All the People in the Bible: An A-Z Guide to the Saints, Scoundrels, and Other Characters in Scripture

By Richard R. Losch

"More than any other book, the Bible offers an amazing collection of fascinating characters ranging from the holiest of the holy to some of the most depraved scoundrels imaginable. Many are mentioned only in passing, yet history and archaeology can often fill in the blanks and flesh them out as exciting human beings. For this reason we have in many cases been able to tell much more about them than the Bible alone reveals."
-- Richard R. Losch (from the preface)

A comprehensive gathering of persons found in the Bible, including the Apocrypha, All the People in the Bible really delivers on its title: literally all of the Bible's characters appear in this fascinating reference work. From the first article on Aaron to the final entry on Zophar, Richard Losch details each person in a lively narrative style.

The bulk of the book consists of Losch's A–Z articles covering the familiar and the not-so-familiar figures in Scripture. Names of people who are found only in genealogies or who had no significant effect on history are included solely in the alphabetical listing starting on page 452. That listing, “All the People in the Bible and Apocrypha,” includes pronunciations, brief identifications, and biblical references. Persons covered in greater detail in the main part of the book are identified in bold print.

Losch's intriguing look at all the people in the Bible is anything but a dry reference work. This is a book to dip into and enjoy over and over.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Eerdmans
• Release date: May 13, 2008
• ISBN: 9781467423434

Book preview

Preface

More than any other book, the Bible offers an amazing collection of fascinating characters ranging from the holiest of the holy to some of the most depraved scoundrels imaginable. Many are mentioned only in passing, yet history and archaeology can often fill in the blanks and flesh them out as exciting human beings. For this reason we have in many cases been able to tell much more about them than the Bible alone reveals. Pontius Pilate, for example, is presented rather gently by the writers of the Gospels, yet historical records and tradition show him to have been a loathsome person.

There are many biblical names not included here except in the appendix. Many are listed in genealogies and nothing more is known of them, and others had no significant effect on history or legend. For example, there are thirty-one Azariahs in the Bible, yet in our opinion only two merit attention, and they are better known by other names: Azariah the friend of Daniel, better known as Abednego, and Azariah the king of Judah, better known as Uzziah. On the other hand, we have included several individuals who are not actually mentioned in the Bible, yet were very much involved in the events of the time. For example, the Seleucid emperors and the Hasmonean kings are ignored in the Bible, and only a few of them are mentioned in the Apocrypha. Nevertheless, they played a major role in the transition from Old to New Testament times. Alexander the Great and the Roman emperor Claudius had a profound effect on the history of biblical times, yet for a number of reasons they are either ignored or mentioned only in passing in the Bible. Likewise, it is impossible to get a full picture of any of the Herods without looking at a cross section of their whole amazingly dysfunctional family and seeing the incredible contrasts in them. Probably the best of the lot was Herod Agrippa I, who, despite his warts and his persecution of James and Peter, was a faithful Jew and basically a good man. His daughter Bernice, on the other hand, was married to two of her uncles while she carried on an incestuous affair with her brother, until she left that all behind to become the mistress of the Roman emperor’s son.

We cannot draw a neat line and put saints on one side and scoundrels on the other. In fact, most of the great leaders of Judaism and Christianity started out as the worst sort of scoundrels. Abraham lied and cheated his way through Egypt in order to save his own skin. Jacob bilked his brother out of his birthright, then deceived and lied to his father in order to cheat his brother out of his paternal blessing. David was a liar, an adulterer and murderer, a terrible husband and a worse father. Matthew was a publican, the most contemptible kind of traitor to his own people. Tradition paints Mary Magdalene as a prostitute, even though the Bible does not portray her as such and she was almost certainly innocent of that charge. Nevertheless God, working with such weak and flawed material, molded them into spiritual powerhouses and examples of moral strength and righteousness. John Claypool likens God to the medieval alchemists who tried to turn lead into gold. God takes the crudest of lead in the characters of his creatures and turns it into glorious spiritual gold. We who are equally weak and flawed should find great encouragement in this. If the likes of Jacob could become a great patriarch of the faith, then we too can become spiritually strong and righteous. As George Santayana observed, It is easier to make a saint out of a libertine than out of a prig.

Judaism and Christianity are the only major religions that record their history and lay out for all to see the weaknesses and flaws of their heroes. We believe this grants great credibility to the Bible as history. If it were myth, we would present our founders and heroes as paragons of perfection, or display only the flaws that demonstrate the importance of serving God or being open to his forgiveness. Instead, we show our heroes as the human beings they truly were. God has chosen to work through humans, giving them the wisdom to overcome their foolishness and the strength to overcome their weakness. But God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise; God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong (1 Cor. 1:27). Sometimes from the most unpromising soil grows the sweetest fruit. It is not logical, but it is often true.

Since millions of pages have been written about such spiritual luminaries as Abraham, Moses, and Jesus, we feel it would be presumptuous to think we could add more or to try to sum up their stories in a few words. What we have done with them, then, is focus on some of the less familiar aspects of their lives, or simply comment on their effect on history and the faith. For this reason the reader will find that this book focuses more on the lesser characters in the Bible than on the great.

Most dates are approximate. Dating ancient events is difficult at best, so often two equally qualified experts will report different dates, although the differences are usually quite small. For example, some report the death of Ramses II as 1225 BCE and others as 1224. Because of the strength of Christian influence throughout the centuries, most of the world calculates dates in the eras before and after Christ. Traditionally this has been indicated as B.C. (Before Christ) and A.D. (Anno Domini, in the year of the Lord). It is unreasonable, however, to expect a non-Christian who does not recognize Christ as the Lord to use Anno Domini. Out of respect for non-Christians, most writers today use the terms CE (either Christian era or common era) and BCE (before the common era) in place of B.C. and A.D.

Names of individuals about whom articles are written are introduced in each article in bold type.

A

Aaron

Aaron, the brother of Moses, was born in Egypt, probably in the middle of the fourteenth century BCE. He was three years older than Moses (Exod. 7:7) and was the firstborn son of the Hebrew slaves Amram and Jochebed of the tribe of Levi; he had a sister Miriam, presumably the firstborn child.¹ Jochebed was Amram’s aunt, his father’s sister. While a marriage this close was later forbidden by Mosaic law, at the time it was legal.

Nothing is known of Aaron’s life until Moses received the charge to liberate the Hebrew slaves. He was about eighty years old when he was charged by God to assist Moses. Moses was God’s choice to lead, yet he was apparently inarticulate—very likely he stammered or had a serious speech impediment (Exod. 4:10)—so Aaron was to speak for him, saying what God told Moses to say (Exod. 4:14–16).

While the Bible tells us nothing, ancient rabbinic tradition says that Aaron was a leader among his own people during his years in Egypt, acted as a peacemaker, and was a spokesman for them. At some point he either escaped or was sent out of Egypt on a mission, because when Moses was talking with God at the burning bush, God told him that Aaron was at that very moment on his way to meet him (Exod. 4:14). Ancient tradition says that he was sent to tell Moses that the pharaoh who had sought his life was dead, and he could now return to the palace. At least as likely, however, is that after God spoke to him in Egypt and told him to go into the desert to meet Moses (Exod. 4:27), he simply made his escape. For the Egyptians, runaway slaves were not much of a problem—few runaways survived in the desert—so there was not much security in place.

Moses had been gone for over forty years (that was about normal life expectancy in those days), so when he returned to Egypt there were few alive among either the Hebrews or the Egyptians who remembered him. Aaron, an eloquent spokesman, presented him to the elders of the Hebrews and explained to them his mission. Moses performed the miracles that God had shown him—turning his staff into a serpent and causing his hand to become leprous and then clean—and despite some resistance, the people believed him (Exod. 4:31). Next, Aaron and Moses went to Pharaoh. Most evidence points to the pharaoh being Ramses II (reigned 1290–1224 BCE). They demanded that the Hebrews be allowed to go into the wilderness for three days to worship God. He refused and increased their workload, saying sarcastically that they obviously had too much free time (Exod. 5:6ff.). After several refusals and ten plagues, however, the Hebrews were at last free.

Throughout the forty-year trek in the wilderness Aaron stood at Moses’ side. On the few occasions that he opposed him his virtue seemed to weaken, and when he supported him he appeared as a giant of righteousness. Symbolic of this was the battle with the Amalekites in the wilderness. Moses stood on the top of a hill and watched the battle while Joshua and the Israelites fought. As long as Moses held his staff in the air Joshua prevailed, and when he let it drop the Amalekites prevailed. When Moses became tired, Aaron and the general Hur stood at his sides, holding up his arms until the Amalekites were defeated (Exod. 17:8ff.). While Moses was the central figure through whom God acted, Aaron was unquestionably his spokesman, his agent, and his second in command.

Aaron’s high status with God is evidenced by his being the second, only after Moses, to be summoned to the Holy Mountain. He, his two oldest sons, Nadab and Abihu, and seventy elders of the people went onto the mountain, where they saw the God of Israel (Exod. 24:10) and in his presence shared in a sacred meal to seal the covenant.

Sometime later Moses went onto the Holy Mountain to receive the Law. He left Aaron and Hur in charge of the people and remained on the mountain for forty days. The Hebrews, having no understanding of what was happening to Moses, grew impatient and frightened that they had been abandoned by Moses and by God. They came to Aaron and demanded that he make graven idols of the Egyptian gods for them. Make us gods who will go before us, they cried (Exod. 32:1), and Aaron reluctantly yielded to their pressure and did so. He gathered all the golden jewelry they had stolen from Egypt, melted it down, and cast a golden calf. This was undoubtedly an idol of the Egyptian bull-god Apis, the god of fertility. The god was set up, and the people went into an orgiastic frenzied celebration of the idol. When Moses came down from the mountain and saw what was happening, he was enraged. He smashed the stone tablets of the Law and destroyed the idol. He was furious with Aaron, but being moved by Aaron’s penitence Moses showed his true greatness and forgave him, and he told the people that he would ask God to forgive them. Notwithstanding, he killed all the leaders of the rebellion.

According to the book of Leviticus, Aaron and his sons were ordained priests according to God’s command, thus establishing the hereditary Levitical priesthood (Aaron and Moses were of the tribe of Levi). Unfortunately, his sons Nadab and Abihu proved unworthy and were miraculously destroyed by fire. Aaron, though grief-stricken, accepted God’s judgment (Lev. 10:3). As time went on, however, Aaron and Miriam came to challenge their younger brother’s sole leadership, demanding an equal role in the guidance of the people. To confirm Moses’ position, God struck Miriam with leprosy. He did not do so to Aaron, because as a leper, according to the Law, he could not function as a priest. Aaron and Miriam begged for forgiveness, Moses interceded for them, and finally Miriam was healed. Thereafter, however, they accepted Moses as the undisputed leader (Num. 12:1–15).

Aaron shared with Moses all the difficulties of the time in the desert, and he accepted full responsibility with him for all that happened. When the people demanded water and condemned Moses for not finding it for them, Moses, with Aaron at his side, decided to show them his authority as God’s spokesman. He called upon God’s power and struck a rock with his staff, causing water to gush out. Because they did this and other miracles to shore up their own authority instead of doing it for the glory of God, God decreed that neither Moses nor Aaron would be allowed to enter the Promised Land (Num. 20:10ff.). Finally, after forty years of wandering, Aaron went to the top of Mount Hor on the border of the Promised Land with his son Eleazar and Moses. There Moses removed his brother Aaron’s priestly regalia and placed it on the shoulders of his nephew Eleazar, and Aaron lay down and died (Num. 20:28).

The priestly legacy that began with Aaron continued through twelve centuries of his descendants. Only the descendants of his ancestor Levi could be priests, and the descendants of Aaron were the most important of them. Aaronic priests served Judaism in the various holy shrines and in the temple in Jerusalem until the Romans put an end to Jewish sacrificial worship twelve centuries later with the destruction of the temple in 70 CE.

Abdon

Abdon the son of Hillel was one of the minor judges of Israel (Judg. 12:13–15), living probably in the twelfth century BCE. He was a third-generation successor of Jephthah as a judge, and was apparently a man of great wealth. He had forty sons and thirty grandsons, all of whom rode on donkeys. Such a large herd of donkeys indicates a man of great wealth. The word translated donkeys (עיר, ʿayir) refers to a type of ass used by kings and aristocrats (horses were very uncommon until much later). Abdon judged for eight years and then was buried in his hometown of Pirathon in Ephraim, a region that had been captured from the Amalekites many years before.

Abednego

See Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego

Abel

Abel was the second son of Adam and Eve. He is memorialized as a man of honor and of innocence. He was a keeper of sheep, while his brother Cain was a farmer. From ancient times even to today the shepherd has been a symbol of a peaceful, gentle, bucolic life.

According to the Genesis stories, Adam and his family were vegetarians (God did not give permission to eat meat until the covenant with Noah), so the shepherd was not even associated with the slaughter of sheep for food. The sheep were only a source of milk and wool for clothing and tents. There is an inconsistency here, however. The conflict between Cain and Abel centered on a sacrifice, so presumably animals were sacrificed to God (although some interpreters maintain that Abel’s act instituted animal sacrifice). Also, Abel brought to the sacrifice fat portions from some of the firstborn of his flock, indicating that the lambs had already been slaughtered and butchered. Nevertheless, Abel’s offering pleased God while Cain’s offering from his crops was unacceptable.

Genesis gives no explanation of how they knew that God had accepted or rejected the sacrifice, and no reason for his rejection. Later traditions say that Cain was tainted by jealousy of Abel, or that he had held back the best portions of the harvest for himself. When God rejected his offering, Cain was furious and plotted to get Abel out into the fields where he killed him. There is no indication as to whether the killing was premeditated or done in a fit of rage. Some interpreters say in defense of Cain that, having never seen death, he did not realize that striking Abel would kill him. As the whole story is unquestionably allegorical, it is doubtful that the original writers had this in mind.

Christian tradition has urged men and women not to walk in the way of Cain (Jude 11) but to emulate the faithful Abel (Heb. 11:4). Tradition has also paralleled Abel with Christ, the innocent slain at the hand of evil men.

Abiathar

Abiathar was one of the most important descendants of the priest Eli, and the last of them to serve as high priest. Because the priesthood was hereditary, he studied for the role under his father Ahimelech, the high priest at the shrine at Nob. Ahimelech was the great-grandson of Eli, and thus the priests under his direction were primary caretakers of the holy shrines.

Nob was a quiet and rather bucolic shrine, somewhat like a monastic community. It appears to have been founded by Abiathar’s grandfather Ahitub after the Philistines destroyed the holy shrine at Shiloh, where Eli had been the high priest. The Nob priests’ support of David may have been a primary factor in David’s gaining the allegiance of the northern tribes as their king.

However, this peaceful shrine suddenly became a site of horror because of King Saul’s blind rage. When Saul was pursuing David to try to kill him, the priests at Nob fed David and gave him the sword he had used many years earlier to kill Goliath (1 Sam. 21:8ff.). When Saul heard of this he commanded Doeg the Edomite to slaughter the entire community of eighty-five priests (1 Sam. 22:18ff.). Only Abiathar escaped, saving the Ephod, the high priest’s garment that bore the sacred stones that priests used to divine God’s will.¹ Abiathar joined David’s rebel band, often using the Ephod to guide David’s decisions (1 Sam 23:8ff.). The Amalekites raided Ziklag, the town where David and his men settled, and they carried off all the women and children (including David’s two wives). Abiathar offered to use the sacred stones to determine whether David could defeat the much stronger Amalekites (1 Sam. 30:7–8). The augury indicated victory, and David attacked and vanquished them.

After David took Jerusalem and made it his capital, he brought the Ark of the Covenant there, putting Abiathar and Zadok in charge of its care. When Absalom’s rebellion forced David to flee Jerusalem, the two priests remained there and continuously sent him intelligence about the uprising. After Absalom was defeated, Abiathar played a key role in having David restored to his throne.

At David’s death, it was assumed that his oldest surviving son, Adonijah, would be his heir. There was a power struggle, however, between Adonijah and Solomon, David’s son by Bathsheba. Abiathar gave Adonijah his support and advice, unaware that David had promised Bathsheba that Solomon was to follow him. Zadok supported the claim of Solomon. When Solomon was crowned, he killed Adonijah and his major supporters, but in honor of Abiathar’s loyal service to his father he let him live. He deposed him, however, forcing him to retire to private life on his family estates in Anathoth. It is possible that the prophet Jeremiah may have been a descendant of Abiathar (Jer. 1:1).

Abiathar is mentioned erroneously in Mark 2:26 as the high priest at Nob. His high priesthood, however, did not come until later at Jerusalem—his father Ahimelech was the high priest at Nob. Scholars believe this to be the result of a gloss or scrivener’s error in 2 Sam. 8:17 (the original documents are long lost).²

Abigail

Abigail was as beautiful, charming, and intelligent as her husband Nabal was churlish, selfish, and rude. He was a very wealthy sheep farmer. When David was fleeing from the paranoid rage of Saul, he was in effect a wandering warlord with a large retinue of soldiers. Saul encouraged his army to raid any villages or farms they happened to come across in order to obtain their supplies. David, on the other hand, depended on voluntary gifts (1 Sam. 25:15).

During shearing season (a festive time, when everyone was in a good mood), David sent emissaries to Nabal to ask him for some food for his soldiers. Nabal, surly and arrogant, refused them in a very insulting way in spite of the fact that David’s soldiers, unlike Saul’s, not only had taken nothing without permission but had protected Nabal’s farm from Saul’s raiders during the shearing (1 Sam. 25:16). When David heard of Nabal’s insults he was furious, and he went with his soldiers to punish Nabal and take what he needed. Abigail went out to meet him on the way, gave him food, apologized for her husband’s rudeness, and asked that she be considered guilty rather than Nabal (1 Sam. 25:24).

David was so impressed by her that he blessed her and turned back. Abigail went home and told Nabal what she had done. He flew into such a rage that his heart failed him and he became like a stone (probably an apoplectic stroke). Ten days later he died. When David heard about Nabal’s death he sent for Abigail and asked her to marry him. She accepted readily, and she stood by his side through many troubles. She bore him his second son, Chileab (also called Daniel and Daluiah).

David also had a sister (or possibly half-sister) named Abigail, who is mentioned only in a genealogy (1 Chron. 2:16–17). She was the mother of Amasa, who was a commander of David’s army.

Abihu

See Nadab and Abihu

Abijah the King of Judah

Abijah was the second king of Judah and the grandson of Solomon, and he is something of an enigma. His father, Rehoboam, was as foolish as Solomon was alleged to be wise. Solomon’s empire had broken up, in a large part because of Rehoboam’s mismanagement, and Judah was only a remnant of it. The powerful northern portion, Israel, was ruled by Solomon’s rebellious general Jeroboam and was in constant conflict with Judah.

Abijah was not Rehoboam’s oldest son, but he was the firstborn of his favorite wife and was thus named heir to the throne. Abijah had fourteen wives and thirty-eight children. From the Chronicler’s point of view, this is a clear indication of the favor of God.

The Bible sees him as both a sinner and a righteous man. He is condemned in 1 Kings 15:3 because he committed all the sins which his father did before him. On the other hand, 2 Chronicles 13 presents him as a staunch defender of God, inspiring his soldiers to fight for righteousness against the corrupt Jeroboam. Abijah was victorious in the border wars between Judah and Israel and grew strong, although he reigned for only two years (possibly three). The cause of his death is unknown.

Abijah the Priest

Abijah, a priest in the court of David, was a descendant of Aaron. David divided the priests into twenty-four divisions, which rotated by lot in their attendance before the Ark of the Covenant. Abijah was the chief priest of the eighth division (1 Chron. 24:10). Since each division was named after its first chief priest, the eighth was the Division of Abijah. This system of divisions lasted another thousand years. Zechariah, the father of John the Baptist, was a member of the Division of Abijah (Luke 1:5).

Abijah the Son of Jeroboam

Abijah was the son of Jeroboam I, the first monarch of the northern kingdom of Israel. Jeroboam was an abomination to the Levitical Jews, because he had promoted pagan worship in Israel (1 Kings 12:28).

As a small child, Abijah became seriously ill. Jeroboam disguised his wife (her name is unknown) and sent her to the shrine at Shiloh to the prophet Ahijah to find out if the child would live. Ahijah was the prophet who had earlier prophesied that Jeroboam would become king over the northern tribes (1 Kings 11:29ff.).

Ahijah saw through her disguise and pronounced a curse on the house of Jeroboam because of his apostasy. He prophesied that the child Abijah would die as soon as she returned home, and that he alone, of all the house of Jeroboam, would receive an honorable burial. When Jeroboam’s wife returned to the palace Abijah died, and the prophesy was fulfilled (1 Kings 14).

Abijah the Son of Samuel

Abijah was the second son of the prophet Samuel. In his old age Samuel appointed Abijah and his older brother Joel to be judges over the Israelites. However, They turned aside after dishonest gain and accepted bribes and perverted justice (1 Sam. 8:3).

The Israelites saw increasing corruption among the judges, and when Samuel’s own sons proved corrupt the Israelites had had enough and demanded to be ruled by a king instead of by judges. Their argument (perhaps a valid one) was that a king could establish and maintain a standing national army to protect them from their enemies. The judges, on the other hand, had to muster a local militia and garner support from neighboring tribes every time a crisis erupted.

At first Samuel refused their request, but when God told him to select a king and warn the people of the dangers of having one, he reluctantly agreed. It is possible that if Samuel’s sons had been righteous and wise judges, the history of Israel might have taken a very different path.

Abimelech the King of Gerar

Genesis contains two accounts of an incident with a King Abimelech, although they are so similar that most scholars believe that they are a doublet, two different versions of the same event. There are in fact three versions of the same story, only in the third version the king is the Egyptian pharaoh.

The story is that of a patriarch passing his wife off as his sister in order that the king who is attracted to her will not kill him to have her. Two such stories concern Abraham. The first is with Pharaoh (Gen. 12:10ff.) and the second with Abimelech (Gen. 20).

A third story tells a similar story about Abraham’s son Isaac (Gen. 26) and Abimelech, who is there called the King of the Philistines (Gen. 26:1). However, the chronology of that does not fit. The Philistines were a people from Crete and the Aegaean who invaded Palestine some time in the twelfth century BCE, well after the time of Isaac.

Abimelech was the Canaanite (Phoenician) king of Gerar. Little is known of him except that in both Genesis accounts there is a dispute about wells between the patriarch and Abimelech that seems ultimately to end with a treaty and a friendly relationship, despite a rather shaky beginning.

Abimelech the Son of Gideon

As soon as Gideon died, his tribe reverted to the worship of the baalim, the pagan nature gods. He died leaving seventy-one sons, most of whom claimed his seat as ruler of the tribe of Manasseh. One of them, Abimelech, was the son of a Canaanite concubine from Shechem (Judg. 8:31).

Abimelech enlisted the aid of his mother’s relatives in Shechem, who convinced the Baalist priests to give him a generous endowment from the temple of the god Baal-berith. With the money he hired an army of mercenaries to reinforce his Shechemite supporters. They then went back to his home in Ophrah, where they murdered sixty-nine of his half-brothers. The youngest, Jotham, escaped by hiding. The mob then proclaimed Abimelech king of all the tribes of Israel. Jotham, from a promontory on Mount Gerizim, exhorted them beautifully to return to God and reject Abimelech, but when the crowd became hostile he fled to Beer and remained there (Judg. 9:7ff.).

Abimelech ruled for three years. He is not counted as a king of Israel, however, because he was not anointed, he made no claim to be faithful to God, and his claim to a throne was directly contradictory to the governmental system of Israel at the time, that of prophets and tribal judges. He was a despotic and tyrannical ruler, and he quickly lost the support of those who had originally made him king.

A rebellion in Shechem caused him to attack and completely destroy the city, even to the point of sowing the surrounding fields with salt so that they could grow nothing (Judg. 9:39ff.). The survivors fled to a tower at Elberith, and when Abimelech heard of this he went there, barricaded them in, then set the tower on fire and killed them all. He then attacked Thebez. During the siege a woman dropped a millstone on him and severely wounded him. He ordered his armor-bearer to kill him so that it could not be said that he had been killed by a woman (Judg. 9:54). As soon as he was dead his troops abandoned the battle and went home.

Despite the claim that he governed Israel (Judg. 9:22), his power probably did not extend much farther than the environs of Shechem. Abimelech is remembered primarily as an example of a petty warlord with dreams of glory, and as a warning to those who turn away from God.

Abinadab

Little is known of Abinadab, although for a brief time he played a critical role in Jewish history.

He lived in Kiriath-jearim, a small hill town northwest of Jerusalem. The Philistines had captured the Ark of the Covenant in battle, but after a plague fell on them¹ they returned it by driving it over the border on an oxcart pulled by two cows and abandoning it near Kiriath-jearim.

The people brought it into the town, and, not knowing what to do with it, they sought Abinadab’s advice. He took it into his house, thus indicating that he was probably a priest. He took care of it, consecrating his son Eleazar to look after it. It remained in his care for twenty years (1 Sam. 6:21ff.).

When David conquered the Jebusite city of Jerusalem and made it his capital, he brought the Ark there. They placed it on a new cart, and Abinadab’s sons Ahio and Uzzah drove the cart. In transit, Uzzah was struck down by God for touching the Ark.

Abiram the Brother of Dathan

See Dathan

Abiram the Son of Hiel

See Hiel

Abishag

When David was old, he could not get warm on the cold winter nights. His servants sought a young virgin to tend the king and look after him (1 Kings 1:1–2). Abishag was a very beautiful Shunammite maiden who apparently served this medical purpose very well, although the Bible tells us that David had no intimate relations with her.

When David died and Solomon ascended the throne, the unsuccessful pretender to the throne, Adonijah, asked to marry her. Solomon was looking for an excuse to punish Adonijah for his arrogant attempt to usurp the throne while David was still alive. He claimed that Abishag had been David’s wife, and therefore Adonijah’s asking for her was a treasonous attempt to claim inheritance of the throne. He executed him for it.

Abishai

Abishai was the oldest brother of Joab and Asuhel, the sons of David’s sister Zeruiah (the Bible does not name their father). Joab was the commander of David’s army.

Abishai and Asuhel were obviously men of great courage, as was their uncle and leader David. King Saul was pursuing David to try to kill him, and the two armies were encamped for the night. David and Abishai sneaked into Saul’s camp and made their way right up to the sleeping Saul. Abishai wanted to kill him, telling David that he could do it with a single thrust of his spear. David, hoping to prove to Saul that he meant him no harm, forbade it. To show that they had been there, they stole Saul’s spear and water jug (1 Sam. 26:6–12). When Saul found out what had happened, he admitted that he had been wrong and invited David back to the palace. David nevertheless recognized Saul’s paranoia and knew that he would try again to kill him, so he fled to the land of the Philistines.

In a later battle Saul’s general Abner unintentionally killed Abishai’s and Joab’s young brother Asahel, generating a blood feud that would eventually end in Abner’s murder. After Saul’s death, Abner, disillusioned with Saul’s heir Ish-bosheth, defected to David’s side. Abishai and Joab would not tolerate his presence, however, and murdered him (2 Sam. 3:30).

Abishai was a great warrior. In a battle with one of the Philistine giants, David was almost overcome when Abishai came to his aid and killed the giant (2 Sam. 21:17). Because of this he was put in command of the Thirty, an elite corps of commandoes. In another incident he singlehandedly killed three hundred Philistines with only a spear (2 Sam. 23:18).

Abishai was something of a hothead, as is illustrated not only in the incident in Saul’s camp and the murder of Abner, but also when Absalom’s revolt forced David to flee Jerusalem. As David left he was insulted and pelted with stones by Shimei, a relative of Saul’s. Abishai wanted to cut off the head of this dead dog, but David would not permit it (2 Sam. 16:9). When David returned to Jerusalem victorious, Shimei and a thousand of his supporters met David at the gate and begged his forgiveness. Abishai wanted to kill the whole lot of them, and again David forbade it (although on his deathbed he advised Solomon to kill Shimei, which he did).

Abishai remained loyal to David through all the good times and the bad times. His death is not recorded. There is no mention of him in the struggle for the throne when David died, however, which indicates that he died before David.

Abner

Abner was Saul’s cousin; his father, Ner, and Saul’s father, Kish, were brothers.¹ They came from a wealthy clan of the tribe of Benjamin, and when Saul became king, Abner hoped to see the line become a long-lived dynasty. Little did he know that he planted the seed that would end the dynasty when he introduced to Saul the boy David, who had just killed the giant Goliath (1 Sam. 17:55ff.).²

Abner was the commander of Saul’s army, and he had served Saul loyally from the beginning of his reign. The fact that he was seated at Saul’s right at the banquet of the New Moon (1 Sam. 20:5) indicates that his power was second only to Saul’s in the kingdom.

As David’s relationship with Saul decayed, Abner remained staunchly loyal to Saul, even to the point of going with him when he pursued David in the wilderness. While he and Saul slept, David and Abishai stole into his camp and took Saul’s spear and water jug from the hand of the sleeping Saul, yet did not harm him (1 Sam. 26:5). The next morning they tried to convince Saul that this proved that they meant him no harm, and they chided Abner for not adequately protecting Saul.

In a later skirmish between David’s and Saul’s troops, Abner sealed his own fate. He was defeated, and as he retreated he was chased by Asahel, the young brother of Joab, David’s commander. He called to Asahel that he did not want to kill him, but when Asahel grabbed him from behind Abner thrust his spear backward, and Asahel fell dead. Joab swore vengeance against Abner.

After Saul’s death, Abner placed Saul’s son Ish-bosheth on the throne. The northern tribes were loyal to him, but the tribe of Judah, the largest of all the tribes, remained loyal to David. Abner became severely disillusioned with Ish-bosheth’s arrogance, incompetence, and ingratitude, and he realized that Israel’s future lay with David. He defected to David’s side. Joab, who had been away, was furious when he returned and found that David had forgiven Abner and tacitly granted amnesty to all who had come over with him. He publicly rebuked David, and then sent for Abner to meet him at Hebron, where he and his brother Abishai murdered him.

This treachery infuriated David, who managed to convince the northern tribes that he had nothing to do with the murder. He even forced Joab to wear sackcloth (traditional mourning clothes) and to mourn publicly for Abner. He entombed Abner in Hebron with full honors (2 Sam. 3:32).

The book of Chronicles notes that Abner bequeathed gifts for the support of the Tabernacle of God (1 Chron. 26:26ff.).

Abraham

Probably the most common image that people hold of Abraham is that of a wandering mystic, the founder of a new religion. Nothing could be further from the truth. He was, indeed, the patriarch through whom God first revealed himself to what would become the Jewish people. However, he was in no way a gaunt ascetic roaming the hills of Canaan, but the ancient counterpart of a very wealthy Bedouin sheik ruling over hundreds of subjects and retainers. His name was Abram, and it was changed to Abraham when he made the final confirmation of his covenant with God.

Abram was born sometime between the twentieth and sixteenth centuries BCE in the city of Ur in Chaldea, a region in southern Babylonia (now Iraq) at the confluence of the Tigris and Euphrates rivers. He grew up in Ur, and there he married Sarai. His father, Terah, was a ninth-generation descendant of Noah’s son Shem (Gen. 11:10).¹

The Bible tells little about Terah, but an ancient non-biblical rabbinic tradition says that he was a maker and seller of pagan idols. According to that tradition Abram, to whom God had revealed that he is the only true God, took an axe and smashed all the idols but the largest one, then put the axe in the hand of the remaining idol. He told Terah that the large idol had slain all the others. Terah said that this was impossible because the idol was not living, but was only clay. Abram asked him, Then why do you worship that which is not living, but is only clay?

Terah had three sons, Abram, Nahor, and Haran. Haran, who died while the family was still in Ur, was the father of Lot.

Terah took his family and moved from Ur, journeying west until they came to the city of Haran² in Asia Minor (what is now Turkey). They settled down and lived there for several years, and Terah died there. The Bible does not give any reason for their leaving Ur, and there is no indication that God spoke to any of them before Terah’s death.

When Abram was seventy-five years old, God spoke to him and commanded him to leave his country, his people, and his father’s household, and go to a new land that he would give him (Gen. 11:31ff.). He took his wife Sarai, Lot and his wife, all his possessions, and the people they had acquired in Haran³ (Gen. 12:5) and struck out for an unknown destination. The fact that he had people indicates that he had accumulated at least some reasonable amount of wealth.

This journey was a great act of faith for two reasons. In the first place, it was a dangerous and unquestionably frightening thing, especially in those days, simply to abandon comfort and security to go to an unknown land. Secondly, the promise was that Abram would be the father of a great nation, yet Sarai was barren (Gen. 11:30).

He traveled until he came to Shechem in Canaan. Shechem was a pagan shrine of the Canaanites, and it was there that God told him that he would give this land to him and his descendants. Again, it could only be an act of faith for Abram to accept that this land was God’s to give. He had that faith, however, and erected an altar to God at Shechem.⁴ He then moved further south, eventually coming into Egypt. It is unclear whether he actually went to what we now consider Egypt, or simply migrated to the southern portions of Palestine that at the time were a part of the Egyptian empire. At some point, however, he had dealings with the pharaoh, indicating that he probably entered the Nile Delta and traveled at least near to the Egyptian capital of Memphis.

Abram’s great faith was often demonstrated by his acceptance of God’s will and promise and his frequent building of altars and making of sacrifices to God. His migration to Egypt, however, is by contrast an indication of a failing of his faith, and with it a failing of his morals. The Canaanites were firmly established in the land, and he apparently did not have sufficient faith to believe that God would (or could) take it from them and give it to him. Having proved himself faithful by leaving Haran and coming to Canaan, he then demonstrated a surprising lack of faith by deserting Canaan for Egypt.

While Abram was in Egypt, he feared that because of Sarai’s striking beauty someone would try to kill him to take her away from him.⁵ He told her to tell people that she was his sister, not his wife. Pharaoh heard about her beauty and had her brought to his palace (Gen. 12:11ff.). He treated her well, and Abram acquired even greater wealth while he was in Egypt. Notwithstanding, God inflicted Pharaoh with serious diseases because he had taken her (v. 17). When Pharaoh found out that Abram had lied to him and that Sarai was his wife, he was furious. He sent Sarai back to him and expelled their whole tribe from Egypt.⁶

After leaving Egypt they returned to the Negev, a desert region in southern Palestine, and then went from there to Bethel. Abram’s and Lot’s herds had grown so large that there was no longer sufficient pastureland to support both herds. A serious conflict developed between their herdsmen, and the two men decided to separate (Gen. 13:7ff.). Abram told Lot to choose whatever region he wanted, and he would take what was left. Lot selected the fertile Jordan basin, settling near the city of Sodom on the coast of the Dead Sea.⁷ The Bible indicates that at that time this area was lush and fertile, not the arid desert that it is today.⁸

This is an indication not only of Abram’s generosity and Lot’s selfishness, but also of the return of Abram’s faith.⁹ He trusted God’s promise that the land would belong to his descendants, so he could afford to let Lot have what he wanted for the time being. He was willing to accept whatever God had in store for him, and this faith would be tested and confirmed many times in the future.

Because of Abram’s faith, God expanded the covenant. Earlier he had promised that Abram’s seed would possess the land and be a great nation. Now he promised that Abram himself would walk the entire land and that his descendants would be as numberless as the dust of the earth (Gen. 13:16). Abram moved his tents to Hebron and settled there, using Hebron as a more-or-less permanent base, although he was essentially a nomad.

There was a war in which the kings of several city-states formed a coalition and attacked the cities along the coasts of the Dead Sea, including Sodom and Gomorrah. The cities fell, and among the people who were captured as slaves were Lot and his family. Abram had not been involved in the war, but when he heard of Lot’s capture he raised up an army of 318 soldiers from among his own people to rescue him. He pursued them to Dan,¹⁰ where he divided his troops and attacked when the enemy did not expect any opposition. He outflanked and routed them, freeing all the prisoners and recapturing all the spoils that had been taken from the cities. He returned everything to the king of Sodom, refusing any reward except the replacement of what the people had eaten while he brought them back (Gen. 14:22ff.). Immediately thereafter, God reaffirmed the promise of the land and that Abram would have a son.

Sarai was barren, and she finally invoked a law that said that if a man’s wife was barren, he could sire a child by a concubine and the child would be legally the same as if it were his wife’s. Abram consented, and at the age of eighty-six¹¹ he fathered a son by Sarai’s Egyptian slave Hagar.

No sooner had Hagar become pregnant than she began to be insolent to Sarai and to treat her with contempt. The child was born, and Abram named him Ishmael. Hagar’s insolence to Sarai became so great that Sarai complained to Abram, who told her to deal with her as she saw fit. Sarai mistreated Hagar, who took Ishmael and fled into the desert (she probably beat her, a legal treatment of slaves) (Gen. 16:6). An angel met her in the desert and told her to return and submit to her mistress, promising that Ishmael’s descendants would become a great nation.¹²

This episode demonstrated another lapse in Abram’s faith. The promise had been that Sarai would bear him a son; yet he obviously was impatient and doubted God’s power to fulfill the promise, especially since Sarai was aging. Ishmael was considered Sarai’s son by law, so there was no legal problem about the inheritance. God, however, had promised that the descendants of Abram’s son by Sarai would be the inheritors of the land.

When Abram was ninety-nine, God appeared to him in the form of an angel and reaffirmed the promise that Sarai would bear a son. Sarai was in her tent and overheard this, and she laughed. Because of this, God said that the child’s name was to be Isaac, He Will Laugh. He then said that Abram was no longer to be called Abram, Exalted Father, but Abraham, Father of Multitudes. His wife’s name was changed from Sarai, Striver, to Sarah, Princess. It has been common in many cultures for millennia to change one’s name at a time of great change in one’s life.¹³ Abraham believed the promise, accepting the admonition that there is nothing that God cannot do. God commanded that every male in Abraham’s camp was to be circumcised as a sign and perpetual reminder of their covenant with him.

Because of Abraham’s faith, God confided to him his intent to destroy Sodom and Gomorrah. Abraham challenged God that it would not be just to destroy the city if there were fifty righteous men there, and God agreed. Abraham continued to bargain with God, who finally agreed to spare the city if ten righteous people could be found (Gen. 18:22ff.). None could be found but Lot and his immediate family, so Lot was allowed to leave, and the cities were destroyed.

Some time after the destruction of Sodom, Sarah bore Isaac. This was apparently a great threat to Hagar, who up to then had assumed that Ishmael would be Abraham’s heir. As Isaac grew, the tension between Sarah and Hagar increased, and it appears that Ishmael mistreated, or at least scorned, Isaac (Gen. 21:9–10). Sarah again insisted that Hagar and the boy be expelled. At first Abraham refused, but God told him to do what Sarah wanted. He gave them water and food and sent them out into the desert. God protected them and fulfilled his promise that Ishmael, like Isaac, would be the father of a great nation (the Arabs).

Abraham’s greatest test of faith occurred near the end of his life. God commanded him to offer Isaac as a human sacrifice. This was a test not only of Abraham’s faith but also of Isaac’s. No age is given for Isaac, but it may be inferred that Isaac, who was born when Abraham was a hundred years old, was a strong and healthy boy about fourteen or fifteen years of age. No man Abraham’s age could hold and bind an unwilling fifteen-year-old boy, so it appears that Isaac was also willing to accept God’s will.¹⁴ Just as Abraham was about to plunge the knife into his son, God stopped him, saying, Now I know that you fear God, because you have not withheld from me your son, your only son (Gen. 22:12). God did not need to do this to find out whether Abraham would obey him—he already knew—but Abraham needed to know what Abraham would do.¹⁵

Sarah died at Hebron at the age of 127, while Abraham was in Beersheba. He returned to Hebron, a Canaanite city, to mourn her. He had maintained good relations with the Canaanites, so they offered to give him a field and cave in which to bury her. He refused, being unwilling to accept gifts from pagans, and purchased the field (also thus making it legally the property of his heirs).

Sometime thereafter he married Keturah, a lady about whom little is known. She bore him six sons, one of whom was Midian, the ancestor of the Midianites. They would eventually become enemies of the Israelites, although it was through them that Moses learned of the faith that had been revealed to Abraham.

As he prepared for death, Abraham arranged for a wife for Isaac. He sent his steward to select a woman from among his kinsmen, the descendants of his brother Nahor (Gen. 24). This precluded Isaac’s marrying a pagan Canaanite, thus maintaining the integrity of the family line; it also made it unnecessary for Isaac to leave his own people and the Promised Land and expose himself to pagan influences in order to find a bride. Thus even at his death Abraham took action to protect the two major aspects of his covenant with God, his land and his descendants.

Abram

See Abraham

Absalom

Absalom was David’s third son, after Amnon and Daniel.¹ His mother was David’s third wife, Maacah bat-Talmai, the daughter of the king of Aram. Absalom is described as being extraordinarily handsome (2 Sam. 14:25), and this may have contributed to his arrogance. His pride in his beautiful long hair also eventually cost him his life. His turbulent life belies his name, which means The Father Is Peace.

The first critical event in his life was the rape of his sister Tamar by his older half-brother Amnon (2 Sam. 13:1–34), the crown prince. David was grief-stricken by the incident but did virtually nothing to punish Amnon. This followed upon the heels of David’s adultery with Bathsheba. For this and for his failure to punish Amnon, Absalom hated David, even though David obviously loved him deeply. For two years after the rape, Absalom never spoke to Amnon, either kindly or in anger (2 Sam. 13:22). He then lured Amnon to a sheepshearing festival, a joyful event in ancient Israel. There he got him drunk and murdered him, then fled to Aram, where he took refuge in his grandfather’s palace for three years.

After three years of Absalom’s exile, David’s anger had softened, and his general Joab used a ruse to convince him to allow Absalom to return to Jerusalem. David agreed, but banished Absalom from the palace (2 Sam. 14:1–22) and refused even to lay eyes on him. After two years, Absalom tried to get Joab to convince David to let him return to the palace, but Joab, probably fearing David’s anger, refused to see him (2 Sam. 14:28ff.). Finally Absalom set fire to Joab’s field, and when Joab went to him to find out why, Absalom besought him to intercede with David. He did, and David lovingly welcomed Absalom back into the palace.

Absalom showed no gratitude for David’s mercy. He was now the crown prince (Amnon was dead, as presumably was Daniel), and as such he went about the countryside undermining David’s authority and stirring up resentment against him. Using his personal charm and winning good looks, he built up a strong following, with plans to rebel against his father. His talents as a politician were apparently considerable, and he stole the hearts of the men of Israel (2 Sam. 15:6). He even enlisted the support of Ahithophel, one of David’s most trusted counselors.

Finally, when he felt he had sufficient support, he rallied his troops in Hebron, his birthplace and David’s original capital. He had dispatched people throughout Israel, so that when he gave the sign they would all acclaim him king. When Absalom sounded the battle cry, David was caught completely by surprise and was forced to flee Jerusalem with his general Joab and the portion of his army that remained loyal. He had the resources and presence of mind, however, to leave behind a strong cadre of trusted followers, including Hushai the Arkite and the priests Zadok and Abiathar, who infiltrated Absalom’s organization and relayed valuable information to David and Joab.

The relationship between David and Absalom was permanently damaged when, on Ahithophel’s advice, Absalom publicly violated David’s harem (2 Sam. 16:20–22) as a token of his taking power. Ahithophel advised Absalom to give him twelve thousand troops with which to attack and annihilate David immediately. However, Hushai the Arkite, one of David’s spies, cleverly convinced him to wait until he could mobilize all of Israel and lead the attack on David himself. This, he said, would remove David while establishing Absalom as the unifying factor in the whole kingdom.

Absalom accepted this advice, and while he was trying to mobilize the nation Hushai got the word to David of Absalom’s plans. When Absalom attacked David was ready, and the rebels were routed. In his flight, Absalom’s hair got caught in a tree. David’s general Joab caught up with him, and even though David had commanded that Absalom be spared, Joab drove three spears through his heart while he was struggling to get free (2 Sam. 18:14). His body was thrown into a pit and covered with stones.

Despite all of Absalom’s rebellious contempt for his father, David was grief-stricken when he was told of Absalom’s death (2 Sam. 18:33ff.).

Achan

When the Israelite troops under Joshua launched their conquest of Canaan, their first major victory was the destruction of Jericho. When they prepared the attack they were a relatively small ragtag band of untried soldiers who had their eye on one of the best-fortified cities in Canaan. Nonetheless, God had promised them victory.

God had also commanded them that absolutely everything—men, women, children, livestock, and property—was to be destroyed, except the articles of silver, gold, and bronze, and these must go into the treasury of the Lord (Josh. 6:17ff.).¹ Nothing was to be taken or even touched except to collect the valuables for the treasury. This wanton slaughter and destruction seems unduly harsh by today’s standards, but it was the universal norm of warfare at the time. The philosophy was that if the city were obliterated and the entire population slaughtered, there would be no one to resettle and eventually seek vengeance.

After the destruction of Jericho, the next objective was Ai, a poorly defended place that should have been no challenge at all to the Israelite army. However, the Israelites were defeated at Ai. When Joshua asked God why, he was told that someone had taken something from Jericho, thus breaking the covenant between God and the Israelites.

The next day, by the casting of lots, Achan of the tribe of Judah was identified as the one who had broken the covenant. When confronted, he confessed that he had taken several very valuable items during the ravaging of the city and had hidden them in his tent. The items were found in his tent, and Achan and his whole family were stoned, their bodies burned, and the ashes buried in a nearby valley. The place thereafter was called the Valley of Achor (Hebrew for trouble). Afterward, God turned from his fierce anger (Josh. 7:26).

The story of Achan is strong evidence of a powerful sense of unity and solidarity that has pervaded Jewish culture for millennia. The burden of the sin and the blessing of the righteousness of one man are felt by the entire community. In the story of Achan one man’s guilt threatened the safety of the entire community, and God held the community responsible for his actions even though they had not even known about them; the atonement of Achan, however, saved the whole community from God’s wrath.

Conversely, the Jews see the righteousness of one man as a blessing for the whole community. A worthy deed is called a mitzvah, a basically untranslatable word that means both a commandment and a blessing. When a righteous person does a mitzvah the entire world community of Jews is blessed, and when a person does a wicked act the entire community is weakened.

This sense of solidarity has given Jews hope and encouragement throughout millennia of woes, from the oppression under the Philistines, through the Assyrian and Babylonian exiles, the subjugation under the Greeks and Romans, the destruction of the temple and the Dispersion, right up to the Holocaust. Because of this sense of national and spiritual unity no faithful Jews need ever feel totally alone. They have God, and they have the universal nation of Judaism to support and encourage them.

This Judaic sense of solidarity, expanded, also plays an important part in Christian theology, with the belief that the death of Jesus atones for the sins of all mankind.

Achish

When David was a fugitive from King Saul, he sought sanctuary from Achish, the Philistine king of Gath (1 Sam. 21:10ff.). He believed that the only place he could be safe from Saul was in the camp of Saul’s enemies.

Even though Saul was the enemy of the Philistines, Achish’s men wanted no part of David. After all, it was he who had killed the Philistine champion Goliath and who had been responsible for many of Saul’s early victories over the Philistines.

Even though Achish welcomed him, David knew the hatred and duplicity of the Philistines and feared for his life. He feigned madness and fled the city. He returned later with a large army and offered himself to Achish as a mercenary (1 Sam. 27). Achish accepted and gave David and his men the town of Ziklag for their headquarters.

David went out regularly on raids against tribes who were enemies of both the Philistines and the Israelites. He plundered the towns and then killed every man, woman, and child in order that there would be no one alive to tell Achish what he had done. He then told Achish that he had been raiding Israelite towns in the Negev.

Achish came to trust David, and he planned to use the Israelite mercenaries to help in the upcoming battle with Saul at Gilboa (1 Sam. 29). The other Philistine kings, however, did not trust David. They refused to join Achish as long as David and the Israelite mercenaries were with him, so Achish engaged in the battle without them. When David was first crowned king of Judah at Hebron (2 Sam. 2:4), it was undoubtedly as a vassal of Achish.

Later David united all the tribes of Israel when he was crowned king of Israel. One of his first acts was the complete defeat of the Philistines and the establishment of the Jebusite capital of Jerusalem as the new capital of Israel.

Adam

Whether or not one accepts the Bible literally, the person and symbolism of Adam are basic in Jewish, Christian, and Muslim theology and tradition.

There are two primary interpretations of the Adam story. The literalists believe that he was indeed the very first human being, created from the dust of the earth about six thousand years ago. The other view is that Adam represents original mankind in its primitive innocence—that at a certain point in a God-guided process of evolution our species of primates was imbued by God with an immortal soul and became man as we think of him. This view makes him no less a special creature of God. The two views are not mutually exclusive, because they both teach that God created man—the only disagreement is in the