Shem

Noah's sons: Shem, Ham, and Japheth, by James Tissot.

Shem (Hebrew: שם, Shēm; Greek: Σήμ, Sēm; Latin: Sem; Arabic: سام, Sām; Ge'ez: ሴም, Sēm; "Name means::renown, Name means::prosperity, Name means::name") (Born::Tammuz 1558 AM-Died::Tammuz 2158 AM) is the second of son of::Noah's three sons. His brothers were brother of::Ham and brother of::Japheth. He was born in 1558 AM when Noah was 502 years old, 98 years before the Global Flood.

Shem was married before the flood and his wife was with him in the ark, but he had no children at the time it started. His son, Father of::Arpachshad was born when Shem was Age of parenthood::100 years old. His other sons were Father of::Elam, Father of::Asshur, Father of::Lud, and Father of::Aram. Whether Arpachshad (alternatively spelled Arphaxad) was the eldest of them is unclear. He is listed third of all of them, but might still have received the birthright for a reason that the Bible does not document. Shem lived a further 500 years after Arpachshad's birth, and thus would have been Life span::600 years old at his death in 2158 AM.

Shem is the father of the Indo-European and Semitic peoples, most notably the Jews and the Arabs.

Descendants

The sons of Shem were:

• Elam: Elamites, Persians, and Iranians.
• Asshur: Assyrians, Syrians, and Northern Iraqis.
• Arpachshad: Akkadians / Babylonians, Eblaites, Chaldaeans, Hurrians, Urartians, Pelasgians, Indo-Europeans, Irano-Afghans, Arabs, and Jews.
• Lud: Lydians, Tyrrhenians, Etruscans, Illyrians, Albanian Tosks, Armenians, Georgians, and Kabyles, and other related groups in Asia Minor, Europe, and North Africa.
• Aram: Arameans, Syrians, Lebanese, Armenians, and remnant groups throughout the Middle East.
  • Uz: Syrians.
  • Hul: Armenians, Alans, and the Ossetes in part.
  • Gether: Afghans.
  • Mash: Mesaneans.

Shem and his descendants received a special blessing in Genesis 9:26 : "Blessed be the LORD God of Shem." The above statement, according to Gerhard Charles Aalders, "implies that Shem would indeed be blessed, but this blessing would come only from the Lord if He had covenanted with them.

In Genesis 9:27 Moses wrote that "God shall enlarge Japheth, and he shall dwell in the tents of Shem and Canaan shall be his servant." While this may mean that Shem shall dominate Japheth, there is another meaning which should be explored at this point. Examine the following Scriptures: Exodus 25:8 ; Numbers 9:15 ; 2_Samuel 7:6 ; 1_Chronicles 15:1 ; Psalms 78:59-60 ; Isaiah 40:22 ; Jeremiah 10:20 ; Revelation 21:3 .

The clear inference is that God shall dwell with Shem as in a tabernacle. God did indeed do so with ancient Israel and He also dwells in spiritual Israelites through the Holy Spirit today. Similar wording is used in relation to the people of Israel in Isaiah 54:2 . Here we have what commentators so long ago described as "the righteous line" or, in other words, the lineage which God is working with.

Sumerians

Where were the Shemites located immediately after the Global Flood? Latest research suggests that they inhabited the land of Sumer before eventually being displaced by descendants of Ham. Scholars have wondered why the Sumerians are not mentioned in the Bible anywhere, with the exception of the land of Shinar referred to in Genesis 11:2 , as well a few other verses and prophecies (Genesis 10:10 ; Genesis 14:1 ; Genesis 14:9 ; Isaiah 11:11 ; Daniel 1:2 ; Zechariah 5:11 ).

According to David Rohl in his Legend. The Genesis of Civilisation, linguistic studies by authorities such as Samuel Kramer (The Sumerians) and Arno Poebel (various works) demonstrate that the name Sumer or Shumer is remarkably similar to the name Shem:

“

"The [original] people of Sumer were designated 'Sumerians' after Shem, son of Noah, who was remembered as the eponymous ancestor of those who re-occupied biblical Shinar following the destruction of the antediluvian cities during the ... flood. The name Shumer is therefore an eponym."

”

Indo-Europeans

A number of scholars, such as E. Raymond Capt and Steven M. Collins, have concluded that the Indo-European peoples are descended from of the Ten Lost Tribes of Israel, and thus from Shem. Dr. Ernest L. Martin, the founder of the Foundation for Biblical Research in Pasadena, California and Associates for Scriptural Knowledge, wrote:

“

... [The] Shemite tribes (people who were descendants of Shem and including some peoples who came from Abraham) later colonized the whole of southern Europe and replaced the people of Javan and his four descendants. Javan's people were pushed mainly into the northern areas of Europe where in turn they migrated farther east into Asia (along with Gomer the firstborn son of Japheth and his descendants). Indeed, in prophecies dealing also with the End-Time, we find the people of Javan no longer in Europe but now associated with Tubal (another son of Japheth; see Ezekiel 38-39 ) who became an eastern Mongolian type of people ... though the name Javan still retained its geographical hold on the southern region of Europe, particularly in Greece) ... It is not uncommon for people to give a name to a region and then the original people move on to other areas (or are killed off) and the original geographical name becomes associated with completely different people.

”

Celtic

Preeminent Celtic scholar of Oxford University, Sir John Rhys, in his book "Early Celtic Britain," gives strong evidences of Hebrew colonization of Ireland and Britain in ancient times. "Ireland was known as Iberion," he says. The ancient name of the Hebrews was Ibri or Iberi, which is derived from the name "Eber" or "Heber," an ancestor and patriarch of that people. The name "Eber" (עבר) comes from a word meaning "to cross over," "across," or "the opposite side" It derivative "Hebrew," intended to denote the people who came "from the other side of the river" (i.e. the Euphrates) from Haran (Genesis 11:31 ) and were the descendants of Eber. The usage is similar to the Greek words πέραν and πέρατος. The phrase ὰ πέρατα τ͡ης οἰκουμένης, or "the opposite ends of the inhabited world" was used by St. Paul in Romans 10:18 . Similarly, Tacitus used the phrase "ends of the earth" in the Agricola to describe the location of Ireland and Britain. Homer used a similar phrase in the Odyssey to describe the other end of the Mediterranean, near Spain. It is at the "other side" of the "inhabited world" that we find so many ancient names like that of Eber, the first Hebrew: Iberia (Spain), the Ebro River (in Spain), Hibernia (Ireland), and the Hebrides (islands off the coast of Scotland). Sir John continues, "... in Ireland it was Ivernii in Ptolemy's time; and he mentions a town there called Ivernis, and a river Ivernios. To these may be added various forms of the name of the island such as Juvenal's Iuverna, distorted more usually by the Romans into Hibernia. Their eponymous ancestor ... is variously called Eber, Emer, and Heber."

Germanic

Many assert that the Anglo-Saxons and related Germanic peoples are the descendants of Shem. "Alfred, king of the Anglo-Saxons [b. 849 AD] was... the son [descendant] of Sem [Shem]." Proponents of this theory also claim that Alfred the Great was a descendant of Shem because he claimed to descend from Sceafa, a marooned man who came to Britain on a boat after a flood. Le Petit, in 1601, mentioned King Adel, said to be descendant of Shem, ruler of Britain, who had 3 children who migrated to India.

The names Deutsch and Deutschland are directly derived from Tuisto or Tuitsch. Further, it is said that Tuitsch, a German patriarch, is none other than Shem himself. One of the oldest Bavarian traditions categorically claims that they came into Central Europe from the Armenian region by the Back Sea. This is where the Scythians retreated after conquering the Assyrians. There are many who also claim that the Germans are the descendants of the Assyrians (children of Asshur).

Hellenistic (Greek)

The Spartans of Greece, notably enough, claimed descent from the Hebrews though Abraham. The Deuterocanonical book 1 Maccabees and Josephus, in his Antiquities, state that in about 180 BC the King of Sparta sent the following letter to the Jews in Jerusalem:

"Arius king of the Spartans to Onias the high priest, sendeth greetings. It is found in writing concerning the Spartans, and the Jews, that they are brethren, and that they are of the stock of Abraham. And now since this is come to our knowledge, you do well to write to us of your prosperity." - 1_Maccabees 12:20-22 (Douay-Rheims)

The Jews in Jerusalem are reported to have replied as follows:

“

We joyfully received the epistle, and were well pleased with Demoteles and Arius, although we did not need such a demonstration, because we were well satisfied about it from the sacred writings.

”

Josephus called attention to the 'seal' upon the letter from Arius: "This letter is four-square, and the seal is an eagle with a dragon in it's claws." Such an emblem can be traced to the tribe of Dan. The letter of reply mentioned "sacred writings." This could refer to Ezekiel 27:19 where Dan is represented, in company with Greece, trading to Tyre.

Indo-Iranian

A text from an Islamic Hadith also claims that the Greeks, as well as the Persians, are derived from Shem:

“

Shem, the son of Noah was the father of the Arabs, the Persians, and the Greeks; Ham was the father of the Black Africans; and Japheth was the father of the Turks and of Gog and Magog who were cousins of the Turks.

”

Isidore of Seville (c. 635) states that Joktan was the ancestor of Indians; his material was based on earlier enumerations made by Jerome and Josephus, who had stated that Joktan's descendants "inhabited from Cophen, an Indian river, and in part of Asia adjoining to it." Hisham Ibn al-Kalbi, a 19^th century Arab historian, further states that al-Hind and al-Sind (India) are of Ophir, the son of Joktan.

Genetics

Studies have reported that most Irish and Britons are descendants of farmers who left the region of modern day Syria-Palestine and Iraq several thousand years old. Genetic researchers say they have found compelling evidence that four out of five (80% of) White Europeans can trace their roots to the Near East. In another study, scientists analysed DNA from the remains of early farmers found at an ancient graveyard in Germany. They compared the genetic signatures to those of modern populations and found similarities with the DNA of people living in today's Turkey (Anatolia) and Iraq.

R1b is one of the European Y-Haplogroups and more varieties of R1b are found in the Middle East than elsewhere which is one of the many indications that R1b had its origins in the Middle East. This is on par with what the 1^st century historian Josephus tells us in his Antiquities: "The ten tribes are beyond Euphrates till now, and are an immense multitude, and not to be estimated by numbers." If the 1^st century account of Josephus is accurate regarding the Ten Tribes of Israel having grown to an immense multitude east of the Euphrates River in the Caucasus and Central Asia regions (nearly 800 years after the Assyrian dispersion and captivity), then large portions of their population should have been represented by the Parthian and Scythian peoples who just so happened to be the dominant population east of the Euphrates at that time (not including the subjugated Persian and Mede population). While R1b's frequency is only around 10% in Levant, it doesn't need to have high frequency in the there and it shouldn’t, considering that the northern Ten Tribes were taken captive to Assyria, beyond the Euphrates and never returned. This leaves only one place north of the Euphrates—Europe. Josephus states that the tribes went beyond the Euphrates. The population frequencies of Y-Haplogroups R, Q, and N seem to confirm this. It should also be noted that the Indian subcontinent has a large Y-DNA haplogroup R population today and was once ruled by ancient Indo-European peoples, namely the Scythians and Yuezhi / Kushans.

The prophet Hosea indicates Israelites of Northern Kingdom would become as numerous as the "sand on the sea shore" (Hosea 1:9-11 ) after their captivity where they ceased to be "a people" and no longer went by the name "Israel." If Israelites settled by way of the Mediterranean Sea in Hellas (Greece), Italia (Italy), Iberia (Spain), Hibernia (Ireland), and Britannia (Britain) before and after the reigns of King David and Solomon (1037-931 BC), as the evidence suggests, then we should expect the Y-Chromosome founders of those populations to resemble suspected Israelite Scythian-related peoples migrating into Europe by way of the European mainland hundreds and many hundreds of years later (alluding most notably to Y-DNA Haplogroup R and its subclades which make up the bulk of the European male population).

Conclusion

If the European peoples do indeed descend from Shem, this might explain the development of the Greek language, which is clearly Semitic. But other language scholars suggest that the Greek language came from Sanskrit, which they consider a bridge between Greek and Hebrew. Such a developmental path would not depend on the displacement of Javanites by Hebrews, Asshurites, or another Shemitic nation.

External Links

• In Search of ... the Origin of Nations by C.M. White. History Research Projects 2003.
• Noah's Three Sons. online book by Arthur C. Custance.