BIBLE CHARACTERS

ESTHER
In the biblical book named after her, Esther is a young Jewish woman living in the Persian diaspora
who finds favor with the king, becomes queen, and risks her life to save the Jewish people from
destruction when the court official Haman persuades the king to authorize a pogrom against all the
Jews of the empire.
Not much is revealed about her character, but she is described as beautiful (2:7) and obedient (2:10),
and she appears to be pliant and cooperative. She quickly wins the favor of the chief eunuch, Hegai,
and, when her turn comes to spend the night with the king, Ahasuerus falls in love with her and
makes her his queen. All this takes place while Esther keeps her Jewish identity secret. She becomes
queen, and risks her life to save the Jewish people from destruction when the court official Haman
persuades the king to authorize a pogrom against all the Jews of the empire.
RUTH
Ruth was a woman of noble character and teaches us how to remain steadfast when life is difficult.
She shows us what happens when we choose to do the right thing no matter how hard it is.
Ruth shows us that God’s plan will always win, despite how bleak life feels.
She never engaged in immorality, yet she broke many “molds” for young women of her time. She
lived in a culture where you were expected to stay with your own ethnic group and you didn’t choose
your “religion”, you were born into it. You worshipped the gods your people worshipped.
Ruth was a young Moabite woman, whose name means friendship, and compassionate friend. This is
of great significance, as she certainly lived up to her name.
HANNAH
Hannah’s life includes infertility, bullying, prayer and answered prayer and even prophecy.
Hannah in the Bible, the second and barren yet preferred wife of Elkanah prays continually for a child.
She suffers silently in this circumstance but eventually goes to the temple, where she fervently pours
out her heart before God.
In her prayers, she promises if she has a son, she will offer him to God.
When Hannah is praying to God, her actions are interpreted by Eli the priest, negatively. But she
eventually finds favor with him and is granted a son, Samuel, through prayer!
Her story is one of independence and resourcefulness, where we see the emphasis on the
importance of fertility in Israeli culture.
Hannah was one of two wives married to a man named Elkanah. It is not clear in scripture which wife
he married first, but Hannah had been unable to bear children; it seemed her womb was barren, while
his other wife, Peninnah, had many.
Hannah’s pain is deep, yet her faith and reverence for God are deeper.
LEAH
Jewish sources say Leah’s name means ‘cow’. She seems to live out this name. Let me explain
The word for cow is littu. It seems quite close to the word alittu which means birthgiver.
Also a cow symbolized abundance or plenty. Leah quickly and easily bears Jacob 4 sons in the first
few years of marriage.
Leah was not a pretty girl, especially when compared to her sister.
But she had a beautiful heart. Despite being mistreated, she remained loyal.
JOSHUA
Joshua followed after Moses since his youth. As Moses’ assistant, Joshua had the experience of
being in close proximity to the Lord. After Moses would finish meeting with God, Joshua would remain
the tent. Joshua was among the 12 spies Moses sent out into the land of Canaan. Only Joshua and
Caleb came back with a positive report admonishing the people to have faith in God. They were
threatened with stoning because of their testimony. The other ten spies were killed by plague and
everyone over the age of 20 except Joshua and Caleb would wander the desert until the last one
died.
Joshua was a warrior for God. He was first mentioned in the Bible when Moses called upon him to
lead the Israelites in a battle against the Amalekites. In this amazing struggle he was victorious as
long as Moses’ hands were lifted. His incredible faith was also revealed in the extraordinary miracle of
the sun holding still so that he could finish the battle. Under Joshua’s leadership the mighty fortress of
Jericho was reduced to rubble. After his conquests for the Lord, the entire nation of Israel was at rest
from their enemies.
Joshua was gifted with the spirit of leadership to take the Israelites to the Promised Land. God
confirmed his position with the miraculous crossing of the Jordan River. At the end of his life, Joshua
encouraged the people to choose God over all else. He did everything that God commanded Moses
to get done.
Joshua’s life reflected an incredible favor of God—he was given youthful strength in old age, he lived
to see all of God’s promises fulfilled, he was given victory over all his enemies, and he was respected
among the people. Joshua’s favor was rooted in his intimate relationship with God. The favor of God
isn’t about living a long life in wealth with no worries, but rather it is the mark of a man or woman who
invests much time in God’s presence.
CALEB
Name means: "like the heart"
One of only two adult Israelites who were allowed to survive the 40-year trek through the desert and
enter Canaan. (The other adult was Joshua.) Why? Caleb and Joshua had been sent, along with ten
other men, to spy on the land God had promised to the Israelites. Ten of the twelve spies saw only
the fearsome giants in the land and not the blessings, and they doubted that the Israelites would be
strong enough to claim the land. Caleb and Joshua saw a land overflowing with milk and honey, and
God blessed their faith in His promises (Numbers 13:16–33; 14:1–24).
At 85 years old, Caleb was still a firebrand and ready to claim the land God had promised. He told his
buddy Joshua, who was then leader of Israel after Moses’ passing, “I am as strong today as I was
when Moses sent me to spy on Canaan. I have as much strength to fight now as I did then.”1
Caleb was called “my servant” by God, in Numbers 14:24. That’s a pretty big deal, seeing that that
term had previously only been used for Abraham and Moses.
SOLOMON
The name “Solomon” is a variant of Shalom, which means peaceful. Interestingly, Solomon’s reign
was characterized by peace and stability. Solomon is known as the wisest person in history.
Solomon is known for being the king of Israel who built the first Temple in Jerusalem. He was also the
second (after his father, David) and last king of a unified Israel, which was at the height of its power
during his reign. He is known for stories told in the Bible about his wisdom.
Solomon’s greatest achievement was the building of the Temple in Jerusalem to house the ark of the
Covenant and as the one place to offer sacrifices to God. When he had finished building the Temple
Solomon went on to construct his own palace and houses for his wives. He also built fortifications for
the city of Jerusalem and built up fortified cities in the north of Israel which Hiram had given to him.
Solomon himself engaged in several enterprises which brought him great profit. He realised the
strategic value of Israels’ position, controlling the trade routes between Egypt and Asia, and he
exploited this situation.
EZRA
Ezra was a priest and “a scribe skilled in the law.” He represented the position of stricter Babylonian
Jews who had been upset by reports of laxity in Judah and desired to see matters corrected. Ezra set
out in the spring at the head of a sizable caravan and arrived four months later.
Ezra came back from captivity in Babylon expecting to find the people serving the Lord with gladness,
but upon his return to Jerusalem, he found the opposite. He was frustrated and sorrowful. His heart
ached, but he still trusted the Lord. He wanted the Lord to change the situation and blamed himself
for not being able to change the people’s hearts. He wanted the people to know how important and
essential the Word of God was. Nothing must supersede worship of God, and obedience is not
optional. The sovereign God looks over and protects His children, always keeping His promises and
providing encouragement through those He sends (Ezra 5:1–2). Even when His plan seems to be
interrupted, as with the rebuilding of Jerusalem, God steps in at the appropriate time to continue His
plan.
Ezra’s effective ministry included teaching the Word of God, initiating reforms, restoring worship, and
leading spiritual revival in Jerusalem. These reforms magnified the need for a genuine concern for
reputation and for public image. What must the world think of God’s people with dilapidated city
walls? What would distinguish God’s people who were guilty of intermarriage with those not in proper
covenant relationship with the one true God? Nehemiah and Ezra were then, and are now, an
encouragement to God’s people to magnify worship as their top priority, to emphasize the need for
and use of God’s Word as the only authoritative rule for living, and to be concerned about the image
God’s people show to the world.
JONAH
Proud, stubborn, disobedient, unfaithful, a grumbler, and altogether a bad-tempered, cantankerous
old curmudgeon—this was Jonah, whose name means “dove”! Jonah was the son of Amittai, who
came from Gath-hepher in Zebulun.
Jonah is about a prophet who rebels against God and flees from God’s command. But God redirects
the fleeing prophet, who ends up preaching a message that brings the wicked city of Nineveh to
repent.
God calls Jonah to be a prophet to the wicked city Nineveh, but Jonah rebels and flees across the
sea in the opposite direction. When God sends a storm to stop Jonah, the prophet is thrown
overboard. God sends a fish to rescue Jonah, and in the fish’s belly Jonah sings a song of thanks.
The fish spits Jonah up on the shore near Nineveh and God calls Jonah a second time. Jonah goes
to Nineveh, preaches a short sermon, and the whole city repents. Afterward, Jonah admits to God
that the reason he had fled in the first place was that he had known that God would be merciful to the
city–and Jonah had wanted the city destroyed. God is not happy that Jonah is so selfish, so God uses
a plant to try to teach Jonah that God loves all creatures.
AMOS
Amos was a shepherd who lived in the region of Tekoa, not many miles from the city of Jerusalem.
He made his living by raising sheep and taking care of sycamore trees.
As Amos pondered the situation that prevailed in northern Israel, he began to have dreams and
visions, three of which he recorded. In one of them, Amos sees a man with a plumb line measuring a
wall that is about to fall. The man is told that the bulging wall is none other than the house of Israel:
Just as a wall of this kind will soon collapse, so the nation that it represents will surely go into
captivity. In a second vision, Amos sees a basket of summer fruit that represents the people of Israel,
whose material prosperity is like the fully ripe fruit. But ripe fruit lasts only a little while and then rots
and decays. So, the peaceful years of the Israelite nation are about to come to an end. The third
vision is one in which Amos sees a swarm of locusts about to devour the produce of the land. This
vision is also interpreted as a warning of the evil days that lie ahead. The prophecies of Amos mark
an important point in the development of the religion of the Old Testament. The prophet was indeed a
spokesman for Yahweh. That he was not speaking for himself or trying to please his listeners is made
clear by the content of the message he delivered.
NEHEMIAH
He was a man of faith and works. So, Nehemiah was not a man to only pray and leave everything in
the hands of God, he did recognize his place to make some moves although he had prayed about it.
Nehemiah was no slouch. He was sharp, efficient, and focused to a fault. And when, as a veteran
statesman, he turned his focus to the rebuilding of old Jerusalem and the exacting of religious
reforms, nothing and no one was allowed to stand in his way.
Nehemiah was the spiritual leader and able administrator that the disheartened exiles desperately
needed after their return to a broken down Jerusalem. He was there to fill the gap when no one else
seemed willing. We, too, should be willing to fill a gap when God calls. He will empower us for what
is required.
Nehemiah also carried out vital reforms. Wealthy Jews were profiteering at the expense of poorer
families. Nehemiah called for a public trial and the wealthy finally agreed to drop the ridiculous
interest rates they had levied against their countrymen. He also helped re-institute temple worship,
stopped the profaning of the Sabbath, and stood against Jewish intermarriage with surrounding
pagan peoples.
JOSIAH
Josiah was eight years old when he was made king of Judah. He was a good king who loved the
Lord. He wanted to help his people, the Israelites, obey the Lord and stop worshipping idols. When he
was older, he and his people started to repair the temple and make it beautiful again.
While the people were working on the temple, Hilkiah the high priest found the book of the law, a
scroll that contained the scriptures. A servant read the book to Josiah. Josiah heard the words and
was sad because his people did not obey the Lord. He tore his clothes to show he was sad.
King Josiah wanted his people to keep their promises to the Lord. He asked them to celebrate the
Passover to help them remember how the Lord freed the Israelites long ago in Egypt.
Much can be learned from Josiah’s life that is positive. First, Josiah shows the influence a person can
have from a very young age. Even children have enormous potential to live for God and to have great
impact. Second, Josiah lived a life fully committed and obedient to God and was blessed for it. Third,
Josiah properly responded to God’s Word. By the time he became king, the Scriptures had long been
neglected, and Josiah’s heart was smitten by the failure of his people to honor God’s Word. Josiah
had Scripture read to the people and made a commitment to live by it. “‘Because your heart was
responsive and you humbled yourself before the Lord when you heard what I have spoken . . . I also
have heard you,’ declares the Lord” (2 Kings 22:19).