Usually, Scripture leaves us wondering
Most biblical characters receive no description of their face, height, build, or colouring. We come to know Abraham, Ruth, Peter and Mary Magdalene through what they do, say and trust, rather than through details a painter could use. Films and artwork often fill those gaps, but they are making choices the Bible itself does not make.
When Samuel travelled to Bethlehem to anoint a future king, Eliab looked impressive to him. God corrected Samuel's first impression, showing that people tend to look at what is visible while God sees the heart (1 Samuel 16:6-7). That does not mean appearance is unimportant, but it is not the truest measure of a person.
But the Lord said unto Samuel, Look not on his countenance, or on the height of his stature; because I have refused him: for the Lord seeth not as man seeth; for man looketh on the outward appearance, but the Lord looketh on the heart.
Some details stand out
At times, a physical feature matters to the story. Saul was notably taller than the other Israelites (1 Samuel 9:2). David is described as ruddy and good-looking when Samuel meets him (1 Samuel 16:12). Absalom was celebrated for his appearance and had unusually abundant hair (2 Samuel 14:25-26).
Those observations are not random. Saul's stature fitted Israel's desire for a king who looked impressive. David's story soon showed that courage and trust in God could not be measured by outward appearance. Absalom's beauty appears alongside his growing ambition, as he won people over at Jerusalem's gate (2 Samuel 15:1-5).
And he had a son, whose name was Saul, a choice young man, and a goodly: and there was not among the children of Israel a goodlier person than he: from his shoulders and upward he was higher than any of the people.
Many lands and peoples appear
The Bible moves through Israel, Egypt, Midian, Syria, Babylon, Persia, Greece and Rome, among other places. People would have had different languages, clothing, customs and family backgrounds. When Moses fled Egypt, the daughters of Midian identified him as an Egyptian, showing that he was recognised in some way as connected with Egypt (Exodus 2:19).
Jesus was known as a Jew, while the woman he met at Jacob's well was a Samaritan. Their conversation crossed a sharp social and religious boundary (John 4:9). Acts also tells of an Ethiopian court official who had come to Jerusalem to worship, and of Simeon, called Niger, among the church leaders in Antioch (Acts 8:27; Acts 13:1). Scripture presents God's work reaching people across nations, not one preferred physical type.
What about Jesus?
The Gospels do not record Jesus' height, eye colour, hairstyle or skin tone. They identify him as a Jewish descendant of David, and the people of Nazareth knew him within Mary and Joseph's family (Matthew 1:1; Mark 6:3). Beyond that, an exact physical portrait would go beyond what Scripture says.
Isaiah describes the Lord's servant as having no outward majesty that would naturally draw people to him, a passage Christians have long understood as pointing to Christ (Isaiah 53:2). The New Testament instead draws our attention to Jesus' compassion, authority, crucifixion and resurrection. So it is wise to hold imagined pictures lightly and keep returning to the person revealed in the Gospels.
For he shall grow up before him as a tender plant, and as a root out of a dry ground: he hath no form nor comeliness; and when we shall see him, there is no beauty that we should desire him.