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
Shinar the Tower of Babel after the Great Flood. After the Flood, the sons of Shem, Ham, and Japheth stayed first in the highlands of Armenia and then migrated to Shinar. In "Genesis" 14:1,9, King Amraphel rules Shinar. Shinar is further mentioned in "Joshua" 7:21; "Isaiah" 11:11; "Daniel" 1:2; and "Zechariah" 5:11, as a general synonym for Babylonia. "Jubilees" 9:3 allots Shinar (or, in the Ethiopic text, "Sadna Sena`or") to Ashur, son of Shem. "Jubilees" 10:20 states that the Tower of Babel was built with bitumen from the sea of Shinar. David Rohl theorized that the Tower was actually located in