Nahum is a prophet in Jewish folklore, from Ancient Israel / Judah. Nahum (Hebrew: נַחוּם, Naḥūm) is one of the Twelve Minor Prophets in the Hebrew Bible/Old Testament. Presented as an inspired prophetic poet (an 'Elkoshite'), his short book pronounces divine judgment on Nineveh and offers consolation to his community.
Nahum is presented in the Hebrew Bible as a human prophetic figure whose writings constitute the Book of Nahum, one of the Twelve Minor Prophets. He is described as an 'Elkoshite.' Traditions identify Elkosh variously (a tradition links it with Alqosh in northern Mesopotamia; other proposals include Capernaum in Galilee). Scholarly dating of his composition varies: many place the book ca. 615 BCE (just before the fall of Assyria) or as liturgy just after Nineveh's fall (612 BCE); older textual traditions (Septuagint/Vulgate) placed him earlier.
The supplied sources do not provide a physical description or iconography for Nahum. He is treated as a historical/scriptural human prophet rather than a supernatural being; no contemporary or canonical physical portrait is recorded in the provided material.
As a prophetic poet, Nahum's capacities are literary and rhetorical: composing vivid prophetic poetry forecasting the downfall of the Neo-Assyrian Empire and Nineveh, consoling his people, and functioning within prophetic-liturgical traditions. Commentators (e.g., cited John Calvin) praise the sublimity, vehemence, and poetic completeness of his prophecy. Textual features such as an underlying acrostic have been proposed, indicating poetic craft.
Jonah
Jonah (Hebrew: יוֹנָה, Yōnā, lit. 'dove') is a human prophetic figure from Gath‑hepher in the Hebrew Bible, central to the Book of Jonah. The narrative depicts him receiving a divine command to prophesy to Nineveh, attempting to flee, being saved from death by divine intervention (swallowed and later released by a large fish), completing his mission after repentance, and serving as a didactic exemplar of divine mercy and human repentance in Jewish liturgy.
Habakkuk
Habakkuk is a human prophetic figure from the Hebrew Bible whose oracles and a liturgical prayer are recorded in the Book of Habakkuk. He functions as an interlocutor between God and Israel, notable for openly questioning divine justice; later Jewish, Christian and Islamic traditions preserve additional legendary episodes such as the angelic transport story in the Additions to Daniel.
Aaron
Aaron is a central human figure in Israelite sacred literature: the elder brother of Moses, the first high priest (progenitor of the Aaronide priesthood), and a spokesman/prophet who mediates between Israel and God in Exodus–Deuteronomy narratives. His role in the texts establishes hereditary priestly authority, ritual functions (sacrifices, blessing, use of Urim and Thummim), and institutional norms for Israelite cultic life.
Abaddon
In Hebrew scripture Abaddon is primarily a noun meaning 'destruction' or a section/condition of the underworld paired with Sheol; in the New Testament Book of Revelation Abaddon is personified as an angelic figure (Greek Apollyon) described as the king of an army of locusts released from the abyss during the apocalypse.
Abadir
Abadir is a polysemous name attested in distinct cultural contexts: a legendary founding saint and clan ancestor in eastern Ethiopia (Sheikh Abadir Umar Al‑Rida / Aw Abadir), a term applied to cone‑shaped cult stones in Phoenician religious description, and a personal name of a martyr (Abadir/Apater) in the Coptic Synaxarium. The attestations are independent usages of the same name rather than a single supernatural being.
Abadiu of Antinoe
Abadiu of Antinoe was a fourth‑century bishop of Antinoe (Antinoopolis, in Roman Egypt) commemorated as a martyr and saint in the Coptic Orthodox Church, with a feast day on 26 December. Sources record that he was killed during a theological dispute with Arian opponents and reference him in collections of Egyptian martyrs.
Abagtha
Abagtha (Hebrew: אבגתא, ’Ǎḇaḡṯā) is a named human court official in the Hebrew Bible’s Book of Esther, listed among seven chamberlains who ministered before King Ahasuerus and were commanded to bring Queen Vashti before the king. He is attested only in Esther 1:10 and is presented as an institutional palace attendant rather than a supernatural being.
Abanoub
Abanoub is a 4th‑century Egyptian Christian child martyr venerated in the Coptic tradition. Remembered for his public confession of Christ, miraculous healings associated with his passion, and the translation and veneration of his relics, his feast is observed on July 31 (Epip 24) and his cult centers include Nehisa and Samanoud.
Abaskhiron the Soldier
A Coptic Orthodox martyr venerated for refusing imperial idolatry during the Diocletian persecution; reputedly healed by the Archangel Michael, preserved in monastery relics, and commemorated on 14 June (7 Paoni).
Abdel Messih El-Makari
Abdel Messih El-Makari (1892–1963) was a Coptic Orthodox monk and priest venerated as a 20th‑century Coptic saint. Associated with the Monastery of Saint Samuel the Confessor and the Monastery of Saint Macarius (Scetes/Wadi El‑Natrun), he is remembered for humility, asceticism, charity, and reported spiritual gifts such as prescience, discerning of spirits, and healing.
Abdiel
Abdiel (Hebrew עֲבְדִּיאֵל) is primarily a theophoric Hebrew personal name meaning "servant of El/servant of God," attested once in the Hebrew Bible (1 Chronicles 5:15). In later literature—most notably John Milton's Paradise Lost—Abdiel is reimagined as a faithful seraph who opposes Satan's revolt. The provided sources do not treat Abdiel as an autonomous folkloric spirit type or record rituals or wards associated with the name.
Abednego
Abednego is a human figure in the Book of Daniel (chapter 3), one of three Jewish youths (with Shadrach and Meshach) who refuse to bow to King Nebuchadnezzar II's image and are cast into a fiery furnace but preserved by divine intervention.
Abel
Abel is the second son of Adam and Eve in the Genesis narrative, a shepherd whose accepted offering and subsequent murder by his brother Cain form the biblical account of the first death. Later interpretive traditions expand his role, treating him as an archetypal righteous victim, a postmortem avenging or adjudicating figure, and in some systems (notably Mandaean) identifying him with an angelic lightbeing.
Abiathar
Abiathar (Hebrew: אֶבְיָתָר, ʾEḇyāṯār) is a named human priestly figure in the Hebrew Bible. He is presented as a survivor of the Nob massacre who fled to David with priestly regalia, served as a priest and counselor in David's court, and was later deposed and sent to Anathoth by Solomon for supporting Adonijah.
Community Record
- [1]Nahum — Wikipedia. Wikipedia contributors, 'Nahum,' Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia.wiki
- [2]Nahum — Wikidata entry Q3869947. Wikidata entry Q3869947other
- [3]Targum Jonathan On Nahum - Hebrew Txt File (archive listing). Archive.org listing for Targum Jonathan on Nahum (Hebrew text file).other
- [4]Kuran'a Göre Dünya Daha Evren Yaratılmadan Yaratıldı (archive listing). Archive.org collection item (included in provided materials; not quoted).other