Ye Old Testament Nights Trivia Quiz

Answer: The fourth day

The six days of creation are recounted in Genesis chapter 1. (God rested on the seventh). On the first day, God separated the light from the darkness, but He did not yet create the sun and the moon and the stars. Those only appeared in the sky on Day four "to give light on the earth, to govern the day and the night, and to separate light from darkness". [Genesis 1:14-19]

"Day of Awakening" is not a phrase found in the NIV. Nor does Genesis 1 specify that Day four was a Sunday.

Answer: Moab

In Genesis 19, Lot and his family fled to a small town called Zoar while the Lord overthrew Sodom and Gomorrah and destroyed the entire plain. On the way, Lot's wife looked back and turned into a pillar of salt. Lot and his daughters were afraid to stay in Zoar and left to live in a cave in the mountains. Fearing that they would die childless, the girls hatched a plan to preserve the family line through their father. The older daughter conceived a son named Moab (meaning "from the father"), while the younger gave birth to Ben-Ammi ("son of my people"). Their descendants, the Moabites and the Ammonites, vexed the Israelites for generations to come. [Genesis 19:30-38]

Incestuous relationships of this type are certainly vile and morally reprehensible to modern sensibilities. But some Biblical scholars have posited that such controversies were the very impetus for the formulation of the Levitical laws.

Ishmael was the first son born to Abraham by his servant Hagar. 'Little' and 'Junior' are not Biblical names, though personally I think 'Little Lot' might have been quite clever.

Answer: Jacob unknowingly married the wrong woman

Laban preferred to give his daughter to Jacob, his sister's son, than to another man, and so agreed to the terms. However, when Jacob's labor of love was complete, unbeknownst to him, Laban gave him Leah to wife instead. Jacob consummated the marriage that night, and only the next morning did his uncle's trickery come to light. Laban defended his action by claiming that it was not the custom to give away the younger daughter in marriage before the elder. So Jacob worked another seven years for Rachel's hand in marriage. [Genesis 29:15-30]

Wait, how did Jacob really not know he was marrying the wrong woman? Presumably, his bride was veiled until it was dark and time to consummate the marriage. It has also been suggested that Rachel shared the password she and Jacob had devised with Leah so that her elder sister would not be shamed.

Rachel did not fall off Jacob's ladder. But that does bring to mind another strange night in Bethel where Jacob had visions of angels ascending and descending a stairway to heaven (Genesis 28:10-17). At least according to the Biblical account, there was no decision on Jacob's part to marry Leah first. Esau did sell Jacob his birthright, but much earlier, and for a pot of stew. Jacob also stole his brother's blessing from their sight-impaired father by disguising himself as Esau. So, some might say he got his just deserts.

Answer: Jacob was overpowered

In Genesis 32, we read an account of Jacob wrestling with a man until daybreak. The man could not overpower Jacob, so he put his hip out of joint. But Jacob refused to let go without first receiving a blessing. The man said to him, "Your name will no longer be Jacob, but Israel, because you have struggled with God and with humans and have overcome" and then blessed him. According to verse 32, "to this day the Israelites do not eat the tendon attached to the socket of the hip, because the socket of Jacob's hip was touched near the tendon". [Genesis 32:24-32]

I'm going to guess that Jacob was pretty buff. No spray-on abs either.

Answer: Pesach

When Pharaoh refused to let God's people go, the Egyptians suffered through ten plagues, the last of which was the death of all Egyptian firstborn. 'Pesach' or 'Passover' refers to the destroyer passing over the Israelite houses protected by the blood of the lamb. [Exodus 12:1-30]

Rosh Hashanah is the Jewish New Year referred to as the Feast of Trumpets in the Bible. It is the first of the High Holy Days. Yom Kippur is called the Day of Atonement and the Sabbath of Sabbaths. It is the last of the High Holy Days. Chanukkah or Hanukkah is also known as the Feast of Lights and commemorates the rededication of the Holy Temple in Jerusalem.

Answer: To allow the Israelites to travel by night

According to Exodus 13 (and elsewhere in Exodus, Numbers, Deuteronomy, and Nehemiah), God manifested His presence in the form of a Pillar of Cloud by day and a Pillar of Fire by night so that the Israelites could travel day and night. [Exodus 13:21-22]

The Pillars had their place in front of the people (Exodus 13:22), not as a barrier between the Israelites and their pursuers. Nor did the Pillar of Fire lead the Egyptians astray. The Egyptians kept up their pursuit until it ruined them, so it's not clear how much fear affected them.

Answer: Trumpets, jars, and torches

Gideon arrived at camp with 32,000 men, but God did not want Israel to boast in their own strength. So He pared down the army to 300 fighting men. Vastly outnumbered, Gideon and his men split into three companies and headed to the edge of the Midianite camp carrying trumpets and torches concealed by empty jars. Imagine the confusion as they shattered their jars, yelled, and blew trumpets in unison! [Judges 7:1-22]

Turns out they had to do without firecrackers or mirrors or rifles. I can just picture the havoc caused by a few thunder strings and whistle whirls.

Answer: That judgment was coming to Eli's house

According to 1 Samuel 3:1, "In those days the word of the Lord was rare; there were not many visions". So it must have seemed strange to Samuel that Eli denied calling him three times. Who else could it be? When the Lord called for Samuel the fourth time, he was ready and God told him that Eli's house could not avoid judgment. Eli's sons had blasphemed the Lord and Eli had failed to reproach them. [1 Samuel 3:1-14]

It was Samwise who was instructed to accompany Frodo on his quest. That's for dropping eaves. Of course, God wouldn't call Samuel just to tell him to sleep. And God did not tell Samuel here that He planned to destroy His Chosen People.

Answer: Ask for a sword

King Solomon called for a sword and ordered that the living child be cut in two so that the mothers might each have half. It was clear who the real mother was when she begged the king to give her son to the other woman without harming him. The baby-swapper, on the other hand, was content that both mothers should be deprived of children. [1 Kings 3:19-21].

King Solomon did not have access to birth certificates. Flipping a coin or rolling dice would depend on chance and in no way uncover the truth of the matter.

Answer: Sennacherib

Sennacherib launched an attack on Judah and its capital Jerusalem. King Hezekiah of Judah sought the God of Israel in prayer and the Lord came to the aid of Jerusalem. [2 Kings 18 and 19]

Nebuchadnezzar II and Merodach-Baladan were Babylonian kings and Darius the Great ruled the Persian empire.