The Who’s Who of the Pentateuch

Adam and friends (6 people)

Adam: Adam was the first man. He is notable for having rib surgery and for naming the animals. Unfortunately, he let death enter into the world through original sin.

Eve: is the mother of all living. She is notable for being made from Adam’s rib. She listened to the serpent over and led Adam to fall from grace.

Cain: Cain was the first person to ever have a brother. Unfortunately he is also, the first person to ever kill his brother. His offerings were not acceptable before the Lord. Cain’s line was so corrupt that it led to the flooding of the world.

Abel: Abel was the first person to suffer injustice. His brother, out of envy, killed him. Abel’s Offering was acceptable before the Lord.

Seth: Seth continued Adam’s line. His brother Cain had disqualified himself as heir and his other brother Abel was dead. descended from Seth.

Enoch: was a very righteous man and God took him away to heaven. This is what the says about Enoch:

”Thus all the days of Enoch were three hundred sixty-five years. Enoch walked with God; then he was no more, because God took him.”

The Who’s Who of the Pentateuch

Noah and company (4 people)

Noah: Noah was a righteous man who God saved from the flood. He built an ark and was saved with his wife, three sons, and their wives. 8 people were saved in all.

Ham: Ham is one of the sons of Noah. He and his line were cursed after he tried to shame his father.

Shem: Shem is another son of Noah. He is the ancestor to and the people of God. Shem and his brother, Japheth, tried to save their father from shame.

Japheth: Japheth is another son of Noah. The actual birth order of the three sons is not clear from the Bible. Japheth and his brother, Shem, tried to save their father from shame.

The Who’s Who of the Pentateuch

Abraham and comrades (25 People)

Abraham: The father of faith. God called Abraham away from his homeland and promised him a new land. God made a covenant with Abraham and tested him throughout his life. Abraham’s ultimate test was to see if he would sacrifice his son .

Sarah: was Abraham’s wife and was very beautiful. When Sarah was very old she miraculously gave birth to a son, Isaac.

Hagar: Hagar was Sarah’s maidservant. When Sarah couldn’t have a child, Sarah asked Hagar to have a child in her place. The child’s name was .

Ishmael: Ishmael was Abraham’s first son. He was born of the slave Hagar. When Isaac was born, Sarah feared that Ishmael would take his position as Abraham’s heir, so Sarah made Hagar and Ishmael leave the household.

Isaac: Isaac was the child of promise that was miraculously conceived by Abraham and Sarah in their old age. He married and became the father of and Esau. Isaac liked meat.

Rebecca: Rebecca was Isaac’s wife. She helped Jacob trick Isaac and receive the blessing instead of Esau.

Esau: Esau was Jacob’s older twin brother. He didn’t have his priorities straight in life. One day when he was hungry, he sold his birthright to his brother for a bowl of soup. He was very upset when Jacob stole his blessing, and wanted revenge for many years. In the end, after they had both grown a , Esau and Jacob reconciled.

Jacob: Jacob was quite a character. He stole his brothers blessing, accidentally married the wrong woman, wrestled an , and became the father of 12 sons. The descendants of these sons became the 12 tribes of Israel.

The Who’s Who of the Pentateuch

Rachel: Jacob loved . He loved her so much that seven years of hard work to win her hand in marriage were like nothing to him. Unfortunately, he accidentally married her sister instead. He had to work seven more years to marry her.

Leah: Poor ! She was married to Jacob because she was the eldest daughter and it was against the customs to let the younger be married before the older. She wasn’t loved like Rachel, but the Lord sent her many children to help ease her grief.

(Zilpah and Bilhah were Leah and Rachel’s maidservants. Like Hagar, they bore children for their mistresses)

Leah’s Sons: Zilpah’s Sons: Rachel’s Sons: Bilhah’s Sons: Reuben Dan Asher Naphtali Judah Issachar Zebulun

Laban: was Leah and Rachel’s father. He tricked Jacob into marrying his older daughter Leah. This allowed Laban to get seven more years of work out of Jacob.

The Who’s Who of the Pentateuch

Moses and the others (8 people)

Moses: Moses is very likely the most important and epic character in the entire Old Testament. He is said to have talked to God face to face as one friend talks to another. He is called the most humble man who ever lived. He delivered God’s people from , established the covenant with God at Sinai, and led the through the desert for 40 years.

Aaron: is Moses’ brother. He became the first high .

Miriam: is Moses’ sister and sang a song of praise after the Israelites crossed the Red Sea.

Joshua: was one of the two faithful spies who scouted out the Promised Land. He becomes Moses’ successor and leads the Israelites to conquer the Promised Land.

Caleb: is the other faithful spy. The other ten spies did not trust God and led the people to turn away from Him. Caleb was rewarded for his faithfulness and earned a great inheritance in the Promised Land.

Balaam: Balaam was hired by a king to curse the Israelites in the wilderness. Try as he might, God turned his curses into blessings and Balaam prophesied the coming of a . A famous scene from Balaam’s life involves his donkey speaking to him when the angel blocked their path.

Jethro: Jethro is Moses’ father in law. He gives Moses good advice about running a government.

Zipporah: is Moses’ wife and the daughter of Jethro. She was a midianite and saved Moses’ life when he had disobeyed God.