Person speaking one of a group of related languages, presumably derived from a common language, Semitic (see Semitic languages ).
The term came to include Aramaean tribes including Hebrews. Semitic tribes migrated from the Arabian Peninsula , beginning с 2500 BC, to the Mediterranean coast, Mesopotamia , and the Nile River delta. In Phoenicia , they became seafarers. In Mesopotamia, they blended with the civilization of Sumer . The Hebrews settled at last with other Semites in Palestine .