Shem Shem Shem (; "Shem";) was one of the sons of Noah in the Hebrew Bible as well as in Islamic literature. The children of Shem were Elam, Asshur, Arphaxad, Lud and Aram, in addition to daughters. Abraham, the patriarch of the Hebrews and Arabs, was one of the descendants of Arphaxad. Islamic literature describes Shem as one of the believing sons of Noah. Some sources even identify Shem as a prophet in his own right and that he was the next prophet after his father. Shem is mentioned several times in Genesis 5-11 as well as 1 Chronicles 1:4. Genesis
Curse of Ham servant of servants shall he be unto his brethren. 26 And he said, Blessed be the Lord God of Shem; and Canaan shall be his servant. 27 God shall enlarge Japheth, and he shall dwell in the tents of Shem; and Canaan shall be his servant. The objective of the story may have been to justify the subject status of the Canaanites, the descendants of Ham, to the Israelites, the descendants of Shem. The narrative of the curse is replete with difficulties: It is uncertain what the precise nature of Ham's offense is. Verse 22 has been a subject of