Tanakh Profiles - An Encyclopedia of Biblical Personalities
Source: Tanakh Profiles
Tanakh Profiles - An Encyclopedia of Biblical Personalities is an alphabetical listing of every individual mentioned in Tanakh. Its focus is the literal presentation of the stories and lives of the many people who populate the Bible. Entries contain three pieces of information. 1. The individual's name; 2. Locations where the person appears in Tanakh 3. A summary of the personality's life as recorded in the text. For many individuals mentioned in the Torah I have also included the Torah reading portions (parshot) in which they feature. Lengthy entries in Neviim or Ketubim contain a separate detail: when a career spans many chapters, I have noted the chapter numbers in which events occur. All entry titles are vocalized (are written with vowels), and the occasional name (of a person or a place), or term within the entry itself is also vocalized. Although this work is mainly concerned with the Peshat of the Bible (the literal meaning of the text), I do occasionally cite Derash in the form of Rabbinic interpretations. The sources for these references are given as well.
There are three ways to find Tanakh personalities on this website:
- Click on the term "Alphabetic Index" to see the first 30 entries in alphabetical order.
- Clicking the "Search" option provides you with two ways to locate a particular individual. Here you can type the name of a person you want to find and you will be directed to said person. Note that if you enter only a first name without patronymic, you will be given a list of people with that first name. It is not necessary to include vowels in your search. Searches will work in Hebrew only. A pop-up Hebrew keyboard is provided for users without the ability to type in Hebrew.
- At any place on the website, clicking on an individual's name which is highlighted with a link, will send you to that person.
This work is copyrighted. It may however, be reproduced in part or in full for personal or educational purposes. Teachers, rabbis or other educators may print this website’s material in its entirety, but must distribute it with these introductory notes.
Tanakh Profiles was written by Rabbi Jonathan Mishkin. Rabbi Mishkin is a writer and a teacher who has been active in Jewish education for close to twenty years. He lives in Alon Shvut, Israel, with his wife Shulie and their four kids.