Tag: Biblical Characters

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Biblical People

Biblical People: Abigail (2)

Abigail (2)

Abigail is an intelligent and beautiful woman. In contrast, her husband, Nabal, is surly and mean. His servants call him wicked and say he listens to no one. Abigail confirms his name means fool and that folly follows him. Nabal is also wealthy, with thousands of livestock.

David and his men protect Nabal’s herdsmen and flocks, anticipating he will appreciate their efforts and one day reward them. But Nabal disrespects David’s messengers when they ask for food, sending them back empty-handed. Roiling with anger, David desires vengeance and prepares to kill Nabal and his men. 

When wise Abigail hears what happened, she takes immediate action. She prepares great quantities of food to give to David and goes out to meet his advancing army of four hundred. She humbles herself before David, assumes responsibility (while professing her innocence), wins David over, and stops the massacre.

Abigail then affirms her belief that God will give David a lasting dynasty. She asks him to remember her when God gives him success. David accepts her wise words and her provisions. He blesses her.

But Nabal is incensed when he learns what his wife did, has a stroke, and later dies. David receives this news with glee, seeing it as God’s vengeance on his behalf. David sends for Abigail so he can marry her. This may be David fulfilling her request when they first met, or an honorable act to provide for her. However, if their union is for love, Scripture doesn’t mention any affection between the pair. For her part, this is the best way to assure survival. 

This takes place while David is on the run, so her new lifestyle is not an easy one. At one point, Abigail is captured, along with the rest of the families of David’s men, but he rescues her. She and David have one son together, named Daniel.

Abigail takes bold action to avoid a massacre. Is there some bold action God wants us to take?

[Discover more about Abigail in 1 Samuel 25, 1 Samuel 27:2–4, 1 Samuel 30:5, and 1 Chronicles 3:1.]

Learn about other biblical women in Women of the Bible, available in audiobook, e-book, paperback, and hardcover.

A lifelong student of the Bible, Peter DeHaan, PhD, wrote the 1,000-page website ABibleADay.com to encourage people to explore the Bible. His main blog and many books urge Christians to push past the status quo and reconsider how they practice their faith in every area of their lives.

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Biblical People

Biblical People: Michal

Michal

David plays a critical role in the success of King Saul and the nation of Israel. Despite this, Saul’s attitude toward David varies greatly, with Saul often wanting to kill David out of jealousy.

When Saul learns his daughter, Michal, is in love with David, Saul hatches a plan to use her to bring about David’s downfall. 

For a dowry, Saul requests proof that David has killed one hundred Philistines. Saul assumes David will die trying. Instead, David succeeds, even presenting evidence he’s killed twice the requested number. 

David and Michal marry.

When Michal learns of her father’s plan to kill David, she helps her husband escape and then covers for him. But when her father confronts her duplicity, she lies, claiming David forced her to help.

Some time later, when David is on the run, Saul gives Michal to another man. Eventually, David arranges for Michal’s return, and the pair reunite. But they don’t live happily ever after. The fact that he has other wives may have something to do with it.

After David ascends to power, he brings the ark back, celebrating wildly in praise to God. Michal criticizes his excessive public display of worship and despises him for his actions. Though she once loved him, she no longer does.

We can only guess why. Did his celebratory romp repel her? Perhaps she gave her heart to her second husband, or maybe it was because David married other women.

Regardless, Michal never has any children. Might David have rejected her because of her disapproval of his exuberant dance? Or maybe God punished her for criticizing David’s passionate worship. In any regard, a critical spirit is never attractive.

Do we have a critical spirit? What should we do about it?

[Discover more about Michal in 1 Samuel 14:49, 1 Samuel 18–19, 1 Samuel 25:44, 2 Samuel 3:13–14, 2 Samuel 6:16–23, and 1 Chronicles 15:29.]

Learn about other biblical women in Women of the Bible, available in audiobook, e-book, paperback, and hardcover.

A lifelong student of the Bible, Peter DeHaan, PhD, wrote the 1,000-page website ABibleADay.com to encourage people to explore the Bible. His main blog and many books urge Christians to push past the status quo and reconsider how they practice their faith in every area of their lives.

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Biblical People

Biblical People: Merab

Merab

King Saul has two daughters, Merab and Michal. Merab is the oldest. 

Saul offers Merab as a wife for David if he will go to war for Saul, to fight the king’s battles for him. But this is a ruse. Saul expects David to die in the military conflict, saving Saul the trouble of killing David himself.

Saul never suspects David will return victorious, but when he does, the king reneges on his promise and marries off Merab to another man, Adriel.

Saul never intended for David and Merab to wed. The all-powerful king merely uses her to entice David to do something life-threatening. In this we see a father who exploits his daughter as bait to bring about his enemy’s death. 

Merab and Adriel have five sons. This is the last we hear about her. The bigger story, however, is not over, for David has eyes for her younger sister, Michal.

Have we ever made a promise we had no intention of keeping?

[Discover more about Merab in 1 Samuel 14:49, 1 Samuel 18:17–21, and 2 Samuel 21:8.]

A lifelong student of the Bible, Peter DeHaan, PhD, wrote the 1,000-page website ABibleADay.com to encourage people to explore the Bible. His main blog and many books urge Christians to push past the status quo and reconsider how they practice their faith in every area of their lives.

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Biblical People

Biblical People: Peninnah

Peninnah

Peninnah is an unfamiliar Bible character. She is a co-wife with Hannah, the mother of Samuel. Their shared husband is Elkanah. In a tale reminiscent of Jacob and his two wives, Rachel and Leah, we have the story of Elkanah and his two wives, Hannah and Peninnah.

Just as Jacob loves Rachel more than Leah, Elkanah loves Hannah more than Peninnah. Likewise, as Rachel, the favored wife, is childless, so, too, is Hannah. 

Another parallel biblical account is of Abraham, Sarah, and Hagar, where Hagar, the wife with a child, harasses Sarah, the wife without one. So too, Peninnah harasses Hannah. 

Despite Peninnah producing children for Elkanah, he loves Hannah more. Peninnah lashes out at her rival in the only way possible, by verbally tormenting her each day. While we can’t condone Peninnah’s actions, we can understand the angst behind them.

When we’re in an unbearable situation, do we try to make the best of it or blame others and harass them?

[Discover more about Peninnah in 1 Samuel 1.]

Learn about other biblical women in Women of the Bible, available in audiobook, e-book, paperback, and hardcover.

A lifelong student of the Bible, Peter DeHaan, PhD, wrote the 1,000-page website ABibleADay.com to encourage people to explore the Bible. His main blog and many books urge Christians to push past the status quo and reconsider how they practice their faith in every area of their lives.

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Biblical People

Biblical People: Hannah

Hannah

Hannah, married to Elkanah, longs to have children but is childless. To add to her misery, she’s harassed by everyone around her. Though she’s her husband’s favorite wife, he diminishes her infertility.

He also fails to protect her from the verbal assaults of his other wife, Peninnah, who endlessly torments her. 

Then, when Hannah prays earnestly, Eli, the priest, accuses her of being drunk. But she is actually in deep despair. Her life is in constant turmoil.

At her breaking point, Hannah cries out to God in anguish. She begs him to give her a son. She specifically asks for a boy, not just a child. In return, she promises to give him to God for a lifetime of service. 

Unlike everyone else, God understands Hannah. He answers her plea, giving her a son just as she requested. She names him Samuel. Hannah responds by singing her praises to God.

She celebrates his power, the elevation of the oppressed, and the judgment of the arrogant. A few lines of her poem may even be digs at Peninnah, her chief tormentor.

After Samuel is weaned, Hannah presents him to Eli for a lifetime of service to God at the temple, just as she promised. Each year when Hannah and her family make their annual pilgrimage to the temple to offer their sacrifices to God, she sees young Samuel and gives him a new robe.

God then blesses Hannah with five more children.

God understands our situation, even when no one else does. Will we trust him to rescue us from our turmoil?

[Discover more about Hannah in 1 Samuel 1–2.]

Learn about other biblical women in Women of the Bible, available in audiobook, e-book, paperback, and hardcover.

A lifelong student of the Bible, Peter DeHaan, PhD, wrote the 1,000-page website ABibleADay.com to encourage people to explore the Bible. His main blog and many books urge Christians to push past the status quo and reconsider how they practice their faith in every area of their lives.

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Biblical People

Biblical People: The Mother of Jabez

The Mother of Jabez

Though an entire book was later written about his prayer, we know little about Jabez from Scripture. The Bible only mentions him in two obscure verses, buried in a lengthy genealogy. We know even less about his mother, not even her name.

We do know his birth is difficult, and the name she gives him reflects the physical pain his arrival caused. This is all we know about her.

However, we can infer more of her traits from the character of her son. Jabez is an honorable man, more honorable than others. We also know he has a deep connection with God, for when Jabez prays a bold prayer, God answers it.

We can implicitly connect these qualities with his mother, the woman who raised him. Surely Jabez’s mother is a godly woman who teaches her son how to live an honorable life, follow God, and to pray with effectiveness.

What more can a mother give to her son?

What can we do to raise godly, honorable, faithful children?

[Discover more about Jabez’s mother in 1 Chronicles 4:9–10.]

Learn about other biblical women in Women of the Bible, available in audiobook, e-book, paperback, and hardcover.

A lifelong student of the Bible, Peter DeHaan, PhD, wrote the 1,000-page website ABibleADay.com to encourage people to explore the Bible. His main blog and many books urge Christians to push past the status quo and reconsider how they practice their faith in every area of their lives.

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Biblical People

Biblical People: Orpah

Orpah

Orpah is the widowed daughter-in-law of Naomi and sister-in-law to Ruth. When Naomi decides to return to Judah, her Moabite daughters-in-law start out with her. Naomi releases them both, encouraging them to return to their mothers and find new husbands.

Though Ruth refuses, Orpah does the logical thing and goes home. 

That’s the last we hear of Orpah. We don’t know if she marries again or ever has any children. We don’t know how long she lives. We just know she does the sensible thing. 

However, Orpah’s sister-in-law chooses the path that doesn’t make sense, and God honors her for her loyalty to him and her mother-in-law.

Sometimes the sensible solution isn’t the one God honors. Do we have the discernment to put God first even if it doesn’t make sense?

[Discover more about Orpah in Ruth 1:4–16.]

Learn about other biblical women in Women of the Bible, available in audiobook, e-book, paperback, and hardcover.

A lifelong student of the Bible, Peter DeHaan, PhD, wrote the 1,000-page website ABibleADay.com to encourage people to explore the Bible. His main blog and many books urge Christians to push past the status quo and reconsider how they practice their faith in every area of their lives.

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Biblical People

Biblical People: Naomi

Naomi

Naomi’s name means pleasant. Naomi, her husband, and their two boys leave their home country of Judah and travel to Moab because of a famine. While in Moab, Naomi’s husband dies, and later both of her married sons die too.

This leaves her with two widowed daughters-in-law, Orpah and Ruth, and little hope. Naomi blames God for her misfortune and grows bitter.

She decides to return home when she learns of food there. Orpah and Ruth start back with her, but Naomi decides this isn’t fair to them.

At Naomi’s urging, Orpah returns to Moab and rejoins her family, but Ruth expresses deep commitment to her mother-in-law and to God, promising to stay with her forever and to worship her God.

After returning to Judah, Naomi develops a plan for Ruth to marry their relative, Boaz. Ruth follows her mother-in-law’s instructions. Soon Boaz and Ruth marry. Ruth has her first child, Obed.

Naomi cares for her new grandson like a son, while the local women celebrate his birth and Naomi’s good fortune.

Like all of us, Naomi’s life contains struggle and disappointment, but God cares for her, providing a loyal daughter-in-law and a cherished grandson to care for.

Even if life goes terribly wrong and we become bitter and blame God, he still loves us and provides.

Will we trust God with our future, regardless of hardship?

[Discover more about Naomi in Ruth 1–4.]

Learn about other biblical women in Women of the Bible, available in audiobook, e-book, paperback, and hardcover.

A lifelong student of the Bible, Peter DeHaan, PhD, wrote the 1,000-page website ABibleADay.com to encourage people to explore the Bible. His main blog and many books urge Christians to push past the status quo and reconsider how they practice their faith in every area of their lives.

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Biblical People

Biblical People: Ruth

Ruth

Ruth, a widow and foreigner (a non-Hebrew), remains faithful to her widowed mother-in-law, Naomi. When Naomi decides to return home to Judah, she urges Ruth to stay behind in her own country, with her own family.

Ruth, however, won’t be dissuaded, clinging to her mother-in-law and pledging her allegiance. The reason behind Ruth’s intense loyalty to Naomi, however, is a mystery.

Having lost her husband and both sons, Naomi is now a bitter woman, so it certainly isn’t her personality that causes Ruth’s devotion.

When they return to Judah, Ruth, at great personal risk, goes in search of grain missed by the harvesters so she and Naomi will have some food to eat. Ruth finds favor with a wealthy farmer, Boaz, who has heard of her devotion to Naomi and sees her hardworking character.

Naomi wants to find another husband for Ruth. Although much older, Boaz seems the ideal choice. Naomi develops a shrewd strategy for Ruth to capture the heart of Boaz, and Ruth dutifully does as her mother-in-law directs.

While it’s unclear if Naomi’s instructions cause Ruth to act in a manner considered chaste or brazen, she does garner Boaz’s attention. 

Boaz immediately sets out to make Ruth his wife, deftly dealing with another relative who could thwart his intentions. When Boaz and Ruth marry, the people bless her and her future children.

Ruth has her first child, a boy they name Obed. Obed is the father of Jesse, the father of David. This makes Ruth the great-grandmother of King David. 

God rewards Ruth’s allegiance to him and loyalty to her mother-in-law, providing Ruth with a husband, saving her from poverty, and giving her a son.

Ruth is one of four women honored by Matthew in his record of Jesus’s family tree.

Do we have a reputation for being loyal and hardworking? Is our godly character affirmed by others?

[Discover more about Ruth in Ruth 1–4 and Matthew 1:5.]

Learn about other biblical women in Women of the Bible, available in audiobook, e-book, paperback, and hardcover.

A lifelong student of the Bible, Peter DeHaan, PhD, wrote the 1,000-page website ABibleADay.com to encourage people to explore the Bible. His main blog and many books urge Christians to push past the status quo and reconsider how they practice their faith in every area of their lives.

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Biblical People

Biblical People: The Mother of Samson

The Mother of Samson

There is a woman, the wife of Manoah. She is barren. Though we don’t know how long she and Manoah have tried to have children, God sends an angel to her with good news. He promises she will become pregnant and have a boy. However, he also requires something of her. 

She must not drink alcohol or eat anything that isn’t kosher. Though we might assume this only applies while she is pregnant, the Bible doesn’t say that.

This might be a lifelong requirement for her, because when she and Manoah later ask the angel how they should raise their baby, the angel repeats these same instructions to her.

As far as their son, he also has restrictions placed on him. He should never cut his hair. They are to raise him as a Nazirite, though Scripture doesn’t explain exactly what this means.

However, the instructions for living a set-apart life are not just for Samson but also for his mom. If she doesn’t do her part, Samson might not be able to do all God has planned for him.

She does indeed get pregnant and gives birth to a baby boy. She names him Samson. 

Unfortunately, Samson grows up to have many character flaws, which eventually lead to his downfall. Despite his shortcomings he accomplishes much for God and the nation of Israel.

The key to his success, however, may have hinged on his mom’s compliance to do what God said. A godly, obedient mother establishes the spiritual framework for Samson to move into his calling and rescue God’s people.

Just like Samson’s mother, many women change their dietary habits when they are pregnant. They do this to give their baby his or her best chance of enjoying a healthy life.

Many moms continue to forgo their personal desires for the sake of their children as they grow up and even after they move into adulthood.

Our sacrifices for others are an expression of our love for them. What are we willing to give up for someone else’s benefit?

[Discover more about Samson’s mother in Judges 13:2–24.]

Learn about other biblical women in Women of the Bible, available in audiobook, e-book, paperback, and hardcover.

A lifelong student of the Bible, Peter DeHaan, PhD, wrote the 1,000-page website ABibleADay.com to encourage people to explore the Bible. His main blog and many books urge Christians to push past the status quo and reconsider how they practice their faith in every area of their lives.