Ray of Sunshine. art

I’ve added another section to my Bible Buddy! This one is for the Bible Peeps. I was inspired by some videos I have seen on Tiktok where people create these maps of different people in the Bible. After seeing several I was influenced to create a sheet of my own and a new section in my Bible Buddy. Sometimes we get caught up in the fact that the Bible is a book and we think of the people in them as characters when in actuality they are real people who walked this earth. There is also many good things we can glean from these people and the lives they lived. I don’t know about you, but sometimes it can be challenging to remember every detail about a person in the Bible as there are many to keep track of. Having a sheet that you filled out with all the important information you gathered is a great way to reference each person with ease. Let’s take a look at the sheet and breakdown each section. Also stick around to the end cause you know I included a printable!

The Name

This space is left open for you to decide how you want to write the name of the person you are studying. Maybe you want to get fancy with it. I also encourage you to add the meaning of the person’s name and their original Hebrew or Greek name. An example here is how most Christians use the name Moses while in Judaism he is referred to as Moshi. Sari’s name changed to Sarah. Daniel’s original name is Belteshazzar. Is there a reason behind these changes or why we call them differently? This is a space to explore some of that!

Verse References

This is the spot to note where in the Bible this person can be found. They may be like Daniel or Ruth and have a whole book dedicated to them or maybe they pop up in different books throughout. This can be helpful as a reference but also a way to track the person throughout the Bible.

Relationship with God

God chose to include different people in the Bible for very specific reasons and each reason is unique to that person. From your readings what have you gathered about their relationship with God? Is this a person who spoke to God? Did they curse God for their lot in life or walk faithfully in God’s plan? Did God say something specific about their relationship? These and many more are just some of the questions to ask yourself as you study the person and dig into their relationship with God.

Characteristics

What are the qualities mentioned about this person? Are they loyal, faithful, or dependable? Are they quick to anger, ruthless, and cold? Some of these may be outright said in the text and others you may be able to decide for yourself based off of their actions.

Connections

This section can be used in a few different ways depending on your preference or the person you are studying. One way is to connect them to other people in the Bible. For example you are studying Ruth so you can put that she is Boaz’s wife, daughter-in-law of Naomi, etc. Maybe you are studying Cain so you can write brother of Abel. This can also be place to note if they are in the genealogy of Jesus. It does not have to be based off of family either it can be how they interacted with others like where they a commander in the kings army? The second way to use the connections section is for resources. What resources did they have, what was their standing in society, and/ or were they accepted?

What can you glean from them?

What is the lesson(s) that you can take away from studying this person? Is there things they did that you would like to do? Do you strive to live a life like theirs? Is there things they did that you should not follow? Lessons learned?

Visual Representation

This section is a place to get creative or not, it’s your choice. One thing that can be challenging to do really visualize what that person might look like, especially if we do not have the historical context for it. This is a space to help aid in visually seeing that person. This can be done in a variety of ways including Googling a photo, drawing your own, or writing the visual cues that are found within the text. When thinking about accuracy it brings to mind how often we picture Jesus in these long white robes when maybe He would have been dressed as other Jewish men during his time dressed. Let’s take a look at the following images:

Both of the above images show a pretty different looking Jesus and we only have so much knowledge of what He really looked like and how He dressed. All of that to illustrate the opportunity to do some research and see if you can gather a visual representation of that person. This space can also be used as a space to add an image that the person is compared to. In Genesis 49:27 Benjamin is called a ravenous wolf. If you were doing a study on him, maybe you put the wolf image here to remind you of the symbolism behind it and how it relates to Benjamin.

Blank Space

I left the back of the page open for any other information you find or sections you would like to add. This could also be a space to add resources that you used when studying for future reference.

The Printable

Click the download button below for a free copy of the character sheet. I sized it to A5, as that is the size of my Bible Buddy however, you can size it to fit your preference depending on your printer settings.

Don’t forget to share how you use the printable in the comments down below and/or your tips for studying people!