List of minor Hebrew Bible figures, A–KThis article contains persons named in the Bible, specifically in the Hebrew Bible and Old Testament, of minor notability, about whom little or nothing is known, aside from some family connections. Abdeel (Ab'dē el) (Hebrew עַבְדְּאֵל "servant of God"; akin to Arabic عبد الله Abdullah) is mentioned in Jeremiah 36:26 as the father of Shelemiah, one of three men who were commanded by King Jehoiakim to seize the prophet Jeremiah and his secretary Baruch. The Septuagint omits the phrase "and Shelemiah son of Abdeel", probably a scribal error due to homoioteleuton.
Cave of the PatriarchsThe Cave of the Patriarchs or Tomb of the Patriarchs, known to Jews by its Biblical name Cave of Machpelah ( מְעָרַת הַמַּכְפֵּלָה, , Cave of the Double) and to Muslims as the Ibrahimi Mosque (ٱلْمَسْجِد ٱلْإِبْرَاهِيمِيّ, Mosque of Abraham), is a series of caves situated south of Jerusalem in the heart of the Old City of Hebron in the West Bank. According to the Abrahamic religions, the cave and adjoining field were purchased by Abraham as a burial plot, although most historians believe the Abraham-Isaac-Jacob narrative to be primarily mythological.
Lot (biblical person)Lot (lɒt; לוֹט Lōṭ, lit. "veil" or "covering"; Λώτ Lṓt; لُوط Lūṭ; Syriac: ܠܘܛ Lōṭ) was a man in the biblical Book of Genesis, chapters 11–14 and 19. Notable events in his life include his journey with his uncle Abram (Abraham); his flight from the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah, during which Lot's wife became a pillar of salt; and him being intoxicated by his daughters so that they could have sexual intercourse with him and ensure their family would have descendants.
LeahLeah (ˈleɪ.ə; ˈliːə) appears in the Hebrew Bible as one of the two wives of the Biblical patriarch Jacob. Leah was Jacob's first wife, and the older sister of his second (and favored) wife Rachel. She is the mother of Jacob's first son Reuben. She has three more sons, namely Simeon, Levi and Judah, but does not bear another son until Rachel offers her a night with Jacob in exchange for some mandrake root (דודאים, dûdâ'îm). Leah gives birth to two more sons after this, Issachar and Zebulun, and to Jacob's only daughter, Dinah.
Patriarchs (Bible)The patriarchs ( אבות Avot, singular אב Av) of the Bible, when narrowly defined, are Abraham, his son Isaac, and Isaac's son Jacob, also named Israel, the ancestor of the Israelites. These three figures are referred to collectively as the patriarchs, and the period in which they lived is known as the patriarchal age. Judaism, Christianity, and Islam hold that the patriarchs, along with their primary wives, known as the matriarchs (Sarah, Rebekah and Leah), are entombed at the Cave of the Patriarchs, a site held holy by the three religions.
RachelRachel (רָחֵל) was a Biblical figure, the favorite of Jacob's two wives, and the mother of Joseph and Benjamin, two of the twelve progenitors of the tribes of Israel. Rachel's father was Laban. Her older sister was Leah, Jacob's first wife. Her aunt Rebecca was Jacob's mother. Rachel is first mentioned in the Hebrew Bible in when Jacob happens upon her as she is about to water her father's flock. She was the second daughter of Laban, Rebekah's brother, making Jacob her first cousin. Jacob had traveled a great distance to find Laban.
IshmaelitesThe Ishmaelites ( Yīšməʿēʾlīm, بَنِي إِسْمَاعِيل Banī Ismā'īl; "sons of Ishmael") were a collection of various Arabian tribes, confederations and small kingdoms described in Islamic tradition as being descended from and named after Ishmael, a prophet according to the Quran, the first son of Abraham and the Egyptian Hagar. According to the Book of Genesis in the Hebrew Bible, Ishmael had one daughter and twelve sons, the "twelve princes" mentioned in Genesis 17:20.
EdomEdom (ˈiːdəm; Edomite: 𐤀𐤃𐤌 ; אֱדוֹם , lit.: "red"; Akkadian: 𒌑𒁺𒈪 , 𒌑𒁺𒈬 ; Ancient Egyptian: ) was an ancient kingdom in Transjordan, located between Moab to the northeast, the Arabah to the west, and the Arabian Desert to the south and east. Most of its former territory is now divided between present-day southern Israel and Jordan. Edom appears in written sources relating to the late Bronze Age and to the Iron Age in the Levant. Edomites are related in several ancient sources including the Tanakh, a list of the Egyptian pharaoh Seti I from c.
IshmaelIshmael was the first son of Abraham, the common patriarch of the Abrahamic religions, through his second wife, the Egyptian slave Hagar (). According to the Genesis account, he died at the age of 137 (). Within Islam, Ishmael is regarded as a prophet and the ancestor of the Ishmaelites (Hagarenes or Arabs) and patriarch of Qaydār. The name "Yishma'el" exists in various Semitic cultures It is a theophoric name translated literally as "God (El) has hearkened", suggesting that "a child so named was regarded as the fulfillment of a divine promise".
SarahSarah (born Sarai) is a biblical matriarch, prophetess and major figure in Abrahamic religions. While different Abrahamic faiths portray her differently, Judaism, Christianity, and Islam all depict her character similarly, as that of a pious woman, renowned for her hospitality and beauty, the wife and half-sister of Abraham, and the mother of Isaac. Sarah has her feast day on 1 September in the Catholic Church, 19 August in the Coptic Orthodox Church, 20 January in the LCMS, and 12 and 20 December in the Eastern Orthodox Church.
