Shem was born roughly 100 years before the flood. After the flood, while most men were building the Tower of Babel, Shem was building a city of peace and righteousness where his father, Noah, chose to live as well. Over time he became known as Melchizedek, the king of Salem. Even 300 years after the flood and after languages had been confused at the Tower of Babel, those such as Abram, who sought righteousness, came to recognize that the power of God by which the work of righteousness was directed was held in purity by Melchizedek. That is why Abram paid tithes to a monarch that was, in many ways, foreign to him. His allegiance was to righteousness. Shem actually outlived Abram. Truly there were few men on the earth who had any idea of his origin by the time he died.
Leave a Reply