Walk into the lives behind the Bible

· Creation and Patriarchs

Hagar was the Egyptian maidservant of Sarai, Abram's wife. She became Abram's concubine and the mother of Ishmael. In the wilderness she personally encountered the Angel of the LORD, and is one of the few women in Scripture to give God a name.

· Creation and Patriarchs

The father of faith, central to God's covenant promises, called from Ur to Canaan.

· Creation and Patriarchs

The fourth son of Jacob, whose name means "praise"; his tribe became Israel's leading royal tribe, from which David and the Messiah would come.

· Creation and Patriarchs

Reuben was Jacob's firstborn son who forfeited his birthright by defiling his father's bed; though he once tried to rescue Joseph from his brothers, his life stands as a testimony to God's sovereign election transcending natural lineage.

· Creation and Patriarchs

Esau was the firstborn son of Isaac and grandson of Abraham, the elder of the twin brothers; he is known for selling his birthright and the brothers' conflict, yet was ultimately reconciled with Jacob, and became the ancestor of Edom.

· Creation and Patriarchs

Lot was the nephew of Abraham who chose the entire Plain of the Jordan and journeyed east, eventually settling in Sodom—a patriarch whose choices and faith left a profound moral lesson in the era of the patriarchs.

· Prophets and Exile

Daniel was a Judean prophet who, after being taken into exile in Babylon, remained steadfastly faithful to God—refusing defilement and praying daily—exemplifying loyalty and wisdom within a foreign court.

· Prophets and Exile

Jonah, son of Amittai, was called by the LORD to proclaim judgment against Nineveh; he instead fled toward Tarshish, repented in the belly of the great fish, and afterward preached, resulting in the repentance of the entire city.

· Prophets and Exile

Amos was a herdsman from Tekoa in the 8th century BC, called as a prophet during the reigns of Uzziah king of Judah and Jeroboam son of Joash king of Israel, known for his messages of divine justice and urgent calls to repentance over Israel.

· Prophets and Exile

Haggai is the prophet who received the word of the LORD in the second year of King Darius (520 BC), stirring the returned Judean exiles to rebuild the Jerusalem temple and proclaiming that the LORD of hosts would once more shake the heavens and the earth.

· Prophets and Exile

Nahum is the author of one of the Old Testament Minor Prophets, originating from Elkosh, who proclaimed God's judgment against Nineveh during the era when the Assyrian Empire threatened Judah. His name means "comfort," which resonates with the book's message of God's goodness and His refuge for the afflicted.

· Prophets and Exile

Micah was a prophet of Jehovah called to declare judgment and the message of justice and mercy to Judah and Israel, and to prophesy that the Messiah would come forth from Bethlehem.

· Conquest and Judges

Samson was a Nazirite from the tribe of Dan, a judge endowed by God with supernatural strength that flowed from his sacred vow consecrated from the womb.

· Conquest and Judges

Barak, son of Abinoam of Kedesh-naphtali, was summoned during the oppression of Israel by King Jabin of Canaan; he led warriors from Naphtali and Zebulun to Mount Tabor for battle.

· Prophets and Exile

Esther, originally named Hadassah, was a Jew living in the Persian Empire after the exile. Chosen as queen, she later risked her life to intercede for her people and became a classic example of God's deliverance working through human agency.

· United Kingdom

Ahab, son of Omri, reigned over the northern kingdom of Israel from Samaria and Jezreel, and is judged by Scripture as having done more evil in the sight of the LORD than all who were before him, largely through the influence of Jezebel and the worship of Baal.

· United Kingdom

Rehoboam, son of Solomon and the first king of the southern kingdom of Judah. He was acclaimed by all Israel at Shechem, but rejected the counsel of the elders, embraced the harsh advice of his young companions, and thereby caused the division of the united monarchy into the northern and southern kingdoms.

· Conquest and Judges

Jephthah was a mighty warrior of Gilead, born to a harlot, later appointed by the elders as judge and commander against the Ammonites; his rash vow led to the tragic fate of his only daughter.

· Early Church and Epistles

Apostle to the Gentiles — from persecutor of the church to its greatest missionary and letter-writer.

· New Testament: Gospels

The beloved disciple, traditional author of the Gospel of John, the three letters, and Revelation.

· New Testament: Gospels

Judas was one of the twelve disciples of Jesus, remembered in the New Testament Gospels for betraying Jesus and handing Him over to the chief priests.

· New Testament: Gospels

Matthew, also called Levi, was a tax collector at Capernaum who was called by Jesus to follow him and became one of the twelve apostles; he is traditionally identified as the author of the Gospel of Matthew.

· New Testament: Gospels

James, son of Zebedee, was a fisherman called by Jesus at the Sea of Galilee and one of the inner circle of disciples; he was later killed by King Herod, becoming the first apostolic martyr honored by the early church.

· New Testament: Gospels

First among the Twelve, confessor of Christ, whose Pentecost sermon brought three thousand to faith.

· New Testament: Gospels

Ananias was a disciple at Damascus whom the Lord addressed in a vision, sending him to lay hands on the repentant Saul so that Saul might receive his sight and be filled with the Holy Spirit.

· New Testament: Gospels

Joseph, a descendant of David and husband of Mary, obeyed the angel's dream instructions to take Mary as his wife, to flee with the child Jesus into Egypt, and later to return to Israel; he served as the legal father and guardian of Jesus on earth.

· New Testament: Gospels

Elisabeth was a wife of priestly descent from the daughters of Aaron, living in a town of Judah. In her old age she was graciously granted a son, John the Baptist, and under the Spirit she blessed Mary as the mother of the Lord while still in her own womb.

· New Testament: Gospels

Dorcas (called Dorcas in Greek and Tabitha in Aramaic/Hebrew, meaning 'gazelle') was a disciple at Joppa full of good works and almsdeeds; after her death, Peter raised her in the name of the Lord.

· New Testament: Gospels

Simeon was a righteous and devout man in Jerusalem who looked for the consolation of Israel, with the Holy Spirit upon him; he met the infant Jesus in the temple and was permitted to depart in peace.

· New Testament: Gospels

Mary was the virgin of Nazareth, called by the angel Gabriel to bear the Son of God; her faithful response and her song of magnifying the Lord open the history of salvation.