People of the Bible

Who each one was, what they did and what happened — the story as the text tells it, without what tradition added later.

Every page carries the narrative, the passages the person appears in, and a section separating what is written from what was added over the centuries. Where Catholics and Protestants read a figure differently, both readings appear side by side.

Who was Jesus?
Jesus of Nazareth was a Galilean Jew of the first century. The Gospels narrate his birth in Bethlehem, his upbringing in Nazareth, his baptism by John in the Jordan, his preaching of the kingdom of God, the signs, the conflict with the Temple leadership, the crucifixion in Jerusalem under Pontius Pilate, and the resurrection on the third day.
First century, in Galilee and Judea — born at the end of the reign of Herod, put to death under Pontius Pilate
Who was David?
David was the second king of Israel, around the tenth century BC. The books of Samuel present him as the youngest son of Jesse, a shepherd from Bethlehem, anointed by Samuel before he had won anything, a fugitive from Saul, king first at Hebron and then in Jerusalem, and the man responsible for Uriah’s death.
Around the tenth century BC, at the beginning of the Israelite monarchy
Who was Moses?
Moses is the central figure of the four books running from Exodus to Deuteronomy: the Hebrew raised in the Egyptian court who kills an Egyptian, flees to the desert, is commissioned before a burning bush, leads the people out of Egypt, receives the law at Sinai, and dies without entering the promised land.
Traditionally placed around the thirteenth century BC
Who was Abraham?
Abraham is the first of the patriarchs of Israel. The book of Genesis presents him leaving his land at a call, receiving the promise of a lineage he could not see arriving, fathering a son by the servant Hagar, receiving Isaac in old age, and being led up a mountain to sacrifice him.
Placed in the second millennium BC, in the patriarchal period
Who was Ruth?
Ruth is a Moabite widow who refuses to go back to her mother’s house and travels with her Israelite mother-in-law to Bethlehem. The book that carries her name tells of the harvest, the request made on the threshing floor, the redemption carried out by Boaz, and the birth of David’s grandfather.
Set in the period of the judges, before the monarchy
Who was Joseph in Egypt?
Joseph is the eleventh of Jacob’s twelve sons. Genesis presents him as his father’s favourite, sold by his brothers, enslaved and imprisoned in Egypt, an interpreter of dreams, raised to run the kingdom during a famine, and finally reunited with the family that had discarded him.
Placed in the second millennium BC, at the end of the patriarchal period
Who was Noah?
Noah is the flood character in Genesis. The text presents him as a just man among corrupted contemporaries, charged with building an enormous vessel, a survivor of the catastrophe with his family and the animals, the recipient of a covenant with a sign in the sky — and, afterwards, drunk inside his own tent.
In the opening chapters of Genesis, before the patriarchal history
Who was Peter?
Peter is the Galilean fisherman who appears more often than any other disciple in the Gospels: the one who makes the confession at Caesarea, the one who denies him three times on the night of the arrest, the one who preaches at Pentecost, and the one who opens the mission to Gentiles at the house of Cornelius.
First century, in Galilee, in Jerusalem and later beyond it
Who was Paul?
Paul is the name heading thirteen letters in the New Testament and the central figure in the second half of Acts. A Pharisee from Tarsus, he began by persecuting Christians, had an experience on the road to Damascus that reversed everything, and spent the rest of his life travelling the Mediterranean and writing letters.
First century, roughly between the years 30 and 60
Who was Mary Magdalene?
Mary Magdalene is the woman the Gospels present as following Jesus from Galilee and supporting the group from her own resources, present at the crucifixion, and the first to whom the risen Jesus appears — charged with announcing it to the other disciples. Scripture never calls her a prostitute.
First century, in Galilee and in Jerusalem
Who was John the Baptist?
John the Baptist is the prophet who preached in the Judean desert and baptised in the Jordan. The Gospels narrate the announcement of his birth to Zechariah, the preaching of repentance, the baptism of Jesus, the doubt sent from prison, and the execution ordered by Herod at a banquet.
First century, in Judea and Perea, a contemporary of Jesus
Who was Thomas?
Thomas is one of the Twelve, called the Twin, who appears in three scenes of John’s Gospel: proposing that they all go and die with Jesus, saying he does not know the way, and refusing to believe in the resurrection without seeing. Eight days later he makes the most direct confession in the Gospel.
First century, among the twelve apostles
Who was Luke?
Luke is the author tradition assigns the third Gospel and the book of Acts — together, more than a quarter of the New Testament. Paul’s letters mention him three times, once calling him a physician, and stretches of Acts are narrated in the first person plural.
First century, a travelling companion of Paul
Who was Mary, the mother of Jesus?
Mary was a young woman of Nazareth, betrothed to Joseph, and she is the mother of Jesus. The Gospels give her few scenes and no biography: the announcement, the canticle at the house of Elizabeth, the birth, the Temple, one episode from the childhood of Jesus, Cana, the cross, and the prayer before Pentecost.
First century, in Nazareth, in Bethlehem and in Jerusalem
Who was Joseph, the foster father of Jesus?
Joseph was a working craftsman of Nazareth, betrothed to Mary and recognised as the father of Jesus. The Gospels record no words of his at all: he appears deciding, obeying warnings received in his sleep, protecting the household and providing for it. After the episode in the Temple he leaves the text without explanation.
First century, in Nazareth and in Bethlehem
Who was Esther?
Esther was an orphaned Jewish woman raised by her uncle Mordecai who became queen of Persia and stopped the planned massacre of her people. She approached the king uninvited, at the risk of death, and exposed Haman’s decree. In the chapters inherited from the Hebrew text, the book never names God.
The Persian Empire, most likely in the fifth century BC
Who was Deborah?
Deborah was a prophetess who judged Israel during the period of the judges, the only woman in that role in the book. She held court under a palm tree, summoned the commander Barak against Sisera’s army and went to the battlefield with him. Scholars reckon the song in chapter five among the oldest texts in the Bible.
The period of the judges, most likely around the twelfth century BC
Who was Sarah?
Sarah was Abraham’s wife and the mother of Isaac. Genesis introduces her as barren, and she stays that way for decades: she hands her servant Hagar to her husband to bear children for her, laughs when she hears the promise of a son in old age, and later demands that Hagar be sent away.
The patriarchal age, traditionally placed around the nineteenth century BC
Who was Hannah, the mother of Samuel?
Hannah was the mother of the prophet Samuel. Barren and humiliated by her husband’s other wife, she prayed at the sanctuary of Shiloh with such distress that the priest Eli took her for a drunk. She made a vow, had the child and handed him over to sanctuary service.
The end of the period of the judges, around the eleventh century BC
Who were Martha and Mary?
Martha and Mary were sisters of Lazarus, living at Bethany, and they received Jesus in their home. Luke 10 tells the argument about serving and listening; John 11 shows them facing their brother’s death, each reacting differently. One of the most explicit confessions of faith in John’s Gospel belongs to Martha.
The first century, in the village of Bethany, near Jerusalem
Who was Priscilla?
Priscilla was a first-century Christian missionary, always named alongside her husband Aquila. Tentmakers who had come from Rome, they took Paul in at Corinth, travelled with him to Ephesus and completed the instruction of Apollos. The couple’s homes served as churches in at least two cities.
The first century, between Rome, Corinth and Ephesus
Who was Elijah?
Elijah was a prophet of the northern kingdom of Israel who confronted king Ahab and the prophets of Baal. He announced a drought, was fed by a foreign widow, won the contest on Mount Carmel and then fled into the desert asking to die. The text says a whirlwind took him up.
The northern kingdom of Israel, around the ninth century BC
Who was Daniel?
Daniel was a young Jewish captive taken to Babylon who became an interpreter of dreams and a senior official under more than one empire. He refused the king’s food, read the writing on the wall during a banquet and spent a night in the lions’ den for going on praying. The book has two very different halves.
The Babylonian exile, sixth century BC
Who was Jonah?
Jonah was a prophet ordered to preach in Nineveh, the Assyrian capital, who fled in the opposite direction. Thrown into the sea during a storm, he was swallowed by a great fish and returned to dry land. He preached, the city repented, and the book ends with him furious that no destruction came.
The prophet is placed around the eighth century BC
Who was Solomon?
Solomon was king of Israel, son of David and Bathsheba, and built the first temple in Jerusalem. He asked for discernment rather than riches, settled the dispute between two mothers with a sword, received the queen of Sheba, and ended his life with seven hundred wives and a kingdom about to divide.
The united kingdom of Israel, around the tenth century BC
Who was Isaiah?
Isaiah was a prophet in Jerusalem during the reigns of four kings of Judah, between the eighth and the seventh centuries BC. He had a vision in the temple, walked naked and barefoot for three years as a sign against Egypt, and advised the king during the Assyrian siege. The book that carries his name has sixty-six chapters.
Jerusalem, between the eighth and the seventh centuries BC
Who was Jeremiah?
Jeremiah was a prophet in Jerusalem in the decades before the city fell to the Babylonians. He was called while still young, forbidden to marry, imprisoned, lowered into a pit of mud, and had a book of his burned by the king. He bought a field while the city was under siege, as a sign.
Jerusalem, between the end of the seventh and the start of the sixth century BC
Who was Job?
Job is the central figure of the book that bears his name: an upright man who loses his children, his wealth and his health with no explanation given. He protests chapter after chapter, and at the end God approves the one who protested and rebukes the three friends who explained the suffering.
The book places the story in no reign; the setting is patriarchal, and the composition is usually dated between the sixth and fourth centuries BC.
Who was Samson?
Samson was one of the judges of Israel, a Nazirite from the womb, known for extraordinary strength. Judges 13 to 16 narrates a marriage to a Philistine woman, a riddle that ends in thirty deaths, burned fields, a thousand men struck down with a jawbone, the betrayal by Delilah, and a death that brings down a crowded building.
The period of the judges, probably between the twelfth and eleventh centuries BC, when the Philistines held the region.
Who was Judas Iscariot?
Judas Iscariot was one of the twelve apostles, the one who kept the common purse, and the one who handed Jesus over to the authorities for thirty silver coins. The Gospels always identify him by that act. About his end, Matthew 27 and Acts 1 carry different accounts, and the New Testament never reconciles them.
First century, in Galilee and Judea; he died in Jerusalem in the same week as the crucifixion, between the years 30 and 33.
Who was King Saul?
Saul was the first king of Israel, anointed by Samuel after the people demanded a king like the other nations. He reigned, won battles, was rejected in two separate scenes, hunted David for years, and died in battle on Mount Gilboa along with three of his sons.
Around the eleventh century BC, at the beginning of the monarchy in Israel, before the reign of David.
Who were Cain and Abel?
Cain and Abel are the first two sons of Adam and Eve in Genesis 4. Abel kept sheep, Cain worked the ground; each brought an offering, and only Abel’s was received. The text does not say why. Cain then killed his brother in the field, and God asked him where his brother was.
Genesis 4 comes immediately after the departure from Eden; the text places the scene in no datable chronology.
Who was Rahab?
Rahab is the woman of Jericho who hid two Israelite spies in her house and lied to the king’s men to protect them. Joshua 2 identifies her by her trade, with no euphemism. She and her family were spared when the city fell, and she appears in the genealogy that opens the Gospel of Matthew.
The period of Israel’s entry into Canaan, generally placed between the thirteenth and twelfth centuries BC.