I. Name

The name of Shem, one of the three sons of Noah, literally means ‘name’ (Gen. 5.32; Gen. 6.10; Gen. 7.13; Gen. 9; Gen. 10; 1 Chron. 1; Sir. 49.16; HALAT 1435). šm occurs as a theophoric element in personal names from Ebla (Gordon 1988:153–154). A deity Shem is probably present as theophoric element in names like šĕmîdāʿ, Shemida (Josh. 17.2; 1 Chron. 7.19), and šĕmûʾēl, Samuel (Jirku 1927). The name of this deity should be distinguished from the use of the noun šem as an hypostatical indication …