Some Men Bible Characters to choose for October 28
Adam: one of the first two human beings God created. He lived in the Garden of Eden with his
wife Eve until they disobeyed God and had to leave. He was the father of Seth, Cain and Abel.
Cain: killed his brother Abel when he became jealous that God preferred Abel’s offering to
Cain’s offering. After the murder, God sent Cain away and protected him.
Abel: He gave an offering to God, as did his brother Cain, but God preferred Abel’s offering.
Cain became so jealous he killed Abel.
Abraham: God told him to leave his home country and go to a place God would show him. God
promised Abraham, childless at this time, that he would become the father of a great nation. His
wife was Sarah.
Ishmael: Abraham’s first son, whose mother was his wife’s servant girl, Hagar. Sarah became
jealous and had Abraham sent Hagar and Ishmael away. Ishmael is considered the ancestor of
northern Arabic people by the Muslims.
Isaac: Abraham’s son by his wife Sarah. Jews and Christians believe that God’s promise was
carried through Isaac. Isaac married Rebekah and had twin sons: Esau and Jacob.
Esau: Isaac and Rebekah’s elder twin son. He liked to hunt. He sold his birthright to his
brother Jacob for a bowl of soup. His brother, Jacob, tricked their father to bless
Jacob first.
Jacob: Isaac and Rebekah’s younger twin son. Jacob disguised himself as Esau and got his
father to give him the first blessing. Esau was so angry that Jacob ran away from home, to his
mother’s family, until Esau could get over his anger. Jacob married Leah and Rachel, and had
twelve sons with them and their two servant girls. His name was changed to Israel after he
battled with a mysterious figure during the night.
Joseph: Jacob’s favorite son, which preference angered his elder brothers so much they sold
Joseph into slavery. As a slave, Joseph eventually becomes Pharaoh’s second in command, and
was able to save his family from a famine by moving them to Egypt. He forgave his brothers
for what they did to him.
Benjamin: Joseph’s younger brother—they share the same mother, Rachel, who died giving birth
to Benjamin. Rachel was buried in Bethlehem.
Samuel: his mother Hannah took him to the temple to be raised a priest to fulfill a vow she made,
to give her firstborn son to God. Samuel anointed the first two kings of Israel: Saul and David.
Saul: the first king of Israel. He loses God’s blessing, and his kingdom is given to David.
Jonathan: Saul’s son, who is David’s very best friend ever.
Jesse: a man who lived in Bethlehem with his eight sons. The youngest son, David, becomes
king of Israel.
David: a shepherd, Jesse’s youngest son, who grew up in Bethlehem. David became the king of
Israel. He played a harp to soothe King Saul, and defeated the Philistine giant, Goliath, in
battle.
Elijah: a famous prophet in Israel. He works miracles, and trains the next prophet, Elisha, who
will succeed him. He is taken away into heaven in a whirlwind.
Elisha: Elijah’s successor, a prophet in Israel who also works miracles. When he learns Elijah
will be taken away into heaven, he asks for a double portion of his spirit. Elijah tells him that if
he sees him as he is taken away, he will inherit his spirit. Elisha is able to see this, and as he
leaves the area, he rolls up his cloak, strikes the water, and the river divides in two so he can
walk through it.
Solomon: David’s son by Bathsheba who becomes king after his father dies. Solomon builds
the first temple in Jerusalem.
Daniel: a faithful Jew who is taken to Babylon after the fall of Jerusalem. Daniel prays to God
and is thrown into a den of lions as a punishment. In the morning he is found unhurt; God has
saved him from being attacked.
Jonah: God calls Jonah to preach to the people in Ninevah, but Jonah takes a ship in the opposite
direction. There is a storm and Jonah realizes that the ship will sink unless they throw him
overboard. The sailors finally are persuaded to do this, and a large fish swallows Jonah. The
fish spits Jonah out on shore, and Jonah then obeys God.
Samson: Samson was a very strong man who did not cut his hair, shave his beard, or drink any
alcohol because of a vow his mother made that he would be raised in this way. His girlfriend,
Delilah, was convinced by the Philistines, Israel’s enemies, to try to find out what made him so
strong. When Samson was asleep, Delilah cut his hair, and Samson was no longer strong. The
Philistines capture him, blind him, and parade him around. Once, in one of their temples,
Samson asked that his hands be placed on two of the supporting beams. In one final burst of
strength, Samson made the temple collapse and killed all inside including himself.
Gideon: a famous judge of Israel. Gideon led the Israelites in a famous battle where God told
Gideon to send many of the men home, so it would be clear that it was God would give them the
victory. Gideon, in a daring night raid, conquered the Midianites who had been making the
Israelites miserable by destroying their crops and harassing them.
Moses: the man rescued as a baby by Pharaoh’s daughter. Moses grows up in the palace, but
has to run away when he kills an Egyptian for beating a Hebrew slave. God appears to Moses in
a burning bush and tells him to return to Egypt. He will convince the new Pharaoh to let the
Hebrew people go. Moses works 10 plagues in order to convince the Egyptians that it is God’s
will that they are allowed to go. Moses eventually leads the Hebrews through the desert and
almost to the promised land. Before they cross the Jordan River, Moses dies, and Joshua takes
over as their leader.
Joshua: the leader who takes the Hebrew people across the Jordan River and leads them in battle
against the people who live in the land of Canaan. One famous battle was against the city of
Jericho, whose walls collapsed.
Joseph, Mary’s husband: Joseph was engaged to Mary when he learned that she was expecting a
child. In a dream, Joseph was reassured that he should marry Mary, and raise the child, Jesus,
as his own. Joseph takes Mary to Bethlehem, where they must register to be taxed, and here
Jesus is born. Joseph is last mentioned when he, Mary, and Jesus go to the temple in Jerusalem
when Jesus is twelve years old.
John the Baptist: John is the son of a priest, Zachariah, and his wife, Elizabeth, who is related to
Jesus’ Mother, Mary. John’s father was told to name him John. John lived by the Jordan River
in very simple circumstances and baptized people. Jesus came to him for baptism, after which
Jesus began his ministry. John was beheaded by Herod.
Peter: (also known as Simon) Peter was one of the three closest disciples of Jesus. Peter was
impetuous and often spoke before he thought things through. He promised Jesus he would be
with him no matter what, but became so scared, he pretended three times that he did not know
Jesus. After the resurrection, Jesus saw him again and forgave him. After Pentecost, Peter
becomes a leading preacher and helps to organize the early Christian congregations.
Judas: the disciple who betrays Jesus for thirty pieces of silver. Later, Judas tries to return the
money, but the priests will not take it back. He either hangs himself, or falls headlong and his
body bursts open.
Paul: the most famous missionary to the non-Jewish people (the Gentiles). Paul used to be
known as Saul, and persecuted the Christians for saying Jesus was God’s son who had been
raised from the dead. Paul has a conversion experience, and becomes a leader in the church.
Many of his letters are contained in the New Testament.
Zacchaeus: a short tax collector who climbs a tree to see Jesus. Later Jesus eats in his home
and Zacchaeus is so delighted that he promises to give half his money to the poor and to pay
back four times the amount to anyone he has cheated.
Stephen: the first Christian martyr. He was stoned to death for preaching about Jesus. Saul
was too young to participate in the actual stoning, so he held the cloaks of the men who were
stoning Stephen.