Abraham
Is the common patriarch of Judaism, Christianity, Islam, and some other religions. Abraham is called by God to leave the house of his father Terah and settle in the land originally given to Canaan but which God now promises to Abraham and his progeny. Thirteen years later, when Abram was 99 years of age, God declared Abram's new name: "Abraham" – "a father of many nations".[Genesis 17:5] Abraham then received the instructions for the covenant, of which circumcision was to be the sign. God declared Sarai's new name: "Sarah", blessed her, and told Abraham, "I will give thee a son also of her".[Genesis 17:15–16] Abraham laughed, and "said in his heart, 'Shall a child be born unto him that is a hundred years old? and shall Sarah, that is ninety years old, bear?'"[Genesis 17:17] Immediately after Abraham's encounter with God, he had his entire household of men, including himself (age 99) and Ishmael (age 13), circumcised.[
Isaac
Abraham was "an hundred years old", when his son whom he named Isaac was born. He was the son of Abraham and Sarah, the father of Jacob, and the grandfather of the twelve tribes of Israel.
Jacob
The grandson of Abraham and the son of Isaac and Rebekah. God renamed him Israel. Jacob fathered on daughter and 12 sons; each one became the leader of one clan known as the 12 tribes of Israel.
King David
Penned the Psalms. To Jerusalem, he brought the Ark of the Covenant containing the sacred stone tablets God bestowed on Moses and the Israelites at Mount Sinai.
Mary Magdalene
Mary Magdalene - witnessed the Crucifixion and was the first to see him after the Resurrection.
The Sadducees
They aligned themselves with the Romans and followed a literal interpretation of the Bible. They were composed of the priestly class and aristocrats and merchants. They did not believe in an afterlife since it is not mentioned in the Torah (the five books of Moses). Chief persecutors of the Christian movement.
The Pharisees
Made up of scholars and laymen. They appealed to the majority of Jews.
The Sanhedrin
The supreme religious council which functioned as the Jew's mailjudicial and administrative body.
Pontius Pilate
Governor of Judea.
Saint Luke
A historian and physician. Author of The Gospel of Luke and Acts of the Apostles.
Caesar Augustus
The Roman emperor. Ruled from 27 BC to 14 AD. Issued a decree requiring everyone in the empire to be register for tax purposes. This required Joseph and mary to travel to Bethlehem from Nazareth because Joseph is a descended of David. While they are in Bethlehem Jesus is born.
Herod The Great
The half-Jewish half-Arab monarch of Judea. Ordered the murder of every male child under the age of 2. He was allowed to remain on the throne of Judea for 4 decades by Caesar Augustus.
Herod Antipas
The fifth born son of Herod the Great. The chief Galilean administrator of the Jews. Had John The Baptist beheaded at the request of his daughter.
Joseph Caiaphas
The high priest and leader of the Jewish judicial court known as the Sanhedrin. It was Caiaphas who had advised the Jews that it would be expedient that one man should die for the people (John 18: 12-14)
Joseph of Arimathea
A wealthy Sadducee and disciple of Jesus who was one of the few disenting voices during the illigal trial.
Longinus
The captain of the guard. He is considered a saint by the Roman Catholic Church for converting to Christianity as a resultof his brush with Jesus, which caused the soldier great remorse.
Simon of Cyrene
An Aferican Jew chosen to carry the cross for Jesus.
The Angel Gabriel
Informed Mary in Nazareth of her upcoming virgin birth of Jesus through the Holy Spirtit, relating that He will be called - the Son of God
Zechariah
Husband of Elizabeth, father of John the Baptist
Zechariah
Husband of Elizabeth, mother of John the Baptist