Paul D. Gardner - New International Encyclopedia of Bible Characters: The Complete Who’s Who in the Bible

Dedication

For my wife, Sharon, and my children, Jonathan, David and Hannah,

whose names mean so much to me:

Sharon was a place that witnessed a great turning to Christ under Peters ministry.

Jonathan means The LORD has given.

David probably means beloved of the LORD .

Hannah means Grace, which is so important in our family.

Paul D. Gardner, Editor

New International Encyclopedia of Bible Characters

Copyright 1995 by Paul Gardner

Originally published in the U.K. by Marshall Pickering,

an imprint of HarperCollinsReligious,

a part of HarperCollinsPublishers.

Formerly titled The Complete Whos Who in the Bible.

Requests for information should be addressed to:

Zondervan, Grand Rapids, Michigan 49530

Library of Congress Catalog-in-Publication Data

Complete whos who in the Bible

New international encyclopedia of Bible characters: the complete whos who in the Bible/Paul D. Gardner, editor.

p. cm.

ePub edition September 2015: ISBN 978-0-310-52950-7

Originally published: The complete whos who in the Bible. 1995.

ISBN-10: 0-310-24007-7

ISBN-13: 978-0310-24007-5

1. BibleBiographyDictionaries. I. Garnder, Paul Douglas. II. Title

BS570.C645 2001

220.9'2'03-dc 21 00-140138

CIP

All Scripture quotations, unless otherwise indicated, are taken from the Holy Bible: New International Version. NIV. Copyright 1973, 1978, 1984 by International Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved.

NIV and New International Version are registered in the United States Patent and Trademark Office by the International Bible Society.

No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any meanselectronic, mechanical, photocopy, recording, or any otherexcept for brief quotations in printed reviews, without the prior permission of the publisher.

Anyone approaching the Bible for the first time cannot fail to see that the Bible is not just a theoretical book about God. From the very first chapter we see this book is about God and his relationship with his creation and specially with people . We learn about God as we see him revealing himself to real men and women. God speaks to them, works with them, encourages them, disciplines them, loves them and judges them. It at once becomes clear that God has some sort of relationship with every single human being. The relationship may be one of love and fellowship or it may be one in which a person rebels against God, but the Creator God is always there and sovereignly sustains this world for as long as he chooses.

The challenge and excitement for me of leading this project is that it has allowed me to study these people in the light of their relationship with God. I hope that all who read this Who's Who will enjoy, as I have, learning more about God as we see him in relationship with people of different races, backgrounds, culture and beliefs. We see the weakest of people who trust in him and worship him being used by God in the most difficult and dangerous of situations. We see the strongest of the world's leaders who do not trust in him and worship him being torn from their thrones as God exercises his universal sovereignty. We see the most sinful of people being forgiven as they turn in faith to a loving God who cares for his people, and we see others being judged as they refuse even to listen to the warnings of judgment God gives.

As we look at people in the Bible we learn about how sin entered the world and how it has affected every part of every human being. We see this even in the so-called 'heroes' of the faith. In the biblical revelation there are no perfect leaders (until Christ himself). Abraham, Moses, David and other great leaders are seen to be God's people but are also seen to be sinners who need God's forgiveness.

As we read of the sin of men and women we can immediately recognize that these people are like us. But we also see God who forgave those who turned to him and so we see hope for ourselves if we too will trust in his salvation and forgiveness. As we look at our world and wonder at the horror of so much that is going on around us, we see that others have lived in times that were at least as bad or worse (look at the time of the Judges), and we take heart that God was sovereign then and remains the same today. We see the struggles of a faithful man like David asking 'How long O Lord?' and 'Why do the wicked prosper?' We relate to his emotions; we ask God the same questions and we learn of God as we see his answers to David and others down through history.

From the least significant, in human terms, to the greatest world leader we meet a sovereign Creator God who is concerned for people . As he reveals himself to people through the ages, it becomes more and more apparent that that concern of a holy and transcendent God for his people will lead to his provision for their salvation. As the focus of Scripture narrows down, it leads inexorably to God's eternal will to send his only Son Jesus to bring salvation to these people God has created and loves. The incarnation of Jesus becomes the greatest demonstration of all that God is concerned for people . As we study the individuals who knew Jesus and put their faith in him and who later followed him even if it took them to their death, so we find out what it is to be a recipient of God's grace and mercy and forgiveness. We see the joy in their lives even in the midst of persecution or illness or natural disaster as they know what it is to belong to God. As we see them tackling the world of their age, we are given a deeper understanding of God who loves, forgives, saves people from judgment, and leads his people forward to eternity with him.

It is my great hope that all who read this book will see the Bible as more real, relevant and useful than perhaps they had realized before. But I also hope that it will simply whet the appetite for a far deeper and life-time study of the God who created people and reveals himself, not in some abstract way, but in real life in the real world over which he remains totally sovereign.

Paul D. Gardner
Cheshire, 1995

The purpose of this book is to supply an exhaustive ready reference volume on the people mentioned in the biblical texts of the Old and New Testaments. Thus on each character there is at least a minimum entry which gives biblical references and a brief description of a person's role in the biblical narrative and of his or her possible relationship to other characters.

It is intended that the volume should be useful to as wide a range of people as possible. It will provide a useful reference volume for anyone, whether well read in the Scriptures, or a newcomer. Students at school, church people, teachers, ministers and Theological College or Seminary students should find value in the volume. It is also hoped that it will find a ready home on the reference shelves of public libraries and school libraries. It is deliberately written without a lot of technical detail.