shem · name

What it means

shem (שֵׁם) is a Hebrew word of the Bible that means “name”.

In the Bible a name says who someone is; so it also means fame, renown or reputation.

How to say it

Approximate pronunciation. Vowels sound as in Spanish (a as in father, e as in bed, i as in machine, o as in note, u as in rule); the syllable in bold is stressed. The voice is your device's.

Its senses in the Bible

1. The word by which a person, place or thing is called and recognized.
2. Fame, good name.
3. YHWH's name: himself, as he makes himself known.

From Brown-Driver-Briggs (1906)

Word study

Name. BDB: the mark or memorial of what distinguishes someone; by extension, honor, authority, character. The same word is the proper name Shem, Noah's son.

• The name of a person, an animal or a place Genesis 2:19
• Fame, renown Genesis 11:4Genesis 12:2
• The name of YHWH: himself as he makes himself known Exodus 3:13Exodus 3:15Exodus 20:7
• The place where YHWH chooses “to put his name” Deuteronomy 12:5

Historical and cultural background

A new name marks a change in the person, and the text gives the reason: Abram becomes Abraham, “for I have made you the father of a multitude of nations” (Genesis 17:5), and Jacob becomes Israel (Genesis 32:28).

How we translate it

“Name” 773 times, “names” 78, “renown” 9. The Hebrew phrases “his name was…” and “called his name…” are usually kept as they are (“he called his name Enosh”).

How it is translated

The words this translation uses for it, most frequent first.

• name ×773
• names ×78
• renown ×9
• named ×2
• him ×1

Related words

Words of the same family, by Strong’s numbering.

Where it appears

• Genesis×113
• Exodus×43
• Leviticus×11
• Numbers×49
• Deuteronomy×36
• Joshua×12
• Judges×19
• Ruth×14
• 1 Samuel×33
• 2 Samuel×34
• 1 Kings×46
• 2 Kings×23
• 1 Chronicles×55
• 2 Chronicles×45
• Ezra×4
• Nehemiah×7
• Esther×8
• Job×7
• Psalms×109
• Proverbs×7
• Ecclesiastes×3
• Song of Songs×1
• Isaiah×55
• Jeremiah×55
• Lamentations×1
• Ezekiel×28
• Daniel×6
• Hosea×5
• Joel×2
• Amos×7
• Micah×4
• Nahum×1
• Zephaniah×5
• Zechariah×7
• Malachi×10

• Genesis 2:11

  The name of the first is Pishon; it is the one that goes around the whole land of Havilah, where there is gold.

• Genesis 2:13

  And the name of the second river is Gihon; it is the one that goes around the whole land of Cush.

• Genesis 2:14

  And the name of the third river is Tigris; it is the one that flows east of Assyria. And the fourth river is the Euphrates.

• Genesis 2:19

  And YHWH Elohim formed from the ground every animal of the field and every bird of the sky, and brought them to the man to see what he would call them; and whatever the man called it, as a living being, that was its name.

• Genesis 2:20

  And the man gave names to all the livestock and to the birds of the sky and to every animal of the field; but for Adam there was not found a helper corresponding to him.

• Genesis 3:20

  And the man called his wife’s name Eve, because she was the mother of all living.

• Genesis 4:17

  And Cain knew his wife, and she conceived and gave birth to Enoch. And he was building a city, and he called the name of the city after the name of his son, Enoch.

• Genesis 4:19

  And Lamech took for himself two wives; the name of the one was Adah, and the name of the second Zillah.

• Genesis 4:21

  And the name of his brother was Jubal; he was the father of all who play the lyre and the pipe.

• Genesis 4:25

  And Adam knew his wife again, and she gave birth to a son and called his name Seth, “for Elohim has granted me another offspring in place of Abel, because Cain killed him.”

• Genesis 4:26

  And to Seth, to him also, a son was born, and he called his name Enosh. Then people began to call on the name of YHWH.

• Genesis 5:2

  Male and female he created them, and he blessed them and called their name “Human Being” in the day they were created.

• Genesis 5:3

  And Adam lived one hundred and thirty years and fathered a son in his likeness, according to his image, and called his name Seth.

• Genesis 5:29

  And he called his name Noah, saying, “This one will comfort us from our work and from the toil of our hands, from the ground that YHWH has cursed.”

• Genesis 6:4

  The Nephilim were on the earth in those days, and also afterward, when the sons of Elohim went in to the daughters of human beings and they bore children to them; they were the mighty men who were of old, men of renown.

• Genesis 10:25

  And to Eber were born two sons: the name of the one was Peleg, for in his days the earth was divided; and the name of his brother was Joktan.

• Genesis 11:4

  And they said, “Come, let us build ourselves a city and a tower with its top in the heavens, and let us make a name for ourselves, so that we are not scattered over the face of all the earth.”

• Genesis 11:9

  That is why its name was called Babel, because there YHWH confused the language of all the earth, and from there YHWH scattered them over the face of all the earth.

• Genesis 11:29

  Abram and Nahor took wives for themselves. The name of Abram’s wife was Sarai, and the name of Nahor’s wife was Milcah, the daughter of Haran, the father of Milcah and the father of Iscah.

• Genesis 12:2

  I will make you into a great nation, I will bless you, and I will make great your name; and be a blessing.

• Genesis 12:8

  From there he moved on to the mountain east of Bethel and pitched his tent, with Bethel on the west and Ai on the east. There he built an altar to YHWH and called on the name of YHWH.

• Genesis 13:4

  to the place of the altar that he had made there at first. And there Abram called on the name of YHWH.

• Genesis 16:1

  Now Sarai, Abram’s wife, had not borne him children; and she had an Egyptian slave woman whose name was Hagar.

• Genesis 16:11

  And the angel of YHWH said to her, “Look, you are pregnant and will bear a son, and you will call his name Ishmael, for YHWH has heard your affliction.

• Genesis 16:13

  So she called the name of YHWH, who was speaking to her, “You are El Roi,” for she said, “Have I really seen here after the one who sees me?”

• Genesis 16:15

  Hagar bore Abram a son, and Abram called the name of his son, whom Hagar bore, Ishmael.

• Genesis 17:5

  No longer will your name be called Abram, but your name will be Abraham, for I have made you the father of a multitude of nations.

• Genesis 17:15

  Elohim said to Abraham, “As for Sarai your wife, you shall not call her name Sarai, for Sarah will be her name.

• Genesis 17:19

  Elohim said, “No, but Sarah your wife will bear you a son, and you shall call his name Isaac; and I will establish my covenant with him as an eternal covenant for his offspring after him.

• Genesis 19:22

  Hurry, escape there, for I cannot do anything until you arrive there.” That is why the name of the city was called Zoar.

• Genesis 19:37

  The older bore a son and called his name Moab; he is the father of Moab to this day.

• Genesis 19:38

  The younger also bore a son and called his name Ben-ammi; he is the father of the sons of Ammon to this day.

• Genesis 21:3

  Abraham called the name of his son who was born to him, whom Sarah bore to him, Isaac.

• Genesis 21:33

  He planted a tamarisk in Beersheba, and there he called on the name of YHWH, El Olam.

• Genesis 22:14

  Abraham called the name of that place YHWH Yireh, as it is said to this day, “On the mountain of YHWH it will be seen.”

• Genesis 22:24

  And his concubine, whose name was Reumah, also bore Tebah, Gaham, Tahash, and Maacah.

• Genesis 24:29

  Now Rebekah had a brother whose name was Laban. Laban ran out to the man, to the spring.

• Genesis 25:1

  Abraham again took a wife, whose name was Keturah.

• Genesis 25:13

  These are the names of the sons of Ishmael, by their names, according to their generations: the firstborn of Ishmael, Nebaioth; and Kedar, Adbeel, Mibsam,

• Genesis 25:16

  These are the sons of Ishmael, and these are their names, by their villages and by their encampments, twelve chiefs according to their peoples.

And 825 more times.