Biblical Characters

Abel

The second son; the first martyr, whose acceptable blood-offering is faith's first witness, and whose blood “speaketh better things” in Christ (Heb 11:4; 12:24).

Abigail

Nabal's wife, a woman of good understanding whose swift intercession kept David from avenging himself with his own hand — and who became his wife when the LORD returned Nabal's wrong on his own head.

Alexander the coppersmith

Opponent of Paul

Did Paul much evil — "the Lord will render to him according to his works" (2 Tim 4:14); possibly the Alexander of 1 Tim 1:20.

Apollos

Teacher

Eloquent, Alexandrian-trained teacher mighty in the Scriptures (Acts 18:24-28), instructed more perfectly by Priscilla and Aquila; his name became a Corinthian factional banner though he was Paul's unified fellow-laborer (1 Cor 3:5-9).

Apphia

Sister in the church

Addressed with Philemon and Archippus (Phlm 2), traditionally his wife — "Apphia our sister."

Aquila

A Jewish tentmaker of Pontus who, with his wife Priscilla, labored alongside Paul and "laid down their own necks" for him (Rom 16:3-4; Acts 18).

Archippus

Minister

Fellow-soldier addressed in Phlm 2, charged in Col 4:17 to take heed to the ministry received in the Lord.

Artemas

Companion of Paul

One of two men Paul considered sending to Crete so Titus could winter with him at Nicopolis (Titus 3:12).

Asaph

A Levitical chief musician appointed by David over the temple song (1 Chr 16); twelve psalms bear his name (Ps 50, 73–83).

Balaam son of Beor

Diviner

The Mesopotamian diviner hired by Balak to curse Israel, rebuked by his own donkey, and constrained to bless four times — the Star out of Jacob among his oracles; attested extrabiblically at Deir Alla.

Boaz

Kinsman-redeemer

The mighty man of wealth in Bethlehem who spread his skirt over Ruth as kinsman-redeemer (goel), bought the inheritance at the gate, and fathered Obed — the redeemer-figure of the book.

Cain

Adam's firstborn; the first murderer, who killed his brother Abel out of jealousy and became the archetype of the way of self-will (Jude 11).

Caleb

Of Judah, one of the twelve spies — the man of another spirit who wholly followed Jehovah; one of only two of the census generation to enter the land, still claiming his mountain at eighty-five.

Cleopas

One of the two disciples who walked to Emmaus on the day of the resurrection. The risen Christ joined them unrecognised and expounded all the Scriptures concerning himself; they knew him in the breaking of the bread (Luke 24:13-35).

Demas

Fellow-worker of Paul

Paul's fellow-worker (Col 4:14; Phlm 24) who later forsook him, having loved this present world (2 Tim 4:10) — the New Testament's quiet cautionary arc.

Demetrius (3 John)

Commended brother

"Demetrius hath the witness of all men, and of the truth itself" (3 Jn 12) — likely the letter's carrier.

Diotrephes

Antagonist

"Who loveth to have the preeminence" — refused the elder's letter, prated with wicked words, and cast out those who would receive the brethren (3 Jn 9-10).

Doeg the Edomite

Saul's chief herdsman and informer, the one man willing to fall upon the priests of Nob when the king's own footmen refused — remembered in the superscription of Psalm 52.

Elisabeth

Wife of Zacharias, kinswoman of Mary, and mother of John the Baptist. Barren and advanced in years, she conceives by promise; filled with the Holy Spirit at Mary's greeting, she pronounces the first blessing on the unborn Christ (Luke 1:41-45).

Enoch

The seventh from Adam who “walked with God, and he was not; for God took him” — translated without death, a pattern of the resurrection (Heb 11:5).

Epaphras

Evangelist

Colossae's founding evangelist, the beloved fellow-servant from whom the church learned the gospel (Col 1:7), always striving in prayer for the Lycus Valley churches (4:12-13); Paul's fellow-prisoner in Philemon 23.

Epaphroditus

Messenger of Philippi

The Philippians' messenger and minister to Paul's need — brother, fellow-worker, fellow-soldier — who was sick nigh unto death and gambled his life for the work of Christ (Php 2:25-30).

Epimenides of Knossos

Cretan poet

Cretan poet-prophet whose line "Cretans are always liars" Paul quotes at Titus 1:12 ("a prophet of their own"), and whose altar tradition stands behind Acts 17:23's unknown god.

Erastus

The city treasurer of Corinth who sent greetings in Romans (16:23) — possibly the official named in a Corinthian pavement inscription.

Esau

Isaac's elder son who despised his birthright (Heb 12:16); father of Edom, Israel's perennial neighbor and adversary.

Esther

Queen of Persia

Dates

c. 5th century BC

Tribe

Benjamin (Persia)

Esther was a Jewish orphan who became Queen of Persia. She risked her life to save her people from Haman's plot to destroy all Jews in the empire.

Ethan the Ezrahite

A wise man and Levitical singer, named for Ps 89 — the lament over the seemingly broken Davidic covenant.

Eunice

Mother of Timothy

Timothy's Jewish mother (Acts 16:1; 2 Tim 1:5), through whom he knew the sacred writings from a babe (2 Tim 3:15).

Euodia

Laborer in the gospel

Philippian laborer in the gospel, exhorted with Syntyche to be of the same mind in the Lord (Php 4:2-3) — women who labored with Paul, whose names are in the book of life.

Eve

“The mother of all living” — deceived at the Fall, yet the woman whose seed is promised the victory over the serpent (3:15, 20).

Gaius (3 John)

Householder

The beloved addressee of 3 John, walking in truth, commended for faithful hospitality to the brethren going forth for the sake of the Name (3 Jn 1-8).

Gallio

Proconsul of Achaia

Proconsul of Achaia and brother of the philosopher Seneca; he threw Paul's accusers out of his court at Corinth as a matter for their own law. The Delphi inscription dates his term, and with it the whole Pauline chronology.

Gamaliel

Rabbi

The Pharisee and teacher of the law who talked the Sanhedrin out of killing the apostles with an argument from patience: if this counsel is of men it will come to nothing, and if it is of God you cannot overthrow it. Paul's own teacher.

Goliath

Champion of Gath

The Philistine champion of Gath who defied the armies of the living God for forty days — felled by a shepherd's sling stone and beheaded with his own sword in the valley of Elah.

Hagar

Sarah's Egyptian servant and mother of Ishmael; the first person to name God — “Thou God seest me” (El Roi, 16:13).

Hannah

Mother of Samuel

Dates

c. 1100 BC

Tribe

Ephraim

Hannah was a barren woman whose persistent prayer produced Samuel, Israel's greatest judge and prophet. Her song of praise anticipates Mary's Magnificat.

Heman the Ezrahite

A Levitical singer of the Korahite guild, named in the superscription of the somber Ps 88.

Hermogenes

Deserter

Named with Phygelus among they of Asia who turned away from Paul (2 Tim 1:15).

Hymenaeus

False teacher

False teacher delivered unto Satan that he might be taught not to blaspheme (1 Tim 1:20); with Philetus he said the resurrection was past already, overthrowing the faith of some (2 Tim 2:17-18).

Ishmael

Abraham's son by Hagar — blessed and made a great nation, but not the covenant heir; Paul's figure of the flesh (Gal 4:21–31).

James, the Lord's Brother

Elder of the Jerusalem church

Not a follower during Jesus' ministry, and the leader of the Jerusalem church afterwards; the most rigorously observant figure in the leadership, and the one who pronounced that the Gentiles should not be troubled.

Jesus of Nazareth

The eternal Word made flesh (John 1:14) — the Christ and Son of God whose seven signs, seven "I AM" sayings, cross, and resurrection are the subject of John's Gospel.

Joanna

Wife of Chuza, Herod's steward, and one of the women healed by Jesus who followed him and ministered to the mission out of their own substance (Luke 8:3). She is among the women who find the tomb empty and report to the apostles (Luke 24:10).

John Mark

Evangelist

Cousin of Barnabas and the young man who left the first journey at Perga; the disagreement over taking him again split Paul and Barnabas — and Paul later asked for him as useful for ministering.

Jonathan

Prince of Israel

Son of King Saul who climbed a cliff to rout a garrison on the conviction that nothing restrains Jehovah; cut a covenant of steadfast love with David and stood between his father's spear and his friend's life; fell with Saul on Gilboa.

Joseph of Nazareth

Husband of Mary

Carpenter of Nazareth, a just man of David's line; husband of Mary and legal father of Jesus, obedient to the angelic word in taking Mary, naming Jesus, and guarding the child in Egypt.

Judah

Jacob's fourth son who pledges himself for Benjamin; the tribe that carries the scepter to Shiloh (49:10) and the line to Christ (Matt 1:3).

Judas Iscariot

The disciple who kept the purse and betrayed Jesus; "he went out straightway: and it was night" (John 13:30).

Korah

The Kohathite Levite who led two hundred fifty princes against Moses and Aaron — "ye take too much upon you" — and was swallowed alive with his company; his sons died not, and their psalms survive.

Lazarus

The One Jesus Raised from the Dead

Dates

c. 1st century AD

Tribe

Judah (Bethany, near Jerusalem)

Lazarus of Bethany, brother of Mary and Martha, died and lay four days in the tomb before Jesus called him back to life, one of the most public and dramatic miracles of Christ's ministry and a turning point that hastened the plot against Jesus.

Leah

Jacob's unloved first wife, on whom the LORD's eye fell — the mother of Judah, the messianic tribe, and of Levi, the priestly tribe.

Lois

Grandmother of Timothy

Timothy's grandmother, first named bearer of the unfeigned faith that dwelt in the family line (2 Tim 1:5).

Lot

Abraham's nephew — the man who walked by sight toward Sodom and was saved “so as by fire” (2 Pet 2:7–8).

Luke

Evangelist

The beloved physician and companion of Paul; careful historian of the orderly account — the Gospel of Luke and the Acts of the Apostles, one two-volume work to Theophilus.

Lydia

Seller of purple

A seller of purple from Thyatira, worshipping at a riverside prayer meeting outside Philippi when the Lord opened her heart — the first named European convert, and the host of the church that met in her house.

Mark (John Mark)

Evangelist

Jerusalem believer and companion of Barnabas, Paul, and Peter; traditional author of the second Gospel, preserving Peter's preaching of Jesus the Servant who acts.

Martha

Faithful Servant of Bethany

Dates

c. 1st century AD

Tribe

Judah (Bethany, near Jerusalem)

Martha, sister of Mary and Lazarus, welcomed Jesus into her home and served Him faithfully, though she was gently corrected for anxious distraction. Her confession of Jesus as the Christ before Lazarus' resurrection stands among Scripture's clearest declarations of faith.

Mary Magdalene

Witness of the Resurrection

Dates

c. 1st century AD

Tribe

Galilee (Magdala)

Mary Magdalene was delivered by Jesus from seven demons and became one of His most devoted followers. She was present at the crucifixion and was the first person to see the risen Christ.

Mary of Bethany

Devoted Worshiper at Jesus' Feet

Dates

c. 1st century AD

Tribe

Judah (Bethany, near Jerusalem)

Mary of Bethany, sister of Martha and Lazarus, is remembered for sitting at Jesus' feet to learn and for anointing Him with costly perfume before His death, an act Jesus declared would be told wherever the gospel was preached.

Melchizedek

King of Salem and priest of the Most High God, without recorded genealogy, who brings out bread and wine — the type of Christ's eternal priesthood (Heb 7; Ps 110:4).

Michael the archangel

Archangel

The archangel — prince who stands for Daniel's people (Dan 10:13, 21; 12:1), who durst not bring a railing judgment against the devil in the dispute over Moses' body (Jude 9), and who wars in heaven (Rev 12:7).

Nabal

The wealthy fool of Carmel — "as his name is, so is he" — who repaid David's protection with insult; his heart died within him when Abigail told him what her wisdom had averted.

Naomi

Elimelech's widow who returned from Moab calling herself Mara — "the Almighty hath dealt very bitterly with me" — and whose emptiness God filled through Ruth's faithfulness and Boaz's redemption.

Nehemiah

Rebuilder of Jerusalem's Walls

Dates

c. 5th century BC (fl. c. 445-433 BC)

Tribe

Judah (Persian court official)

Nehemiah was cupbearer to the Persian king Artaxerxes who, grieved by reports of Jerusalem's ruined walls, obtained permission to return and lead the rebuilding effort despite fierce opposition, completing the wall in just fifty-two days.

Nicodemus

A Pharisee and ruler who came to Jesus by night to hear of the new birth, later defended Him, and helped bury Him (John 3; 7:50; 19:39).

Nimrod

“The mighty hunter before the LORD” and first empire-builder — founder of Babel and Nineveh, the seed of the world-city that opposes the city of God (10:8–12).

Onesimus

Brother beloved

Philemon's runaway slave, begotten in Paul's bonds and sent home as a brother beloved — the letter of Philemon is his story; travels with Tychicus carrying Colossians (Col 4:9). The name means useful, the wordplay of Philemon 11.

Onesiphorus

Friend of Paul

The one who oft refreshed Paul and was not ashamed of his chain, seeking him out diligently in Rome (2 Tim 1:16-18) — set against the day when all Asia turned away.

Philemon

Householder

Colossian believer with a church in his house, owner of Onesimus, recipient of Paul's most personal canonical letter — refreshing the hearts of the saints (Phlm 7).

Philetus

False teacher

Named with Hymenaeus as teaching that the resurrection is past already (2 Tim 2:17-18).

Philip the Evangelist

Deacon and Evangelist to Samaria

Dates

c. 1st century AD

Tribe

Hellenistic Jew (Caesarea)

Philip the Evangelist, one of the seven chosen to serve the early church, carried the gospel to Samaria with great effect and led the Ethiopian eunuch to Christ on a desert road, becoming a bridge figure in the gospel's spread beyond Jerusalem.

Phoebe

A deaconess of the church at Cenchreae whom Paul commended, and the likely carrier of the letter to the Romans (Rom 16:1-2).

Phygelus

Deserter

Named with Hermogenes among all they of Asia who turned away from Paul (2 Tim 1:15).

Pontius Pilate

The Roman prefect who found no crime in Jesus yet delivered Him to be crucified, asking "What is truth?" (John 18-19).

Priscilla

A tentmaker and teacher who, with her husband Aquila, instructed Apollos and hosted a church — Paul's coworker (Rom 16:3; Acts 18).

Publius

Chief man of Malta

The chief man of Malta, who lodged the shipwrecked party for three days; Paul prayed for his fever-stricken father and healed him, and the whole island's sick came after.

Rachel

Jacob's beloved wife; mother of Joseph and Benjamin, who dies on the road to Bethlehem — later wept for in the prophets (Jer 31:15; Matt 2:18).

Rahab

Harlot Who Believed

Dates

c. 1400 BC

Tribe

Canaan (then Israel)

Rahab was a Canaanite prostitute who hid the Israelite spies and was saved when Jericho fell. She became an ancestor of David and Christ.

Rebekah

Isaac's bride, drawn from Abraham's kindred by providence (ch. 24); mother of the twins, who receives the oracle “the elder shall serve the younger.”

Ruth

Moabite Ancestor of Christ

Dates

c. 1100 BC

Tribe

Moab (then Israel)

Ruth was a Moabite widow who chose to follow her mother-in-law Naomi back to Israel. Her loyalty and faith led to marriage with Boaz and placement in the lineage of Christ.

Seth

The appointed son given “instead of Abel”; the head of the godly line of promise through which Noah and ultimately Christ descend (Luke 3:38).

Shem

Noah's son through whom the covenant line runs (9:26); father of the Semitic peoples and ancestor of Abraham.

Simeon

A righteous and devout man of Jerusalem on whom the Holy Spirit rested, promised he would not die before seeing the Lord's Christ. Taking the infant Jesus in his arms he sings the Nunc Dimittis (Luke 2:29-32), naming him a light for revelation to the Gentiles.

Simon Magus

Sorcerer

The sorcerer at Samaria who believed and was baptized, then offered the apostles money for the power to give the Holy Spirit — and gave his name to the sin of simony.

Sosthenes

Co-sender of 1 Corinthians

Co-sender of 1 Corinthians (1:1); traditionally identified with the synagogue-ruler beaten before Gallio in Acts 18:17 — an identification held loosely.

Stephanas

Household head

Head of a Corinthian household called the firstfruits of Achaia, baptized by Paul himself; part of the delegation that brought the Corinthians' news to Ephesus (1 Cor 1:16; 16:15-18).

Stephen

First Christian Martyr

Dates

c. 1st century AD (d. c. 34-35 AD)

Tribe

Hellenistic Jew (Jerusalem)

Stephen was one of the seven chosen to serve the early church's Greek-speaking widows, full of faith and the Holy Spirit. His bold defense before the Sanhedrin and vision of the glorified Christ led to his stoning, making him the first martyr of the Christian church.

Syntyche

Laborer in the gospel

Philippian laborer in the gospel, exhorted with Euodia to be of the same mind in the Lord (Php 4:2-3).

Tertius

The scribe who wrote the letter to the Romans at Paul's dictation and added his own greeting (Rom 16:22).

The Samaritan Woman

The woman at Jacob's well to whom Jesus revealed living water and declared Himself Messiah; her testimony brought a Samaritan town to faith (John 4).

Theophilus

The named recipient of both Luke and Acts, addressed as "most excellent" (kratistos, a title of rank). Luke writes to him so that he might know the certainty concerning the things wherein he was instructed (Luke 1:1-4; Acts 1:1).

Tychicus

Letter carrier

Beloved brother and faithful minister, Paul's letter-carrier for Ephesians and Colossians (Eph 6:21-22; Col 4:7-8), sent again in 2 Tim 4:12 and Titus 3:12.

Zacchaeus

Chief publican

A chief publican of Jericho, rich and short of stature, who climbed a sycamore to see Jesus and was called down by name. His restitution draws the thesis-verse of Luke's Gospel: the Son of man came to seek and to save that which was lost (Luke 19:1-10).

Zenas

Lawyer

"Zenas the lawyer" — sent forward diligently with Apollos, that nothing be wanting unto them (Titus 3:13); the NT's only named lawyer among the brethren.

Zerubbabel

Governor of Judah

Governor of Judah and grandson of Jeconiah who led the first return and laid the second temple's foundation; Haggai's signet-ring promise rests on him in Messiah's line.