KEY PLAYERS
The Family of Jesus
Joseph: Husband of Mary.
Mary: Mother of Jesus.
Jesus
Jesus’s Original Disciples
Matthew: A tax collector.
Simon (whom Jesus renamed Peter): A fisherman and one of Jesus’s inner circle; very active in preaching to the Jews after Jesus’s death.
Andrew: Brother of Simon, a disciple of John the Baptist and then of Jesus; also a fisherman.
Judas Iscariot: The only disciple from Judea; betrayed Jesus for thirty pieces of silver.
Philip: A fisherman; preached in Samaria after Jesus’s death.
Bartholomew (or Nathanael): Watched and listened to Jesus before finally becoming a disciple.
Thomas: Sometimes called Doubting Thomas because he questioned Jesus’s divinity.
Jude (or Thaddeus): Brother of James the Younger.
John the Beloved: Brother of James the Elder; thought to be the closest to Jesus; lived to an old age.
Simon the Zealot: From Cana; thought to be a Zealot, a member of an extreme nationalistic group that hated Roman law.
James the Elder: Brother of John; one of Jesus’s inner circle.
James the Younger: Brother of Jude.
Patriarchs of the Jewish People
Abraham: According to Jewish tradition, the first to believe in one God.
Daniel: A Jewish captive in Babylon who interpreted dreams and made prophecies.
David: Second king of the Israelites, poet, and ancestor of Jesus.
Elijah: Prophet who foretold the coming of a Messiah.
Isaac: The son Abraham was willing to sacrifice to prove his faith.
Jacob: One of Isaac’s sons; believed to be the father of the Jewish people whose twelve sons founded the twelve tribes of Israel.
Jeremiah: A prophet who warned of, and witnessed, the destruction of Jerusalem and the First Temple.
Moses: The prophet who received the Ten Commandments from God and led the Jews out of Egypt.
Samson: A man of amazing strength who saved the Jews from the Philistines.
Solomon: Son of David; third king of the Israelites and builder of the First Temple.
Roman Rulers and Administrators During Jesus’s Lifetime
Augustus Caesar: Emperor from 27 BC to AD 14.
Tiberius: Succeeded Augustus as emperor and ruled from AD 14 to 37.
Pontius Pilate: Roman prefect, or governor, of Judea from AD 26 to 36.
Herod the Great: Reigned as king of the province of Judea from 37 to 4 BC; rebuilt and renovated the Second Temple in Jerusalem.
Herod Antipas: One of Herod the Great’s sons; a tetrarch, or administrator, of Galilee from 4 BC to AD 39.
Others
Anna: Pilgrim at the temple who bore witness to the divinity of Jesus.
Barabbas: Convicted thief who was freed as the people’s choice over Jesus.
John the Baptist: Preacher who foretold the coming of the Messiah; baptized Jesus.
Judas of Gamala: Jewish revolutionary crucified in the early first century.
Lazarus: Resident of Bethany who hosted Jesus and the disciples during their last Passover together.
Mary and Martha: Sisters of Lazarus.
Mary of Magdala: A devotee of Jesus; witnessed his death and anointed his body.
Simeon: Pilgrim in the temple who declared Jesus to be the Son of God.