Excerpts from Genesis 11:10–27—(Jewish Publication Society translation of 1917): The 1st-century historian Flavius Josephus told a legendary, non-scriptural account that Shem's five sons were the progenitors of the nations of Elam, Assyria, Chaldea, Lydia, and Levantine, respectively.

[citation needed] A rabbinic document that surfaced in the 17th century, claiming to be the lost Book of Jasher, provides some names not found in any other source.

Unlike traditional Sethian literature, Seth is not seen as the father of the followers of Gnosticism, rather it is Shem, who receives a divine revelation from a spiritual savior named Derkedeas.

Shem later helps bring his universal teaching of secret knowledge to humanity before the forces of darkness attempt to destroy the world with a great flood.

[15] In Mandaean scriptures such as the Ginza Rabba and Qulasta, Shem is referred to as Šum (or Shum; pronounced in Modern Mandaic as Šom (Shom)).