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 …

Lot (Heb. “a covering”) The orphaned son of Abraham’s brother Haran, Lot may well have been brought up as though he were her own son by childless Sarah. He could have stayed behind with his other uncle, Nahor, who married Lot’s sister, Milcah, but he chose to travel several hundred …

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 …

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, …

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 …

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, …

Absalom – name in Hebrew means “father of peace, i.e., peaceful” Absalom is mentioned 90 times in the Old Testament. He is the third son of King David. A foreigner, Maacah, daughter of Talmai, king of Geshur, was Absalom’s mother. He is one of six sons born to David at …