Biblical Figures in the Talmud: Counts, Contexts, and Index

I recently compiled a “Concordance of Biblical Figures in the Talmud”. I write there in the Abstract:

This concordance programmatically indexes biblical figures as they appear in the Babylonian Talmud, enabling both close reading and quantitative analysis of biblical name usage in the Talmudic corpus.¹

[…]

See also my related concordances, which use a similar methodology:

1. Concordance of Talmudic Names

2. Concordance of Talmudic Toponyms

And compare also my “Concordance of Talmudic Anecdotes”

This is part of my general project of preparing labels for the Talmud.²

I thought it would be interesting to sort it by count (i.e. number of times the figure appears in the Talmud).

All figures who appear 20+ times, are listed below, highest to lowest.

I also added pieces of mine that focus on that figure.³

Outline

1. Intro

2. The full list

3. Notes re eponymous ancestors, epithets, and etymologies

4. Excerpt of the List (figures who appear 20+ times in the Talmud; a list of ~50 figures), With Index

5. Additional Selected entries (figures who <20 times in the Talmud; a list of ~20 figures), With Index

The full list

The full list and count can be found here (366 entries):

Google sheet: bible_names_in_talmud_counts

Excel:

Bible Names In Talmud Counts

18.7KB ∙ XLSX file

Download

Download

Notes re eponymous ancestors, epithets, and etymologies

1. Some names are in fact territories or tribes. This is especially the case for names of Jacobs’ sons, which are also the names of their eponymous tribes, and thus also their territories. For example: Judah, Benjamin, etc. The same is true as well for many other eponymous names, where the name is used far more for the place or the nation than for the ancestor. For example: Ammon, Moab, etc.⁴

2. Relatedly, certain names were left out of the gazetteer, where there were too many false positives with unrelated terms, such as Talmudic names and toponyms. For example: “Eliezer”, “Hananiah”, “Amram”, “Baruch”, “Shechem”.⁵

3. The Talmud adds the epithet “the wicked” (הרשע) on a number of Biblical figures. I mark these as separate entries. For example: “Balaam the wicked”, “the wicked Nebuchadnezzar”, etc.⁶

4. Other common epithets used by the Talmud: “the prophet” (הנביא), “our forefather/patriarch” (אבינו), “the righteous” (הצדיק).⁷

5. Interestingly, the title “the king” (המלך) is generally only used in the Talmud for righteous kings, such as “King Hezekiah”, “King Hezekiah”, and “King Solomon”.⁸ This title is typically left out for other kings, even where it appears in the Bible. Instead, the Talmud will use just the name, or sometimes the name + "king [of place X]” (פלוני מלך מקום). For example: “Eglon, king of Moab”, “Ḥiram, king of Tyre”, “Mesha, king of Moab”, “Sennacherib, king of Assyria”, and “Shishak, king of Egypt”.⁹

6. Figures are often referred to in the Talmud with a toponymic surname.¹⁰

7. A significant number of statements that mention biblical figures, relate to providing (folk) etymology.¹¹

Excerpt of the List (figures who appear 20+ times in the Talmud; a list of ~50 figures), With Index

Each item has the name, then the count (number of times appears in the Talmud, not in verses).

The sub-items are links to my pieces analyzing Talmudic sugyot that focus on that figure. The sub-items are mostly sorted in traditional tractate order.

1. Moses 561

   1. “Talmudic Theodicy: Moses’ Requests, Divine Responses, and the Mystery of Divine Justice (Berakhot 7a-b)”, final part: Pt2

   2. The Giving of the Torah in Exodus 19: Timing, Preparation, and Moses’ Bold Decisions (Shabbat 86b-87a)

   3. Humanity’s Deserving of the Torah on Trial: Moses Convincingly Argues That the Ten Commandments Are Irrelevant For Angels (Shabbat 88b-89a)

   4. [Appendix - Three people had the sun altered on their behalf: Moses, Joshua, and Nakdimon (Taanit 20a)]

   5. The Symbolism and Miracles in Pharaoh’s Daughter Rescuing Moses in Exodus 2:3-5 (Sotah 12a-b)

   6. Pharaoh’s Daughter Rescuing Moses in Exodus 2:6-9 (Sotah 12b)

   7. “The Death and Burial of Moses in Deuteronomy 31-34 (Sotah 13b-14a)”, final part: Pt2

   8. Moses, R’ Yehuda HaNasi, and Rav Ashi: The Pinnacles of Torah and Secular Authority (Gittin 59a)

   9. Moses’ Wilderness Lotteries and the Prophecy of Eldad and Medad in Numbers 3 and 11 (Sanhedrin 17a)

2. David 321

   1. The Wicked Doeg and His Relationship With David in 1 Samuel 21-22 and in Psalms (Sanhedrin 106b)

   2. “David and the Sin of Bathsheba in 2 Samuel 11-12 and in Psalms (Sanhedrin 107a)”, final part: Pt2

   3. [Appendix - Juxtaposition as Justification: David’s Flight from Absalom and Saul (Berakhot 10a)]

   4. “King David, the Altar Drainpipes, and the Tehom: The Dramatic Tale of How He Nearly Unleashed a Global Flood but Successfully Averted It (Sukkah 49a; 53a-b)”, final part: Pt2

   5. “One day David went falcon-hunting”: The Demilitarized, Rabbinized, and Enchanted Story of Avishai Saving David From Yishbi-benov (II Samuel 21:15-17; Sanhedrin 95a)

   6. The Wicked Doeg and His Relationship With David in 1 Samuel 21-22 and in Psalms (Sanhedrin 106b)

   7. “David and the Sin of Bathsheba in 2 Samuel 11-12 and in Psalms (Sanhedrin 107a)”, final part: Pt2

   8. “Pt2 ‘Whoever says that [X] sinned is mistaken’: Reinterpretations of Sins In Defense of the Biblical Righteous (Shabbat 55b-56a)“, section “Part 4: David and Bathsheba (2 Samuel 11-12)“

3. Abraham¹² 184

   1. [Gabriel Saving Biblical Figures from Furnaces: Abraham from Nimrod’s Furnace, and Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah from Nebuchadnezzar’s Furnace (Pesachim 118a-b)]

   2. From Dust to Swords: Linking Abraham’s Battle in Genesis 14 With Naḥum of Gimzo’s Mission to Rome (Sanhedrin 108b-109a)

4. Aaron 140

5. Solomon 131

   1. A man’s feet take him to the place where he is needed: The Story of the Deaths of Elihoreph and Ahijah, sons of Shisha, scribes of Solomon (I Kings 4:3 and Sukkah 53a)

   2. Debating With the Temple’s Gates: The Dramatic Story of Solomon’s Temple Dedication, based on 1 Kings 8 and Psalms 24:7-10 (Shabbat 30a)

   3. [Appendix - Solomon and Josiah Didn’t Sin (Shabbat 56b)]

6. Jacob¹³ 117

   1. “Jacob in Genesis 28-32: Talmudic Homiletics on the Biblical Stories of Jacob’s Ladder and Jacob’s Struggle With an Angel (Chullin 91a-b)”, final part: Pt3

7. Joshua 114

   1. The Miraculous Crossing of the Jordan River in Joshua 3-4 (Sotah 33b-34a)

   2. “The Confession, Punishment, and Atonement of Achan in Joshua 7 (Sanhedrin 43b-44b)”, final part: Pt3

8. Joseph 66

   1. “The Temptation and Trial of Joseph in Genesis 39: From Potiphar’s House to the High Priest’s Ephod (Sotah 36a-b)”, final part: Pt3

   2. Extreme Poverty, Wealth, and Attractiveness as No Excuse Not to Study Torah: The Examples of Hillel, Elazar ben Ḥarsum, and Joseph (Yoma 35b)

9. Ezra 65

   1. “My God! I hate you”: Reish Lakish and R’ Yoḥanan on the Consequences of Babylonian Partial Aliyah During Ezra’s Era (Yoma 9b)

   2. The Evolution of Hebrew Script and Ezra’s Role in Torah Transmission (Sanhedrin 21b-22a)

10. Isaac 65

11. Saul 64

12. Job 60

    1. When and Who Was Job? Talmudic Views on His Time Period and Identity (Bava Batra 15a-b)

    2. [Appendix 2 - R’ Yoḥanan - Job’s generation was sexually promiscuous (Job 27:12; Song of Songs 7:1) (Bava Batra 15b)]

    3. Book of Job in Talmudic Interpretation: Job’s Contested Righteousness and Satan’s Character (Bava Batra 15b-16b), final part: Pt3

    4. ‘Iyov’ (“Job”) or ‘Oyev’ (“Enemy”)? God’s Precise Control of Nature and the Rhetorical Rebuttal of Job’s Accusation in Job 38-39 (Bava Batra 16a-b)

13. Ezekiel 58

    1. Divine Symbols and Historical Shifts: The Significance of the ‘Tav’ Mark in Ezekiel and the Precise Moment of the Patriarchs’ Merit’s End (Shabbat 55a)

    2. [Vision, Sin, and Judgment: Angelic Intervention and Ezekiel’s Temple Visions in Ezekiel 8 and 10 (Yoma 76b-77a)]

    3. ““Ma’aseh Merkava”: The Nature of God, Angels, and Heaven in Ezekiel 1 (Chagigah 13a-14a)”, final part: Pt3

    4. Actual Resurrection or Allegory? The Valley of Dry Bones in Ezekiel 37 in the Talmud (Sanhedrin 92b)

14. Elisha 50

15. Hezekiah 48

    1. Hezekiah’s Illness and Isaiah’s Visit in Isaiah 38: A Clash of Piety and Prophecy (Berakhot 10a-b)

    2. The Biblical King Hezekiah’s Six Controversial Actions: Three Approved, Three Not (Mishnah Pesachim 4:9)

16. Samuel¹⁴ 48

17. Daniel 47

18. Judah 46

19. Benjamin¹⁵ 43

20. Haman 41

    1. “The Humiliation of Haman: The Dramatic Talmudic Elaboration of the Biblical Verse of Haman Carrying out King Ahasuerus’s Orders to Honor Mordecai (Esther 6:11-12; Megillah 16a)”, final part: Pt2

    2. See also earlier: “Talmudic Interpretations of the Book of Esther”

21. Esther 40

    1. “Talmudic Interpretations of the Book of Esther”, final part: Esther 5:6-6:10 (Megillah 15b-16a)

    2. See also earlier: “Talmudic Interpretations of the Book of Esther”

22. Miriam 40

    1. Pharaoh’s Strategy, Miriam’s Watchfulness, and Divine Retribution: Talmudic Interpretations of Exodus 1:8-10 (Sotah 11a)

    2. From Azubah to Zohar: Reading Miriam and Caleb in the Genealogies of the Book of Chronicles (Sotah 12a)

23. Manasseh 38

    1. “Wicked Kings of Judah: Talmudic Insights into Idolatry and Atrocities by Ahaz, Manasseh, Amon, and Jehoiakim (Sanhedrin 103b)”, final part: Pt2

24. Sarah 38

25. Zedekiah 36

26. Ahab 34

27. Adam¹⁶ 31

    1. “The First Man: Talmudic Reflections on Adam’s Creation (Sanhedrin 38a-39b)”, final part: Pt2

    2. Kalenda, Saturnalia, and the First Winter: Pagan Festivals, Adam’s Cosmic Anxiety, and Rome’s Rise (Avodah Zarah 8a-b)

28. Samson 31

    1. “Stories of Samson in Judges 13-16: Strength, Sin, and Symbolism (Sotah 9b-10a)”, final part: Pt2

29. Nebuchadnezzar¹⁷ 30

    1. ‘That Wicked One’: A Grotesque Talmudic Portrait of Nebuchadnezzar Based on the Parable against the King of Babylon in Isaiah 14 (Shabbat 149b-150a)

    2. Roasted in Nebuchadnezzar’s Furnace: The Fall of Two Minor False Prophets and Joshua the High Priest, based on Jeremiah 29 and Zechariah 3 (Sanhedrin 93a)

    3. Chronology, Calculations, and Royal Reigns: The 70 Years of Babylonian Exile Between the First and Second Temples (Esther 1:2, Jeremiah 29:10, Daniel 9:2; Megillah 11b-12a), especially section “Nebuchadnezzar’s reign breakdown; Exile timeline“

30. Gabriel 29

    1. [Gabriel Saving Biblical Figures from Furnaces: Abraham from Nimrod’s Furnace, and Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah from Nebuchadnezzar’s Furnace (Pesachim 118a-b)]

    2. Heavenly Politics: Gabriel, Dubiel, and the Persian Tax Regime (Yoma 77a)

    3. [Appendix 3 - Gabriel in Talmudic literature as the Jewish people’s guardian archangel]

31. Pinehas 29

32. Isaiah 27

    1. Isaiah’s Eighteen Curses and Categories of Torah and Torah Scholars: An Allegorical Reading of Isaiah 3:1-7 (Chagigah 14a)

33. Ahasuerus 26

    1. Ahasuerus and the Kingship of the World (Esther 1:1; Megillah 11a-b)

    2. See also earlier: “Talmudic Interpretations of the Book of Esther”

34. Jeremiah 26

35. Mishael 26

    1. “Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah and the Fiery Furnace in the Talmud: Aggadic Expansion of Daniel 3 (Sanhedrin 92b-93a)”, final part: Pt2

36. Reuben 26

    1. “Pt1 ‘Whoever says that [X] sinned is mistaken’: Reinterpretations of Sins In Defense of the Biblical Righteous (Shabbat 55b-56a)“, section “Part 1: Reuben and Bilhah (Genesis 35, 49)“

37. Korah 25

    1. “Wealth, Wives, and Punishment: The Story of Korah’s Rebellion Against Moses in Numbers 16 (Sanhedrin 109b-110a)”, final part: Pt2

38. Mordecai 24

    1. See earlier: “Talmudic Interpretations of the Book of Esther”

39. Jedaiah 23

40. Jehoiakim 23

    1. See earlier: “Wicked Kings of Judah: Talmudic Insights into Idolatry and Atrocities by Ahaz, Manasseh, Amon, and Jehoiakim (Sanhedrin 103b)”

41. Shem 23

42. Balaam 22

    1. “The Prophet, the Prostitutes, and the Curses Reversed: The Biblical Story of Balaam in Numbers 23-25 (Sanhedrin 105b-106b)”, final part: Pt2

43. Caleb 22

    1. See earlier: “From Azubah to Zohar: Reading Miriam and Caleb in the Genealogies of the Book of Chronicles (Sotah 12a)”

44. Ishmael 22

45. Tamar 22

46. Ahithophel 21

47. Doeg¹⁸ 21

    1. The Wicked Doeg and His Relationship With David in 1 Samuel 21-22 and in Psalms (Sanhedrin 106b)

48. Sennacherib 21

49. Leah 20

Additional Selected entries (figures who <20 times in the Talmud; a list of ~20 figures), With Index

1. Absalom 17

   1. ‘My Son Absalom!’: The Pride, Punishment, and Aftermath of Absalom in II Samuel 14-19 (Sotah 10b-11a)

2. Gehazi 16

3. Pharaoh 15

   1. “Talmudic Interpretations of Exodus 1:8-2:9”, final part: “Pharaoh’s Daughter Rescuing Moses in Exodus 2:6-9 (Sotah 12b)”

4. the Patriarchs¹⁹ 14

   1. See earlier: “Divine Symbols and Historical Shifts: The Significance of the ‘Tav’ Mark in Ezekiel and the Precise Moment of the Patriarchs’ Merit’s End (Shabbat 55a)“

   2. [Appendix 2 - ‘Yeshiva’ (formal Torah study) always existed - A List of 6 major periods and personalities from the Pentateuch (Yoma 28b): the Biblical Patriarchs, and in Egypt and in the Wilderness]

   3. [Appendix - Non-Jewish Biblical Adversaries Who In the Future Messianic Judgement Day Will Affirm the Righteousness of Israel’s Patriarchs, Prophets, and the People in Their Fulfillment of the Torah (Avodah Zarah 3a)]

5. Ruth²⁰ 13

   1. Book of Ruth 2-3 Through Talmudic Eyes: Intelligence, Modesty, and Davidic Descendants (Shabbat 113b-114a)

   2. [Appendix 2 - Ruth’s Six Descendants: David, the Messiah, Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah (Ruth 3:17; Sanhedrin 93a-b)]

6. Boaz 13

7. Daughters of Zelophehad 10

8. Gog and Magog 9

9. Yitro 9

10. Bathsheba 8

    1. See earlier: “David and the Sin of Bathsheba in 2 Samuel 11-12 and in Psalms (Sanhedrin 107a)“

11. Cyrus 7

12. Nebuzaradan 7

13. Darius 6

14. Goliath 4

15. Eldad and Medad 3

    1. See earlier: “Moses’ Wilderness Lotteries and the Prophecy of Eldad and Medad in Numbers 3 and 11 (Sanhedrin 17a)“

16. Ishbibenob 2

    1. See earlier: ““One day David went falcon-hunting”: The Demilitarized, Rabbinized, and Enchanted Story of Avishai Saving David From Yishbi-benov (II Samuel 21:15-17; Sanhedrin 95a)“

17. Joshua the High Priest 2

18. Og

    1. Crushed Amorites, Suspended Hailstones, and the Defeat of the Giant Og: Talmudic Accounts of Biblical Triumphs Over Enemies (Berakhot 54a-b)

1. I continue to write there in the Abstract:

It uses the following inputs:

• ed. Steinsaltz translation of the Talmud (pre-processed with all explicit biblical quotations removed - identified and excised via quotation marks) .

• Manually curated bible_names_gazetteer (467 entries)

Each entry records the total number of occurrences of a given name and provides up to five representative contexts, preserving original punctuation and markup.

Contexts are extracted using a fixed window of ten words preceding and twenty words following each occurrence.

To prevent double-counting, the method employs greedy longest-to-shortest matching with token-level de-duplication, ensuring that shorter names embedded within longer expressions are not counted separately.

Results are presented in alphabetical order.

The general code that I used for this can be found in this Github gist. The general prompt to ChatGPT can be found there as well.

2. See my most recent previous discussion here: “Finding Rare Voices in the Talmud: A Quantitative Analysis and Concordance“ (Nov 27, 2025), especially re gazetteers and other technical aspects.

3. It thus acts as a kind of index of my pieces by Biblical figure. I hope to keep this index updated accordingly, as I publish additional relevant pieces.

Compare also my intro to Talmud, section “Creatively re-reading and expanding upon the narratives and characters of the Bible”

4. Also note that certain instances of names are actually group names, such “sons of Aaron” (often a general term for priests), “sons of Noah” (term for non-Jews, in the context of commandments they’re required to keep), “sons of Jacob” (term for Jews).

5. However, I don’t believe this has significant impact. This is especially true since ed. Steinsaltz very helpfully uses the traditional (archaic) transliteration for Biblical names, while using the modern transliteration for Talmudic names. This differentiates, for example between Samuel (major Biblical figure) and Shmuel (major Talmudic figure), or Isaac vs. Yitzhak, Jacob vs. Ya’akov, etc.

But note, for example, the false positives in the concordance and count with these names: Elisha, Asher, Avshalom.

6. Compare my note discussing this in the context of Tamudic names in “From Abba to Zebedee: A Comprehensive Survey of Naming Conventions in the Mishnah, Talmud, and Late Antique Midrash”, section “Personality”, p. 67 f. 533.

7. Compare my note ibid., f. 531.

8. Compare my note ibid., section “Title”, p. 63 f. 509.

9. Note that due to technical constraints, the counting file doesn’t include any entries that contain commas, such as “Eglon, king of Moab”. The full list of entries can be found at Github, in the link above.

10. Typically with the biblical format of “the [place X]-ite”. For example, ‘ha-Ramati’ (הרמתי). Compare my note ibid., section “Toponymic Surnames”, p. 42 and on, especially sub-section “ha-X-i“, p. 43.

11. Compare my note ibid., section “Aptronyms”, pp. 7-8, and section “Etymological Explanation of Given Name Provided by the Talmud”, pp. 8-9, esp. f. 12. And see also my anthology of these passages: “ “Why Was He Called Thus?”: An Anthology of Talmudic Passages Relating to Explanations of Biblical Names, Unification of Ostensibly Separate Biblical Personalities, and Etymologies of Biblical Words”.

12. Also sometimes referred to in the Talmud as: “our Patriarch Abraham”, “our forefather Abraham” (אברהם אבינו).

13. Also often referred to in the Talmud as: “Jacob our forefather” (יעקב אבינו).

14. Also often referred to in the Talmud with the toponymic surname: “Samuel from Ramah”, “Samuel the Ramathite” (שמואל הרמתי).

15. Also sometimes referred to in the Talmud as: “Benjamin the righteous” (בנימין הצדיק), see the note in my intro.

16. Typically referred to in the Talmud as: “Adam, the first” (אדם הראשון), since ‘adam’ literally means “human”, so ‘adam ha-rishon’ literally means “the first human”.

17. Also often referred to in the Talmud as: “the wicked Nebuchadnezzar”, see the note in my intro.

18. Also often referred to in the Talmud as: “Doeg the Edomite” (דואג האדומי).

19. אבות - literally: “fathers”.

Often (and equivalently) simply as a list: “Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob”.

20. Also often referred to in the Talmud as: “Ruth the Moabite” (רות המואביה).