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muriel_volestrangler

(105,208 posts)
26. "Shem" means, roughly, "name", and can have the same implication of "reputation" as in English
Sun Nov 9, 2025, 12:03 PM
Sunday
The Hebrew noun שׁם (shêm) means "name." The most straightforward use of שׁם (shêm) is to mark the name of an individual as seen in Genesis 3:20: "The man named (שׁם, lit.: "called the name of" ) his wife Eve, because she was the mother of all living." The noun שׁם (shêm) can also be used figuratively to represent ones "reputation." For example, when God calls Abram in Genesis 12:2, God says: "I will make of you a great nation, and I will bless you, and make your name (שׁםך ) great"; and when constructing the Tower of Babel in Genesis 11:14, the people state: "Come, let us build ourselves a city, and a tower with its top in the heavens, and let us make a name (שׁם ) for ourselves." Biblical authors use the divine name as a means of embodying the character and evoking the reputation of God as can be seen in Jeremiah 33:2 "Thus says the LORD who made the earth, the LORD who formed it to establish it—the LORD is his name (שׁםו )." In fact, referring to God today as "HaShem," or "The Name," as in Leviticus 24:11, is a common way for many to refer to God without speaking the actual name of the deity.

There is a clear social concern in the Hebrew Bible surrounding the continuation of one's name through descendants. One of the more well-known examples of this concern is the practice of Levirate marriage. As described in Deuteronomy 25, Levirate marriage was a practice wherein a widow without a son would marry (or produce a child with) her deceased husband's brother in the hope of producing a male heir. If a son was born of this union, Deuteronomy 25:6 states that: "The firstborn whom she bears shall succeed to the name (שׁם ) of the deceased brother, so that his name (שׁםו ) may not be blotted out of Israel."

And in case you were wondering, yes, the "name" of Noah's son in Genesis 5:32 is the very original שׁם (Shêm), which also happens to be the origin of the word Semitic, as the biblical Shem is considered to be the forefather of the Semitic peoples (cf. Genesis 10:21 ff.).

https://bam.sites.uiowa.edu/RTL/shem

And "Jew"/the "Jud-" words come from "Judah", the ancient nation, with an apparent earlier derivation from "celebrated":

late 12c., Giw, Jeu, "a Jew (ancient or modern), one of the Jewish race or religion," from Anglo-French iuw, Old French giu (Modern French Juif), from Latin Iudaeum (nominative Iudaeus), from Greek Ioudaios, from Aramaic (Semitic) jehudhai (Hebrew y'hudi) "a Jew," from Y'hudah "Judah," literally "celebrated," name of Jacob's fourth son and of the tribe descended from him.

https://www.etymonline.com/word/Judaism

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When people have attempted to muddle the meaning of antisemitic sarisataka Saturday #1
That definitely adds a forceful historic bite to it gulliver Saturday #7
Can you give an example of who and what you would consider phobic JI7 Saturday #2
Arachnophobia, agoraphobia... gulliver Saturday #11
This message was self-deleted by its author PeaceWave Saturday #12
It's definitely one pathway, fear to hate gulliver Saturday #14
But how about when it comes to Jewish people JI7 Saturday #17
This message was self-deleted by its author PeaceWave Saturday #3
Phobia implies fear; anti- as a prefix mostly means against biophile Saturday #4
This message was self-deleted by its author PeaceWave Saturday #6
I agree but it depends on the audience gulliver Saturday #9
Sounds reasonable, yes biophile Saturday #22
The term "Semite" is basically inaccurate and effectively obsolete, so why isn't "Anti-Semitic" the same ? eppur_se_muova Saturday #5
The racist definition of Semites was developed in the 1770s sarisataka Saturday #10
That's the thinking behind removing the hyphen Mosby Saturday #13
Here's my take: semite is race oriented, and jew relates to theology. RedWhiteBlueIsRacist Saturday #8
I couldn't remember what its derivation was, if I ever knew muriel_volestrangler Saturday #15
That take is incorrect sarisataka Saturday #16
I see 'shem' as the remnant of a much longer phrase that has been shortened into one syllable. RedWhiteBlueIsRacist Sunday #25
"Shem" means, roughly, "name", and can have the same implication of "reputation" as in English muriel_volestrangler Sunday #26
Semitic is a language group Mosby Saturday #20
Why? Behind the Aegis Saturday #18
I'm largely in agreement gulliver Saturday #21
Language as a weapon Behind the Aegis Saturday #23
I see antisemitism as prejudice too. gulliver Saturday #24
Those two expressions have very, very different meanings. MineralMan Saturday #19
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