Ancient Places; Modern Names Trivia Quiz

Answer: Moses

Midian was one of the sons that Abraham had with his second wife, Keturah, after Sarah died (Genesis 25). His descendants were called the Midianites and their land, the land of Midian (obviously).

Moses met Zipporah, a Midianite, when he ended-up in the land after running away from Egypt. It was in Midian that God appeared to him in a burning bush and commanded him to return to Egypt to deliver the Hebrews. Interestingly, there seemed to be peace between the Hebrews and the Midianites at that time, but in Numbers 22, Midian and Moab joined together to attack Israel, which led to God telling Moses to take vengeance against them.

The Midian mountains are a mountain range in Saudi Arabia.

There is a common belief among Christians and Muslims that Arabs descended from Ishmael, the son that Abraham had with the Egyptian maid Hagar. However, the Bible actually says very little about the Ishmaelites and who they were. While Ishmaelites could have been a type of Arab, it's likely that the various Arabian nations came from Shem and his various descendants, in which Abraham was also one. Some other Middle Eastern nations descended from Ham or Japheth too, according to the Bible.

Answer: God gave her leprosy.

Cush was one of Ham's sons and a grandson of Noah (Genesis 10). He is traditionally believed to have been the ancestor of African people, especially Ethiopians and people from Sudan.

For whatever reason, Miriam spoke against Moses and the Cushite woman that he married. God punished her with leprosy. Miriam was Moses's older sister who helped take care of him as a baby (see Exodus) and she was also a prophetess of the Lord.

Moses probably married the black woman after the death of his first wife, Zipporah.

Interestingly, the author of Genesis (traditionally believed to have been Moses) wrote in Genesis 2 that one of the four rivers of the Garden of Eden, the Gihon, flows through the land of Cush. The other rivers seem to be in the Middle East, particularly the Tigris and Euphrates.

Answer: No

Let's be honest, how many nations, ancient or modern, haven't fought or persecuted the Jews at one point? But with the Edomites, the Bible says that they had an everlasting hatred for the people of Israel.

According to Genesis 25, Rebekah was pregnant with twins and she felt like they were fighting in her womb. She asked God what was wrong and He told her that two nations were in her womb and the older would serve the younger. Fast-forward to their adult lives, Jacob and Rebekah "tricked" Isaac into giving Esau's blessing to Jacob. Esau also sold his birthright to Jacob for a bowl of stew. I say "tricked" because I believe that based upon God's words to Rebekah that it was always God's plan for Jacob to be the chosen child. God said "Jacob I loved, but Esau I hated" (Malachi 1: 1-2).

Esau took multiple wives and married Canaanites and Ishmaelites. This broke his mother's heart (Genesis 27). Still, God gave the land of Mt. Seir, in modern-day Jordan, to the Edomites.

To call the Edomites' hatred for the Israelites "anti-semitism" is a little unfair. After all, Esau, Jacob, Isaac, Ishmael, and Abraham all descend from Shem, Noah's son, where we get the word "Semitic" from. Nonetheless, Esau's descendants, including the Amalekites and Haman from Esther, were always fighting and wanting to destroy the Jews. Remember, Esau intermarried with Canaanites, descendants of Ham and original inhabitants of the land of Canaan.

Ezekiel 35 gives a prophecy about how the Edomites attacked and killed many of the Jews. Because of the bloodshed that they caused and because of their everlasting hatred for Israel, God would utterly destroy the Edomites. Interestingly, the prophecy also includes God condemning the Edomites for wanting to possess Judea and Samaria as their own. Similar prophecies can be found elsewhere, such as in Obadiah 1. Now some people believe that God already destroyed Edom, which is why there is no kingdom called "Edom" today. But others feel like these are future Messianic prophecies and therefore, Edomites must exist today. I believe that there is truth to both perspectives. Yes, ancient Edom no longer exists, just like the Babylonian empire no longer exists, etc. Many of Israel's ancient enemies, like the Philistines, no longer exist. But I do believe that those who have the Edomite spirit definitely still exist and could also be descendants of Esau biologically, but of course not "pure bred". Most folks are quite "mixed" anyway.

Answer: The Judeans

The House of Judah was exiled to Babylon. At the time, Israel was broken into Judah or Judea and the House of Israel or Ephraim or Samaria. While some members of the tribes of Manesseh or other tribes were living in Judah, they too were called Judeans, just as, if those from the tribe of Judah were living in Ephraim, they would have been called Ephraimites.

The Samaritans are not to be confused with the Ephraimites. Mentioned in the New Testament, the Samaritans were (and still are) a religious and ethnic group distinct from other Israelites or Jews. They are the result of Gentiles intermarrying with Israelites. The Jews of Jesus's day shunned the Samaritans and viewed them as "half-breeds". They also had different theologies.

Also mentioned in the New Testament, the Pharisees were followers of a certain sect of Judaism that became popular in about 170 BC. While we could argue that modern Rabbinic Judaism is basically Phariseeism, throughout history there have been many sects of Judaism.

In the New Testament, "Babylon" is a symbol for Rome.

Answer: The Ephraimites

The Assyrians were the descendants of Asshur, son of Shem and grandson of Noah (Genesis 10).

After the House of Ephraim was exiled to Assyria, it became pretty much extinct.

Isaiah 7:8-9, New American Standard Bible:
[8]"For the head of Aram is Damascus and the head of Damascus is Rezin (now within another 65 years Ephraim will be shattered, so that it is no longer a people),
[9]and the head of Ephraim is Samaria and the head of Samaria is the son of Remaliah. If you will not believe, you surely shall not last."

2 Kings 17:24,27:
[24]"The king of Assyria brought men from Babylon and from Cuthah and from Avva and from Hamath and Sepharvaim, and settled them in the cities of Samaria in place of the sons of Israel. So they possessed Samaria and lived in its cities."

Now this doesn't mean that God destroyed all of the Ephraimites. It's just that the House of Ephraim stopped being a nation. It is important to note the following:

Some Ephraimites remained in Samaria and mixed with the Gentiles. Others were taken to Assyria.

There have always been members of the 10 tribes living among the Jewish or Judean people today. They were there when Judah was exiled to Babylon! I don't believe that there are any lost tribes because I believe that the Jewish people have members of all 12 tribes. Not every Ephraimite was taken to Assyria and never to return in over 3,000 years or so. Some possibly yes, but God seems to suggest that they would still be in Assyria.

1 Chronicles 9:3
[3]"Some of the sons of Judah, of the sons of Benjamin and of the sons of Ephraim and Manasseh lived in Jerusalem."

Because of the prominence of Judah and Jerusalem, we now use "Jews" interchangeably with "Hebrews" and "Israelites". The New Testament uses these words interchangeably and the New Testament mentions "lost tribes", such as Asher, as part of the Judeans.

Isaiah 11:11
[11]"Then it will happen on that day that the Lord Will again recover the second time with His hand The remnant of His people, who will remain, From Assyria, Egypt, Pathros, Cush, Elam, Shinar, Hamath, And from the islands of the sea.
Isaiah 11:12
[12]And He will lift up a standard for the nations And assemble the banished ones of Israel, And will gather the dispersed of Judah From the four corners of the earth."

Some Bible believers believe that this has been happening in our lifetime, especially since some groups have come to modern Israel claiming to be lost Israelites. According to the promise of Messianic prophecy, Jews and many Christians believe that God will restore Ephraim and Judah and make them one nation. There will be peace; they won't fight each other and the Gentiles won't fight them either. The New Testament book of Revelation lists 144,000 of each tribe of Israel as part of Messianic prophecy. The tribes have never been lost to God. He knows exactly who and where His people are, and while everyone is entitled to their opinions, I honestly don't believe that they are African-American, Native American, British or any other conspiracy theory regarding "lost tribes" being Gentiles. I believe that they are or were in Africa and Asia and maybe Europe but they know that they are Israelites. Again, readers are able to form their own opinions about any subject.

Answer: Ruth

The origin of the Moabites is actually disturbing. According to Genesis 19, Lot's daughters were so afraid after the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah that they would die childless (I think that they were confused and thought that God destroyed all men and not just men in Sodom) that they drugged and raped their father, and got pregnant. One daughter gave birth to Moab and the other gave birth to Ben-ammi. Ben-ammi became the ancestor of the Ammonites, another ancient tribe that scholars believe lived in what is now Jordan.

According to the Book of Ruth, Ruth was a Moabite, but her husband and mother-in-law were Jews. Then Naomi's husband and sons died. They were staying in the land of Moab because of a famine in Judah, but when Naomi learned that the famine was over, she decided to return to her hometown of Bethlehem. She told the young women to return to their houses in Moab (for they had accompanied her to Bethlehem) but Ruth, having compassion, refused to leave Naomi; she told her that her people would be her people and her God would be her God. Ruth then married Boaz and became the grandmother to King David.

The genealogy of Jesus Christ (see Matthew) names Ruth and several other women: Tamar, Rahab, Bathsheba, etc. What's fascinating is that unlike the patriarchal genealogies of the Old Testament, Jesus's genealogy names the mothers too. Not only that, but most of these women had scandalous backgrounds: they were prostitutes, or victims of sexual assault, or the children of sin, etc. Jesus's adult ministry was filled with His love for, and healing of, broken and oppressed women, too.

Answer: True

Magog was one of Japheth's sons and a grandson of Noah (Genesis 10). According to traditional beliefs, Japheth was the ancestor of the Europeans and certain Asians; Shem was the ancestor of Semitic people (Hebrews or Jews and Arabs), and Ham was the ancestor of African and other Asian people. However, I noticed that while researching for this quiz, that Genesis states that Philistines came from Ham, while DNA seems to suggest that they came from Greece. The traditional beliefs about the sons of Noah and their nations aren't explicitly stated in the Bible.

Ezekiel 38 and 39 describe a Messianic or end-time prophecy about Magog, including the prince of Rosh, and other nations attacking the land and people of Israel and provoking God to anger. When I say Messianic, I am referring to traditional Jewish beliefs about the Messiah and to Christian Zionist beliefs about the second coming of Christ.

While some identify the prince of Rosh as the leader of Russia and Magog or Gog as Russia, Magog isn't the only nation that God mentions. He also mentions Put (Libya), Ethiopia, Iran, and possibly Turkey and other nations in the war.

Answer: Esther

Based upon Genesis 10, the Persians or Medes probably came from Madai, a son of Japheth and a grandson of Noah. It's important to note that Iranians aren't Arabs or Semitic and that ancient Persian culture was very different than current Iranian culture is.

According to the Book of Esther, Queen Esther helped to save her Jewish people from annihilation. Haman, an Agagite, wanted to murder all of the Jews in Persia. This is the basis for the holiday of Purim. Now Haman wasn't a Persian in his ethnicity, but was a descendant of Agag, an Amalekite; ultimately a type of Edomite.

In the New Testament, Magi came to visit the child Jesus. Some scholars believe that the Magi were Persian priests.

Answer: Syria

Aram was a son of Shem and a grandson of Noah (Genesis 10). His descendants were the Arameans.

Rebekah, who became Isaac's wife, was an Aramean. Her brother, Laban, was also one, which means that Leah and Rachel, Jacob's wives, were too. (Genesis 24-25).

Ironically, while God chose these women to be the matriarchs of the nation of Israel, Aram and Israel later were at war several times.

In the New Testament, Saul the Pharisee was traveling to Damascus to murder followers of Jesus when Jesus appeared to him. This man became the Apostle Paul.

Answer: Jacob

God renamed Jacob "Israel" because Jacob wrestled with God. Jacob's descendants became the twelve tribes of Israel; the Jews or Israelites (they were called "Hebrews" when they were living in Egypt). The Bible also says that God gave the land of Canaan to the Israelites and thus it became the land of Israel. Please note that I am writing a quiz about the Bible, so while I am trying to be as unbiased as possible, I still have to report what the Bible says. The Bible never calls it the land of Palestine.

Matthew 2:21, New American Standard Bible
[21]"So Joseph got up, took the Child and His mother, and came into the land of Israel."

Matthew 2:21,5-6
[5]"They said to him, "In Bethlehem of Judea; for this is what has been written by the prophet:
[6]'And you, Bethlehem, land of Judah, Are by no means least among the leaders of Judah; For out of you shall come forth a Ruler Who will shepherd My people Israel.'"

This wouldn't be the first time that some people disagree with what the Bible says. After all, not everyone agrees that God is real or that He created everything. Not everyone agrees with what the Bible says about sexuality, etc.

The title "Palestine" is derived from the Philistines, an ancient enemy of the Israelites. Scholars believe that the Philistines came from Greece and therefore weren't indigenous to Canaan. In 135 AD, the Roman Emperor Hadrian named Judea "Palestine"; probably out of hatred for the Jews. However, the Greek historian Herodotus used "Palestine" in his writing as far as 5th century BC and modern Palestinians claim descent from Canaanites.

The Canaanites were the descendants of Canaan, a son of Ham and grandson of Noah (Genesis 10).

As for "Israel", the Bible uses the word in many distinct ways:
The man, Israel or Jacob
The land of Israel
The Kingdom of Israel, also called Ephraim
The nation of Israel, including Judah (The New Testament doesn't make a distinction between the House of Israel and the House of Judah like some parts of the Old Testament did).
The Jewish people, even those in diaspora

Some Christians believe that they, even if Gentiles, are "spiritual Israel", but this is debated.