| Eber | | A descendant of Shem and Noah (Genesis 10:21-25), and the eponymous ancestor of the Hebrew people. Ever translates from the Hebrew as meaning 'the other side', and Ivri, meaning 'Hebrew', denotes those who have come from 'ever ha-nachar' ('from the other side of the river'), i.e. from Charan, on the other side of the Euphrates, the home of Abraham and Nachor. Eber's impending destruction is alluded to in the prophecy of Balaam (Numbers 24:24). | |
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| Ebhal | |
| Echi | |
| Edom, Edomites | | Edom or Esau was the reputed ancestor of the Edomites, who were a tribe or group of tribes living in early biblical times in and around Mount Seir.That they were regarded as the near kinsmen of the Israelites has been said to be an accurate reflection of the difficult relationship between the Edomites and the Israelites, possibly stemming from Esau's conflict with his brother Jacob (Genesis 25:22-24; Genesis 27). | |
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| Elah | |
| Elam, Elamites | | Son of Shem and grandson of Noah. The Elamites were an ancient people living around the border between what is now southern Iraq and Iran.Chedorlaomer, king of Elam, is mentioned in Genesis 14. | |
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| Elda'ah | |
| Eldad | | One of two young men who were given the gift of prophecy by God while the Israelites were in the wilderness during the latter part of the Exodus . Joshua complained to Moses that Eldad and Medad were speaking prophecy in the camp, but Moses replied that he wished that all of God's people were prophets (Numbers 11:26-29). | |
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| Eleazar | | The third son of Aaron and Elisheva and nephew of Moses, Eleazar is remembered as the ancestor of the high priests. After his brothers Nadav and Avihu were killed by God for burning unauthorized incense to God (Leviticus 10:1).he accompanied Aaron and Moses with his younger brother Ithamar. He took part in Moses's census in Moab and became Aaron's successor as high priest when Aaron died on Mount Hor (Numbers 20:25-28). | |
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| Eliav | | Leader of the tribe of Zebulun in the wilderness, son of Chelon. Eliav was one of the twelve princes representing each tribe who had directed the census (Numbers 1:9). His offerings to the Tabernacle are listed at Numbers 7:24-29. | |
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| Eliezer | | 1. Eliezer, or 'Damascus Eliezer' (a name possibly alluding to his origin) was Abraham's senior servant or steward (Genesis 15:2), and possibly was a Canaanite. Abraham complained to God that as he was childless, Eliezer would be the heir to his household. God promised Abraham that he would have a natural heir. He is also identified as being the anonymous servant whom Abraham sent to find a wife for Isaac in the land of his birth. He found Rebecca by waiting at a well for a girl to offer him and his camels a drink (Genesis 24).
2. Son of Moses by his wife Tzipporah (Exodus 18:4). | |
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| Eliezer (son of Moses) | | Younger son of Moses and Tzipporah, named to commemorate the deliverance of Moses from Pharoah ('My father's God (El) was my Helper (Ezer), rescuing me from Pharoah's sword', Exodus 18:4). | |
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| Eliphah | |
| Eliphaz | | The first-born son of Esau by his wife Adah. He had six sons, one of whom was Amalek, born to his concubine Timna, who was the ancestral enemy of the Israelite people (Exodus 17:16; Deuteronomy 25:19). | |
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| Elishah | | Son of Yavan and great-grandson of Noah. Mentioned as the ancestor of an unidentified Greek tribe. | |
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| Elishama | | Leader of the tribe of Ephraim in the wilderness (Numbers 1:10). Son of Amihud, he was one of the princes representing each tribe who had directed the census. His offerings to the Tabernacle are listed at Numbers 7:48-53. | |
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| Elisheva | |
| Elitzur | | Leader of the tribe of Reuben in the wilderness, son of Shedey-ur. Elitzur was one of the twelve princes representing each tribe who had directed the census (Numbers 1:5). His offerings to the Tabernacle are listed at Numbers 7:30-5. | |
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| Elkana | |
| Elon | |
| Elon the Hittite | | Father of Adah, one of the wives of Esau. | |
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| Eltzafan | |
| Elyassaf | | Leader of the tribe of Gad in the wilderness, son of Deuel. Elyassaf was one of the twelve princes representing each tribe who had directed the census (Numbers 1:14). His offerings to the Tabernacle are listed at Numbers 7:42-27. | |
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| Emim | |
| Enoch | |
| Enosh | |
| Epher | |
| Ephraim | | Younger son of Joseph and Asenath, born in Egypt. Before he died, his grandfather Jacob adopted Ephraim and his brother Menasseh on a par with his sons Reuben and Simeon, thus ensuring that each would lead an entire Israelite tribe (Genesis 48:5,16). Ephraim received a greater blessing than his elder brother as Jacob prophecied that Ephraim's descendants would become more important than those of Menasseh (Genesis 48:13-20). | |
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| Ephron | |
| Er | |
| Eran | |
| Eri | |
| Esau | | The elder son of Isaac and Rebecca and twin brother of Jacob, c.17th century B.C.E. Esau, meaning 'hairy', is also referred to as Edom or 'ruddy'. H The rivalry between the brothers began before their birth, when they fought in their mother's womb (Genesis 25:22) and personified the later feuding between the Israelites and Edomites. Esau, a hunter, sold his birthright to Jacob for a bowl of lentil stew (Genesis 25:29-34), and lost his precedence after his father's death to his younger brother (Genesis 27). His fury caused Jacob to flee to Padan-aram, but the brothers were reconciled 20 years later. Esau married Canaanite women, Adah, a Hittite, and Basemath, a Hivite, which grieved his parents (Genesis 26:34, and Genesis 27:46), and later married Machlath, daughter of Abraham's son Ishmael. He settled in Seir below the Dead Sea, and is regarded as the progenitor of the Edomites. | |
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| Eshban | |
| Etzbon | |
| Etzer | |
| Eve | | In Beliefs. Said to be the first woman and to have been created in order to be man’s companion and helper. In the first story of creation (Genesis 1) she was said to have been created alongside man and in the second from Adam’s rib. Due to her role as the mother of the human race she was subsequently given the name of Eve or Hava (Genesis 3:20). Further into the biblical account she was expelled along with Adam from the Garden of Eden, and as punishment for her role in the tasting from the fruits of the forbidden tree, she was made to give birth in anguish (Genesis 3:16). | |
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