How many times is Shem mentioned in the Bible?
The word Shem appears 17 times in the King James Version, in 16 verses. It is found in 2 of the 66 books. The World English Bible uses Shem 18 times.
Shem in the King James Version and the World English Bible
Each form of Shem counted in each translation.
| Form | KJV | WEB |
|---|---|---|
| Shem | 17 | 18 |
| Total | 17 | 18 |
What the name Shem means
Hitchcock's Bible Names Dictionary glosses Shem as "name; renown".
This is the 1869 traditional meaning; modern scholars often read names differently.
See every name and place with its meaning and count on Bible names and their meanings.
Source: Hitchcock's Bible Names Dictionary (1869), checked 2026-10-22.
Which books mention Shem most
Shem appears in 2 books of the 66 in the King James Version. Genesis has the most (14), then 1 Chronicles (3).
First and last mention of Shem
And Noah was five hundred years old: and Noah begat Shem, Ham, and Japheth.
Shem, Arphaxad, Shelah,
The verse that uses it most is Genesis 11:10, 2 times:
These are the generations of Shem: Shem was an hundred years old, and begat Arphaxad two years after the flood:
Where the two translations differ
0 verses match in the KJV but not in the World English Bible, and 1 verse matches only in the World English Bible, usually because the other translation chose a different word there.
Luke 3:36: counted in the World English Bible only
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,
the son of Cainan, the son of Arphaxad, the son of Shem, the son of Noah, the son of Lamech,
Common questions
How many times is Shem in the Old Testament and the New Testament?
In the King James Version, counting every form, 17 of the 17 uses are in the Old Testament and 0 in the New Testament. Shem appears in 2 books of the 66 in the King James Version. Genesis has the most (14), then 1 Chronicles (3).
Where is Shem first mentioned in the Bible?
The first use in the King James Version is Genesis 5:32: "And Noah was five hundred years old: and Noah begat Shem, Ham, and Japheth." The last is 1 Chronicles 1:24.
What does the name Shem mean in the Bible?
Hitchcock's Bible Names Dictionary glosses Shem as "name; renown".
More word counts: Ham, Japheth, Miriam, Hagar, Enoch, Lamech, Nahor, Eliezer, or all 484 words.
Counted by Bible Says About from the full public-domain text of the King James Version (1769 edition) and the World English Bible. Verse text only: headings and psalm titles are left out. A word is a run of letters: a hyphenated name like Beer-sheba counts as two, and an apostrophe stays inside its word (LORD'S is one). Matching ignores capital letters. Data compiled 2026-10-22.