Abraham was the first of the patriarchs, whose lives are told in the book of Genesis. He proved his military prowess during the War of the Kings, rescuing his captured nephew Lot. He also tried, unsuccessfully, to persuade God to spare the evil cities of Sodom (where Lot lived) and Gomorrah. His wife Sarah gave birth to Isaac when she was ninety years old; Sarah evicted Abraham's concubine, Hagar, and her son Ishmael (said to be ancestor of the Arabs). Abraham also bought the Cave of Machpela (near Hebron) as a burial ground for him and his descendants (Adam and Eve, Abraham and Sarah, Isaac and Rebeccah, and Jacob and Leah are supposedly buried there).
Isaac was, as a child, almost sacrificed by his father Abraham on Mt. Moriah, when God tried to test Abraham's faith. He married Rebeccah, and she gave birth to the twins Jacob and Esau, of whom Esau (the older one) was entitled to a birthright. However, Jacob tricked Isaac with Rebeccah's help. This incident caused Esau and Isaac to be mortal enemies. Denied his birthright, Esau went to live in Mt. Seir and became the father of the Edomites.
Jacob was Esau's twin brother, but had to flee Esau's rage after stealing Esau's blessing and birthright. Jacob loved his uncle Laban's daughter Rachel, but Laban tricked him into marrying her sister Leah first. Leah bore him Reuben, Simeon, Levi, Judah, Issachar, and Zebulun; Leah's maidservant Zilpah, bore Jacob Gad and Asher; Rachel gave birth to Joseph and Benjamin, and Rachel's maidservant Bilhah bore Dan and Naphtali. The Twelve Tribes of Israel descend from Jacob's twelve sons, with the exception of Joseph; Ephraim and Menasseh, sons of Joseph, each head "half-tribes." Jacob was later renamed "Israel," meaning "he who fights with God."
Joshua was the charismatic attendant to Moses during the Exodus from Egypt. Joshua was one of the twelve spies sent to scout Canaan. Ten of the other spies gave negative reports of the land and were killed in the plague as punishment; Joshua and another spy, Caleb, gave positive reports and were rewarded. Appointed Moses' successor, Joshua led the Israelites in conquering and dividing Canaan. One of his most famous victories was against the city of Jericho, which he destroyed by circling the city seven times while blowing on rams' horns (shofarim).
Deborah was one of the Judges, leaders who governed the Hebrews in Canaan during the period between Joshua's death and the establishment of the monarchy in Israel; she used to judge while sitting under a palm tree. In battle, she and Barak (son of Abinoam) led the Hebrews to a stunning victory against Jabin, the Canaanite king. She won when the chariots of Sisera, Jabin's general, got stuck in the mud of the river Kishon, and he and his soldiers all fled or were killed. The victory ended an era of persecution of the Hebrews by Jabin.
Lot was the nephew of Abraham and later left him to settle around the evil cities of Sodom and Gomorrah. When God prepared to destroy the two cities, two messengers were sent to Lot to evacuate him from the area; as Lot and his family were fleeing, his wife accidentally glanced back, and she was transformed into a pillar of salt. Afterwards, fearing that they were the only people left alive on Earth, his two daughters got him drunk and became pregnant from him, beginning the future nations of Moab and the Ammonites.
Noah, being a "righteous man and blameless in his generation," (Genesis 6:9) was chosen by God to continue the human race, while the rest of mankind was destroyed by a flood because of their wickedness. Afterwards, he and his family populated the Earth. His son Shem is considered the father of the Semitic people (e.g., Arabs and Hebrews), Ham, the ancestor of the Africans, and Japheth, the ancestor of various other races, including Indo-Europeans.
Cain, Abel, and Seth were the sons of Adam and Eve. (Adam begat other sons and daughters but the Bible mentions none by name.) Cain killed Abel out of rage because God had preferred Abel's offering from his flock, rather than Cain's. When asked about Abel's fate, Cain answered, "Am I my brother's keeper?" Cain was punished for the murder by becoming a vagabond, and he was given a special mark on his forehead to protect him from anyone who might kill him (God promised that anyone who killed Cain would suffer punishment for seven generations). Later, Eve gave birth to Seth.
Ruth was a Moabite woman who converted to Judaism. Her lineage includes David, King of Israel. She stayed with her mother-in-law, Naomi, after Naomi's husband and two sons died of illness. Ruth later married Boaz, one of the family's relatives, as the custom was that a family member must continue his relative's lineage if he dies by marrying his widow. The Book of Ruth is read on the holiday of Shavuot.
Ezra was a Jewish scribe who led a group of Jews back to Israel from their exile in Babylonia. He was also instrumental in working to rebuild the Temple (with permission from Cyrus) after the Babylonian king Nebuchadnezzar had destroyed it. When Israel's neighbors tried to convince King Artaxerxes that the Jews shouldn't be able to rebuild the Temple because of their reputation as a rebellious province, Ezra intervened and appealed later to King Darius, who allowed them to resume construction. Additionally, Ezra helped to reestablish Jewish religious practice in Israel after the exile.
Saul, David, and Solomon were the first three kings of Israel. The young David, popular after killing the giant Goliath, succeeded Saul at the behest of the prophet Samuel and with the blessing of his close friend, Saul's own son Jonathan. For this, Saul greatly resented David and made more than one attempt to kill him. David, like Saul, spent much of his reign at war; because of the blood on his hands, God decreed that Solomon (not David) would build the Temple. David captured the city of Jerusalem and made it his capital. He fell in love with his future wife Bathsheba after he spotted her bathing; he had her husband killed so that he could marry her. He also exhausted himself supressing a rebellion by his son Absalom, who was captured when his long hair caught on a tree branch. Bathsheba's son Solomon, in addition to building the Temple, was credited with writing Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, and Song of Songs.
Daniel was a young Jew who, together with his three friends (Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah), was taken captive by Nebuchadnezzar when he conquered the Kingdom of Judah. Daniel was given a Babylonian name, and he gained favor with Nebuchadnezzar when he correctly interpreted one of his dreams. Nebuchadnezzar was later replaced by King Belshazzar. During a royal feast, a mysterious hand inscribed strange words on the wall. Daniel was summoned and interpreted the famous message, the writing on the wall (it read "Mene, Mene, Tekel, Ufarsin"), as predicting Belshazzar's downfall. Later that night, the King was killed, and King Darius the Mede took over. Servants of Darius convinced him to lock Daniel in the lion's den, where he magically survived with God's help.
This article was contributed by Sam Ackerman.
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