name
shem denotes an identifying designation, especially for people and places, and can also mark renown or the LORD’s named presence.
The sampled verses most often use the term to identify a person, family member, city, or other named individual or place. It also occurs in clauses concerning the LORD’s name, including calling on it, praising it, and building a house for it, and in statements where a person gains or spreads a name as public renown.
Senses in use
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Identifying persons, families, and places · dominant
In 1 Chronicles 1:19, the singular construct forms identify the two brothers as Peleg and Joktan; in 1 Chronicles 1:50, they identify both a city and a wife. The plural construct form in 1 Chronicles 8:38 introduces the listed sons of Azel, while 1 Kings 16:24 connects a city’s designation with Shemer.
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The LORD’s named identity in worship and sanctuary language · common
The singular construct form occurs in appeals and praise directed to the LORD: in 1 Chronicles 16:8 the APB renders the clause “call upon his name,” and in 1 Chronicles 16:29 it renders “the glory due his name.” In 1 Chronicles 22:7 and 1 Kings 11:36, the same construction belongs to statements about building or choosing a house or city for the LORD’s name.
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Public renown or report · occasional
In 1 Chronicles 11:24, Benaiah’s deeds result in his having standing among the mighty men; the APB renders this as “he won a name.” In 1 Chronicles 14:17, David’s singular construct form is followed by its going out through all the lands, in a clause joined to the nations’ dread of him.
In the Anselm Project Bible: Across the sample, the APB commonly presents the term with “name” or “names,” including personal and place identifications, and uses “he won a name” for Benaiah’s standing in 1 Chronicles 11:24. Its varied wording is only a guide to the clauses containing the term.