Studying the characters of the Bible is a great way to learn about God's character and His ways of dealing with us. The following are lists of selected biographical resources covering Old and New Testament Bible personalities. Only collections are listed, not individual character studies. To explore an individual person, enter a subject search in the library catalog under the character's Biblical name. For example, "Esther."
This material is divided by location and topic area then alphabetically, by author or title. For more listings, consult the library catalog under the subjects: "Bible--Biography." "Bible. O.T.--Biography," "Apostles," and "Women in the Bible."
GENERAL REFERENCE
ALL THE MEN OF THE BIBLE; A PORTRAIT GALLERY AND REFERENCE LIBRARY OF
MORE THAN 3,000 BIBLICAL CHARACTERS by Herbert Lockyer. Grand Rapids,
MI: Zondervan Publishing House, 1958. 381p. Ref BS 570 .L6
CYCLOPEDIA OF BIBLICAL, THEOLOGICAL, AND ECCLESIASTICAL LITERATURE by
John McClintock and James Strong, eds. Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Book House,
1981, c1867-1887. 12 vols. Ref BR 95 .M35
A DICTIONARY OF CHRIST AND THE GOSPELS by James Hastings, ed. New York:
Charles Scribner's Sons, 1906. 2 Vols. Ref BS 440 .H3
A DICTIONARY OF THE BIBLE by James Hastings, ed. New York: Charles Scribner's
Sons, 1923. 4 Vols. plus extra vol. with indexes. Ref BS 440 .H5 1923
ENCYCLOPAEDIA JUDAICA. Jerusalem: Encyclopaedia Judaica (Keter Publishing
House), 1972. 16 vols. plus yearbooks. Ref DS 102 .8 .E496 1972
THE ENCYCLOPEDIA OF RELIGION by Mircea Eliade, ed. New York: MacMillan
Publishing Co., 1987. 15 vols. Ref BL 31 .E46 1987
EVERYONE IN THE BIBLE by William Pierson Barker. Westwood, NJ: F.H. Revell Co.,
1966. 370 p. Ref BS 570 .B3 plus Gen. Coll.Copy
THE HANDBOOK OF BIBLICAL PERSONALITIES by George M. Alexander. Greenwhich,
CT: Seabury Press, 1962. 299 p. Ref BS 570 .A55
THE ILLUSTRATED BIBLE DICTIONARY by J.D. Douglas. Wheaton, IL: Tyndale House
Publishers, 1980. 3 vols. Ref BS 440 .1441980x
THE INTERNATIONAL STANDARD BIBLE ENCYCLOPEDIA by Geoffrey W. Bromiley, ed.
Grand Rapids, MI: William B. Eerdmans, 1979. 4 Vols. Ref BS 440 .I6 1979
NEW CATHOLIC ENCYCLOPEDIA. New York: McGraw-Hill Book Co., 1967. 17 vols.
Ref BX 841 .W44 1967
THE NEW SCHAFF-HERZOG ENCYCLOPEDIA OF RELIGIOUS KNOWLEDGE by Samuel
Macauley Jackson, ed. New York: Funk and Wagnalls Co., 1908. 13 Vols.
Ref BR 95 .S43
REVELL'S DICTIONARY OF BIBLE PEOPLE by John Stafford Wright. Old Tappan, NJ:
F.H. Revell Co., 1978. 239p. Ref BS 570 .W74 1978b
WHO'S WHO IN THE BIBLE by Richard Goggins. Totowa, NJ: Barnes & Noble Books,
1981. 232 p. Ref BS 570 .W45 1981
WOMEN IN SCRIPTURE: A DICTIONARY OF NAMED AND UNNAMED WOMEN IN THE
HEBREW BIBLE, THE APOCRYPHAL/DEUTERONCANONICAL BOOKS, AND THE NEW
TESTAMENT. Boston: Houghton-Mifflin, 2000. Ref BS 575 .W593 2000
WYCLIFFE BIBLE ENCYCLOPEDIA by Charles F. Pfeiffer, Howard F. Vos, and John
Rea, eds. Chicago: Moody Press, 1975. 2 vols. Ref BS 440 .W92
ZONDERVAN PICTORIAL ENCYCLOPEDIA OF THE BIBLE by Merrill C. Tenney, ed.
Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House, 1976. 5 vols.
Ref BS 440 .Z63
ENTIRE BIBLE
Barker, William Pierson. SAINTS AND SWINGERS; THE UNDER-THIRTIES IN THE BIBLE.
Old Tappan, NJ: F.H. Revell Co., 1971. 160 p. BS 571 .B34
Black, James. AN APOLOGY FOR ROGUES. London: Hodder and Stoughton, 1929.
295 p. BS 571 .B55
Buechner, Frederick. PECULIAR TREASURES: A BIBLICAL WHO'S WHO. San Francisco:
Harper & Row, 1979. 181 p. BS 571 .B84 1979
Clarke, George Arthur. DECISION AND DESTINY. Philadelphia: The Blakiston Co.,
1943. 143 p. BS 571 .C49
Note: These are sermons built around eighteen Bible characters.
Dean, Edith. ALL THE BIBLE'S MEN OF HOPE. Garden City, NY: Doubleday, 1974.
310 p. BS 571 .D4
Falwell, Jerry. CHAMPIONS OF GOD. Wheaton, IL: Victor Books, 1985. 132 p.
BS 571 .F35 1985
Gangel, Kenneth O. LESSONS IN LEADERSHIP FROM THE BIBLE. Winona Lake, IN:
BMH Books, 1980. 156 p. BV 652.1 .G362x
GREAT PEOPLE OF THE BIBLE AND HOW THEY LIVED. Pleasantville, NY: Reader's
Digest, 1979. 432 p. OVERSIZE BS 571 .G73 1979
Harrington, Wilford J. A CLOUD OF WITNESSES: CREATIVE PEOPLE OF THE BIBLE.
Wilmington, DE: M. Glazier, 1988. 185 p. BS 571 .H24 1989
Hastings, James, ed. THE GREATER MEN AND WOMEN OF THE BIBLE. Edinburgh: T. &
T. Clark, 1913-1916. 6 vols. BS 570 .H3 1913
Havner, Vance, MOMENTS OF DECISION: GUIDELINES FOR THE MOST IMPORTANT
CHOICES OF YOUR LIFE. Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Book House, 1979. 127 p.
BV 4501.2 .H3683 1985
Lockyer, Herburt. ALL THE KINGS AND QUEENS OF THE BIBLE; TRAGEDIES AND
TRIUMPHS OF ROYALTY IN PAST AGES. Grand Rapids, MI; Zondervan Pub.
House, 1961. 253 p. BS 579 .K5 L6
Moody, Dwight Lyman. MOODY'S BIBLE CHARACTERS COME ALIVE: WITH MANY
DRAMATIC EPISODES. Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Books, 1997. 282 p.
BS 571 .M66 1997
Mosley, Ernest E. LEADERSHIP PROFILES FROM BIBLE PERSONALITIES. Nashville, TN:
Broadman Press, 1979. 130 p. BV 652.1 .L4
Sanders, J. Oswald. JUST LIKE US: 21 CHARACTER STUDIES FROM THE BIBLE.
Chicago: Moody Press, 1978. 204 p. BS 571 .S233 1985
Sanders, J. Oswald. ROBUST IN FAITH: MEN FROM GOD'S SCHOOL. Chicago: Moody
Press, 1965. 219 p. BS 571 .S23
Stevenson, Herbert F. A GALAXY OF SAINTS: LESSER KNOWN BIBLE MEN AND
WOMEN. Westwood, NJ: Revell, 1958. 158 p. BS 571 .S83
OLD TESTAMENT
Bellis, Alice Ogden. HELPMATES, HARLOTS, AND HEROES: WOMEN'S STORIES IN
THE HEBREW BIBLE. Louisville, KY: Westminster/John Knox Press, 1994.
281 p. BS 575 .B45 1994
Blaikie, William Garden. HEROES OF ISRAEL. Minneapolis, MN: KLock & Klock Christian
Publishers, 1981. 480 p. BS 580 .A3 B6 1981x
Cumming, John. THE LIVES AND LESSONS OF THE PATRIARCHS, UNFOLDED AND
ILLUSTRATED. London: Shaw, 1865. 616 p. BS 573 .C85x
Fuchs, Lucy. WOMEN OF DESTINY: WOMEN IN THE OLD TESTAMENT. New York:
Alba House, 2000. BS 575 .F83 2000
Ide, Arthur Frederick. BATTERED & BRUISED: ALL THE WOMEN OF THE OLD
TESTAMENT. Las Colinas, [TX]: Monument Press, 1993. 460 p.
BS 575 .I34 1993
Jeansonne, Sharon Pace. THE WOMEN OF GENESIS: FROM SARAH TO POTIPHAR'S
WIFE. Minneapolis, MN: Fortress Press, 1990. 152 p.
BS 1235.6 .W7 J43 1990
Nowell, Irene. WOMEN IN THE OLD TESTAMENT. Collegeville, MN: Liturgical Press,
1997. 208 p. BS 575 .N64 1997
Polich, Laurie. CREATIVE LESSONS FROM THE OLD TESTAMENT: 12 CHARACTER
STUDIES ON SURPRISINGLY MODERN MEN & WOMEN. Grand Rapids: Youth
Specialties/Zondervan, 1998. BS 571 .P65 1998
Robinson, George L. LEADERS OF ISRAEL; A BRIEF HISTORY OF THE HEBREWS FROM
THE EARLIEST TIMES TO THE DOWNFALL OF JERUSALEM, A.D. 70. New York:
Association Press, 1911. 246 p. BS 571 .R45 1911
Rogerson, J. W. CHRONICLE OF THE OLD TESTAMENT KINGS. New York: Thames
and Hudson, 1999. BS 579 .K5 R654 199x
Swindoll, Charles R. OLD TESTAMENT CHARACTERS: BIBLE STUDY GUIDE. Fullerton,
CA: INSIGHT FOR LIVING, 1986. 80 p. BS 571.5 .S94 1986x
THE O.T. PROPHETS
Blunt, A.W.F. THE PROPHETS OF ISRAEL. Oxford: The Clarendon Press. 1929.
126 p. BS 1505 .B64
Caiger, Stephen Langrish. LIVES OF THE PROPHETS; THE LATER HISTORY OF ISRAEL
TOLD IN A SERIES OF BIOGRAPHIES OF THE WRITING PROPHETS. New York:
Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge, 1936. 307 p. BS 1505 .C35
Church, Brooke Peters. THE PRIVATE LIVES OF THE PROPHETS AND THE TIMES IN
WHICH THEY LIVED. New York: Rinehart, 1953. 246 p. BS 1505 .C56
Cook, Henry. THE PROPHETS OF THE BIBLE; THE CANONICAL PROPHETS, WHO THEY
WERE AND WHAT THEY SAID. London: Student Christian Movement Press,
1935. 214 p. BS 1505 .L58
Duncan, George B. A PREACHER AMONG THE PROPHETS. Spartanburg, SC: Norm
Burleson Books, 1984. 176 p. BS 1505.4 D85 1984
Grabbe, Lester L. PRIESTS, PROPHETS, DIVINERS, SAGES: A SOCIO-HISTORICAL
STUDY OF RELIGIOUS SPECIALISTS IN ANCIENT ISRAEL. Valley Forge, PA:
Trinity Press, 1995. 261 p. BS 1199 .K5 G73 1995
Hamilton, Edith. SPOKESMEN FOR GOD: THE GREAT TEACHERS OF THE OLD
TESTAMENT New York: W.W. Norton, 1962. 259 p. BS 1505 .H242
Heaton, E.W. THE OLD TESTAMENT PROPHETS. London: Darton, Longman and Todd,
1977. 178 p. BS 1198 .H4 1977b
Heaton, E.W. HIS SERVANTS THE PROPHETS. London: SCM Press, 1949. 128 p.
BS 1505 .H42x
Heschel, Abraham Joshua. THE PROPHETS. New York: Harper & Row, 1969-1975.
2 vols. BS 1505.2 .H4
Kock, Klaus. THE PROPHETS. Philadelphia: Fortress Press, 1983. (no page
numbering) BS 1198 .K6313 1983
Kraeling, Emil. THE PROPHETS. Chicago: Rand McNally, 1969. 304 p.
BS 1198 .K7
Petersen, David L. THE ROLES OF ISRAEL'S PROPHETS. Sheffield, England: JSOT
Press, 1981. 131 p. BS 1505 .2 .P48x
Robinson, George L. THE TWELVE MINOR PROPHETS. Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Book
House, 1952. 203 p. BS 1560 .R6
Smith, W. Robertson. THE PROPHETS OF ISRAEL AND THEIR PLACE IN HISTORY TO
THE CLOSE OF THE EIGHTH CENTURY. Edinburgh: A. and C. Black, 1882.
444 p. BS 1505 .S6 1882
Vawter, Bruce. THE CONSCIENCE OF ISRAEL; PRE-EXILIC PROPHETS AND PROPHECY.
London: Sheed and Ward, 1973. 308 p. BS 1505.2 .V35 1973
Ward, James Merrill. THE PROPHETS. Nashville, TN: Abingdon, 1982. 159 p.
BS 1505.2 .W37 1982
Williams, Walter G. THE PROPHETS: PIONEERS TO CHRISTIANITY. New York:
Abingdon, 1956. 223 p. BS 1505 .W57
Wood, Leon James. THE PROPHETS OF ISRAEL. Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Book House,
1979. 405 p. BS 198 .W66
Young, Edward J. MY SERVANTS THE PROPHETS. Grand Rapids, MI: W.B. Eerdmans,
1952. 231 p. BS 1198 .Y6
NEW TESTAMENT
Brown, Jeannine K. THE DISCIPLES IN NARRATIVE PERSPECTIVE: THE PORTRAYAL
AND FUNCTION OF THE MATTHEAN DISCIPLES. Atlanta: Society of Biblical
Literature, 2002. BS 2440 .B672 2002
Conway, Colleen M. MEN AND WOMEN IN THE FOURTH GOSPEL: GENDER AND
JOHANNINE CHARACTERIZATION. Atlanta: Society of Biblical Literature, 1999.
BS 2615.6 .M39 C66 1999
Malbon, Elizabeth Struthers. IN THE COMPANY OF JESUS: CHARACTERS IN MARK'S
GOSPEL. Louisville, KY: Westminster John Knox Press, 2000.
BS 2585.6 W65 M35 2000
THE APOSTLES
Barclay, William. THE MASTER'S MEN. Naperville, IL: SCM Book Club, 1959. 125 p.
BS 2440 .B33
Guthrie, Donald. THE APOSTLES. London: Pickering & Inglis, 1975. 422 p.
BS 2618 G87 1975
Hollett, Harry. THE CHOSEN TWELVE PLUS ONE. Portland, OR: Multnomah Press,
1980. 111 p. OVERSIZE TR 680 .H64
Jackson, Myrtle Strode. LIVES AND LEGENDS OF APOSTLES AND EVANGELISTS.
London: Religious Tract Society, 1928. 203 p. BS 2440 .J3
Jones, J.D. THE APOSTLES OF CHRIST. Minneapolis, MN: Klock & Klock, 1982.
260 p. BS 2431 .J66 1982x
Lockyer, Herbert. ALL THE APOSTLES OF THE BIBLE; STUDIES IN THE CHARACTERS
OF THE APOSTLES, THE MEN JESUS CHOSE, AND THE MESSAGE THEY
ROCLAIMED. Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House, 1972. 278 p.
BS 2440 .L6
Melbourne, Bertram L. SLOW TO UNDERSTAND: THE DISCIPLES IN SYNOPTIC
PERSPECTIVE. Lanham, MD: University Press of America, 1988. 206 p.
BS 2440 .M45 1988
Milman, Henry Hart. THE CHARACTER AND CONDUCT OF THE APOSTLES CONSIDERED
AS AN EVIDENCE OF CHRISTIANITY. Oxford: The University Press for the
author, 1827. 363 p. BR 45 .B3 1827
Oursler, Fulton. THE GREATEST FAITH EVER KNOWN; THE STORY OF THE MEN WHO
FIRST SPREAD THE RELIGION OF JESUS AND OF THE MOMENTOUS TIMES IN
WHICH THEY LIVED. Garden City, NJ: Doubleday, 1953. 383 p. BS 2618 .08
Thomas, W.H. Griffeth. THE APOSTLE JOHN, HIS LIFE AND WRITINGS. Grand Rapids,
MI: Kregel Publishing, 1984. 376 p. BS 2455 .T5 1984
Thomas, W.H. Griffeth. THE APOSTLE PETER; HIS LIFE AND WRITINGS. Grand Rapids,
MI: Kregel Publications, 1984. 304 p. BS 2515 .T47 1984
Thiede, Carsten P. SIMON PETER: FROM GALILEE TO ROME. Grand Rapids, MI:
Academic Books, 1988. 272 p. BS 2515 .T42 1988
Underwood, Walter L. THE CONTEMPORARY TWELVE: THE POWER OF CHARACTER IN
TODAY'S WORLD. Nashville, TN: Abingdon Press, 1984. 126 p.
BS 2440 .U53 1984
Vigeveno, H.S. 13 MEN WHO CHANGED THE WORLD. Ventura, CA: Regal Books, 1986.
154 p. BS 2440 .V46 1986
WOMEN OF THE BIBLE
Ashcroft, Mary Ellen. SPIRITED WOMEN: ENCOUNTERING THE FIRST WOMEN
BELIEVERS. Minneapolis: Augsburg, 2000. BR 195 .W6 A74 2000
Ashton, S.G. THE MOTHERS OF THE BIBLE, WITH AN INTRODUCTORY ESSAY BY REV.
A.L. STONE. New York: W.H. Appleton, 1866. 335 p. BS 575 .A8
Bauckham, Richard. GOSPEL WOMEN: STUDIES OF THE NAMED WOMEN IN THE
GOSPELS. Grand Rapids: W. B. Eerdmans, 2002. BS 2445 .B38 2002
Bellis, Alice Ogden. HELPMATES, HARLOTS, AND HEROES: WOMEN'S STORIES IN
THE HEBREW BIBLE. Louisville, KY: Westminster/John Knox Press, 1994.
281 p. BS 575 .B45 1994
Berquist, Jon L. RECLAIMING HER STORY: THE WITNESS OF WOMEN IN THE OLD
TESTAMENT. St. Louis, MO: Chalice Press, 1992. 186 p. BS 575 .B47 1992
Brenner, Athalya. THE ISRAELITE WOMEN: SOCIAL ROLE AND LITERARY TYPE IN
BIBLICAL NARRATIVE. Sheffield, Eng.: JSOT. 1985 144 p.
BS 680 .W7B73 1985x
Carlisle, Thomas John. EVE AND AFTER: OLD TESTAMENT WOMEN IN PORTRAIT.
Grand Rapids, MI: Wm. B. Eerdmans, 1984. 139 p. PS 3553 .A73 E8 1984
Caspi, Mishael. STILL WATERS RUN DEEP: FIVE WOMEN OF THE BIBLE SPEAK.
Lanham, MD: University Press of America, 1999. BS 575 .C37 1999
Darr, Katheryn Pfisterer. FAR MORE PRECIOUS THAN JEWELS: PERSPECTIVES ON
BILBICAL WOMEN. Louisville, KY: Westminster/John Knox Press, 1991. 223 p.
BS 575 .D33 1991
Dean,Edith. ALL THE WOMEN OF THE BIBLE. New York: Harper, 1955. 321 p.
BS 575 .D4
Field, Faye. WOMEN WHO ENCOUNTERED JESUS. Nashville, TN: Broadman Press,
1982. 128 p. BS 2445 .F53 1982
Frymer-Kensky, Tikva Simone. READING THE WOMEN OF THE BIBLE. New York:
Schocken Books, 2002. BS 575 .F78 2002
Fuchs, Lucy. WOMEN OF DESTINY: WOMEN IN THE OLD TESTAMENT. New York:
Alba House, 2000. BS 575 .F83 2000
Gartner, Rosanne. MEET BATHSHEBA: DRAMATIC PORTRAITS OF BIBLICAL WOMEN.
Valley Forge, PA: Judson Press, 2000. BS 575 .G37 2000
Getty-Sullivan, Mary Ann. WOMEN IN THE NEW TESTAMENT. Collegeville, MN:
Liturgical Press, 2001. BS 2445 .G48 2001
Gill, LaVerne McCain. DAUGHTERS OF DIGNITY: AFRICAN WOMEN IN THE BIBLE AND
THE VIRTUES OF BLACK WOMANHOOD. Cleveland, OH: Pilgrim Press, 2000.
BS 680 .V56 2000
Huwiler, Elizabeth. BIBLICAL WOMEN: MIRRORS, MODELS, AND METAPHORS.
Cleveland, OH: United Church Press, 1993. 158 p. BS 575 .H89 1993
Ide, Arthur Frederick. BATTERED & BRUISED: ALL THE WOMEN OF THE OLD
TESTAMENT. Las Colinas, [TX]: Monument Press, 1993. 460 p.
BS 575 .I34 1993
Jacobs, Joy. THEY WERE WOMEN LIKE ME: WOMEN OF THE NEW TESTAMENT IN
DEVOTIONS FOR TODAY. Camp Hill, PA: Christian Publications, 1985. 214 p.
BV 4811 .J27 1985
Jeansonne, Sharon Pace. THE WOMEN OF GENESIS: FROM SARAH TO POTIPHAR'S
WIFE. Minneapolis: Fortress Press, 1990. 152 p. BS 1235.6 .W7 J43
Kuyper, Abraham. WOMEN OF THE OLD TESTAMENT. Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan,
1961. 176 p. BS 575 .K855 1961x
Lockyer, Herbert. ALL THE WOMEN OF THE BIBLE: THE LIFE AND TIMES OF ALL THE
WOMEN OF THE BIBLE. Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House, 1967.
321 p. Ref BS 575 .L56 1967b
Lord, F. Townley. GREAT WOMEN OF THE BIBLE. New York: Harper & Brothers, 1939?
207 p. BS 575 .L6 1939x
Mackay, W. Mackintosh. BIBLE TYPES OF MODERN WOMEN. New York: Doran, 1920?
328 p. BS 575 .M3 1920x
Moltmann-Wendel, Elisabeth. THE WOMEN AROUND JESUS. New York: Crossroad,
1982. 148 p. BS 2445 .M5813x
Nowell, Irene. WOMEN IN THE OLD TESTAMENT. Collegeville, MN: Liturgical Press,
1997. 208 p. BS 575 .N64 1997
Pearson, Helen Bruch. DO WHAT YOU HAVE THE POWER TO DO: STUDIES OF SIX
NEW TESTAMENT WOMEN. Nashville, TN: Upper Room Books, 1992. 168 p.
BS 575 .P37 1992
Reid, Barbara E. CHOOSING THE BETTER PART?: WOMEN IN THE GOSPEL OF LUKE.
Collegeville, MN: Liturgical Press, 1996. 245 p. BS 2595.6 .W65 R45 1996
Roddy, Lee. INTIMATE PORTRAITS OF WOMEN IN THE BIBLE. Chappaqua, NY:
Christian Herald Books, 1980. 268 p. BS 575 .R63 1980
Spencer, Aida B. BEYOND THE CURSE: WOMEN CALLED TO MINISTRY. Nashville: T.
Nelson, 1985. 223 p. BS 680 .W7 S64 1985
Thurston, Bonnie Bowman. WOMEN IN THE NEW TESTAMENT: QUESTIONS AND
COMMENTARY. New York: Crossroad Publishers, 1998.
BS 2545 .W65 T48 1998
TRANSFORMATIVE ENCOUNTERS: JESUS AND WOMEN RE-VIEWED. Leiden: Brill,
2000. BT 590 .W6 T73 2000
Witherington, Ben. WOMEN IN THE EARLIEST CHURCHES. Cambridge: Cambridge
University Press, 1988. 300 p. BR 195 .W6 W58 1988
Wold, Marge. WOMEN OF FAITH AND SPIRIT: PROFILES OF FIFTEEN BIBLICAL
WITNESSES. Minneapolis, MN: Augsburg Publishing House, 1987. 143 p.
BS 575 .W59 1987
RJS 2009