'Man' in the Bible

Samson said to the young man who held his hand, "Position me so I can touch the pillars that support the temple. Then I can lean on them."

There was a man named Micah from the Ephraimite hill country.

Now this man Micah owned a shrine. He made an ephod and some personal idols and hired one of his sons to serve as a priest.

In those days Israel had no king. Each man did what he considered to be right.

There was a young man from Bethlehem in Judah. He was a Levite who had been temporarily residing among the tribe of Judah.

This man left the town of Bethlehem in Judah to find another place to live. He came to the Ephraimite hill country and made his way to Micah's house.

So the Levite agreed to stay with the man; the young man was like a son to Micah.

Micah paid the Levite; the young man became his priest and lived in Micah's house.

So the two of them sat down and had a meal together. Then the girl's father said to the man, "Why not stay another night and have a good time!"

When the man got ready to leave, his father-in-law convinced him to stay another night.

When the man got ready to leave with his concubine and his servant, his father-in-law, the girl's father, said to him, "Look! The day is almost over! Stay another night! Since the day is over, stay another night here and have a good time. You can get up early tomorrow and start your trip home."

But the man did not want to stay another night. He left and traveled as far as Jebus (that is, Jerusalem). He had with him a pair of saddled donkeys and his concubine.

But then an old man passed by, returning at the end of the day from his work in the field. The man was from the Ephraimite hill country; he was living temporarily in Gibeah. (The residents of the town were Benjaminites.)

When he looked up and saw the traveler in the town square, the old man said, "Where are you heading? Where do you come from?"

We have enough straw and grain for our donkeys, and there is enough food and wine for me, your female servant, and the young man who is with your servants. We lack nothing."

The old man said, "Everything is just fine! I will take care of all your needs. But don't spend the night in the town square."

They were having a good time, when suddenly some men of the city, some good-for-nothings, surrounded the house and kept beating on the door. They said to the old man who owned the house, "Send out the man who came to visit you so we can have sex with him."

The man who owned the house went outside and said to them, "No, my brothers! Don't do this wicked thing! After all, this man is a guest in my house. Don't do such a disgraceful thing!

Here are my virgin daughter and my guest's concubine. I will send them out and you can abuse them and do to them whatever you like. But don't do such a disgraceful thing to this man!"

In those days Israel had no king. Each man did what he considered to be right.

During the time of the judges there was a famine in the land of Judah. So a man from Bethlehem in Judah went to live as a resident foreigner in the region of Moab, along with his wife and two sons.

Now Naomi had a relative on her husband's side of the family named Boaz. He was a wealthy, prominent man from the clan of Elimelech.

Her mother-in-law asked her, "Where did you gather grain today? Where did you work? May the one who took notice of you be rewarded!" So Ruth told her mother-in-law with whom she had worked. She said, "The name of the man with whom I worked today is Boaz."

Naomi said to her daughter-in-law, "May he be rewarded by the Lord because he has shown loyalty to the living on behalf of the dead!" Then Naomi said to her, "This man is a close relative of ours; he is our guardian."

So bathe yourself, rub on some perfumed oil, and get dressed up. Then go down to the threshing floor. But don't let the man know you're there until he finishes his meal.

and she returned to her mother-in-law.When Ruth returned to her mother-in-law, Naomi asked, "How did things turn out for you, my daughter?" Ruth told her about all the man had done for her.

Then Naomi said, "Stay put, my daughter, until you know how the matter turns out. For the man will not rest until he has taken care of the matter today."

(Now this used to be the customary way to finalize a transaction involving redemption in Israel: A man would remove his sandal and give it to the other party. This was a legally binding act in Israel.)

There was a man from Ramathaim Zophim, from the hill country of Ephraim, whose name was Elkanah. He was the son of Jeroham, the son of Elihu, the son of Tohu, the son of Zuph, an Ephraimite.

Year after year this man would go up from his city to worship and to sacrifice to the Lord of hosts at Shiloh. It was there that the two sons of Eli, Hophni and Phineas, served as the Lord's priests.

This man Elkanah went up with all his family to make the yearly sacrifice to the Lord and to keep his vow,

If a man sins against a man, one may appeal to God on his behalf. But if a man sins against the Lord, who then will intercede for him?" But Eli's sons would not listen to their father, for the Lord had decided to kill them.

A man of God came to Eli and said to him, "This is what the Lord says: 'Did I not plainly reveal myself to your ancestor's house when they were in Egypt in the house of Pharaoh?

In fact, days are coming when I will remove your strength and the strength of your father's house. There will not be an old man in your house!

You will see trouble in my dwelling place! Israel will experience blessings, but there will not be an old man in your house for all time.

When he arrived in Shiloh, Eli was sitting in his chair watching by the side of the road, for he was very worried about the ark of God. As the man entered the city to give his report, the whole city cried out.

When Eli heard the outcry, he said, "What is this commotion?" The man quickly came and told Eli.

The man said to Eli, "I am the one who came from the battle lines! Just today I fled from the battle lines!" Eli asked, "How did things go, my son?"

There was a Benjaminite man named Kish son of Abiel, the son of Zeror, the son of Becorath, the son of Aphiah of Benjamin. He was a prominent person.

He had a son named Saul, a handsome young man. There was no one among the Israelites more handsome than he was; he stood head and shoulders above all the people.

But the servant said to him, "Look, there is a man of God in this town. He is highly respected. Everything that he says really happens. Now let's go there. Perhaps he will tell us where we should go from here."

So Saul said to his servant, "All right, we can go. But what can we bring the man, since the food in our bags is used up? We have no gift to take to the man of God. What do we have?"

The servant went on to answer Saul, "Look, I happen to have in my hand a quarter shekel of silver. I will give it to the man of God and he will tell us where we should go."

So Saul said to his servant, "That's a good idea! Come on. Let's go." So they went to the town where the man of God was.

"At this time tomorrow I will send to you a man from the land of Benjamin. You must consecrate him as a leader over my people Israel. He will save my people from the hand of the Philistines. For I have looked with favor on my people. Their cry has reached me!"

When Samuel saw Saul, the Lord said, "Here is the man that I told you about! He will rule over my people."

A man who was from there replied, "And who is their father?" Therefore this became a proverb: "Is even Saul among the prophets?"

So they inquired again of the Lord, "Has the man arrived here yet?" The Lord said, "He has hidden himself among the equipment."

But some wicked men said, "How can this man save us?" They despised him and did not even bring him a gift. But Saul said nothing about it.

But now your kingdom will not continue! The Lord has sought out for himself a man who is loyal to him and the Lord has appointed him to be leader over his people, for you have not obeyed what the Lord commanded you."

Now the men of Israel were hard pressed that day, for Saul had made the army agree to this oath: "Cursed be the man who eats food before evening! I will get my vengeance on my enemies!" So no one in the army ate anything.

Then someone from the army informed him, "Your father put the army under a strict oath saying, 'Cursed be the man who eats food today!' That is why the army is tired."

So go now and strike down the Amalekites. Destroy everything that they have. Don't spare them. Put them to death -- man, woman, child, infant, ox, sheep, camel, and donkey alike.'"

Let our lord instruct his servants who are here before you to look for a man who knows how to play the lyre. Then whenever the evil spirit from God comes upon you, he can play the lyre and you will feel better."

So Saul said to his servants, "Find me a man who plays well and bring him to me."

Goliath stood and called to Israel's troops, "Why do you come out to prepare for battle? Am I not the Philistine, and are you not the servants of Saul? Choose for yourselves a man so he may come down to me!

Then the Philistine said, "I defy Israel's troops this day! Give me a man so we can fight each other!"

When all the men of Israel saw this man, they retreated from his presence and were very afraid.

The men of Israel said, "Have you seen this man who is coming up? He does so to defy Israel. But the king will make the man who can strike him down very wealthy! He will give him his daughter in marriage, and he will make his father's house exempt from tax obligations in Israel."

David asked the men who were standing near him, "What will be done for the man who strikes down this Philistine and frees Israel from this humiliation? For who is this uncircumcised Philistine, that he defies the armies of the living God?"

The soldiers told him what had been promised, saying, "This is what will be done for the man who can strike him down."

Now as Saul watched David going out to fight the Philistine, he asked Abner, the general in command of the army, "Whose son is this young man, Abner?" Abner replied, "As surely as you live, O king, I don't know."

Saul said to him, "Whose son are you, young man?" David replied, "I am the son of your servant Jesse in Bethlehem."

So Saul's servants spoke these words privately to David. David replied, "Is becoming the king's son-in-law something insignificant to you? I'm just a poor and lightly-esteemed man!"

Do I have a shortage of fools, that you have brought me this man to display his insanity in front of me? Should this man enter my house?"

Now if a man finds his enemy, does he send him on his way in good shape? May the Lord repay you with good this day for what you have done to me.

There was a man in Maon whose business was in Carmel. This man was very wealthy; he owned three thousand sheep and a thousand goats. At that time he was shearing his sheep in Carmel.

The man's name was Nabal, and his wife's name was Abigail. She was both wise and beautiful, but the man was harsh and his deeds were evil. He was a Calebite.

Now David had been thinking, "In vain I guarded everything that belonged to this man in the desert. I didn't take anything from him. But he has repaid my good with evil.

My lord should not pay attention to this wicked man Nabal. He simply lives up to his name! His name means 'fool,' and he is indeed foolish! But I, your servant, did not see the servants my lord sent.

David said to Abner, "Aren't you a man? After all, who is like you in Israel? Why then haven't you protected your lord the king? One of the soldiers came to kill your lord the king.

The Lord rewards each man for his integrity and loyalty. Even though today the Lord delivered you into my hand, I was not willing to extend my hand against the Lord's chosen one.

When David would attack a district, he would leave neither man nor woman alive. He would take sheep, cattle, donkeys, camels, and clothing and would then go back to Achish.

Neither man nor woman would David leave alive so as to bring them back to Gath. He was thinking, "This way they can't tell on us, saying, 'This is what David did.'" Such was his practice the entire time that he lived in the country of the Philistines.

He said to her, "What about his appearance?" She said, "An old man is coming up! He is wrapped in a robe!" Then Saul realized it was Samuel, and he bowed his face toward the ground and kneeled down.

But the leaders of the Philistines became angry with him and said to him, "Send the man back! Let him return to the place that you assigned him! Don't let him go down with us into the battle, for he might become our adversary in the battle. What better way to please his lord than with the heads of these men?

So Achish summoned David and said to him, "As surely as the Lord lives, you are an honest man, and I am glad to have you serving with me in the army. I have found no fault with you from the day that you first came to me until the present time. But in the opinion of the leaders, you are not reliable.

David was very upset, for the men were thinking of stoning him; each man grieved bitterly over his sons and daughters. But David drew strength from the Lord his God.

David said to him, "To whom do you belong, and where are you from?" The young man said, "I am an Egyptian, the servant of an Amalekite man. My master abandoned me when I was ill for three days.

On the third day a man arrived from the camp of Saul with his clothes torn and dirt on his head. When he approached David, the man threw himself to the ground.

David said to the young man who was telling him this, "How do you know that Saul and his son Jonathan are dead?"

The young man who was telling him this said, "I just happened to be on Mount Gilboa and came across Saul leaning on his spear for support. The chariots and leaders of the horsemen were in hot pursuit of him.

David said to the young man who told this to him, "Where are you from?" He replied, "I am an Amalekite, the son of a resident foreigner."

Surely when wicked men have killed an innocent man as he slept in his own house, should I not now require his blood from your hands and remove you from the earth?"

The rich man had a great many flocks and herds.

But the poor man had nothing except for a little lamb he had acquired. He raised it, and it grew up alongside him and his children. It used to eat his food, drink from his cup, and sleep in his arms. It was just like a daughter to him.

"When a traveler arrived at the rich man's home, he did not want to use one of his own sheep or cattle to feed the traveler who had come to visit him. Instead, he took the poor man's lamb and cooked it for the man who had come to visit him."

Then David became very angry at this man. He said to Nathan, "As surely as the Lord lives, the man who did this deserves to die!

Nathan said to David, "You are that man! This is what the Lord God of Israel says: 'I chose you to be king over Israel and I rescued you from the hand of Saul.

Now Amnon had a friend named Jonadab, the son of David's brother Shimeah. Jonadab was a very crafty man.

Yes! The king may listen and deliver his female servant from the hand of the man who seeks to remove both me and my son from the inheritance God has given us!'

Then the king said to Joab, "All right! I will do this thing! Go and bring back the young man Absalom!

Now in all Israel everyone acknowledged that there was no man as handsome as Absalom. From the sole of his feet to the top of his head he was perfect in appearance.

Then King David reached Bahurim. There a man from Saul's extended family named Shimei son of Gera came out, yelling curses as he approached.

As he yelled curses, Shimei said, "Leave! Leave! You man of bloodshed, you wicked man!

The Lord has punished you for all the spilled blood of the house of Saul, in whose place you rule. Now the Lord has given the kingdom into the hand of your son Absalom. Disaster has overtaken you, for you are a man of bloodshed!"

and will bring the entire army back to you. In exchange for the life of the man you are seeking, you will get back everyone. The entire army will return unharmed."

But a young man saw them on one occasion and informed Absalom. So the two of them quickly departed and went to the house of a man in Bahurim. There was a well in his courtyard, and they got down in it.

Absalom had made Amasa general in command of the army in place of Joab. (Now Amasa was the son of an Israelite man named Jether, who had married Abigail the daughter of Nahash and sister of Zeruiah, Joab's mother.)

The king gave this order to Joab, Abishai, and Ittai: "For my sake deal gently with the young man Absalom." Now the entire army was listening when the king gave all the leaders this order concerning Absalom.