Biblical reference
Biblical figures
Plain-English guides to biblical figures, their stories, key passages, and what people often get wrong.
31Figure pages
5Story collections
BSB/KJVInline scripture policy
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Story collections
Apostles Guides to the apostles in the New Testament, with story notes and Christian context. Kings Guides to biblical kings, their stories, failures, reforms, and Christian significance. New Testament Figures Guides to major New Testament figures, from Jesus' followers to early Christian leaders. Prophets Plain-English guides to biblical prophets, their stories, and why they matter in Christian tradition. Women of the Bible Plain-English guides to women in the Bible and their importance in Christian tradition.
Individual guides
People in Scripture
Abraham Abraham was the first patriarch of Israel, the man called out of Ur of the Chaldeans by God to become the father of a covenant people. Christian tradition reads him as the "father of faith" whose trust in God's promise anticipates and shapes New Testament theology of justification by faith. Amos Amos was an 8th-century BC prophet from the Judean town of Tekoa, a herdsman called to prophesy against the northern kingdom of Israel during the reign of Jeroboam II. His short book delivers some of the sharpest social-justice preaching in the Hebrew prophets: judgment against Israel's ritual observance divorced from economic justice, and a call for justice to roll down like waters. Cain Cain was the firstborn son of Adam and Eve. Genesis 4 records his story: his offering to God was not accepted while his brother Abel's was; he killed Abel in the field; God confronted him and set a mark on him for his protection in exile. Daniel Daniel was a Jewish exile in Babylon who served foreign kings without abandoning his faith. He is known for wisdom, prayer, interpreting dreams, and surviving the lions' den. His book also includes visions that shaped later Jewish and Christian imagination. David David was Israel's famous shepherd king. The Bible remembers him as a musician, warrior, ruler, sinner, and penitent. His story is central to the Old Testament and deeply important in Christian readings of Jesus as the son of David. Elijah Elijah was an Old Testament prophet who challenged Israel's worship of Baal and called the people back to the LORD. He appears mainly in 1 and 2 Kings. His story includes confrontation, drought, fire from heaven, fear, renewal, and a mysterious departure from ordinary life. Esther Esther was a Jewish woman who became queen of Persia and acted to protect her people from destruction. Her story is full of court politics, danger, timing, and courage. The book of Esther is unusual because God is not named directly, even though readers often discuss providence throughout the story. Eve Eve is the first woman in Genesis, created from Adam's side and named after the Fall narrative "because she was the mother of all living" (Genesis 3:20). She is the mother of Cain, Abel, and Seth, and stands at the opening of the biblical human story. Gabriel Gabriel is one of only two angels named in canonical Christian scripture. He appears in Daniel as the interpreter of apocalyptic visions and in Luke's infancy narratives as the messenger who announces the births of John the Baptist and Jesus. Hosea Hosea was the eighth-century BC prophet of the northern kingdom of Israel whose marriage to Gomer became a lived parable of God's covenant relationship with unfaithful Israel. His prophetic book contains the "mercy over sacrifice" line Jesus quoted twice in Matthew's gospel. Isaac Isaac was the second patriarch of Israel, the son of Abraham and Sarah born through the covenant promise, whose near-sacrifice at Moriah shapes Christian typological reading of the crucifixion. He is the father of Jacob and Esau, through whom the covenant line continues. Jacob Jacob was the third patriarch of Israel, son of Isaac and Rebekah, whose wrestling with the angel at Peniel led to his renaming as Israel. His twelve sons became the twelve tribes that carried the covenant line forward through Egypt to the Exodus. John the Baptist John the Baptist was the forerunner of Jesus, the wilderness prophet whose baptism of repentance prepared Israel for the coming of the Messiah. Cousin to Jesus through the Elizabeth-Mary kinship (Luke 1:36), he was born through the annunciation to his father Zechariah, baptized Jesus in the Jordan, and was beheaded by Herod Antipas. Luke Luke was a New Testament companion of Paul and is called the beloved physician in Colossians. Christian tradition associates him with the Gospel of Luke and the book of Acts. The Bible says less about his personal life than many people expect. Malachi Malachi is the prophet of the last book of the Hebrew Bible and the final voice of Old Testament prophecy. Writing in the post-exilic period, roughly the 5th century BC, he addresses temple worship complacency, marriage faithfulness, tithing, and the coming Day of the LORD. Malachi 3:1 ('Behold, I will send my messenger') is cited by Jesus in the New Testament as the prophecy of John the Baptist's role as forerunner. Mary Magdalene Mary Magdalene was a follower of Jesus and one of the key witnesses to his resurrection. The Gospels name her among the women who followed Jesus, saw his crucifixion, and came to the tomb. Many popular stories about her go beyond what the New Testament actually says. Mary, mother of Jesus Mary was the mother of Jesus and one of the most important women in the New Testament. Luke and Matthew place her at the beginning of Jesus' story, and Acts places her among the early believers after the resurrection. Christian traditions honor her in different ways, but her importance is shared across the whole Christian world. Micah Micah was an 8th-century BC prophet of Judah, contemporary with Isaiah and Hosea, whose short book alternates oracles of judgment against social injustice with prophecies of restoration. Micah is the source of two of the most-cited verses in the Old Testament: the Bethlehem prophecy of Micah 5:2, applied to Jesus's birth in Matthew 2:6, and the summary of covenant obligation in Micah 6:8, 'to do justly, and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with thy God.' Michael Michael is one of only two angels named in canonical Christian scripture. He appears in Daniel as the warrior-protector of Israel, in Jude as the figure who disputes with Satan over the body of Moses, and in Revelation as the leader of heaven's host who casts the dragon down from heaven. Mordecai Mordecai was the central male figure of the Book of Esther, a Jewish exile in the Persian court who raised his younger cousin Esther after her parents' death. His refusal to bow to Haman triggered the decree against the Jews, and his message to Esther urged the intervention that saved the Jewish people. Moses Moses was the Exodus leader who brought Israel out of Egypt, received the Ten Commandments at Sinai, and mediated the covenant that shaped Israel's identity as God's people. Christian tradition treats him as the foundational Old Testament figure whose life anticipates and prepares the way for the New Testament revelation of Jesus. Nathan Nathan was the Old Testament court prophet who served under Kings David and Solomon. He delivered the covenant promise of an eternal Davidic dynasty, confronted David after the Bathsheba affair with the parable of the poor man's lamb, and supported Solomon's succession over Adonijah. Noah Noah was the Genesis figure who built the ark and survived the flood with his family. His story is about a corrupt world, a warning, an act of obedience, and a covenant after judgment. It is one of the Bible's most familiar stories, but the text is more serious than the nursery version many people remember. Paul Paul was the Gentile-mission apostle whose Damascus Road conversion from persecutor of the church to its most prolific missionary shaped the New Testament and Christian theology across two millennia. Thirteen letters attributed to him make up roughly half of the New Testament canon. Peter Peter was the lead apostle of Jesus, a Galilean fisherman renamed from Simon to Cephas ("rock") who became the foundational figure of the earliest Christian church. His confession, denial, restoration, and Pentecost preaching form the central arc of the New Testament's apostolic narrative. Raphael Raphael is the healing archangel named in the Book of Tobit. Disguised as a fellow traveler, he guides Tobias on his journey, arranges his marriage to Sarah, heals Tobit's blindness, and identifies himself as one of the seven holy angels who present the prayers of the saints. Tobit is included in Catholic and Orthodox Old Testaments; Protestant canons treat it as apocryphal. Ruth Ruth was a Moabite woman who chose to stay with her Israelite mother-in-law Naomi after loss and uncertainty. Her loyalty brings her to Bethlehem, where she becomes part of Israel's story. The book of Ruth ends by connecting her family to King David. Samuel Samuel was an Old Testament prophet, judge, and priestly figure who helped guide Israel from the time of the judges into the age of kings. His story begins with his mother Hannah's prayer and his childhood call in the tabernacle. He later anoints Saul and David. Solomon Solomon was the son of David and Bathsheba, the third king of Israel, and the builder of the first temple in Jerusalem. His reign in the mid-tenth century BC is remembered as the peak of the united monarchy, marked by wisdom, wealth, and the wisdom literature traditionally attributed to him. His later years included apostasy that set up the division of the kingdom. Uriel Uriel is the angelic figure named in 2 Esdras (also called 4 Ezra) as the interpreter who answers Ezra's questions about God's justice and the end of days. He also appears in 1 Enoch as one of the four archangels overseeing creation. Uriel sits inside Slavonic Bible traditions and some Eastern Orthodox scripture, and inside Ethiopian Orthodox scripture through 1 Enoch, but outside the Catholic and Protestant Old Testaments. Zechariah Two biblical figures share the name Zechariah. The primary New Testament figure is the elderly Jerusalem priest father of John the Baptist whose annunciation in Luke 1 opens the gospel infancy narratives. A separate Old Testament prophet Zechariah wrote his book to the returned exiles around 520 BC.