People of the Old Testament

Abraham

Abraham

Abram (Heb. “exalted father”) Abraham (Heb. “father of a multitude” or “chief of Multitude”   Abraham (Abram) the patriarch was the father and founder of the Hebrew nation. He is identified with the period which marked the inception of God’s covenant with the Hebrews. Abram, as he was first called, was the son of Terah, […]

Isaac

Isaac

Isaac (Heb. “He laughed”) Abraham’s long-awaited legal heir was born when the patriarch was one hundred and Sarah, ninety. For twenty-five years the couple had waited for God to fulfill the promise He made when He directed them to leave their family and friends and travel to Canaan: “I will make of thee a great […]

Ishmael

Ishmael

Ishmael (Heb. “God hears”) The firstborn son of Abraham by his concubine, Hagar, was undoubtedly the spoiled darling of the women’s quarters until the age of five when the men of the tribe took over his education. He would be taught how to worship God, how to ride and hunt, along with the history of […]

Jacob

Jacob

Jacob (Heb. “supplanter,” “heel grabber,” “deceiver”) Israel (Heb.  “persevere with God”) Jacob, a patriarch, was the second son of Isaac and Rebekah and the grandson of Abraham. He fathered the twelve tribes of Israel and was connected with the period which marked the beginning of the history of the Children of Israel. Not only were […]

Sarah

Sarah

Sarai (Heb. “princess”) Sarah (Heb. “noblewoman”) The first of the four great biblical matriarchs (the other three being Rebekah, Leah, and Rachel), Sarah comes to life in the pages of Genesis as a great but very human woman of unusual beauty and courage. She probably did not want to leave civilized Ur of the Chaldees […]

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