Genesis 10:21

"Shem ... father of all the children of Eber ..." Eber gave his name to the Hebrews. "Hebrew = Eberite."[13] As Willis pointed out, it is the importance of Eber as the ancestor of the Hebrews that leads to the mention of his name at the head of the genealogy, despite the fact of his being, not the son, but the "great-grandson of Shem."[14]

"Shem, the elder brother of Japheth ..." There is a marginal reference in the ASV on this place which reads "the brother of Japheth the elder." Willis and others have rejected this as incorrect, but the definite Hebrew tradition that Shem was the youngest of Noah's sons could be correct, as mentioned above in the quotation from Josephus. Of course, his name usually stands first in the mention of Noah's sons, and that is supposed to prove that Shem was the oldest. However, in this chapter, his posterity are given after those of Japheth and Ham. The pre-eminence given to Shem in most of the references is amply sustained by his importance as the head of the Messianic line, and is, of course, proper regardless of whether or not he was older than his brothers. We also agree with Aalders that, "The relative age of the sons of Noah is actually of no great importance."[15]