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
Ethnic groups in Europe Japheth from early times, corresponding to the division of the known world into three continents, the descendants of Shem peopling Asia and those of Ham peopling Africa. Identification of Europeans as "Japhetites" is also reflected in early suggestions for terming the Indo-European languages "Japhetic". In this tradition, the "Historia Brittonum" (9th century) introduces a genealogy of the peoples of the Migration period (as it was remembered in early medieval historiography) as follows, The text goes then on to list the genealogy of Alanus, connecting him to Japheth via eighteen generations. European culture is largely rooted in what is often referred