Shem

• Shem is one of the sons of Noah (the other two listed in Genesis are Ham and Japheth). Shem and Ham were in good stead with Noah when he died. Genesis 9:22 - 9:27: 22 And Ham, the father of Canaan, saw the nakedness of his father, and told his two brothers outside. 23 And Shem and Japheth took a garment, and laid it upon both their shoulders, and went backward, and covered the nakedness of their father; and their faces were backward, and they saw not their father's nakedness. 24 And Noah awoke from his wine, and knew what his younger son had done to him. 25 And he said, Cursed be Canaan; a slave of slaves shall he be to his brothers. 26 And he said, Blessed be the Lord God of Shem; and Canaan shall be his slave. 27 God shall enlarge Japheth, and he shall live in the tents of Shem; and Canaan shall be his slave.

Shem in Hebrew means renown, prosperity, or name. In the Hebrew scriptures and in Jewish prayers, it most often refers to the name of God.

• Shem...short...Shemus...Jem...joky...Jacob: Alliterative verse, in which alliteration rather than rhyme is the main poetic foliation, was the most frequent verse technique in Old English poetry (eg., Beowulf)