SEM (Hebr. Šēm). — One of the sons of Noah, perhaps the eldest, since he occupies the first place in the enumerations (S., Cam [v.] and Iapheth [v.]: Gen. 5:32; 6:10; 9:18, etc.); but in the “Table of Nations” (ibid. 10:2-21) the brothers are mentioned first, because they are removed from the narrator’s interest, who thereafter follows only the vicissitudes of the Semitic-patriarchal family (Thareites). The stock of the Semites takes its name from S.
The episode of Gen. 9:18-28 has particular religious and historical-ethnic importance, in which the three brothers are characterized by their differing attitudes toward their father. At the conclusion of the episode Noah spoke words of blessing for S.: “Blessed be Jahweh, God of S.” (ibid. 9:26), which directly constitute praise of God, but as the content of a “blessing” refer to the son: an expression of a particular relationship between the true God and S., in comparison with his brothers.
Others interpret the passage, with a slightly different reading and without any substantial difference in meaning: “Blessed be S. by Jahweh, my God,” and “May Jahweh bless the tents of S.” By S. his descendants are understood, partly as the result of an actual providential choice on God’s part, partly because the phrase is a wish, and partly because it is a prophecy of future free historical development. None of the three motives is absent, and none is exclusive. The text does not lend itself to recognizing in it a process of the mere projection of the vicissitudes of an ethnic group onto the figure of a forefather, as is often claimed for the patriarchal narratives: if this were so, the expressions would be much more precise. In fact, monotheism among the Semite people (and among them alone) always had adherents, though not in all its groups: that is, history would later show that “Jahweh, God of S.” in reality meant “God of Israel.” Noah’s statement concerning Iapheth itself (Gen. 9:27) acquired meaning only with the messianic advent, through the preaching of the Apostles in the West. There is therefore no reason not to regard the blessing of S. as a prophecy, just as the blessing concerning Iapheth certainly is.
In Gen. 10:21-31 the sons and grandsons of S. are recalled,
in whom the forefathers of known groups of Semites (v.) can for the most part be recognized. Giovanni Rinaldi
«ŠĒMA' JĪŠRĀ'ĒL» («Hear, Israel»). — Hebrew words from Deut. 6:49 which, together with Deut. 11:13-21 and Num. 15:37-41, constitute a profession of faith in the unity of God, which stands at the center of Jewish liturgy.
The Š. J. is recited, according to the Talmudic tradition (Bērākhōth, 1 ff.), in the morning from sunrise until the third hour, and in the evening around sunset. The recitation of the Š. J. in the evening became the point of departure for the emergence of the practice of evening prayer, 'arbhiṭh, which had already entered customary practice at the beginning of the Christian era (Flavius Josephus, Antiq. Iud., IV, 8, 13).