People: Harmony of the Gospels

Wikipedia | Bible Dictionary-2 | Guide to Scriptures

Prophet during David's reign
Instructed David not to build a Temple (2 Sam. 7)
Told David the parable of the rich and poor man after David had Uriah the Hittite killed; prophesied that David's son with Bathsheba would die (2 Sam. 12)
David and Bathsheba seemed to name a son after him
Worked with Bathsheba to have Solomon anointed king instead of Adonijah; anointed Solomon king with Zadok at the Gihon Spring in the City of David (1 Kgs. 1:32–40)

נתן – "Given"

Prince of Israel ≈ 960 BC

Family Tree | Wikipedia | BD-1

Son of David & Bathsheba (2 Sam. 5:14) | Ancestor of Jesus (Luke 3:31)

Ναθαναηλ – "God Has Given"

Probably same as Bartholomew

Wikipedia | BD

נבוכדנצר | 𒀭𒀝𒃻𒁺 সৌমিত্র – "Nabu Protects My Heir"

King of Babylon ≈ b. 642 – d. 562 BC

Babylonian

Family Tree | Wikipedia | Bible Dictionary | Guide to Scriptures

Son of Nabopolassar | Father of Amel-Marduk

King of Neo-Babylonian Empire from ≈ 605 – 562 BC
Conquered Jerusalem; carried Jehoiakim captive to Babylon; ransacked the Temple; removed Jeconiah as well and made Zedekiah king
In 587 BC, destroyed Jerusalem and the Temple of Solomon; took Jews captive to Babylon
Daniel interpreted his dreams (Dan. 2, 4)
Threw Shadrach, Meschach, and Abed-nego in fiery furnace for not worshipping his idol (Dan. 3)
Jer. 46:2–12

נכו | 𓈖𓂓𓅱 – "Reed"

Pharaoh of Egypt ≈ 610 – 595 BC

Egyptian

Son of Psamtik I | Father of Psamtik II

Killed Josiah of Judah at the Battle of Megiddo (2 Kgs. 23:29); brought Southern Kingdom under Egyptian rule
Removed Jehoahaz III as Judah's king and replaced with Jehoiakim
Defeated by Nebuchadnezzar II in Battle of Carchemish

נחמיה – "The Lord Comforts"

Governor of Judea ≈ 445 – 432 BC

Israelite: Judahite?

Family Tree | Wikipedia | Bible Dictionary-1 | Guide to Scriptures

Son of Hachaliah

Cupbearer for Artaxerxes
Neh. 1:1
Commissioned to rebuild the walls of Jerusalem
Book of Nehemiah is a continuation of the book of Ezra

נפי – "Goodly"

Prophet ≈ 606 – 545 BC

Israelite: Manassite: Nephite

Son of Lehi & Sariah (1 Ne. 1:1)

| Husband of Ishmael II's daughter | Father of unnamed children | Ancestor of Nephites

From Jerusalem; left with family but returned for brass plates and Ishmael II's family
Saw vision of tree of life, Jesus' life and future events (1 Ne. 10–15)
Built ship to travel to the Promised Land (1 Ne. 17–18)
Separated from the Lamanites (2 Ne. 5)

נפי – "Goodly"

Prophet & Chief Judge ≈ 39 BC

Israelite: Manassite: Nephite

Son of Helaman III (Hel. 3:21) | Direct descendant of Nephi | Brother of Lehi II | Father of Nephi III & Timothy II

Chief judge (Hel. 3:37)
Converted many Lamanites with brother (Hel. 5)
Imprisoned and encircled with fire (Hel. 5)
Exposed plot to murder chief judge (Hel. 8)

נפי – "Goodly"

Apostle ≈ 1 BC

Israelite: Manassite: Nephite

Family Tree | Wikipedia | Guide to Scriptures

Son of Nephi II (3 Ne. 1:2) | Father of Amos II

Prayed for the signs of Christ's birth so his people would be saved (3 Ne. 1)
Cast out devils; raised brother Timothy II from the dead
Chosen by Jesus to be an apostle

נפי – "Goodly"

Tribe/group in the Americas ≈ 580 BC

Israelite: Nephite

Descendant of Nephi & others (2 Ne. 5:14 ) | Famous people include Nephi, Benjamin II, Mosiah II, Alma I & II, Helaman, Mormon, and Moroni

Often at war with the Lamanites

נקדימון | Νικοδημος – "Victory of the People"

Pharisee on the Sanhedrin ≈ 30 AD

Visited Jesus at night and learned about being born again (John 3)
Helped with Jesus' burial (John 19:39–40)

נח – "Rest"

Prophet & Patriarch ≈ 2944 – 1994 BC

Family Tree | Wikipedia | Bible Dictionary | Guide to Scriptures

Son of Lamech (Gen. 5:28) | Father of Shem, Ham, & Japheth | Ancestor of Jesus (Luke 3:36)

Ordained at ten years old by Methuselah (D&C 107:52)
Preached repentance (Moses 8:20)
Built an ark; saved family and animals from the flood (Gen. 6–9)
Visited Daniel, Mary, Zacharias II, and others as the Angel Gabriel (article)

נח – "Rest"

King of Nephites ≈ 160 – 145 BC

Israelite: Nephite

Son of Zeniff (Mosiah 11:1) | Father of Limhi

Led his people to wickedness and idolatry; had many wives and concubines (Mosiah 11)
Killed Abinadi (Mosiah 17:11–20)
Killed by his own priests (Mosiah 19:20)

see Kingdom of Israel

עבדיה – "Servant of Jehovah"

Prophet ≈ 840 or 630 BC

Wikipedia | Guide to Scriptures

Wikipedia | Bible Dictionary-2 | Guide to Scriptures

Prophesied of the destruction of Edom and Jesus would stand on Mount Zion (Obad. 1:21)

"Olive Tree"

One of Three Witnesses & Apostle = b.1806 – d.1850 AD

American

Son of William & Rebecca Cowdery

JS–H
One of Three Witnesses & Apostle from = 1829 – 1838 AD
Ordained to Aaronic Priesthood by John the Baptist and the Melchizedek Priesthood by Peter, James, and John
Second elder of the Church
Scribe for the Book of Mormon

עמני

Record Keeper ≈ 323 BC

Israelite: Nephite

Son of Jarom | Father of Amaron & Chemish

Called himself a wicked man (Omni 1:2)

עמרי – "Bound"

King of Israel ≈ 885 – 874 BC

Israelite: Ephraimite

Family Tree | Wikipedia | Bible Dictionary-1

Father of Ahab

Captain of the Host; made king by the people (1 Kgs. 16:16)
Built Samaria (1 Kgs. 16:24)

Archeology: The Mesha Stele describes how Mesha of Moab's god Chemosh helped him throw off the yoke of bondage to the Kingdom of Israel and the "House of Omri"; contains one of the earliest extrabiblical references to the Israelite God Jehovah/Yahweh

חוניו – "God is Gracious"

High Priest ≈ 185 – 175 BC

Israelite: Levite

Family Tree | Wikipedia

Son of Simon II (2 Macc. 3:1) | Brother of Jason & Menelaus

Opposed the Hellenization of Judea
Forced out of position as High Priest for Jason

Pharaoh ≈ 730 – 716 BC

Egyptian

Son of Shoshenq V?

Hoshea II of Israel sent messengers to him (2 Kgs. 17:4)

עתניאל – "God is Force"

Judge of Israel ≈ 1360 BC

Family Tree | Wikipedia

Son of Kenaz | Husband of Achsah (Judg. 1:13) and son-in-law (and nephew) of Caleb

Conquered Kiriath-sepher and Chushanrishathaim of Mesopotamia (Judg. 3:10)
Early judge of Israel

אבות – "Fathers"

Father/Ruler of family or ordained office in priesthood (evangelist) ≈ 4000 BC – Present

Famous people are Adam, Enoch, Noah, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob

Acts 2:29

Παυλος – "Extraordinary"

Apostle ≈ 34 – 64 AD

Israelite: Benjamite (Philip. 3:5)

Family Tree | Wikipedia | Bible Dictionary | Guide to Scriptures | Bible Maps

Brother of unnamed sister | Uncle of unnamed nephew (Acts 23:16)

Roman citizen from Tarsus
Opposed early Christians; assisted in the stoning of Stephen (Acts 7:58)
Pharisee taught by Gamaliel (Acts 22:3)
Jesus appeared to him on the road to Damascus; he was converted (Acts 9)
Went on several missionary journeys, spreading the gospel around the Mediterranean Sea
Arrested and testified before Herod Agrippa II (Acts 21–28)
Authored much of the New Testament
Tradition states he was martyred in Rome around 64 AD

פקח – "Open-eyed"

King of Israel ≈ 740 – 732 BC

Israelite: Naphtalite

Son of Remaliah

Royal officer
Killed Pekahiah of Israel and took the throne (2 Kgs. 15:25–32)
Attacked Ahaz of Judah and besieged Jerusalem with Rezin of Syria (2 Kgs. 15:37; 16:5); killed 120,000 Judahites, and deported another 200,000 to Samaria (1 Chr. 28:6, 8)
Tiglath-Pileser III started assault against Israel during his reign (2 Kgs. 15:29)
Hoshea II, his advisor, assassinated him during battle and Tiglath-Pileser III installed Hoshea as king

Archeology: In the Calah Inscription, Tiglath-Pileser III mentions the death of Pekah

פקחיה – "Jehovah Opens Eyes"

King of Israel ≈ 742 – 740 BC

Israelite: Gadite

Family Tree | Wikipedia

Son of Menahem of Israel

Wicked king; worshipped idols
Assassinated by his royal officer Pekah and fifty men from Gilead (2 Kgs. 15:25)

פלג – "Division"

Patriarch ≈ 2250 – 2000 BC

Son of Eber (Gen. 10:25) | Brother of Joktan | Ancestor of Jesus (Luke 3:35)

Earth was divided in his lifetime

פרס | 𐎱𐎠𐎼𐎿 – "From Persia"

Tribe/group from Mesopotamia ≈ 1000 – Present

Persian

Wikipedia | Bible Dictionary | Bible Maps

Famous people include Cyrus the Great Darius, Ahasuerus, Xerxes, and Artaxerxes

Fulfilled God's promise about Israel's return from exile
Conquered by Alexander the Great in 331 BC

Πετρος – "Rock"

Chief Apostle ≈ 30 – 64AD

Family Tree | Wikipedia | Bible Dictionary | Guide to Scriptures

Son of Jona (John 1:40) | Brother of Andrew

Fisherman from Bethsaida on the Sea of Galilee; lived at Capernaum
One of the first disciples
Ordained as one of the original 12 apostles (Mark 3:14–19)
One of the inner three leaders with James and John privileged to be at the Transfiguration, Gethsemane, and other important events (Matt. 17:1–13; Mark 14:33)
Mother-in-law was healed by Jesus (Mark 1:29–31)
Walked on water (Matt. 14:22–36)
Given the keys of the kingdom (Matt. 16:13–19)
Witnessed the Transfiguration (Matt. 17:1–9)
Cut off ear of Caiaphas' servant Malchus (John 18:10)
Denied Jesus 3 times before; asked by Jesus to feed His sheep 3 times
Mary Magdalene told him and John of the empty tomb and they ran to see (John 20:2–8)
Chief apostle and leader of the early Church after the Resurrection (Acts 1–5); healed and taught with John, was arrested and miraculously released
Had vision of the gospel to the Gentiles and baptized Cornelius (Acts 10–11)
Wrote 2 epistles (1 & 2 Pet.)
Tradition says he was crucified upside down in Rome around 64 AD
Appeared with James and John to confer the Melchizedek Priesthood on Joseph Smith and Oliver Cowdery

פרעה – "Great House"

King of Egypt ≈ 3000 – 30 BC

Egyptian

Original Pharaoh was the son of Egyptus II (Abr. 1:25) | Grandson of Ham and Egyptus I | Later denoted kings of Egypt | Famous people include Apries-Hophra, Shishak-Shoshenq, and Necho II

Pharaohs are mentioned often in the Old Testament, but unfortunately many are unnamed, leaving it up to speculation
A pharaoh treated Abraham and Sarah well; probably gave Sarah Hagar (Gen. 12:15–20)
Joseph interpreted the dream of and later served in the royal court as second in command of Pharaoh (Gen. 39–50)
Moses was raised in the royal court by the daughter of Pharaoh; warned Pharaoh to free the Israelites; Pharaoh only agreed after 10 plagues, including the last one which killed his first-born son; freed the Israelite slaves but soon chased the Israelites; lost his army in the Red Sea (Ex.)
Solomon made an alliance with and married Pharaoh's (Siamun's?) daughter, but Pharaoh Shishak-Shoshenq allied with Jeroboam and sacked Jerusalem (1 Kgs. 3:1; 9:16; 1 Kgs. 11:40)
Necho II conquered and killed Josiah of Judah, bringing the Kingdom of Judah under Egyptian rule until Nebuchadnezzar II (2 Kgs. 23)
Apries-Hophra sent an army to assist Zedekiah against Babylon (Jer. 37)

פרושים – "Expounders"

Religious Political Party ≈ 160 – 73 BC

Famous people include Nicodemus, Gamaliel, Paul

Prided themselves on strict observance of the Law of Moses
Matt. 3:7
Sat on the Sanhedrin with the the Sadducees with whom they had much conflict
Often quarreled with Jesus over observances of the law, usually sabbath day observance or His spending time with "sinners"
Jesus condemned their behavior and pride (Matt. 23)
After the destruction of the Temple by the Romans in 70 AD, their beliefs became the foundation for Rabbinic Judaism

Φιλημων – "Affectionate"

Disciple ≈ 62 AD

Colossian

Wikipedia | Bible Dctionary | Guide to Scriptures

Husband of Apphia?

From Colossae
Wealthy Christian; converted by Paul
The church in the area met in his home (Philem. 1:2)

פיליפ | Φιλιππος – "Lover of Horses"

Tetrarch of Iturea & Trachonitis ≈ b.26 BC – d. 34 AD

Herodian

Family Tree | Wikipedia | Bible Dictionary-4

Son of Herod the Great & Cleopatra of Jerusalem (Luke 3:1) | Husband of Salome III

Tetrarch of the area west and north of the Sea of Galilee from 4 BC – 33 AD
Founder of Caesarea Philippi

פיליפ | Φιλιππος – "Lover of Horses"

Apostle ≈ 31 – 54 AD

Family Tree | Wikipedia | Bible Dictionary-1 | Guide to Scriptures

From Bethsaida (John 1:44); same village on the Sea of Galilee as Andrew and Peter
Told Nathanael that they had found the Messiah (John 1:45)
Ordained as one of the original 12 apostles (Mark 3:14–19)
Jesus asked him where to buy bread before feeding the 5,000 (John 6:5–7)
Greeks asked him for an audience with Jesus (John 12:20–22)
Asks Jesus to show them the Father (John 14:8–9)
Tradition says he was martyred either in 54 or 80 AD in Asia

פיליפ | Φιλιππος – "Lover of Horses"

One of the seven leaders ≈ 34 AD

Wikipedia | Bble Dictionary-2 | Guide to Scriptures

Chosen to help the apostles with seven others - Evangelist (Acts 6:5)
Lived in Caesarea
Preached and baptized in Samaria (Acts 8:5–13)
Taught and baptized a eunuch of Candace of Ethiopia (Acts 8:26–40)

פלשי – "Griever"

Tribe/group in the Levant ≈ 1200 – 604 BC

Canaanite: Philistine

Family Tree | Wikipedia | Bible Dictionary | Guide to Scriptures

Descendants of Casluhim (Gen. 10:14) | Famous people include Goliath, Achish, Abimelech, and Delilah

Lived along the Mediterranean Sea; five main cities were Gaza, Ashdod, Ashkelon, Gath, Ekron
Judg. 13
Tiglath-Pileser III conquered them in 734 BC
The Greeks later called the land Palestine, although many modern Palestinians claim descendancy from Abraham and not the Philistines

פינחס – "Bronze-colored"

High Priest ≈ 1350 BC

Israelite: Levite: Kohanim

Family Tree | Wikipedia | Bible Dictionary-1

Son of Eleazar and a daughter of Putiel (Ex. 6:25) | Father of Abishua

Stayed the plague on the Israelites with Baal-peor, killing Zimri and Cozbi (Num. 25)
Given a hill in Mt. Ephraim to live (Josh. 24:33)

פינחס – "Bronze-colored"

Priest ≈ 1050 BC

Israelite: Levite

Family Tree | Wikipedia | Bible Dictionary-2

Son of Eli | Husband of unnamed wife | Father of Ahitub & Ichabod

He and brother Hophni were wicked; slept with women by the door to the Tabernacle; a man of God prophesied that they would be killed on the same day (1 Sam. 2); Philistines stole the ark of the covenant and killed the two brothers; when their father Eli heard, he fell and died; Phinehas' wife also died that day giving birth to Ichabod (1 Sam. 4)

פיניקים | Φοινικη – "Palm Land"

Tribe/group on the Mediterranean Sea ≈ 2500 – 64BC

Canaanite: Phoenician

Descendants of Ham and Canaan | Referred to selves as Canaanites | Major sea-faring people, facilitating trade between Egypt and Babylon and to the farthest parts of the Mediterranean Sea | Consisted of city-states along the Mediterranean Sea, including Tyre and Sidon | Partially conquered by the Assyrians and later Alexander the Great | Famous people include Hiram, Ithobaal, and Jezebel

Mentioned in early narratives (Deu. 3:9; Josh. 13:6; Judg. 3:3)
Helped with the supplies for Solomon's Temple (1 Kgs. 5–7)
Jesus healed daughter of Syrophenician (Mark 7:24–30)

Ποντιος Πιλατος – "Freedman"

Prefect/Governor of Judea ≈ 26 – 36 AD

Roman

Governor of Judea (Luke 3:1)
Oversaw trial and crucifixion of Jesus; washed his hands of guilt (Matt. 27:11–31)
He and Herod Antipas became friends after the trial of Jesus (Luke 23:12)
Wrote a sign for over Jesus' cross which read "Jesus of Nazareth King of the Jews" in Hebrew, Greek, and Latin; Chief Priests wanted him to change it but he refused (John 19:19–22)
Leaders asked him for permission to break the legs of those on the cross to kill them before the Sabbath; when they came to Jesus, He was already dead (John 19:31–37)
Joseph of Arimathea asked him for permission to bury Jesus' body; Pharisees asked for the tomb to be sealed and guarded (Matt. 27:57–66)

see Festus Porcius

נביא – "Spokesperson"

God's messenger on earth ≈ 4000 BC – Present

Israelite

Famous people include Noah, Abraham, Jacob/Israel, Joseph, Elijah, Isaiah, Jeremiah, Nephi, John the Baptist, and Joseph Smith

Famous prophetesses include Miriam, Huldah, Deborah, and Anna (see BD)

Preacher of righteousness | Seer
Moses wished that all the Lord's people would be prophets (Num. 11:29)
The Lord preached repentance to the Kingdoms of Israel and Judah through His prophets (2 Kgs. 17:13; Luke 1:70)
"Surely the Lord God will do nothing, but he revealeth his secret unto his servants the prophets" (Amos 3:7)
Christ's church is built on the foundation of prophets and apostles (Eph. 4:11)
A section of the Old Testament is called "The Prophets" and included the books from Isaiah to Malachi (Matt. 5:17; Matt. 22:40; Acts 13:15)

τελώνης – "Public Revenue"

Tax collectors for Rome ≈ 37 BC – 70 AD

Famous people include Matthew and Zacchaeus

Collected taxes for the Romans; considered traitors and hated by the Jews because they often charged more than required and kept the excess; became wealthy from using intimidation or corruption; many were considered ritually unclean "sinners" from their frequent contact with Gentiles; often excluded from synagogue
Some were baptized by John the Baptist (Luke 3:12)
Jesus called Matthew to follow Him; Matthew immediately left his "receipt of custom" and held a feast with other publicans and sinners for Jesus and His disciples; when the Pharisees questioned why Jesus was with sinners, He said that "they that be whole need not a physician" (Matt. 9:9–17)
Jesus taught the parable of the Pharisee and the Publican (Luke 18:1–14)
A chief publican, Zacchaeus, sought to see Jesus and climbed a tree; hosted Jesus (Luke 19:1–10)
Jesus told the Chief Priests and Elders that publicans and harlots would go into the kingdom of heaven before them (Matt. 21:23–32)

Κυρηνιος – "Of Cyrene"

Governor of Syria & Judea ≈ 6 BC – 12 AD

Roman

Wikipedia

Son of Publius Sulpicius Quirinius

Appointed Legate Governor of Syria after the banishment of Herod Archelaus; territory covered Judea
Held a census/taxing ordered by Caesar Augustus that forced Joseph and Mary to travel to Bethlehem before the birth of Jesus (Luke 2:2)

רבשקה | 𒃲𒁉𒈜𒈨𒌍

Title for Chief or Vizier ≈ 701 BC

Assyrian

Wikipedia

Title for the chief of Sennacherib's army

Sent and laid siege to Jerusalem; taunted Hezekiah and the Jews in Hebrew so they could understand; 185,000 of his soldiers were killed in one night after Hezekiah and Isaiah prayed for deliverance (2 Kgs. 18:27–19:35)

רחל – "Ewe"

Matriarch ≈ 1774 – 1733 BC

Israelite

Family Tree | Wikipedia | Bible Dictionary | Guide to Scriptures

Daughter of Laban | Second wife of Jacob | Mother of Joseph & Benjamin

Second daughter of Laban; watched the sheep; Jacob watered the sheep for her; she ran and told her father that Jacob had come
Jacob loved her (Gen. 29:18–20); she was beautiful; he worked 7 years to marry her, but Laban tricked him into marrying Leah first; he worked another 7 years to marry Rachel (Gen. 29:6)
Barren; gave her handmaid Bilhah to Jacob to have children
Finally gave birth to Joseph (Gen. 30:22–24)
Fled from her father with Jacob and family to Canaan; father chased them; she hid the images-idols she took from him
Died giving birth to Benjamin in Bethlehem; after her death, Reuben slept with Bilhah and lost the birthright which then passed to her son Joseph (Gen. 35:16–22)

רחב – "Spacious"

Harlot of Jericho ≈ 1400 BC

Canaanite

Wife of Salmon? | Ancestor of Jesus? (Matt. 1:5)

Assisted Israelite spies; protected with family when Jericho was conquered; lived with Israelites thereafter (Josh 2, 6)
Various traditions say she either married Joshua or Salmon; a Rachab is listed as the wife of Salmon in the ancestry of Jesus and is assumed here to be the same person (Matt. 1:5)

רבקה – "Secured"

Matriarch ≈ 1800 BC

Syrian

Family Tree | Wikipedia | Bible Dictionary | Guide to Scriptures

Daughter of Bethuel and sister of Laban (Gen. 22:23) | Wife of Isaac; willingly followed Abraham's servant to marry him (Gen. 24) | Ancestor of Jesus (Matt. 1:2)

From Haran
Abraham sent Eliezer to find a wife for Isaac; at a well, she offered him water and watered his camels; he gave her earrings and bracelets; Bethuel and Laban agreed to send her back but wanted her to stay a few days; when they asked her, she said she would go; Deborah went with her (Gen. 24)
Isaac loved her (Gen. 24:67)
Barren until she became pregnant with twins; felt the children struggle within her and she went to inquire of the Lord; He told her that two nations were in her womb and the elder should serve the younger (Gen. 25:20–23)
Mother of twins Jacob & Esau; she favored Jacob, Isaac favored Esau (Gen. 25:24–28)
Abimelech of Philistine saw Isaac "sporting" with her and knew she was not his sister; Abimelech protected them (Gen. 26:6–11)
Grieved when Esau married Canaanite: Hittite women (Gen. 26:34–35)
Helped Jacob receive birthright blessing from Isaac, "Upon me be thy curse"; Esau hated Jacob for it and wanted to kill him; she told Jacob to flee to Laban in Haran (Gen. 27)
Buried in the Cave of Machpelah with the other patriarchs/matriarchs (Gen. 49:31)

רחבעם – "People of Width"

King of Judah ≈ 931 – 913 BC