Semite is an obsolete term, popularized in the 19th century, that originally described someone who speaks a semitic language, a family of languages that includes arabic, hebrew, and others From the ancient civilisations of the near east to the vibrant communities of today, semitic peoples have played a pivotal role in shaping human history. It was later used in an ethnic sense, often specifically to people of jewish origin.
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The name semite comes from shem, the eldest of the three sons of noah
In the greek and latin versions of the bible, shem becomes sem, since neither greek nor latin has any way of representing the initial sound of the hebrew name.
In modern scholarship, the term “semitic” is often used to define a language family rather than a purely genealogical or ethnic category However, from a biblical perspective, “semitic” anchors back to the figure of shem in genesis and highlights connections among the peoples described in scripture. The meaning of semite is a member of any of a number of peoples of ancient southwestern asia including the akkadians, phoenicians, hebrews, and arabs. The meaning of “semite” transcends its linguistic roots to embody a complex mosaic of peoples, languages, and cultures
