Entity index

People of the Bible

Every person here has a page with their place in the story, the verses that name them, and the journeys, moments and threads they belong to. Names highlighted while you read link straight through to these pages.

AaronFirst high priestAaron speaks for Moses before Pharaoh and becomes Israel's first high priest, with the priesthood passing to his sons. He also makes the golden calf, so the office of priest begins with a man who has already needed atonement himself.
AbelShepherd, first victimAbel brings the firstborn of his flock and is commended for it. His death at his brother's hand makes him the Bible's first martyr, and Hebrews holds him up as an early example of faith whose blood 'still speaks'.
AbrahamFather of the covenant peopleAbraham leaves Ur and Haran for a land he has never seen, on nothing more than a promise of land, offspring and blessing for all nations. His long wait for Isaac, the covenant of circumcision, and the near-sacrifice on Moriah make him the model of faith for Jews, Christians and Muslims alike.
AbrahamFather of the covenant peopleAbraham leaves Ur and Haran for a land he has never seen, on nothing more than a promise of land, offspring and blessing for all nations. His long wait for Isaac, the covenant of circumcision, and the near-sacrifice on Moriah make him the model of faith for Jews, Christians and Muslims alike.
AbsalomSon of DavidAbsalom kills his half-brother Amnon, wins the hearts of Israel at the gate, and drives his father from Jerusalem. He dies caught in an oak against Joab's orders, and David's cry over him is one of Scripture's rawest lines of grief.
AdamThe first manAdam is the first human being in the biblical account, formed from the ground and placed in Eden to work and keep it. His disobedience introduces death and exile into the story, and Paul later reads him as the head of the old humanity that Christ reverses.
AhabKing of IsraelAhab marries Jezebel of Sidon and gives Baal worship royal backing. His seizure of Naboth's vineyard draws Elijah's sharpest judgement, and he dies from a stray arrow at Ramoth Gilead.
BarnabasApostle and encouragerBarnabas sells a field for the church, vouches for the newly converted Saul when no one else will, and fetches him from Tarsus to Antioch. Their split over John Mark sends two missions out instead of one.
BathshebaWife of David, mother of SolomonBathsheba is taken by David while her husband Uriah is at the front, and Uriah is killed to hide it. She later secures the succession for Solomon and is named, obliquely, in Matthew's genealogy.
BoazKinsman-redeemerBoaz protects Ruth in his fields and settles the redemption of Elimelech's land at the town gate. His role as kinsman-redeemer becomes a standing picture of redemption in later Christian reading.
CainFirst-born of Adam and EveCain is a farmer whose offering is not accepted, and whose jealousy ends in the first murder. Sent east as a restless wanderer, he builds the first city named in Scripture, so human culture and human violence begin in the same chapter.
CalebFaithful spyCaleb brings back a minority report from Canaan and is promised the land he walked on. Forty-five years later, at eighty-five, he asks for the hill country of Hebron and takes it.
CorneliusRoman centurionA God-fearing officer at Caesarea, Cornelius sends for Peter after a vision. The Spirit falling on his Gentile household settles, in practice, the question the Jerusalem council later settles in principle.
DanielExile and statesman in BabylonTaken to Babylon as a youth, Daniel serves under Babylonian and Persian kings while refusing to compromise. The court tales — the furnace, the writing on the wall, the lions' den — sit beside visions of successive empires and one 'like a son of man'.
DavidShepherd, poet, kingDavid is anointed as a shepherd boy, kills Goliath, spends years as a fugitive from Saul, and unites the tribes with his capital at Jerusalem. The covenant promising him an everlasting throne, and the psalms attributed to him, make his name the one the New Testament reaches for when it calls Jesus 'son of David'.
DeborahJudge and prophetessDeborah judges Israel from beneath a palm in the hill country and summons Barak to face Sisera's chariots. The victory song in Judges 5 is among the oldest poetry in the Bible.
ElijahProphetElijah announces a drought to Ahab, is fed by ravens, defeats the prophets of Baal on Carmel, and then collapses under a broom tree asking to die. He hears God not in wind, earthquake or fire but in a low whisper, and leaves in a chariot of fire.
ElishaProphet, successor to ElijahElisha asks for a double portion of Elijah's spirit and spends his ministry among ordinary people: a widow's oil, a Shunammite's son, a floating axe head, and Naaman washing in the Jordan.
EsauJacob's twin, ancestor of EdomEsau sells his birthright for a bowl of stew and loses his father's blessing to Jacob. Their reunion twenty years later is one of the most generous scenes in Genesis, though his descendants in Edom remain Israel's long-running rivals.
EstherQueen of PersiaEsther conceals her Jewish identity until Haman's decree threatens her people, then risks an uninvited approach to the king. The book never names God, but its turn of events founds the feast of Purim.
EveThe first womanEve is made as a companion answering to Adam and is named 'mother of all living' after the fall. Her conversation with the serpent and the promise about her offspring set up the long conflict that runs through the rest of Scripture.
EzekielPriest-prophet in BabylonEzekiel prophesies among the exiles by the Chebar canal, using sign-acts and vast visions: the wheels and living creatures, the glory leaving the temple, the valley of dry bones, and a new temple with a river flowing from it.
EzraPriest and scribeEzra returns from Babylon with a commission to teach the law, and reads it aloud from a wooden platform while Levites explain it to the crowd. His reform work centres on Scripture being understood, not merely recited.
GideonJudgeGideon is threshing wheat in a winepress when he is called a mighty man of valour. He tears down his father's altar, tests God with a fleece, and routs Midian with three hundred men — then makes an ephod that Israel treats as an idol.
GoliathPhilistine championGoliath of Gath taunts Israel's army for forty days before being killed by a shepherd with a sling. The encounter in the Valley of Elah became the Bible's standard image of an impossible fight won by faith.
HagarMother of IshmaelHagar is Sarah's Egyptian servant, given to Abraham and then driven into the wilderness. She is the first person in Scripture to give God a name — 'the God who sees me' — and is promised that her son too will become a great nation.
HannahMother of SamuelHannah prays at Shiloh so intently that Eli takes her for drunk, then gives the son she is granted back to the sanctuary. Her song of reversal is echoed centuries later in Mary's Magnificat.
HerodRuling dynasty of JudeaThe Herods run through the New Testament: Herod the Great orders the killing at Bethlehem, Antipas beheads John and questions Jesus, Agrippa I executes James, and Agrippa II hears Paul's defence.
HezekiahKing of JudahHezekiah removes the high places, cuts a tunnel to secure Jerusalem's water, and survives Sennacherib's siege after taking the Assyrian letter into the temple and spreading it before God. His fifteen added years and the display of his treasury to Babylon's envoys close his reign on a warning.
IsaacSon of promiseIsaac is the child born to Abraham and Sarah long past hope, and the son carried up Moriah. His own life is quieter than his father's or his son's: he redigs Abraham's wells, prospers in Gerar, and passes the covenant blessing on to Jacob.
IsaiahProphetIsaiah's call comes in a vision of the Lord high and lifted up in the temple. He counsels kings through the Assyrian crisis, and his book holds both the harshest judgement oracles and the servant songs the New Testament reads as pointing to Christ.
JacobFather of the twelve tribesJacob takes his brother's blessing by deception, meets God on a stairway at Bethel, works fourteen years for Rachel, and wrestles through the night at the Jabbok until he is renamed Israel. His twelve sons become the tribes that carry the nation's name.
JacobFather of the twelve tribesJacob takes his brother's blessing by deception, meets God on a stairway at Bethel, works fourteen years for Rachel, and wrestles through the night at the Jabbok until he is renamed Israel. His twelve sons become the tribes that carry the nation's name.
JeremiahProphet of the fall of JerusalemJeremiah is called young and told he will be opposed by everyone, and he is: beaten, put in stocks, lowered into a cistern. He watches Jerusalem fall, buys a field as a sign that the land will be lived in again, and promises a new covenant written on the heart.
JeroboamFirst king of the northern kingdomJeroboam leads the northern secession and sets up golden calves at Bethel and Dan so his people will not travel to Jerusalem. 'The sin of Jeroboam' becomes the standard charge against every later northern king.
JesusThe ChristJesus of Nazareth is the centre of the New Testament: born in Bethlehem, raised in Galilee, teaching in parables, healing, crucified under Pontius Pilate and, the Gospels insist, raised on the third day. Every earlier thread in Bible Atlas — covenant, exodus, temple, kingship, prophecy — is read by the New Testament as arriving at him.
JesusThe ChristJesus of Nazareth is the centre of the New Testament: born in Bethlehem, raised in Galilee, teaching in parables, healing, crucified under Pontius Pilate and, the Gospels insist, raised on the third day. Every earlier thread in Bible Atlas — covenant, exodus, temple, kingship, prophecy — is read by the New Testament as arriving at him.
JesusThe ChristJesus of Nazareth is the centre of the New Testament: born in Bethlehem, raised in Galilee, teaching in parables, healing, crucified under Pontius Pilate and, the Gospels insist, raised on the third day. Every earlier thread in Bible Atlas — covenant, exodus, temple, kingship, prophecy — is read by the New Testament as arriving at him.
JesusThe ChristJesus of Nazareth is the centre of the New Testament: born in Bethlehem, raised in Galilee, teaching in parables, healing, crucified under Pontius Pilate and, the Gospels insist, raised on the third day. Every earlier thread in Bible Atlas — covenant, exodus, temple, kingship, prophecy — is read by the New Testament as arriving at him.
JezebelQueen of IsraelJezebel imports the prophets of Baal and Asherah, hunts down the prophets of the Lord, and arranges Naboth's judicial murder. Her name became a byword long before the letter to Thyatira used it that way.
JobThe suffering righteous manJob loses his children, wealth and health, and refuses both his friends' tidy explanations and his wife's advice to curse God. The answer he finally receives from the whirlwind is not an argument but a tour of creation.
JohnApostleJohn and his brother James are called from their nets and nicknamed 'sons of thunder'. Christian tradition connects him with the fourth Gospel, three letters on love and truth, and the visions of Revelation received on Patmos.
John the BaptistForerunnerJohn preaches repentance in the Judean wilderness and baptises in the Jordan, including Jesus himself. Imprisoned by Herod Antipas for confronting his marriage, he sends from his cell the honest question 'are you the one who is to come?'
JonahReluctant prophetJonah is sent to Nineveh and sails the opposite way. Swallowed by a great fish and delivered, he preaches, the city repents, and he sulks under a withered plant — the book's real subject is the prophet's anger at mercy, not the fish.
JonathanSon of SaulJonathan attacks a Philistine garrison with only his armour-bearer and later shields David from his own father, knowing it costs him the throne. He dies with Saul at Gilboa, and David's lament for him is one of the Bible's great elegies.
JosephVizier of EgyptJoseph is sold into Egypt by his brothers, imprisoned on a false charge, and raised to govern the country after interpreting Pharaoh's dreams. His verdict on the whole affair — 'you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good' — is one of Scripture's clearest statements about providence.
JoshuaSuccessor to MosesJoshua is one of only two spies who urge Israel to go up into Canaan, and he leads the nation across the Jordan a generation later. The book bearing his name records the fall of Jericho, the division of the land, and his closing charge at Shechem to choose whom to serve.
JosiahReforming king of JudahJosiah is eight when he becomes king, and the book of the law found during temple repairs triggers the deepest reform in Judah's history. He dies at Megiddo confronting Pharaoh Neco, and the reform does not outlive him.
JudahFourth son of JacobJudah proposes selling Joseph, is confronted by Tamar over his own failure, and later offers himself in Benjamin's place. Jacob's blessing gives his tribe the sceptre, and both David and Jesus are reckoned in his line.
LydiaMerchant of PhilippiA dealer in purple cloth from Thyatira, Lydia hears Paul at a riverside prayer meeting and is baptised with her household. Her home becomes the first church in Europe.
MaryMother of JesusMary receives Gabriel's announcement with a question and then a consent, and answers with the Magnificat's song of reversal. She appears at Cana, at the cross, and among the disciples praying before Pentecost.
Mary MagdaleneDisciple, first witness of the resurrectionDelivered of seven demons, Mary Magdalene follows Jesus from Galilee and stays at the cross when most have gone. She is the first person the risen Jesus speaks to, and the first sent to tell the others.
MiriamProphetess, sister of MosesMiriam watches over the basket in the reeds and later leads Israel's women in song after the sea crossing. Her challenge to Moses' authority at Hazeroth and the leprosy that follows show even leadership close to Moses under judgement.
MosesProphet and lawgiverRescued from the Nile and raised in Pharaoh's household, Moses flees to Midian and is called back at the burning bush to lead Israel out of Egypt. He receives the law at Sinai, intercedes for a people who repeatedly turn away, and dies in sight of a land he never enters.
NaomiMother-in-law of RuthNaomi loses her husband and both sons in Moab and returns to Bethlehem asking to be called Mara, 'bitter'. The book ends with a grandson in her lap and the neighbours declaring her restored.
NathanCourt prophetNathan brings David the promise of an enduring house, and later the parable of the ewe lamb that traps the king into condemning himself. He also acts decisively to have Solomon crowned.
NehemiahGovernor, rebuilder of Jerusalem's wallCupbearer to Artaxerxes, Nehemiah returns to a city with broken walls and rebuilds them in fifty-two days against constant obstruction. He then tackles debt-slavery, sabbath trading and mixed loyalties among the returned community.
NoahBuilder of the arkNoah is the one righteous man of his generation, told to build a vessel that carries his household and the animals through the flood. The covenant God makes with him afterwards — never again to destroy the earth by water — is the first covenant in Scripture with all creation as its partner.
PaulApostle to the GentilesTrained under Gamaliel and a persecutor of the church, Paul is stopped on the road to Damascus and spends the rest of his life planting congregations across Asia Minor and Greece. Thirteen New Testament letters carry his name, and Acts ends with him under house arrest in Rome, still teaching.
PaulApostle to the GentilesTrained under Gamaliel and a persecutor of the church, Paul is stopped on the road to Damascus and spends the rest of his life planting congregations across Asia Minor and Greece. Thirteen New Testament letters carry his name, and Acts ends with him under house arrest in Rome, still teaching.
PeterApostleA Galilean fisherman renamed Cephas, Peter walks on water and sinks, confesses Jesus as the Christ and is rebuked minutes later, denies him three times and is restored on the shore. At Pentecost he preaches the sermon that starts the church, and at Caesarea he is the one sent to a Gentile household.
PeterApostleA Galilean fisherman renamed Cephas, Peter walks on water and sinks, confesses Jesus as the Christ and is rebuked minutes later, denies him three times and is restored on the shore. At Pentecost he preaches the sermon that starts the church, and at Caesarea he is the one sent to a Gentile household.
PeterApostleA Galilean fisherman renamed Cephas, Peter walks on water and sinks, confesses Jesus as the Christ and is rebuked minutes later, denies him three times and is restored on the shore. At Pentecost he preaches the sermon that starts the church, and at Caesarea he is the one sent to a Gentile household.
Pontius PilateRoman prefect of JudeaPilate finds no fault in Jesus, tries repeatedly to release him, and hands him over anyway. His question 'what is truth?' and the washing of his hands have outlived every other act of his governorship.
PriscillaTeacher and tentmakerPriscilla and her husband Aquila work alongside Paul in Corinth and Ephesus and host a church in their house. Together they take the eloquent Apollos aside and explain the way of God more accurately.
RahabInnkeeper of JerichoRahab hides Israel's spies in Jericho and hangs a scarlet cord from her window. A Canaanite outsider, she is spared with her household and appears in Matthew's genealogy of Jesus and in Hebrews' roll of faith.
RebekahWife of IsaacRebekah is found at a well in Haran and chooses to leave for a marriage she has never seen. Told before their birth that the elder of her twins would serve the younger, she engineers the blessing that sends Jacob into exile and Esau into fury.
RehoboamKing of JudahRehoboam answers the northern tribes' plea for lighter burdens with a threat, and ten tribes walk away. His reign begins the two-kingdom era that dominates the rest of Israel's history.
RuthMoabite ancestor of DavidRuth refuses to leave Naomi and gleans in the fields of Boaz, who redeems the family land and marries her. A foreigner from Moab, she becomes the great-grandmother of David.
SamsonNazirite judgeSamson's strength is tied to a Nazirite vow he treats carelessly. Betrayed by Delilah, blinded and set to grind at Gaza, he brings down the temple of Dagon in a final act that kills more Philistines than his whole life had.
SamuelLast judge, first of the prophetsGiven to the sanctuary at Shiloh as a boy, Samuel hears God speak when 'the word of the Lord was rare'. He anoints both Saul and David and warns Israel what a king will cost them.
SarahWife of Abraham, mother of IsaacSarah waits decades for the child she was promised, laughs at the announcement, and gives birth to Isaac in old age. Her insistence that Hagar and Ishmael be sent away shapes the family conflict that follows the covenant line.
SarahWife of Abraham, mother of IsaacSarah waits decades for the child she was promised, laughs at the announcement, and gives birth to Isaac in old age. Her insistence that Hagar and Ishmael be sent away shapes the family conflict that follows the covenant line.
SaulIsrael's first kingSaul is anointed as the king Israel demanded and begins well, but his impatience at Gilgal and disobedience over Amalek cost him the dynasty. His decline into jealousy of David and the night visit to the medium at Endor end at Gilboa.
SolomonKing and temple builderSolomon asks for wisdom rather than long life or wealth and receives all three. He builds the first temple in Jerusalem and presides over Israel's widest borders, but his foreign alliances and their shrines set up the split that follows his death.
StephenFirst Christian martyrChosen to serve the neglected widows, Stephen argues Israel's whole history before the council and is stoned for it. Saul of Tarsus stands guarding the coats.
ThomasApostleThomas offers to go and die with Jesus in Judea, asks the question that draws out 'I am the way', and refuses second-hand testimony about the resurrection. A week later he gives the Gospel's fullest confession: 'my Lord and my God'.
TimothyPaul's coworkerTimothy joins Paul at Lystra, the son of a Jewish mother and a Greek father, and becomes his most trusted delegate. Two letters address him as a young leader facing older opponents.

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