The Biblical story of God's plan of salvation for all of humankind unfolds for us in and through the lives of the people we read of in the pages of the Old Testament. They were real people who lived in real places in real time.

To help us appreciate the reality of their lives and the times in which they lived, a number of historical and archeological resources are available. The following are especially recommended ...

    THE BIBLICAL WORLD: A Dictionary Of Biblical Archeology: Edited by Charles F.
        Pfeiffer.
    BIBLE HISTORY: Old Testament: by Alfred Edersheim.
    THE BIBLE AND ARCHAEOLOGY: by J. A. Thompson.
    A HANDBOOK OF LIFE IN BIBLE TIMES: by J. A. Thompson.
    MANNERS AND CUSTOMS OF BIBLE LANDS: by Fred H. Wight.
    JOSEPHUS -THE ESSENTIAL WORKS: by Paul L. Maier.
    THE ILLUSTRATED BIBLE DICTIONARY: Douglas, J. D., Organising Editor. 

John Thompson encourages the Bible student to make use of resources such as these as an aid to understanding the historical climate in which the people of the Bible lived. In the introduction to his book, the Bible And Archaeology, he writes of the significance of such material.

   ... it provides the general background of the history of the Bible. It is not sufficient merely to read the Bible if we wish to appreciate the significance of its narratives. The men of Bible history lived in an environment. Abraham, for example, moved in a world that had its own peculiar customs. It is necessary for us to learn from non-Biblical information what this world of his was like if we would understand more clearly the significance of the things he said and did. We realize that the picture we get of Abraham is not artificial, for the archaeologist shows that he was typical of tens of thousands long ago. The same kind of thing could be said of Joseph, Moses, Joshua, David, and the whole family of Bible personalities.

With those resources in mind to help you with further background information, here are some of the People of Old Testament times for you to read about.