People of Scripture
Pinch to zoom in and see the picture more closely.
Each stone is one man or woman named in the Bible. The bigger the stone, the more verses name that person. The largest sit at the centre, and thousands of small ones wind outward. Where a name fits inside its stone, it is written there.
- Torah
- Prophets
- Writings
- New Testament
But now thus saith Jehovah that created thee, O Jacob, and he that formed thee, O Israel: Fear not, for I have redeemed thee; I have called thee by thy name, thou art mine.Isaiah 43:1 (ASV)
The thirty named most often
The thirty people named in the most verses, largest stone first. The colour is the section that first names them, as in the picture. Each description is STEPBible's own one-line note on that person.
| # | Name | Verses | Colour | Who STEPBible says this is |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Israel | 2,578 | Torah | Patriarch, son of Isaac, father of twelve tribes |
| 2 | Jesus | 1,160 | New Testament | The Son of God and Savior of the world. |
| 3 | Judah | 1,022 | Torah | Israelite tribe, kingdom, and province |
| 4 | David | 964 | Prophets | Anointed king of Israel, ancestor of Jesus Christ |
| 5 | Moses | 785 | Torah | Prophet who led Israel out of Egypt |
| 6 | Aaron | 333 | Torah | Moses' brother, first high priest of Israel |
| 7 | Levi | 329 | Torah | Son of Jacob; progenitor of the Levites |
| 8 | Saul | 327 | Prophets | First king of Israel, anointed by Samuel |
| 9 | Abraham | 275 | Torah | Patriarch, chosen by God to father His people |
| 10 | Solomon | 272 | Prophets | Son of David, king of Israel, known for his wisdom. |
| 11 | Joseph | 197 | Torah | Son of Jacob, ruler in Egypt |
| 12 | Joshua | 189 | Torah | Moses' assistant who led Israel into Canaan |
| 13 | Paul | 182 | New Testament | Apostle to the Gentiles, author of many NT epistles |
| 14 | Peter | 179 | New Testament | Apostle of Jesus, leader in the early church |
| 15 | Benjamin | 166 | Torah | Youngest son of Jacob and Rachel |
| 16 | Ephraim | 159 | Torah | Second son of Joseph, and a tribe of Israel. |
| 17 | Jeremiah | 124 | Prophets | Son of Hilkiah, the prophet during Judah's final days. |
| 18 | Isaac | 123 | Torah | Son of Abraham; father of Jacob and Esau. |
| 19 | Samuel | 121 | Prophets | Prophet and last judge of Israel before the kings |
| 20 | Joab | 120 | Prophets | Son of Zeruiah, commander of David's army |
| 21 | Hezekiah | 116 | Prophets | A righteous king of Judah. |
| 22 | Manasseh | 112 | Torah | Firstborn son of Joseph, blessed by Jacob. |
| 23 | Pharaoh | 111 | Torah | Egyptian Pharaoh during the Exodus |
| 24 | Absalom | 92 | Prophets | David's rebellious son who tried to usurp the throne. |
| 25 | Elijah | 92 | Prophets | A prophet during the reigns of Ahab and Ahaziah. |
| 26 | John | 89 | New Testament | The Baptist, a prophet who prepared the way for Jesus |
| 27 | Nebuchadnezzar | 88 | Prophets | Emperor of Babylon who conquered Judah |
| 28 | Reuben | 85 | Torah | Firstborn son of Jacob and Leah |
| 29 | Esau | 84 | Torah | Isaac's firstborn son; sold birthright to Jacob; became Edom. |
| 30 | Jonathan | 82 | Prophets | Eldest son of King Saul and friend of David |
Jacob is not in the list because STEPBible files him under Israel; Judah and Levi also include the tribes named after them. Pharaoh is one king in STEPBible's list, the Pharaoh of the Exodus. Descriptions: STEPBible TIPNR, Tyndale House, Cambridge (CC BY 4.0).
How this picture was made
The people
STEPBible's list of every person named in the Bible (TIPNR, from Tyndale House, Cambridge). It tells apart people who share a name, so two different men called Zechariah are two stones. 3,052 men and women are drawn: 2,853 men and 199 women. Groups, tribes and places are left out.
What was counted
The verses that name each person, from STEPBible's full lists. 19 references were left out: 18 found only in the Greek Old Testament, and 1 written wrongly in the source.
How it was drawn
The area of each stone is its number of verses, on a true scale. No stone touches another. Colour is the section that first names the person, in Tanakh order. One rule: where STEPBible files another name under a person, and that name's verses all lie in the other Testament, those verses do not set the colour. This touches only one stone. Immanuel (Isaiah 7:14, 8:8) is filed under Jesus, so Jesus is coloured from the first verse that names him as Jesus or Christ (Matthew 1:1).
What it shows
- 1,702 people, more than half, are named in only one verse.
- The largest stones are Israel (2,578 verses), Jesus (1,160), Judah (1,022), David (964) and Moses (785).
- Most of the outer ring is parchment, the Writings. 1,662 people are first named there, mostly in the family lists of 1 Chronicles.
Names on the stones
A name is written on its stone only where it fits inside the circle. 81 stones carry a name. The rest are too small for lettering that can be read.
What it does not show
STEPBible files the people of Israel under the man Israel (Jacob), and does the same for Judah and Levi. So those stones include verses where the name means the whole people descended from them.