Old Testament: Leaders & Judges

Caleb

Name meaning: "Dog" or "whole-hearted"
Approximately 35 references

One of the twelve spies sent into Canaan, Caleb — along with Joshua — gave a faithful report when ten others counseled retreat. For that loyalty, he alone of his generation was granted entry into the Promised Land. At 85, he asked for and conquered the hill country of Hebron.

Key references: 1 Chronicles 2:18, 1 Chronicles 2:19, 1 Chronicles 2:42, 1 Chronicles 2:46, 1 Chronicles 2:48, 1 Chronicles 2:49, 1 Chronicles 2:50, 1 Chronicles 4:15, 1 Chronicles 6:41, 1 Samuel 30:14 (and 25 more)

Deborah

Name meaning: "Bee"
Approximately 10 references

Prophetess and judge of Israel, Deborah led alongside the general Barak to defeat the Canaanite commander Sisera. Her victory song in Judges 5 is one of the oldest poems in the Bible.

Key references: Genesis 35:8, Judges 4:4, Judges 4:5, Judges 4:9, Judges 4:10, Judges 4:14, Judges 5:1, Judges 5:7, Judges 5:12, Judges 5:15

Eliakim

Name meaning: "God raises up"
Approximately 15 references

Two distinct figures bear this name. The first, Eliakim son of Hilkiah, served as steward of Hezekiah's royal household and represented the king in negotiations with the Assyrian Rabshakeh during the siege of Jerusalem. Isaiah's prophecy granting him authority over the house of David uses imagery later echoed in Revelation 3:7. The second, Eliakim son of Josiah, was a king of Judah renamed Jehoiakim by Pharaoh Neco, and appears in the genealogy of Jesus. The reference count includes all bearers.

Key references: 2 Chronicles 36:4, 2 Kings 18:18, 2 Kings 18:26, 2 Kings 18:37, 2 Kings 19:2, 2 Kings 23:34, Isaiah 22:20, Isaiah 36:3, Isaiah 36:11, Isaiah 36:22 (and 4 more)

Gideon

Also known as: Jerubbaal
Name meaning: "Hewer" or "great warrior"
Approximately 39 references

Judge who defeated the Midianites with just 300 men, demonstrating that victory belongs to God rather than human strength. He tested God with a fleece before the battle, and earned the name Jerubbaal — "let Baal contend" — after destroying his father's altar to the false god.

Key references: Judges 6:11, Judges 6:13, Judges 6:19, Judges 6:22, Judges 6:24, Judges 6:27, Judges 6:29, Judges 6:34, Judges 6:36, Judges 6:39 (and 27 more)

Joshua

Name meaning: "The LORD saves"
Approximately 218 references

Moses' successor who led Israel into the Promised Land. Originally named Hoshea, he was renamed Joshua by Moses before the spy mission into Canaan — one of only two spies, with Caleb, who trusted God's promise when the others despaired. He oversaw the conquest of the land, the division of territory among the tribes, and a solemn covenant renewal at Shechem. His name is the Hebrew equivalent of Jesus.

Key references: 1 Chronicles 7:27, 1 Kings 16:34, 1 Samuel 6:14, 1 Samuel 6:18, 2 Kings 23:8, Deuteronomy 1:38, Deuteronomy 3:21, Deuteronomy 3:28, Deuteronomy 31:3, Deuteronomy 31:7 (and 189 more)

Moses

Name meaning: "Drawn out" (of water)
Approximately 846 references

Prophet, lawgiver, and deliverer of Israel from Egyptian slavery. He received the Law at Sinai, led Israel through forty years in the wilderness, and authored the Pentateuch according to tradition. God spoke with him face to face. He died on Mount Nebo within sight of the Promised Land, barred from entering because he had struck the rock at Meribah in a moment of faithless disobedience.

Key references: 1 Chronicles 5:29, 1 Chronicles 6:34, 1 Chronicles 15:15, 1 Chronicles 21:29, 1 Chronicles 22:13, 1 Chronicles 23:13, 1 Chronicles 23:14, 1 Chronicles 23:15, 1 Chronicles 26:24, 1 Kings 2:3 (and 773 more)

Nehemiah

Name meaning: "YHWH comforts"
Approximately 8 references

Cupbearer to the Persian king Artaxerxes, Nehemiah was appointed governor of Judah around 445 BC. He rebuilt Jerusalem's walls in just 52 days against fierce opposition, then instituted social and religious reforms alongside Ezra. His book is marked by brief, heartfelt prayers scattered throughout — the signature of a man who governed by constant recourse to God.

Key references: Ezra 2:2, Nehemiah 1:1, Nehemiah 3:16, Nehemiah 7:7, Nehemiah 8:9, Nehemiah 10:2, Nehemiah 12:26, Nehemiah 12:47

Samson

Name meaning: "Man of the sun"
Approximately 38 references

A Nazirite judge empowered by the Spirit of God with great physical strength. His exploits against the Philistines were numerous, but his weakness for Philistine women proved his undoing. Delilah, bribed by Philistine lords, extracted the secret of his power — his uncut Nazirite hair. Blind and captive, he died pulling down the pillars of a Philistine temple, killing more in his death than in his life.

Key references: Judges 13:24, Judges 14:1, Judges 14:3, Judges 14:5, Judges 14:7, Judges 14:10, Judges 14:12, Judges 14:15, Judges 14:16, Judges 14:20 (and 27 more)

Zerubbabel

Name meaning: "Seed of Babylon"
Approximately 24 references

Governor of Judah who led the first wave of exiles back from Babylon around 538 BC and oversaw the rebuilding of the Temple. The prophets Haggai and Zechariah directed their encouragement to him specifically, and he appears in the genealogy of Jesus.

Key references: 1 Chronicles 3:19, Ezra 2:2, Ezra 3:2, Ezra 3:8, Ezra 4:2, Ezra 4:3, Haggai 1:1, Haggai 1:12, Haggai 1:14, Haggai 2:2 (and 13 more)

9 entries. Reference counts are approximate, based on morphological analysis of the Westminster Leningrad Codex (Hebrew) and Open Greek New Testament.