The People of the Bible

Ham

A son of Noah whose disrespect toward his father led to the cursing of his son Canaan; ancestor of peoples including Egypt, Cush, and Canaan.

Haman

The proud Persian official who plotted to destroy all the Jews because Mordecai would not bow; his scheme was exposed by Esther and he was hanged on his own gallows.

Hamor

The Hivite prince of Shechem whose son violated Dinah; he sought an alliance with Jacob’s family but was killed in the brothers’ revenge.

Hannah

A devout, barren woman whose anguished prayer for a son was answered with Samuel, whom she gave back to the LORD; her song of praise prefigures Mary’s Magnificat.

Haran

A brother of Abraham who died young in Ur, leaving a son, Lot, who would travel with Abraham toward Canaan.

Hazael

A Syrian official whom Elisha foresaw would become king and oppress Israel; he murdered his master and seized the throne, becoming a scourge to Israel.

Herod the Great

The Roman-appointed king of Judea at Jesus’ birth, who—troubled by the magi’s news of a newborn king—ordered the massacre of the infant boys of Bethlehem.

Hezekiah

A faithful king of Judah who abolished idolatry, trusted God to deliver Jerusalem from Assyria, and was granted fifteen added years of life in answer to prayer.

Hezron

A son of Perez who went down to Egypt with Jacob; a direct ancestor of Boaz, David, and Jesus in the line of Judah.

Hirah

A Canaanite of Adullam and friend of Judah, present in the account of Judah and Tamar.

Hobab

The son of Jethro and brother-in-law of Moses, whom Moses asked to guide Israel through the wilderness as "eyes" for the camp.

Hosea

A prophet to the northern kingdom whose marriage to the unfaithful Gomer became a living parable of Israel’s spiritual adultery and God’s redeeming love.

Huldah

A prophetess in Jerusalem whom King Josiah’s officials consulted when the lost Book of the Law was found, confirming both coming judgment and Josiah’s reprieve.

Hur

A leader who, with Aaron, held up Moses’ hands during the battle with Amalek and was left in charge of Israel with Aaron while Moses was on Sinai.

Hushai

David’s loyal friend who, at the king’s request, infiltrated Absalom’s court and overturned Ahithophel’s deadly counsel, saving David’s life.

Ibzan

A judge from Bethlehem with thirty sons and thirty daughters, who led Israel seven years.

Irad

A descendant of Cain through his son Enoch, and the father of Mehujael, in the genealogy of the line of Cain.

Isaac

The promised son of Abraham and Sarah, the second patriarch of Israel, husband of Rebekah and father of Jacob and Esau.

Isaiah

The major prophet of Judah whose book soars from warnings of judgment to the clearest Old Testament prophecies of the Messiah and the suffering Servant.

Iscah

A daughter of Haran, sister of Milcah and Lot, named briefly in the genealogy of Abraham’s family.

Ishbak

A son of Abraham by Keturah, ancestor of one of the Arabian tribes settled east of Canaan.

Ishbosheth

A surviving son of Saul, set up as a rival king over Israel by Abner, who reigned weakly for two years before being assassinated.

Ishmael

The son of Abraham and Hagar, circumcised in Abraham’s household and promised to become a great nation; ancestor of twelve princes.

Issachar

The ninth son of Jacob and fifth by Leah; his name means "reward," and his tribe was later praised for understanding the times.

Ithamar

The youngest son of Aaron, a priest who oversaw the Levites’ service and the materials of the tabernacle.

Jabal

A descendant of Cain, "the father of such as dwell in tents, and of such as have cattle" — the originator of nomadic herding.

Jabin

The Canaanite king of Hazor whose general Sisera oppressed Israel for twenty years, until Deborah and Barak broke his power.

Jacob

The younger twin of Esau who grasped the birthright and blessing, wrestled with God, and was renamed Israel — the father of the twelve tribes.

Jael

The wife of Heber the Kenite who killed the fleeing Canaanite general Sisera with a tent peg, fulfilling Deborah’s prophecy and delivering Israel.

Jair

A Gileadite judge who led Israel twenty-two years and whose thirty sons rode thirty donkeys and held thirty towns.

James

One of the twelve apostles, distinguished from James son of Zebedee, often identified with "James the Less."

James

A brother of Jesus who, after the resurrection, became a pillar of the Jerusalem church and wrote the Epistle of James.

James

A fisherman of the inner circle of three, brother of John, nicknamed a "son of thunder" — the first of the twelve apostles to be martyred, killed by Herod Agrippa.

Japheth

The son of Noah from whom the coastland and northern peoples descended; blessed by Noah with enlargement and a share in Shem’s blessing.

Jared

A patriarch of the line of Seth and the father of Enoch; at 962 years, the second-longest-lived person in the Bible after Methuselah.

Jehoiachin

A young king of Judah who reigned three months before surrendering to Babylon; exiled for decades, he was finally freed and given a seat of honor — and named in Jesus’ genealogy.

Jehoiada

The high priest who hid the infant prince Joash for six years, overthrew the usurper Athaliah, and guided the young king back to the worship of the LORD.

Jehoiakim

A king of Judah, son of Josiah, who taxed the land for Egypt, did evil, and defiantly cut up and burned Jeremiah’s prophetic scroll.

Jehoshaphat

A godly king of Judah who taught the law throughout the land and won a battle through worship, though he was faulted for allying with wicked Ahab.

Jehu

The army commander anointed to wipe out the house of Ahab, famous for his furious chariot-driving, who destroyed Baal worship but did not fully follow the LORD.

Jephthah

An outcast warrior of Gilead recalled to lead Israel against Ammon, who won victory but bound himself by a tragic, rash vow.

Jeremiah

The "weeping prophet" who faithfully warned Judah of judgment for forty years before Jerusalem’s fall, suffering rejection while foretelling a new covenant.

Jeroboam

The first king of the breakaway northern kingdom of Israel, who set up golden calves at Bethel and Dan — "the sin of Jeroboam" that plagued the north for centuries.

Jesse

A Bethlehemite of the tribe of Judah, the father of King David, from whose family line the Messiah — the "root of Jesse" — would come.

Jesus

The Son of God and promised Messiah, born of the virgin Mary, crucified for the sins of the world, and risen from the dead — the center of the Christian faith.

Jethro

The priest of Midian and father-in-law of Moses, who sheltered him in exile and later gave him wise counsel to appoint judges and share the burden of leadership.

Jezebel

The Phoenician queen of King Ahab who promoted Baal worship, persecuted the LORD’s prophets, and engineered Naboth’s murder — the Bible’s archetype of wicked influence.

Joab

David’s fierce and capable but ruthless general, who won his battles yet murdered rivals in cold blood and was finally executed at Solomon’s command.

Joanna

The wife of Herod’s steward Chuza, a woman healed by Jesus who supported His ministry and was among the first to find the empty tomb.

Job

A blameless and wealthy man of Uz whose faith endured the loss of his children, wealth, and health, and who met God in his suffering and was restored.

Jochebed

The mother of Moses, Aaron, and Miriam, who by faith hid her infant son from Pharaoh and entrusted him to the Nile.

Joel

A prophet of Judah who used a devastating locust plague to call the nation to repentance and foretold the outpouring of God’s Spirit on all flesh.

John

The apostle "whom Jesus loved," a fisherman of the inner circle who wrote the fourth Gospel, three epistles, and Revelation, and cared for Jesus’ mother.

John the Baptist

The forerunner of the Messiah, a prophet who preached repentance in the wilderness, baptized Jesus in the Jordan, and was beheaded by Herod Antipas.

Jokshan

A son of Abraham by Keturah and the father of Sheba and Dedan, ancestors of trading peoples of Arabia.

Joktan

A son of Eber and brother of Peleg, the ancestor of many of the tribes of the Arabian peninsula.

Jonah

The father of the apostles Peter and Andrew, referenced when Jesus called Peter "Simon son of Jonah."

Jonah

The prophet who fled God’s call to Nineveh, was swallowed by a great fish, then preached to the city — and sulked when God spared the repentant Ninevites.

Jonathan

The valiant son of King Saul and devoted friend of David, whose covenant loyalty outshone his own claim to the throne; he died beside his father at Gilboa.

Joseph

The favored son of Jacob who was sold into slavery by his brothers, rose to become governor of Egypt, and saved his family from famine — a life that closes the book of Genesis.