Sem is a name found in the King James Bible, appearing 1 time in the text.
Who This Was
Sem, also known as Shem, was one of the three sons of Noah, named in the source note as the ancestor of the Semitic peoples. He first appears in the Book of Genesis among the sons of Noah, and the scriptural record preserved in the King James Bible traces the line of nations and generations that descended from him. In the New Testament, Sem appears only once, in the genealogy of Jesus Christ recorded by Luke.
That single appearance is found in Luke 3:36: “Which was the son of Cainan, which was the son of Arphaxad, which was the son of Sem, which was the son of Noe, which was the son of Lamech.” Here Sem stands within the ancestral line that Luke traces backward from Jesus, through Arphaxad and Cainan, to Sem, to Noah, and beyond. The setting is therefore not a narrative scene but a genealogy—a careful record of descent establishing Jesus’ place within the human family and the unfolding purpose of God through the generations.
Scripture says of Sem in this passage only what the genealogy declares: that he was the son of Noah and the father of Arphaxad, and that he belongs to the line through which the genealogy of Jesus is traced. The source note adds that he was one of three sons of Noah and the ancestor of the Semitic peoples. Beyond this, the entry in Luke offers no further description of his deeds or character; his significance here lies in his place in the lineage of Christ.
The Name
The name “Sem” as it appears in the King James New Testament is the Greek form of the Hebrew name commonly rendered “Shem.” The Hebrew name is widely understood to be related to a root meaning “name,” and it is often explained in that connection, though the precise force of the name as given to Noah’s son is not stated in the biblical text itself. The KJV here preserves the Greek transliteration “Sem,” reflecting the form found in Luke’s Gospel. Beyond this general association with the word for “name,” Scripture does not supply an interpretation of the name, and readers should be cautious about assigning it a fixed meaning beyond what the languages reasonably support.
A Closing Thought
Sem’s appearance in Scripture is brief—a single line in a long genealogy—yet that line matters. He is remembered not for dramatic deeds but for his place in the chain of generations through which God carried His purposes forward to the coming of Christ. Most of us will never be remembered for great exploits, but we are all part of a story larger than ourselves. Faithfulness in ordinary generations, quietly handed down, is no small thing. Sem reminds us that being a link in God’s faithful line is a worthy calling.
At a Glance
- Gender: Male
- Testament: New
- Mentions in the KJV: 1
Where It Appears in Scripture
- Luke 3:36 — Which was the son of Cainan, which was the son of Arphaxad, which was the son of Sem, which was the son of Noe, which was the son of Lamech,