Characters Flashcards
Adam
- Meaning of name in Hebrew “from the earth”
* Created to maintain God’s Creation
Eve
- Made to be partner of Adam
* Created from rib, two parts of the same whole
Cain
- First son of Adam and Eve
- Farmer
- Killed Abel
Abel
- Second son of Adam and Eve
- Shepherd
- Killed by Cain
Noah
- Righteous in his day
- Ark
- Didn’t care that God was going to kill everyone
Abraham
- Righteous and good
- Father of all three main monotheistic religions
- First patriarch
Sarah
- Wife of Abraham
- First name Sarai
- Conceived in 90s
- Mother of Issac
- Laughed when God promised son
Hagar
- Sarah’s slave girl
- Mother of Ishmael
- Sarah jealous of her
- Sent away with son when Issac came
Ishmael
- First son of Abraham
- Name means “God listens”
- Circumcised at 13
Issac
- Second patriarch
- Son of Abraham and Sarah
- Almost sacrificed by Abraham
- Father of Esau and Jacob
Rebekah
- Isaac’s wife
- Favored Jacob over Esau
- Helped Jacob trick Isaac into giving him his blessing
Esau
- First son of Isaac and Rebekah
- Traded birthright for soup
- Athletic and hairy
Jacob
- Second son of Isaac and Rebekah
- Held on to Esau’s ankle
- “holder of the heel”
- Took birthright from Esau
- Tricked Isaac into giving him blessing
- Name change
Israel
- Jacob’s second name
- Last patriarch
- Means “wrestles with God”
- 12 sons
Joseph
- 11th son of Israel
- 2nd son of Rachel
- Dreams
- Prophet (kind of)
- Israel’s favorite
- Sold into slavery by brothers
- 2nd in command under Pharaoh
- Famine
- Two sons: Ephraim and Mannaseh
Judah
- Jacob’s 4th son, son of Leah
- “Praised one”
- One who suggested selling Joseph
- Regrets, offers life for Benjamin’s
- Sleeps with daughter in law Tamar
Pharaoh
- Did not know Joseph
- Distrustful of Israelites – enslaved them
- Heart hardened by God
Moses
- Given up by mother, adopted by Pharaoh’s daughter
- Chosen by God to lead Israelites out of Egypt
- Gets Torah from God
- Wants to give up leading Israelites
- Mentors Joshua
The Six Women of Exodus who rescue Moses
- Puah and Shiphrah, midwives, don’t kill him
- Birth mom put in basket and nursed him
- Miriam, sister, found birth mom to nurse
- Pharaoh’s daughter adopted him
- Zipporah, wife
Caleb
- One of twelve spies sent to holy land
* One of two who thought it was possible to get to holy land
Joshua
- Moses’s protégé
- One of twelve spies
- Took over when Moses died
- Battle of Jericho
Aaron
- Moses’ brother
- First high priest
- Made golden calf
Baal
Canaanite god of agriculture
Deborah
- Only female judge
- “Mother of Israel”
- Prophesied death of Sisera by Jael
Samson
- Born to barren woman
- Hair gave him strength
- Delilah hired to find out secret
- Little interest in God’s will
Jonathan son of Gershom son of Moses
- Priest under Micah
* Idol in image of God
Samuel
- Last judge
- Had to find a king
- Anointed two kings
Saul
- First king of Israel
- Crazy
- From Benjamin
David
- Second king of Israel
- Defeated Goliath
- Played lyre for Saul
- Bathsheba
- Wrote many psalms
Goliath
- Philistine giant
* Taunted Israelites
Bathsheba
- Woman David slept with
- Bore David’s child
- Husband killed by David
Solomon
- Son of David and Bathsheba
- King known for wisdom
- Built the temple
- Golden age of Israel
- 1000 wives
- Started worshiping idols
- Son over taxed
Elijah
- Prophet
- Counter to Ahab
- Defeated prophets of Baal
- Mentored Elisha
- Malachi prophesized his return
- Didn’t die, taken
- Miracles like Moses
Elisha
- Protégé of Elijah
- Appoints Jehu king
- Calf worship continues
- Jehu has Jezebel killed
Josiah
- Good king of Judah
- Found Torah
- Reforms
Gideon
- Smashed Baal idols
- Defeated Midianites and Amalekites with only 300 troops
- Had 70 sons plus Abimelech with concubine
Jephthah
- Son of a concubine
- Begged to save Israel from Ammonites
- Defeated Ammonites, sacrificed king’s daughter
Hannah
- Mother of Samuel
* Barren, dedicates son to God
Eli
- Decent high priest
- Sons corrupt
- Thinks Hannah is drunk
- Raises Samuel
Absalom
- Son of David
- Avenges full sister raped by half brother
- Exiled by David
- Returns and dethrones David
- Hair caught in tree, killed by Joab
Jeroboam
- First king of northern kingdom of Israel
* Idolatry
Ahab
- Northern king
- Marries Jezebel
- Reintroduced Baal worship
Hezekiah
- Judah’s most righteous king
* Bird in a cage, wouldn’t surrender
Isaiah
Prophet in Jerusalem (capital of Judah) Ministry spanned four kings Holiness of God Permanence of Zion Salvation Name means "Salvation of YHWH"
Jeremiah
Levite
Prophesied for Josiah through fall of Jerusalem
Predicts fall to Babylonians and exile
“Weeping Prophet” because he was hated by the people and they made him sad with their actions
Ezekiel
Prophet only after being exiled from Babylon
Had a famous vision about God’s glory
He explains why they were exiled and how they will be redeemed
The glory of God is with the people, not in a temple
Wife dies but he is not allowed to mourn her
