After the flood, Noah blesses the LORD as "the God of Shem" and declares that Canaan will be subject to Shem. This statement establishes a special place for the line of Shem in the unfolding biblical story. Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Judah, and ultimately Jesus all arise from this same line, so the blessing forms part of the progressive narrowing of the family through which God's redemptive purposes would be accomplished.

Luke's genealogy traces Jesus' human ancestry through the patriarchal line and includes Shem among His forefathers. Genesis 9:26-27 is therefore better regarded as an early genealogical anticipation than as a direct prediction that God Himself would become a descendant of Shem. In the light of the New Testament, however, Christians can see that the God whose covenant purposes were especially associated with Shem ultimately entered human history in Jesus Christ through that family line.