Biblical Persons (extra-biblical)
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See also
- Biblical archaeology
- Biblical figures
- Chronology of Jesus
- Historicity of the Bible
- List of artifacts significant to the Bible
- List of burial places of Abrahamic figures
- List of people in both the Bible and the Quran
| Name | Title | Date (BCE) | Attestation and notes | Biblical references |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Adrammelech | Prince of Assyria | fl. 681 | Identified as the murderer of his father Sennacherib in the Bible and in an Assyrian letter to Esarhaddon (ABL 1091), where he is called "Arda-Mulissi". | Is. 37:38, 2 Kgs. 19:37† |
| Ahab | King of Israel | c. 874 – c. 853 | Identified in the contemporary Kurkh Monolith inscription of Shalmaneser III which describes the Battle of Qarqar and mentions "2,000 chariots, 10,000 soldiers of Ahab the Israelite" defeated by Shalmaneser, though the actual number of chariots is disputed. | 1 Kgs. 17, 2 Chr. 18 |
| Ahaz | King of Judah | c. 732 – c. 716 | Mentioned in a contemporary Summary Inscription of Tiglath-Pileser III which records that he received tribute from "Jehoahaz of Judah". Also identified in royal bullae belonging to Ahaz himself and his son Hezekiah. | 2 Kgs. 16, Hos. 1:1, Mi. 1:1, Is. 1:1 |
| Ahaziah | King of Judah | c. 842 – c. 841 | The Tel Dan Stele contains an account by a Aram-Damascaus king, Hazael, claiming to have slain "[Ahaz]iahu, son of [... kin]g of the house of David", who reigned c. 850–849 BCE. | 2 Kings 8:26, (2 Kings 9:22–28 |
| Apries | Pharaoh of Egypt | 589–570 | Also known as Hophra; named in numerous contemporary inscriptions including those of the capitals of the columns of his palace. Herodotus speaks of him in Histories II, 161–171. | Jer. 44:30† |
| Artaxerxes I | King of Persia | 465–424 | Widely identified with "Artaxerxes" in the book of Nehemiah. He is also found in the writings of contemporary historian Thucydides. Scholars are divided over whether the king in Ezra's time was the same, or Artaxerxes II. | Neh. 2:1, Neh. 5:14 |
| Ashurbanipal | King of Assyria | 668 – c. 627 | Generally identified with "the great and noble Osnappar", mentioned in the Book of Ezra. His name survives in his own writings, which describe his military campaigns against Elam, Susa and other nations. | Ezr. 4:10† |
| Belshazzar | Coregent of Babylon | c. 553–539 | Mentioned by his father Nabonidus in the Nabonidus Cylinder. According to another Babylonian tablet, Nabonidus "entrusted the kingship to him" when he embarked on a lengthy military campaign. | Dn. 5, Dn. 7:1, Dn. 8:1 |
| Ben-Hadad II (Hadadezer) | King of Aram Damascus | c. 865–842 | Mentioned in the Kurkh Monoliths as one of the kings allegedly defeated by Shalmaneser III of Assyria. | 1 Kings 20, 1 Kings 22, 2 Kings 8:7 |
| Ben-Hadad III | King of Aram Damascus | early 8th century | Mentioned in the Zakkur Stele. A son of Hazael, he is variously called Ben-Hadad/Bar-Hadad II/III. | 2 Kgs. 13:3, 2 Kgs. 13:24 |
| Cyrus II | King of Persia | 559–530 | Appears in many ancient inscriptions, most notably the Cyrus Cylinder. He is also mentioned in Herodotus' Histories. | Is. 45:1, Dn. 1:21 |
| Darius I | King of Persia | 522–486 | Mentioned in the books of Haggai, Zechariah and Ezra. He is the author of the Behistun Inscription. He is also mentioned in Herodotus' Histories. | Hg. 1:1, Ezr. 5:6 |
| Esarhaddon | King of Assyria | 681–669 | His name survives in his own writings, as well as in those of his son Ashurbanipal. | Is. 37:38, Ezr. 4:2, 2 Kgs. 19:37 |
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(Evil Merodach) | King of Babylon | c. 562–560 | His name (Akkadian Amēl-Marduk) and title were found on a vase from his palace, and on several cuneiform tablets. | 2 Kgs. 25:27, Jer. 52:31† |
| Hazael | King of Aram Damascus | c. 842 – c. 800 | Shalmaneser III of Assyria records that he defeated Hazael in battle and captured many chariots and horses from him. The majority of scholars think that Hazael was the author of the Tel Dan Stele. | 1 Kgs. 19:15, 2 Kgs. 8:8, 2 Kings 12:18, Am. 1:4 |
| Hezekiah | King of Judah | c. 715 – c. 686 | An account is preserved by Sennacherib of how he besieged "Hezekiah, the Jew", who "did not submit to my yoke", in his capital city of Jerusalem. A bulla was also found bearing Hezekiah's name and title, reading "Belonging to Hezekiah [son of] Ahaz king of Judah". | 2 Kgs. 16:20, Prv. 25:1, Hos. 1:1, Mi. 1:1, Is. 1:1 |
| Hilkiah | High Priest of First Temple Jerusalem | c. 7th century BCE | Hilkiah in extra-biblical sources is attested by the clay bulla naming a Hilkiah as the father of an Azariah, and by the seal reading Hanan son of Hilkiah the priest. | 2 Kgs. 22:8, 2 Kgs. 23:24 |
| Hoshea | King of Israel | c. 732 – c. 723 | He was put into power by Tilgath-Pileser III, king of Assyria, as recorded in his Annals, found in Calah. | 2 Kgs. 15:30, 2 Kgs. 18:1 |
| Jehoash | King of Israel | c. 798 – c. 782 | Mentioned in records of Adad-nirari III of Assyria as "Jehoash of Samaria". | 2 Kgs. 13:10, 2 Chr. 25:17 |
| Jehoiachin | King of Judah | 598–597 | He was taken captive to Babylon after Nebuchadrezzar first captured Jerusalem. Texts from Nebuchadrezzar's Southern Palace record the rations given to "Jehoiachin king of the Judeans" (Akkadian: Ya'ukin sar Yaudaya). | 2 Kgs. 25:14, Jer. 52:31 |
| Jehoram of Israel | King of Israel | 852–841 | He is mentioned in the Tel Dan inscription alongside Ahaziah of Judah. The author of the text, Hazael, claims to have slain both Ahaziah of Judah and "[Jeho]ram". | 2 Kings 8:12, 2 Kings 3:2 |
| Jehoram of Judah | King of Judah | c. 853 – c. 842 | The Tel Dan Stele contains an account by a Aram-Damascaus king, Hazael, claiming to have slain "[Ahaz]iahu, son of [... kin]g of the house of David", and Jehoram is mentioned as king of the House of David and father of Ahaziah. His name is in brackets to fill in the gaps of the fragment. | 2 Kings 8:17 |
| Jehu | King of Israel | c. 841 – c. 814 | Mentioned on the Black Obelisk. | 1 Kgs. 19:16, Hos. 1:4 |
| Jeroboam II | King of Israel | 793–753 | An 8th century seal belonging to 'Shema, servant of Jeroboam', refers to king Jeroboam II, | 2 Kings 15:1, Amos 6:13 |
| Johanan | High Priest of Israel | c. 410 – c. 371 | Mentioned in a letter from the Elephantine Papyri. | Neh. 12:22–23 |
| Jotham | King of Judah | c. 740 – c. 732 | Identified as the father of King Ahaz on a contemporary clay bulla, reading "of Ahaz [son of] Jotham king of Judah". | 2 Kgs. 15:5, Hos. 1:1, Mi. 1:1, Is. 1:1 |
| Manasseh | King of Judah | c. 687 – c. 643 | Mentioned in the writings of Esarhaddon, who lists him as one of the kings who had brought him gifts and aided his conquest of Egypt. | 2 Kgs. 20:21, Jer. 15:4 |
| Menahem | King of Israel | c. 752 – c. 742 | The annals of Tiglath-Pileser (ANET3 283) record that Menahem paid him tribute, as stated in the Books of Kings. | 2 Kgs. 15:14–23 |
| Mesha | King of Moab | fl. c. 840 | Author of the Mesha Stele. | 2 Kgs. 3:4† |
| Merodach-Baladan | King of Babylon | 722–710 | Named in the Great Inscription of Sargon II in his palace at Khorsabat. Also called "Berodach-Baladan" (Akkadian: Marduk-apla-iddina). | Is. 39:1, 2 Kgs. 20:12† |
| Nebuchadnezzar II | King of Babylon | c. 605–562 | Mentioned in numerous contemporary sources, including the inscription of the Ishtar Gate, which he built. Also called Nebuchadrezzar (Akkadian: Nabû-kudurri-uṣur). | Ez. 26:7, Dn. 1:1, 2 Kgs. 24:1 |
| Nebuzaradan | Babylonian official | fl. c. 587 | Mentioned in a prism in Istanbul (No. 7834), found in Babylon where he is listed as the "chief cook". | Jer. 52:12, 2 Kgs. 25:8 |
| Nebo-Sarsekim | Chief Eunuch of Babylon | fl. c. 587 | Listed as Nabu-sharrussu-ukin in a Babylonian tablet. | Jer. 39:3† |
| Necho II | Pharaoh of Egypt | c. 610 – c. 595 | Mentioned in the writings of Ashurbanipal | 2 Kgs. 23:29, Jer. 46:2 |
| Omri | King of Israel | c. 880 – c. 874 | Mentioned, together with his unnamed son or successor, on the Mesha Stele. His dynasty became the Assyrian Empire's byname for the Israelite kingdom. | 1 Kgs. 16:16, Mi. 6:16 |
| Osorkon IV | Pharaoh of Egypt | c. 730 – 716 | Osorkon IV is mentioned in the Book of Kings under the name “So, King of Egypt,” an abbreviation of “Osorkon”. | 2 Kgs. 17:4 |
| Pekah | King of Israel | c. 740 – c. 732 | Mentioned in the annals of Tiglath-Pileser III. | 2 Kgs. 15:25, Is. 7:1 |
| Rezin | King of Aram Damascus | died c. 732 | A tributary of Tiglath-Pileser III of Assyria and the last king of Aram Damascus. According to the Bible, he was eventually put to death by Tiglath-Pileser. | 2 Kgs. 16:7–9, Is. 7:1 |
| Sanballat | Governor of Samaria | fl. 445 | A leading figure of the opposition which Nehemiah encountered during the rebuilding of the walls around the temple in Jerusalem. Sanballat is mentioned in the Elephantine Papyri. | Neh. 2:10, Neh. 13:28 |
| Sargon II | King of Assyria | 722–705 | He besieged and conquered the city of Samaria and took many thousands captive, as recorded in the Bible and in an inscription in his royal palace. His name, however, does not appear in the biblical account of this siege, but only in reference to his siege of Ashdod. | Is. 20:1† |
| Sennacherib | King of Assyria | 705–681 | The author of a number of inscriptions discovered near Nineveh. | 2 Kgs. 18:13, Is. 36:1 |
| Shalmaneser V | King of Assyria | 727–722 | Mentioned on several royal palace weights found at Nimrud. Another inscription was found that is thought to be his, but the name of the author is only partly preserved. | 2 Kgs. 17:3, 2 Kgs. 18:9† |
| Shoshenq I | Pharaoh of Egypt | 943–922 | Virtually all scholars identify him with king Shishak in the Hebrew Bible. The account of Shoshenq/Shishak’s invasion in the 5th year of Rehoboam correspond to an inscription found at Karnak of Shoshenq's campaign into Canaan. | 1 Kgs. 11:40, 1 Kgs. 14:25† |
| Taharqa | Pharaoh of Egypt, King of Kush | 690–664 | Called "Tirhaka, the king of Kush" in the books of Kings and Isaiah. Several contemporary sources mention him and fragments of three statues bearing his name were excavated at Nineveh. | Is. 37:9, 2 Kgs. 19:9† |
| Tattenai | Governor of Eber-Nari | fl. 520 | Known from contemporary Babylonian documents. He governed the Persian province west of the Euphrates river during the reign of Darius I. | Ezr. 5:3, Ezr. 6:13 |
| Tiglath-Pileser III | King of Assyria | 745–727 | Also called "Pul" in Second Kings. Numerous writings are ascribed to him and he is mentioned, among others, in an inscription by Barrakab, king of Sam'al. He exiled inhabitants of the cities he captured in Israel. | 2 Kgs. 15:19, 2 Kgs. 15:29, 2 Kgs. 16:7, 2 Kgs. 16:10, 1 Chr. 5:6 |
| Uzziah | King of Judah | 791–750 | Uzziah's name appears in two unprovenanced iconic stone seals discovered in 1858 and 1863. The first is inscribed l’byw ‘bd / ‘zyw, "[belonging] to ’Abiyah, minister of ‘Uziyah", and the second (rev.) lšbnyw ‘ / bd ‘zyw, "[belonging] to Shubnayah, minister of ‘Uziyah. He suffered leprosy, and a major earthquake occurred during his reign in 760 BC. | 2 Kings 15:5, (Amos 1:1, NIV) |
| Xerxes I | King of Persia | 486–465 | Called Ahasuerus in the books of Ezra and Esther. Xerxes is known in archaeology through a number of tablets and monuments, notably the "Gate of All Nations" in Persepolis. He is also mentioned in Herodotus' Histories. | Est. 1:1, Dn. 9:1, Ezr. 4:6 |
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