Shem's sons are Elam, Ashur, Arphaxad, Lud, and Aram — five names representing the Semitic-speaking peoples of the ancient Near East. Elam corresponds to the region east of Babylon; Ashur is the ancestor of Assyria (whose cities Nimrod also built — a narrative detail that subtly shows Shem and Ham's lines interacting); Arphaxad is the critical name in this list, as the line through Abraham will trace through him; Lud is associated with Lydians or Lydian-related peoples; and Aram is the ancestor of the Arameans, whose language (Aramaic) will become the lingua franca of the ancient Near East and appears in portions of Daniel and Ezra. Every name represents a culture that has shaped the world of the Bible — and the linguistic and cultural diversity they represent is the diversity within which the Word of God was originally given.

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