Phinehas is a historical religious figure in Jewish folklore, from Ancient Israel. Phinehas is a biblical Israelite priest, grandson of Aaron and son of Eleazar, noted for zealous action at Shittim that halted a divine plague and for later service in the priesthood and as a military leader against Midian.
Phinehas appears in Hebrew scripture as a member of the Aaronic priestly family (grandson of Aaron, son of Eleazar). In the Exodus/wilderness narrative he acts decisively at Shittim during an episode in which many Israelites are seduced into idolatry and sexual immorality with Moabite/Midianite partners. By killing an Israelite man and a Midianite woman who were publicly violating covenantal norms, his act is narrated as ending a plague sent by Yahweh and earning for him and his descendants a divine pledge of an everlasting hereditary priesthood and a covenant of peace. He later functions in priestly roles, is associated with military action against Midian, and appears in later biblical references and genealogical lists related to priesthood.
The provided sources present Phinehas as a human male member of the priestly family but give no physical description, iconography, or specified clothing beyond his status as a priestly descendent of Aaron and Eleazar.
Sources attribute no innate supernatural powers to Phinehas. His notable capacities are his zealous enforcement of covenantal purity (he executed the Israelite man and Midianite woman at Shittim), leadership in a military expedition against Midian in which several Midianite leaders and Balaam son of Beor were killed, and service in priestly and judicial functions (including acting as an investigator/representative regarding altars and serving as High Priestal figure after his father). Scriptural accounts frame the effectiveness of his actions as responses that align with divine will and that elicit divine favor (the cessation of a plague and a divine covenant), not as personal supernatural abilities.
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]Phinehas — Wikipedia. Wikipedia contributors, 'Phinehas,' Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia.wiki
- [2]Wikidata entry for Phinehas (Q18978410). Wikidata: Q18978410other
- [3]Then Stood Up Phinehas, and Executed Judgment (2007 recording). Archive.org item: 'Then Stood Up Phinehas, and Executed Judgment' (2007/12/23)other
- [4]Every Nazi Symbol Explained By a German (contains reference list item 'Spear of Phinehas'). Archive.org item: 'Every Nazi Symbol Explained By a German' (reference list includes 'Spear of Phinehas')other
- [5]The Scholar's Guide to Arithmetic (contains bibliographic mention). Archive.org: The Scholar's Guide to Arithmetic (historic text with bibliographic mentions)other