Old Testament: Other Figures

Absalom

Name meaning: "Father of peace"
Approximately 111 references

Third son of David, Absalom was handsome, charismatic, and consumed by ambition. He systematically won the people's hearts before launching a rebellion that drove his father from Jerusalem. When Joab found him hanging by his hair from an oak tree, he killed him in defiance of David's explicit orders. The lament that followed — "O my son Absalom, my son, my son!" — remains one of Scripture's rawest expressions of grief.

Key references: 1 Chronicles 3:2, 1 Kings 1:6, 1 Kings 2:7, 1 Kings 2:28, 1 Kings 15:2, 1 Kings 15:10, 2 Chronicles 11:20, 2 Chronicles 11:21, 2 Samuel 3:3, 2 Samuel 13:1 (and 82 more)

Baal

Name meaning: "Lord" or "master"
Approximately 76 references

Baal is not a personal name but a title — "lord" or "master" — applied to the chief Canaanite storm deity and the enduring rival to YHWH throughout Israel's history. His cult involved fertility rites, sacred prostitution, and sometimes child sacrifice. The god had many local manifestations, each tied to a specific region or function (Baal-Peor, Baal-Zebub). Elijah's confrontation with the prophets of Baal on Mount Carmel was a direct contest between these two claims on Israel's allegiance.

Key references: 1 Kings 16:31, 1 Kings 16:32, 1 Kings 18:18, 1 Kings 18:19, 1 Kings 18:21, 1 Kings 18:22, 1 Kings 18:25, 1 Kings 18:26, 1 Kings 18:40, 1 Kings 19:18 (and 54 more)

Goliath

Name meaning: "Exile" or uncertain
Approximately 6 references

A Philistine giant from Gath, standing over nine feet tall, Goliath challenged Israel's army to single combat for forty days without a single taker. When the young shepherd David stepped forward and dropped him with a stone from a sling — invoking the name of the LORD rather than sword or spear — the Philistine army broke and David's rise to prominence began.

Key references: 1 Chronicles 20:5, 1 Samuel 17:4, 1 Samuel 17:23, 1 Samuel 21:10, 1 Samuel 22:10, 2 Samuel 21:19

Joab

Name meaning: "YHWH is father"
Approximately 145 references

David's nephew and commander of his armies, Joab was a ruthlessly effective general and a dangerous presence in David's court. He killed both Abner and Absalom in defiance of David's explicit wishes, each time acting from his own ruthless judgment. Loyal through most of David's crises, he ultimately misjudged the succession by backing Adonijah over Solomon. Solomon had him executed at the altar where he had fled for sanctuary.

Key references: 1 Chronicles 2:16, 1 Chronicles 4:14, 1 Chronicles 11:6, 1 Chronicles 11:8, 1 Chronicles 11:20, 1 Chronicles 11:26, 1 Chronicles 11:39, 1 Chronicles 18:15, 1 Chronicles 19:8, 1 Chronicles 19:10 (and 114 more)

Job

Name meaning: "Persecuted" or "where is the father?"
Approximately 58 references

A righteous and prosperous man from the land of Uz, Job suffered the sudden loss of his children, his wealth, and his health as part of a test permitted by God. His story is the Bible's central meditation on innocent suffering and divine sovereignty. Through three cycles of debate with friends who insist that suffering must signal guilt, Job maintains his integrity. When God finally answers him — not with explanation but with an overwhelming display of creative power — Job responds in humility. His fortunes are then restored double.

Key references: Ezekiel 14:14, Ezekiel 14:20, Job 1:1, Job 1:5, Job 1:8, Job 1:9, Job 1:14, Job 1:20, Job 1:22, Job 2:3 (and 42 more)

Jonathan

Name meaning: "YHWH has given"
Approximately 80 references

Saul's eldest son and heir, Jonathan chose loyalty to David over his own claim to the throne — a covenant friendship the Bible describes as surpassing the love of women. He was also a capable warrior, once routing a Philistine garrison with only his armor-bearer beside him. He died alongside his father at Gilboa.

Key references: 1 Chronicles 8:33, 1 Chronicles 8:34, 1 Chronicles 9:39, 1 Chronicles 9:40, 1 Chronicles 20:7, 1 Chronicles 27:25, 1 Chronicles 27:32, 1 Samuel 14:6, 1 Samuel 14:8, 1 Samuel 18:1 (and 63 more)

Korah

Name meaning: "Baldness" or "ice"
Approximately 37 references

A Levite who challenged the exclusive authority of Moses and Aaron, arguing that all the congregation was holy and their leadership therefore illegitimate. The earth opened and swallowed him and his followers whole. What makes Korah's story remarkable in retrospect is what came after: his descendants survived, rose to prominence as Temple musicians, and composed some of well-known psalms — Psalms 42, 44–49, 84–85, and 87–88.

Key references: 1 Chronicles 1:35, 1 Chronicles 2:43, 1 Chronicles 6:7, 1 Chronicles 6:22, 1 Chronicles 9:19, Exodus 6:21, Exodus 6:24, Genesis 36:5, Genesis 36:14, Genesis 36:16 (and 27 more)

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