Biblical Figures

Aaron, the brother of Moses and Miriam, was a leader of the Israelites during the Exodus and in the wilderness. He was appointed high priest, and the priestly lineage continued through him and his sons.

Abel was second son of Adam and Eve and the first shepherd. After God accepted his offerings of choice animals but rejected his brother Cain's offerings of fruits and vegetables, he was killed by his jealous brother.

Abraham is the father of the Jewish people and husband to Sarah. God sent him from his homeland to the land of Canaan and promised to make him a great nation, through whom the nations would be blessed. Once in Canaan, he built up a large household. The covenant that would lead to the birth of the Jewish people continued through his younger son, Isaac.

Adam was the first human being, created on the sixth day of creation. He and his counterpart Eve were expelled from the garden of Eden after eating the forbidden fruit of the tree of knowledge. He was the father of all humanity.

Adam and Eve feature in the beginning of the book of Genesis. They were the first people, and the ancestors of all humanity.

Ahab was the seventh king of the northern Kingdom of Israel, and a wicked one. He allowed foreign worship to flourish under his wife Jezebel's influence, and was willing to arbitrarily dispossess his subjects. He was eventually killed in a military campaign against the Arameans.

Ahasuerus was the king of Persia in the book of Esther. He agreed to his advisor Haman's plans to eradicate the Jews and confiscate their property, but his Jewish wife Esther and her cousin Mordekhai foiled the plot when Esther revealed her true identity as a Jew.

Amalek was the first nation to attack the Israelites in the desert, attacking them from behind so as to target the weak and weary stragglers. As a result of this, paradoxically, the Torah commands the Israelites simultaneously to remember what they did and to blot out even the memory of them.

Aram was a son of Shem and the ancestor of the Arameans, the people from whom Abraham descended, as well as Rebecca and her brother Laban. In Jewish literature, Laban is often known as the Aramean.

Balaam is a non-Israelite biblical prophet whose story appears in the book of Numbers. As the Israelites are wandering in the desert, the Moabite King Balak pays him to curse the Israelites. Balaam, however, is only able to speak the words that God puts in his mouth and ends up blessing the Israelites instead.

Batsheva was one of King David's wives. He saw her bathing on a rooftop and arranged to have her husband sent to the front and killed so he could marry her. Their son Solomon succeeded King David, though he had many older brothers.

Benjamin was the youngest son of Jacob. His mother Rachel died giving birth to him. He was especially beloved of Jacob and when he and his brothers traveled to Egypt to ask for food, Joseph accused Benjamin of stealing from him. Benjamin's brothers defended him, showing that they'd changed and grown.

Betzalel is a biblical character who features in the book of Exodus. He was the artisan charged with building the mishkan (Tabernacle), its vessels, and the priestly garments, assisted by Oholiav and other workers. The Torah describes how God filled Betzalel with "with the spirit of God, in wisdom, and in understanding, and in knowledge, and in all manner of workmanship."

Bezalel is a biblical character who features in the Book of Exodus. He was the artisan charged with building the mishkan (tabernacle), its vessels, and the priestly garments, assisted by Oholiav and other workers. The Torah describes how God filled Bezalel with "with the spirit of God, in wisdom, and in understanding, and in knowledge, and in all manner of workmanship."

Bilhah is a biblical character first introduced in Genesis 29:29 as Laban's maidservant, whom he gives to his daughter Rachel upon Rachel's marriage to Jacob. When Rachel cannot bear children, she gives Bilhah to Jacob so that Bilhah can bear children. Bilhah gives birth to two sons, Dan and Naftali.

Boaz was a wealthy man in Bethlehem who was generous with the poor, including Ruth who came to glean from his fields. He married Ruth and with her had a son from whom King David was descended.

Cain was the oldest child of Adam and Eve, the first human being born, and a farmer. After his own fruit and vegetable offerings to God were rejected, he killed his brother, the shepherd Abel, whose animal offerings had been accepted. He was then cursed to wander the earth, protected by God from being killed in revenge.

Caleb (Kalev ben Yefuneh, in Hebrew) was one of the twelve spies sent to scout out Canaan soon after the Exodus. While most of the spies were intimidated by the Canaanites and their walled cities and returned discouraging reports, Caleb gave a more favorable account and was allowed to go into the promised land.

Dan was the fifth son of Jacob and the first with his concubine Bilhah. He was the founder of the Tribe of Dan.

Daniel is the protagonist of the Book of Daniel. He was taken to the court of Nevukhadnetsar after he conquered Jerusalem. There he rose in the court but prophecied the destruction of Babylonia by Persia. He later had visions regarding the coming Macedonian and Seleucid Greek empires.

The daughters of Tzelofchad were the only children of the biblical character Tzelofchad. As only men were allowed to inherit their fathers' land, they were concerned that Tzelofchad's land would leave their family. They petitioned Moses and God responded that if a man had no sons, daughters could inherit his land.

Deborah was a prophetess in the book of Judges who judged the Israelites from under her palm tree. She advised Barak on his military campaign against the Assyrian commander Sisera.

Dinah was the daughter of the patriarch Jacob. When she goes out to "visit the daughters of the land," she encounters the prince of Shechem, named Shechem, who takes her by force, rapes her, falls in love with her, and negotiates with her family to marry her. Dismayed upon hearing what has happened and undermining their father's negotiations, Dinah's brothers Simeon and Levi take matters into their own hands and slaughter Shechem and all the men of the city and return their sister to her family.

Doeg was an Edomite who served King Saul. He carried out the executions of a number of priests who helped David when he was fleeing Saul.

Efron was the Hittite property owner, from whom Abraham about the Cave of Machpelah in Hebron, which become the Tomb of the Patriarchs, where Abraham buried his wife Sarah, and where Isaac, Rebecca, Jacob and Leah were later buried.

Elazar was a son of Aaron who succeeded him in the role of the high priest. He continued his role in the land of Israel and assisted Joshua in the partitioning of the land among tribes and families.

Eliezer was Abraham's steward and, according to Midrash, the servant he sent to find Isaac a wife. The servant prayed for a woman who would show him kindness and hospitality and before he finished praying, Rebecca was there to greet him.

Son of Esau

Elijah — known as Eliyahu in Hebrew — was a prophet in the book of Kings who championed the worship of God during the reign of King Ahab, a time when many were turning to the worship of the Canaanite god, Ba'al. Elijah performed miracles to prove the superiority of the God of Israel. He never died but was taken to the heavens in a fiery chariot. He reappears in the Talmud to address difficult questions, and a cup is put out for him as part of the Passover seder. It is also believed that his return will signal that the arrival of the messiah is imminent.

Elisha was a prophet in the Book of Kings and the successor of Elijah (Eliyahu). He was known as a miracle worker, performing such feats as resurrecting the dead and healing the sick. He also aided and saved the life of the Israelite king Jehoash.

Ephraim was the second son of Joseph and Asenath. Despite being the younger son, he was given the primary blessing by Joseph's father, Jacob.

Esau was the oldest son of Isaac and Rebecca and the brother of Jacob. Known for this skill as a huntsman, he gave up his birthright to Jacob and was later tricked out of his blessing.

Queen Esther is the protagonist of the book of Esther. She hid her Jewish identity after being chosen to marry the Persian king Ahashverosh and, along with her cousin Mordekhai, saved the Jewish people from the genocidal vizier, Haman.

Eve was the first woman, the "mother of all," created by being separated from Adam's body. In the garden of Eden, the snake convinced Eve to try the forbidden fruit of the tree of knowledge, from which she also gave to Adam. The result was that they were both expelled from the garden and that she and all of womankind would be cursed to endure difficult childbirths even as they desire their husbands, to whom they are subject.

Ezekiel was a prophet in the time of the kings Josiah and Jehoiachin who had mystical visions about God's chariot, majesty, and hosts. According to Jewish tradition, accounts of his visions were later written down to make up the book of Ezekiel.

Ezra was a priest who, when the Persians conquered the Babylonian empire and allowed the Jews to return, led the Jews to Israel and in rebuilding the Temple. He instituted a series of reforms meant to bring the Jewish people back to their religion.

Gad was the seventh son of Jacob and his first with his concubine Zilpah. He was the founder of the Tribe of Gad.

Gideon was a judge and military leader in the Book of Judges. He led the under-dog Israelites to victory against the Midianites. He was offered kingship, but refused it, declaring that God is the only sovereign.

When Sarah struggled with infertility, she gave Abraham her servant, Hagar, to be his concubine. She bore him Ishmael and was afterwards expelled to the desert with her son. They were rescued by an angel and became the ancestors of the Ishmaelites.

Ham was a son of Noah who was cursed for looking at the nakedness of his father when Noah got drunk. He was the ancestor of, among others, the Canaanite people.

Haman is the villain of the book of Esther. A vizier of King Ahasuerus, he planned a genocide against the Jewish people, but his plans were thwarted by Esther and her uncle, Mordekhai. As a descendant of the nation of Amalek, the first nation to attack the Israelites soon after they left Egypt, Haman comes from a long line of enemies of the Jewish people.

Hannah is a biblical character from the book of Samuel who struggles with infertility. She visits the Tabernacle and prays verbally for a child rather than simply offering a sacrifice. God takes note of her, and she gives birth to a son, the prophet Samuel, who would lead the Israelites. In Jewish tradition, Hannah becomes a model for verbal prayer and for audacity in beseeching God.

Hezekiah was the king of Judah who went on a religious campaign of reform to shore up Israelite monotheism. He prepared Jerusalem for an Assyrian siege that it withstood thanks to both miracles and his construction of a water tunnel to bring water into the city.

The High Priest was the head priest of the Israelites, beginning with the biblical Aaron and continuing through the Second Temple period. The High Priest had a special role in the Mishkan and Temple service, and wore unique garments detailed in the book of Exodus.

Hosea was a prophet in the Northern Kingdom of Israel. He was directed by God to take an unfaithful wife and to have his life play out as a metaphor for the Israelites who would stray and worship false gods.

Huldah was a prophetess in the Southern Kingdom of Judah in the late seventh century BCE. King Josiah consults her when he finds a scroll of the law in the Temple, which she then authenticated.

Isaac is the second of the three patriarchs of the Jewish people, the son of Abraham and Sarah, and the husband of Rebecca. After he was almost sacrificed in a test of his father's faith at the Binding of Isaac, he became heir to the covenant of Abraham, which he eventually passed on to his younger son, Jacob, later renamed Israel.

Isaiah, to whom the book of Isaiah is traditionally attributed, is one of the major biblical prophets. He is known for both prophesying the doom of Israel and its redemption — both politically and in a messianic age.

Ishmael was the first son of Abraham, by his concubine Hagar. Acting on Sarah's advice and God's instruction, he and his mother were expelled from their home. An angel reassured them and showed them where to find water and he became the ancestor of the Ishmaelites.

Issachar was the ninth son of Jacob and the fifth with his wife Leah. He was the founder of the Tribe of Issachar.

Jacob is the third of the three patriarchs of the Jewish people and the husband of Leah, Rachel, Bilhah, and Zilpah. After wrestling with God, he received the name "Israel," which remains the name of the Jewish people to this day. The Torah records that he had twelve sons and one daughter. His sons were the fathers and namesakes of the twelve tribes of Israel.

This king of Judah, whose name means "the Lord will establish" is known in Tanakh by the name Jeconiah (Yekhoniah). He was one of the last kings of the Southern Kingdom of Judah and only reigned for three months before he was taken into Babylonian exile in 597 BCE by the Nebuchadnezzar, the king of Babylon.

Jehoiakim was the 18th king of Judah. Originally an Egyptian vassal, he switched allegiance to Babylonia in the hopes of preventing Babylon from destroying Jerusalem. In rabbinic literature, he is portrayed as a very wicked king.

Jeremiah is one of the major Jewish prophets. He warned of the coming destruction of Jerusalem by Babylon as punishment for the sins of Israel but was mocked and ignored. After the destruction of the First Temple and Jerusalem in 586 BCE, he went into exile alongside many other Judeans. The books of Jeremiah and Lamentations are traditionally attributed to him.

Yerovam was the first king of the northern Kingdom of Israel after revolting against the rule of the Davidic dynasty. In Israel they set up their own priesthood and temple in opposition to the Judean priesthood and temple.

Yishai

Jonah is the protagonist of the Book of Jonah. A reluctant prophet, he tried to avoid his instruction to prophecy destruction to Nineveh. He fleed by boat but was tossed overboard during a storm and swallowed by a great fish. After being saved by God, he went to Nineveh, whose people heeded his warnings and repented.

Jonathan was the son of King Saul and a beloved companion of David's. He took David's side over his father's and saved David's life. Jonathan was eventually killed in battle alongside his father and brothers.

Joseph was the patriarch Jacob's eleventh son and the first from his mother, Rachel. After being sold into Egypt as a slave by his brothers, he became a master dream interpreter and adviser to Pharaoh. Thanks to Joseph, his father, his brothers, and their families were all able to move to Egypt to escape the famine in Canaan.

Joshua son of Nun, formerly Hoshea bin Nun, was Moses’s deputy from the time of the Exodus, one of the 12 tribal leaders tasked with scouting out the promised land, Moses’s eventual successor, and possibly the recorder of the last verses of the Torah. Upon Moses’s death, Joshua assumed the mantle of leadership and brought the people into the land, and the book of Joshua recounts much of the land with God's help. Joshua and Caleb ben Yefuneh were the only two people of the generation of the Exodus to gain entry to the promised land.

Josiah was the sixteenth king of Judah and considered to be a righteous king, unlike many of his forefathers. He renovated the Temple and discovered a lost book of Torah, perhaps the book of Deuteronomy.

Judah was the founder of the tribe of Judah and an ancestor of King David, through whom his tribe gained prominence. The territory of Judea is named for him, as are the modern Jewish people. He was the son of Leah and the fourth of Jacob's twelve sons, blessed by his father to be a leader of his brothers.

Judith is an apocryphal character. While she does not appear in the Tanakh, versions of her story are found both in the Apocrypha and Rabbinic literature. In the Book of Judith, she was a widow who snuck into the Assyrian camp and won over their general Holofernes before beheading him.

King David was the second king of the United Kingdom of Israel and the founder of the Davidic dynasty. He established the capital in Jerusalem. A member of the tribe of Judah, the future Messiah is expected to be a descendant of the house of David. He was succeeded by his son Solomon, also the son of his wife Batsheva. The authorship of the book of Psalms is traditionally attributed to him.

King Saul was the first Israelite king. He was anointed by Samuel, who advised him. While he initially took David into his household, he grew resentful of him and sought to harm him. God's favor passed to David. His daughter Michal had married him and after Saul killed himself in battle, David took the throne.

Solomon was the third king of the United Kingdom of Israel and the son of King David. Best known for building the first Temple in Jerusalem, he also built up the kingdom and expanded Israelite borders. Known for his wisdom, the authorship of the book of Proverbs, Song of Songs, and Ecclesiastes are traditionally attributed to him.

Korach was a Levite who rebelled against Moses's authority. He, his fellow rebels, and their families were all swallowed up by the earth.

Laban is a biblical character who features in the Book of Genesis. He is the brother of Rebecca, father of Rachel and Leah, and father-in-law of Jacob. His actions are marked by trickery, as he deceptively marries Leah off to Jacob rather than Rachel, and later mistreats Jacob as an employee.

Leah is one of the matriarchs of the Jewish people and the first wife of Jacob. Her father tricked Jacob into marrying her and she suffered from the knowledge that she was unloved, in contrast to Jacob's beloved second wife, her sister Rachel. She was blessed with six sons, who each became tribes in their own right, and one daughter.

Lilith is a figure in Midrashic stories. She usually appears as a demon that preys on women in childbirth and young children. In Medieval Midrash, she was popularized as Adam's first companion who refused to submit to him and so was replaced by Eve.

Lot was Abraham's nephew. As he grew wealthy, his household separated from Abraham's and he settled in Sodom. Angels rescued him and his family when Sodom was destroyed. His daughters thought they were the last living people on earth and had children with him, becoming the ancestors of the Moabites and the Ammonites.

Menasseh was the fourteenth king of Judah and considered to be a wicked king. He reintroduced polytheistic practices into Judah and was a vassal king of Assyria.

Micah son of Imlah, also known as Micaiah or Mikhah in Hebrew, prophesied the death of King Ahab of the Northern Kingdom of Israel.

Mikhal was a daughter of King Saul who also becomes the wife of King David. When her father seeks to kill her husband, she helps David escape. According to rabbinic midrash, she only gave birth to a child on the day of her death, suggesting she died in childbirth.

Miriam was a prophetess who, along with her brothers, Moses and Aaron, led the Israelites out of Egypt. She led the Jewish women in song and dance. According to midrashic stories, a well of fresh water followed the Israelites in the desert in her merit and disappeared upon her death.

Mordekhai is one of the protagonists of the book of Esther. A courtier to the king, he saved the king from an assassination attempt and helped his cousin Esther to save the Jewish people from genocide.

Moses was the greatest prophet in the biblical tradition. Raised by the daughter of Pharaoh in the Egyptian royal family, after he fled Egypt, he married Tzipporah, the daughter of a Midianite priest, Yitro. After an encounter with God at the burning bush, God sends Moses back to lead the Israelites out of slavery and to Mount Sinai to received the Torah and then through the desert to the promised land. Tragically, he is not allowed to enter the land.

Na'aman was the commander of the army of Aram.

Nachshon ben Aminadav was a biblical figure, who served as a leader of the tribe of Judah. He was the brother of Elisheva, the wife of Aaron the Priest. He is known primarily for an act described in rabbinic literature, in which he was the first to jump into the Red Sea as the people of Israel escaped their enslavement in Egypt, prompting God to split the sea. In the wake of that story, Nachshon is often used as a symbol of initiative and courage.

Nadav and Avihu were Aaron's two oldest sons. Soon after being invested as priests, they brought an offering of “strange fire that had not been commanded” before the Lord. As a result, they were consumed by fire and succeeded by their younger brothers, Elazar and Itamar. It is not clear from the biblical text exactly what Nadav and Avihu did wrong, which has led biblical interpreters to offer many different explanations for their punishment.

Naftali was the sixth son of Jacob and the second with his concubine Bilhah. He is the eponymous ancestor of the tribe of Naftali.

Naomi is one of the chief figures of the Book of Ruth. She was Ruth's mother-in-law who moved to Moab with her family during a famine, only to return to her home in Bethlehem with Ruth after her husband and sons died. Despondent and poor, she found hope again when Ruth married Boaz and bore a son.

Navot (Naboth in English) owned a vineyard adjacent to the property of King Ahab of the Northern Kingdom. Ahab covets Navot's property and schemes to take ownership of it, which he ultimately did and for which he is properly chastised by the prophet Elijah.

Nebuchadnezzar (prounounced in Hebrew, Nevukhadnetzar) was a Babylonian king who exiled many Judeans, including their then-king Jehoiachin, in 597 BCE and then in 586 BCE conquered Judah and destroyed Jerusalem and the First Temple. The book of Daniel describes him as later recognizing God's power and going mad.

Nehemiah was a Jewish courtier in Persia who became one of the leaders of the Jewish return to Judah and a supervisor of the rebuilding of the Temple and renewal of Torah based law.

Nephilim are biblical figures that appear twice in the Torah: first, in Genesis 6:4, in a verse that describes the unions of “bnei elohim” and “daughters of men,” and then in Numbers 13:33, when 12 spies report that they saw nephilim in the land of Canaan. Nephilim also appear once in the book of Ezekiel according to some understandings, and in several instances throughout works of Apocrypha. In the Jewish textual tradition, these creatures are understood to be angels, the offspring of angels, giants, or the offspring of noble people.

Noah is a biblical character whose story appears in the book of Genesis. The Torah describes him as the sole righteous person in the midst of a wicked generation. When God decides to flood the earth, God warns Noah and instructs him to build an ark. During the flood, Noah, his family, and representatives of every animal survive on the ark.

Og was the Amorite king of Bashan who was defeated by Moses and the Israelites in the Book of Numbers. In Jewish tradition he is understood to have been a giant.

While there are a few pharaohs mentioned in the Tanakh, the most famous one was the Pharaoh who enslaved the Israelites and hardened his heart in his refusal to set them free. During his reign, God struck Egypt with ten plagues. Pharaoh and his army were destroyed when they chased the fleeing Israelites into the Red Sea.

There are two women referred to in Tanakh as "daughter of Pharaoh." The first is the woman who pulled Moses from the Nile and raised him as her son, in her father's house. According to rabbinic tradition, she converted to Judaism, and her name was Bityah, meaning "daughter of God." The second is a wife of King Solomon.

Pinchas was a priest best known for his violent reaction to Israelite worship of the god Ba'al Pe'or. As this worship was associated with sexual relationships between Israelite men and Moabite and Midianite women, he killed one such couple mid-intercourse. Pinchas was a leader of the Israelites when they went into the Promised Land.

Potiphar is a biblical character who features primarily in Genesis 39. An officer of Pharaoh, Potiphar purchases Joseph as a slave and subsequently appoints him to oversee the household. When Potiphar’s wife attempts to seduce Joseph and Joseph refuses, she accuses Joseph of trying to sleep with her, and Potiphar imprisons Joseph.

The Queen of Sheba appears briefly in 1 Kings, where she meets King Solomon. This short, lightly narrated encounter has inspired many imaginative, interpretive elaborations to fill in the biblical account's sparse detail.

Rachel is one of the four matriarchs of the Jewish people. The beloved and favored wife of Jacob, who was tricked into first marrying her older sister Leah, Rachel suffered from infertility before giving birth to Jacob's two favored sons, Joseph and Benjamin. She died giving birth to Benjamin.

Rahab was a prostitute who lived in the walls of Jericho. She hid two Israelite spies in her home and in return, the Israelites spared her and her family when they conquered Jericho.

Rebecca is one of the four matriarchs of the Jewish people. After proving her worth through acts of kindness and hospitality, she married Abraham's son Isaac. She favored her younger son Jacob and helped him to get the blessing meant for her older son Esau.

Reuven was the founder of the Tribe of Reuven and the oldest son of Jacob and Leah. He convinced his brothers not to kill their brother Joseph, but to throw him in a pit, thinking he might save him later. When Jacob blessed his sons, he gave Reuven a mixed one, due to Reuven having had an affair with Bilhah, Jacob's concubine.

Ruth is the protagonist of the book of Ruth. Though a Moabite foreigner, she followed her beloved Israelite mother-in-law Naomi to Bethlehem after their husbands died. She committed herself to Naomi and to her God and to the nation of Israel. She marries her late husband's next of kin, and their child was an ancestor of King David.

Samson was a judge, Nazirite and military leader in the book of Judges. After victories against the Philistines, he was tricked by his lover, Delilah, into betraying the source of his strength. He was captured and blinded by the Philistines, but he was eventually able to kill many of them, and himself, by destroying their temple.

The prophet Samuel (Shmuel in Hebrew) led the Israelites before the King Saul, the first king, was anointed. Under his leadership, Israel rose up against the Phillistines. He anointed Saul as king and advised him before secretly anointing David when God decided Saul was no longer fit to be king.

Sarah is the mother of the Jewish people and the wife of Abraham. After a long struggle with infertility, she bore a child in her old age, Isaac.

Sennacherib was an Assyrian king who sought to conquer Jerusalem. Isaiah prophesied his defeat. He laid siege to the city, but King Hezekiah withstood the siege. An angel defeated the Assyrian army and Sennacherib withdrew his forces.

Serah is the daughter of Asher, son of Jacob. Rabbinic tradition suggests that she never died and has played a few significant roles throughout Jewish history, including telling Jacob the shocking news that Joseph was alive in Egypt and identifying Moses and Aaron as the redeemers of Israel from slavery.

Shem was one of the sons of Noah who was saved during the flood and became the ancestor of several nations, including the Hebrews.

Shifrah and Puah are biblical characters mentioned in Exodus 1. They are described as midwives who defy Pharaoh’s orders to kill all Israelite baby boys. Instead, Shifrah and Puah keep the babies alive, telling Pharaoh that the Israelite women give birth before the midwives are able to get there. God rewards the midwives for their actions. The midrash identifies Shifrah and Puah as Yokheved and her daughter Miriam, respectively.

Simeon was the second son of Jacob and Leah. After his sister was kidnapped and raped by Shechem, he and his brother Levi went on a rampage against their city. Because of his rash actions, he was cursed by his father so that his descendants would be scattered. He was the founder of the Tribe of Simeon.

Tamar was Judah's daughter-in-law. After she married two of his sons who then died, he refused to do his duty by giving her his third son in marriage. Instead, she seduced him by pretending to be a prostitute. She kept his personal effects as a pledge and used them to prove that he owed her his household and protection. The son they had became an ancestor of King David.

The "Concubine of Givah" was a woman from Bethlehem in Judah who married a Levite husband, whom she sought to leave and return to her father's house. Her husband comes to retrieve her. Tragedy and civil war that nearly destroy the tribe of Benjamin ensues. The story begins in Judges 19.

Abraham, his son Isaac, and Isaac's son Jacob (also known as Israel) are the patriarchs (or forefathers) of the Jewish people. In Genesis 12, God makes a covenant with Abraham and promises him that he will be a great nation through whom the nations will be blessed and that his children will inherit the land of Canaan. Throughout the rabbinic tradition, the concept of the merit of the patriarchs, zekhut avot, is invoked, typically as an appeal to God's covenant with the forefathers for the forgiveness of their descendants, the Jewish people.

The twelve spies feature in the books of Numbers and Deuteronomy. They were a group of leaders - one from each tribe - sent by Moses to scout the land of Canaan ahead of the Israelites arrival there. They came back reporting that the land was good, but that it was filled with giants and fearsome enemies. This prompted the Israelites to cry and complain that they did not want to enter the land. Two of the twelve spies, Joshua and Caleb, attempted to assuage their fears and remind the people of God’s commitment that the Israelites’ would enter the land.

Tzipporah is a biblical character mentioned in the book of Exodus as the wife of Moses and one of seven daughters of the Midianite priest Yitro. She is mentioned only a few times in the Bible, but the rabbis further explored her character in midrashic literature.

Vashti is the wife of Ahashverosh and appears in the first chapter of the book of Esther. Vashti refuses to come when Ahashverosh calls for her to display her beauty to his male friends at a banquet.

Yael was a figure in the book of Judges who lured Sisera, an enemy Canaanite general, into her tent. She put him to sleep by giving him warm milk and killed him by hammering a tent peg into his skull.

Yefet, known as Japheth in English, is a biblical character first mentioned in Genesis 6:10, where he is listed as the third of Noah’s three sons. Together with his brother Shem, he covers his father’s nakedness when Noah gets drunk after emerging from the ark. For this, Noah blesses him. He is described as having seven sons, among them Yavan, considered to be the father of the Greeks.

Yitro was the father of Moses's wife Tzipporah and a Midianite priest. He served as Moses's advisor in the desert.

Yoav was King David's nephew and general, who led his forces against the rebellion of David's son Avshalom. After later joining the rebellion of David's son Adoniah, David ordered Solomon to kill him.

Yokheved is a figure in the book of Exodus and the mother of Aaron, Miriam, and Moses. Fearing Pharaoh’s decree to throw all Israelite baby boys into the river, she hides her infant son, Moses. When that is no longer feasible, she places him in a basket on the Nile river, where he would be found by a maidservant to Pharaoh's daughter.

The prophet Zechariah, active during the post-exilic period, emphasized themes of repentance, divine mercy, and visions symbolizing the restoration and future glory of Jerusalem and the Jewish people.

Zedekiah was the last king of Judah before it fell to the Babylonians. He was taken captive and brought to Babylon where he died.

Zevulun was the tenth son of Jacob and the sixth with his wife Leah. He was the founder of the Tribe of Zevulun.

Zilpah is a biblical character first introduced in Genesis 29:24 as Laban's maidservant, whom he gives to his daughter Leah upon Leah's marriage to Jacob. When Leah sees that she has stopped bearing children, she gives Zilpah to Jacob so that Zilpah can bear children. Zilpah gives birth to two sons, Gad and Asher.

Zimri, a prince of the tribe of Shimon, was killed by Pinchas for his illicit relationship with a Midianite woman, Cozbi, during a plague in Israel.