Person Old Testament
Lud
Also known as Lud =ESV, NIV, KJV; Lydia, Lydian =NIV, KJV, Lud =ESV; Lydia =NIV; Lydian =KJV
Lud, a son of Shem and progenitor of the Lydians. Mentioned in 6 verses across 5 books, first at Genesis 10:22.
Why it matters. Son of Shem; progenitor of the Lydians
- Last reviewed
- 2026-08-30 by the FaithGraph team
About Lud
Lud was one of the sons of Shem, the son of Noah (Gen.10.22; 1Ch.1.17). He is mentioned in the Table of Nations, which records the descendants of Noah's sons after the flood. Lud is considered the ancestor of the Lydians, a people group that inhabited the region of Lydia in western Anatolia (modern-day Turkey). The Lydians were known for their military prowess and are mentioned as allies or mercenaries of Tyre and Egypt (Ezk.27.10; 30.5; Jer.46.9). The prophet Isaiah also includes Lud among the nations that will come to know the glory of the Lord (Isa.66.19). Although the connection between the biblical Lud and the historical Lydians is not explicitly stated, it is generally accepted based on the similarity of the names and the geographic location associated with Lud's descendants.
Description from STEPBible TIPNR (Tyndale House, Cambridge), CC BY 4.0, lightly reformatted. This is background reference material, not Scripture and not a FaithGraph editorial claim.
Connections
No reviewed connections yet.
Family
Family links from STEPBible TIPNR (CC BY 4.0). Where the dataset marks an identification as uncertain, the mark is kept. Matthew and Luke give different genealogies for Jesus; see the Lineage page, which never merges them.
- Parents
- Shem
- Siblings
- AramArpachshadAsshurElam
Appears in Scripture
Named in 6 verses across 5 books. Occurrence data from STEPBible TIPNR (CC BY 4.0); references only, no translation text.