People of the Bible
Scripture is full of names. Some belong to people we can picture straight away, and some belong to people we have read past a hundred times without once stopping to ask who they were. Either way, God chose to reveal himself through their lives, and their stories sit in the Bible because he wanted us to learn something from them.
The people of the Bible were not heroes in the way we normally use that word. They were faithful and faithless, brave and afraid, often in the same chapter. This page gathers RENEW.org's articles on the men and women of Scripture, arranged so you can find one person quickly or read through a whole period of the story. Each life asks the same question in a different setting: what does it look like to trust and obey God?
Women of the Bible
Why this matters: The women of Scripture are often introduced in a single verse and then carry a whole chapter of God's purposes. Reading their lives closely corrects the habit of treating them as background.
- Carol Stine"Who Was Eve in the Bible? Exploring Her Temptation, Disappointment, and Hope"
- Carol Stine"Who Was Sarah in the Bible?"
- Bonnie Blaylock"Getting to Enough: Lessons from Leah in the Bible"
- Carol Stine"Who Was Potiphar's Wife in the Bible?"
- Carol Stine"Who Was Zipporah in the Bible?"
- Carol Stine"Who Was Miriam in the Bible?"
- Carol Stine"Who Was Rahab in the Bible?"
- Carol Stine"Who Was Deborah in the Bible?"
- Carol Stine"Who Were Naomi and Ruth in the Bible?"
- Carol Stine"Who Is Hannah in the Bible?"
- Carol Stine"Who Was Michal in the Bible?"
- Daniel McCoy"Who was Jezebel in the Bible? It depends on your worldview."
- Carol Stine"Who Was Mary in the Bible?"
- Daniel McCoy"5 Mothers in the Bible and What We Can Learn From Them"
The First Families and the Exodus Generation
Why this matters: The families of Genesis and Exodus set the pattern for everything that follows: the promises God makes, and the many ways people struggle to trust them.
- Daniel McCoy"6 Fathers in the Bible & the Advice They'd Give Today: Adam to Jacob"
- Stephen Brownlow"When Life Hits, Think About Joseph in the Bible"
- Daniel McCoy"Who Was Caleb in the Bible? Spy, Soldier, and Settler"
- Daniel McCoy"Who Was Joshua in the Bible? 10 Leadership Habits from the Life of Joshua"
Judges, Kings, and Prophets
Why this matters: Israel's leaders show what happens when power meets faithfulness, and what happens when it does not. The prophets stand alongside them, calling kings and people alike back to God.
- Daniel McCoy"Who Was Samuel in the Bible? Meet Your Instructor in Resisting Cynicism."
- Bobby Harrington"David and Bathsheba and Affairs in Your Church"
- Adam Jones"Finding Your Way Again: Learning from King Josiah in the Bible"
- Daniel McCoy"Who Was Elijah in the Bible? Elijah's Story in 8 Roles"
- Tina Wilson"The Prophet Amos, the Day of the Lord, and Us"
- John Davis"Who Was Elihu in the Bible? Meet Your New Theology Prof"
The People Around Jesus' Birth
Why this matters: The nativity is crowded with people who had to decide what to do about Jesus long before anyone could see who he would become.
- Brayden Morrison"Who was John the Baptist in the Bible? Meet the Prophetic Preacher who Prepared People for the Messiah"
- Daniel McCoy"5 Insights from the Wise Men in the Bible"
- Daniel McCoy"The Christmas Shepherds: Why God Picked Them and What They Teach Us"
- Virgil Hurley"The Prophecy of Simeon: How Jesus Causes the Falling & Rising of Many"
- Daniel McCoy"Who is King Herod in the Bible?"
The Twelve and the Early Church
Why this matters: The people Jesus called were ordinary, and often unreliable, and he built his church through them anyway. That is worth remembering for anyone leading today.
- John Whittaker"Who Were the Twelve Apostles?"
- David Fincher"Who Was Peter in the Bible? A Summary of Simon Peter's Life"
- Scott Sager"Who Was Mark in the Bible? A Quitter Who Finished Well."
- Steve Hinton"Who Was Barnabas in the Bible? Reflections on Being a Man of Encouragement"
- Brian Brophy"Will the Real Saul of Tarsus Please Stand Up?"
- Brian Cunningham"Who Were Jesus' Brothers? A Q&A with Brian Cunningham, PhD"
- Stephen Brownlow"What I Learn about My Purpose from a Fisherman in the Bible"
- John Whittaker"New Testament Writers: Who Were They?"
Those Who Opposed Jesus, and Those Who Hesitated
Why this matters: Some of the most instructive people in the Gospels are the ones who got Jesus wrong. Their reasons are worth understanding, because those same reasons are still available to us.
- John Whittaker"Who Were the Pharisees?"
- Daniel McCoy"Who Are the Pharisees Today? Christ's Invitation to Modern-Day Pharisees."
- Daniel McCoy"Who Was Nicodemus in the Bible? An Introduction to the Gospels' Longest Fence-Sitter"
- Thomas Hamberger"Who Was Judas Iscariot in the Bible?"
- Carly Califf"Who Was Crucified with Jesus?"
- Daniel McCoy"Top 10 Betrayals in the Bible"
Angels, Demons, and the Unseen Realm
Why this matters: Scripture describes a reality larger than the one we can see. These resources look at what the Bible actually says about angels, demons, and our real enemy, without drifting into speculation.
- Jake Sutherlin"What Are Angels in the Bible?"
- Jake Sutherlin"What are Seraphim in the Bible?"
- Jake Sutherlin"What Are Cherubim in the Bible?"
- Rachel Younis"Demons in the Bible & in Our World"
- Bobby Harrington"What Does the Bible Say About Demons: 10 Principles"
- Virgil Hurley"Legion in the Bible: An Army of Demons VS Jesus' Authority"
- Jonathan Lichtenwalter"Satan in the Old Testament"
- Jonathan Lichtenwalter"Satanic Imagery in the Bible"
- John Whittaker"What Is the Antichrist in the Bible?"
- David Young"Spiritual Warfare: Getting Clear on Our Real Enemy"
- Jonathan Lichtenwalter"Book Review: Unseen Realm by Michael Heiser"