The People of the Bible

Bilhah

Rachel’s handmaid, given to Jacob as a wife; she bore Dan and Naphtali, founders of two of the twelve tribes of Israel.

Birsha

The king of Gomorrah who, with the king of Sodom, rebelled against Chedorlaomer and was defeated in the war of the kings.

Boaz

A godly landowner of Bethlehem who redeemed and married Ruth, becoming the great-grandfather of King David and a picture of Christ the Redeemer.

Caiaphas

The high priest who presided over Jesus’ trial before the Sanhedrin and unwittingly prophesied that one man should die for the people.

Cain

The firstborn son of Adam and Eve and the first murderer, who killed his brother Abel out of jealousy and was sent to wander as a fugitive.

Cainan

A patriarch in the godly line of Seth, son of Enos and father of Mahalaleel, who lived 910 years.

Caleb

One of the twelve spies who, with Joshua, urged Israel to trust God and enter Canaan; rewarded for wholehearted faith, he claimed Hebron at eighty-five.

Chedorlaomer

The king of Elam who led a coalition against the cities of the plain; his capture of Lot drew Abraham into battle to rescue his nephew.

Cornelius

A devout Roman centurion of Caesarea whose vision and Peter’s opened the door of the gospel to the Gentiles.

Cush

The eldest son of Ham and father of Nimrod, ancestor of the peoples south of Egypt (later called Cush or Ethiopia).

Cushan-rishathaim

The Mesopotamian king who first oppressed Israel in the days of the judges, for eight years, until Othniel delivered them.

Cyrus

The Persian king who conquered Babylon and issued the decree freeing the exiles to return and rebuild the temple — named by Isaiah by name two centuries before his birth.

Dan

The fifth son of Jacob, born to Rachel’s handmaid Bilhah, whose name means "judge"; ancestor of the tribe of Dan, which Jacob likened to a serpent by the way.

Daniel

A Judean noble taken captive to Babylon who served as a trusted adviser to pagan kings, was preserved in the lions’ den, and received sweeping visions of future kingdoms.

Darius

The ruler who took Babylon after Belshazzar and, tricked into a decree against prayer, reluctantly cast Daniel into the lions’ den — then rejoiced at his deliverance.

Dathan

A Reubenite who joined Korah’s rebellion against Moses and was swallowed alive by the earth.

David

The shepherd-boy who became Israel’s greatest king, a man after God’s own heart, psalmist, and ancestor of the Messiah, who is called the "Son of David."

Deborah

The only female judge of Israel, a prophetess who summoned Barak and led the nation to victory over Sisera, celebrated in one of the Bible’s oldest songs.

Delilah

The woman of the valley of Sorek who, bribed by the Philistine lords, coaxed the secret of his strength from Samson and betrayed him to his enemies.

Dinah

The only named daughter of Jacob and Leah, whose violation at Shechem provoked the vengeful massacre carried out by her brothers Simeon and Levi.

Doeg

Saul’s Edomite chief herdsman who informed on the priests of Nob and then slaughtered eighty-five of them when Saul’s own men would not.

Dorcas

A beloved disciple of Joppa "full of good works," renowned for clothing the poor, whom Peter raised from the dead.

Eber

A descendant of Shem from whose name the term "Hebrew" is widely thought to derive; father of Peleg and an ancestor of Abraham.

Eglon

The very fat Moabite king who oppressed Israel eighteen years and was assassinated by the judge Ehud.

Ehud

A left-handed Benjamite judge who assassinated the oppressive Moabite king Eglon and freed Israel for eighty years of peace.

Eleazar

The third son of Aaron who succeeded him as high priest, served alongside Moses and Joshua, and helped divide the Promised Land among the tribes.

Eli

The high priest and judge at Shiloh who raised the boy Samuel but failed to restrain his own corrupt sons, and died when the ark was captured.

Eliab

The eldest brother of David, whose impressive appearance was passed over when God chose David instead.

Eliezer

The trusted steward of Abraham’s household, born in Damascus, who before Isaac’s birth stood to be Abraham’s heir.

Eliezer

The second son of Moses and Zipporah, named in gratitude for God’s deliverance.

Elijah

The fiery prophet who confronted King Ahab and the prophets of Baal on Mount Carmel and was taken up to heaven in a whirlwind without dying.

Eliphaz

The firstborn son of Esau and father of Teman and (through his concubine) Amalek — a head of the clans of Edom.

Elisabeth

The aged, righteous wife of the priest Zacharias and kinswoman of Mary, who bore John the Baptist in her old age and blessed Mary as "the mother of my Lord."

Elisha

The successor of Elijah who received a double portion of his spirit and performed many miracles, including healing Naaman the Syrian of leprosy.

Elisheba

The wife of Aaron and mother of Israel’s first priestly line — Nadab, Abihu, Eleazar, and Ithamar; sister of Nahshon, prince of Judah.

Elon

A Zebulunite judge who led Israel ten years.

Enoch

The man who "walked with God" and did not die, but was taken directly to heaven — the seventh from Adam and an early prophet of judgment.

Enos

The son of Seth and grandson of Adam, in whose day "men began to call upon the name of the LORD" — a marker of the renewal of true worship.

Ephraim

The younger son of Joseph who received the greater blessing from Jacob; his tribe became so dominant that "Ephraim" became a name for the whole northern kingdom.

Ephron

The Hittite from whom Abraham bought the cave of Machpelah as a burial place for Sarah — the patriarchs’ family tomb.

Er

The firstborn son of Judah, married to Tamar, who "was wicked in the sight of the LORD" and was put to death.

Esau

The elder twin of Jacob, a skilful hunter who despised his birthright and sold it for a meal, becoming the father of the Edomites.

Esther

A Jewish exile who became queen of Persia and risked her life to expose Haman’s plot, delivering her people from genocide — the deliverance remembered at Purim.

Eunice

The believing Jewish mother of Timothy, praised by Paul for the "unfeigned faith" she passed on, having taught her son the Scriptures from childhood.

Eve

The first woman, formed by God from Adam’s side and named "the mother of all living." She was deceived by the serpent in the garden of Eden.

Ezekiel

A priest exiled to Babylon who became a prophet of vivid visions — the wheels, the valley of dry bones, the new temple — calling Israel to hope in restoration.

Ezra

A priest and skilled scribe who led a second wave of exiles back to Jerusalem and devoted himself to teaching and restoring God’s Law among the people.

Felix

The Roman governor of Judea who kept Paul imprisoned at Caesarea for two years, trembling at his preaching of righteousness and judgment but hoping for a bribe.

Gad

The seventh son of Jacob, born to Leah’s handmaid Zilpah; his warrior tribe settled east of the Jordan.

Gad

A prophet and seer who advised David from his fugitive years onward and brought him God’s word of judgment after the census.

Gamaliel

A respected Pharisee and teacher of the law in the Sanhedrin who counseled restraint toward the apostles — and at whose feet Paul was educated.

Gehazi

The servant of Elisha who greedily took payment from the healed Naaman by deceit and was struck with Naaman’s leprosy.

Gershom

The firstborn son of Moses and Zipporah, named for Moses’ sojourn as a stranger in Midian.

Gershon

The firstborn son of Levi and head of the Gershonite clan of Levites, who carried the tabernacle’s curtains and coverings.

Gideon

A reluctant judge who, with only 300 men, routed the vast Midianite army after God whittled down his forces to prove the victory was His.

Goliath

The Philistine giant of Gath, nearly ten feet tall, who defied the armies of Israel for forty days and was felled by the shepherd boy David with a sling and a stone.

Gomer

The unfaithful wife of the prophet Hosea, whose marriage God appointed as a living parable of Israel’s spiritual adultery and His redeeming love.

Habakkuk

A prophet who wrestled honestly with God over injustice and the rise of Babylon, and learned to live by faith — "the just shall live by his faith."

Hagar

The Egyptian servant of Sarah who bore Abraham’s son Ishmael. Cast out into the wilderness, she met the God who sees and was promised a great nation.

Haggai

A post-exilic prophet who roused the returned exiles to finish rebuilding the temple, promising that its glory would surpass the former house.