Biblical Alphabetics -- The Letter 'R' Quiz

Answer: Rebekah

Rebekah is the correct answer. The account of her giving birth to twin boys (Esau and Jacob) is found in the 25th chapter of Genesis. According to Scripture, Esau became a skillful hunter while Jacob was content to stay at home among the tents.

Answer: Rachel

Rachel is the correct answer. The unusual story is told in the 31st chapter of Genesis. Verse 19 tells of Rachel stealing the household gods after her husband Jacob had a quarrel with her father Laban. Verses 34-35, in the NIV Bible, tells what happened when Laban went looking for his missing items: "Now Rachel had taken the household gods and put them inside her camel's saddle and was sitting on them. Laban searched through everything in the tent but found nothing. Rachel said to her father, 'Don't be angry, my lord, that I cannot stand up in your presence; I'm having my period.' So he searched but could not find the household gods."

Rachel was the mother of Joseph of Benjamin. She and her sister Leah were both married to Jacob. However, Rachel was largely depressed during her marriage because she couldn't conceive a child while Leah was bearing children. According to Scripture, things changed for Rachel later in her life. Genesis 30:22-23, in the NIV Bible, states: "Then God remembered Rachel; he listened to her and enabled her to conceive. She became pregnant and gave birth to a son and said, 'God has taken away my disgrace.' She named him Joseph, and said, 'May the LORD add to me another son.'" Later she would die giving birth to Benjamin.

Answer: Rehoboam

Rehoboam replaced Solomon as king. Scripture reports he got off to a bad start when he ignored the advice of his father's advisers and followed the advice of young men he had grown up with, as per 1 Kings 12. And from there things got worse. The ten northern tribes broke away and before long Rehoboam was left ruling over a much smaller domain than his father Solomon and his grandfather David. According to 1 Kings 14:21, Rehoboam was 41 years old when he became king and he reigned for 17 turbulent years.

He was succeeded by his son Abijah.

Answer: Reuben

Reuben was the founder of one of the 12 tribes of Israel. He was the only one of the 11 brothers who did not want to sell Joseph into slavery. According to Genesis 37:21, he wanted his brothers to throw Joseph into a cistern so he could rescue him and take him back to his father.

It was all in vain, of course, as Joseph would end up being sold into slavery in Egypt. Reuben is also known for sleeping with his father's concubine Bilhah, as per Genesis 35:22.

Answer: Ruth

Ruth is the correct answer. She and her sister-in-law Orpah were married to Naomi's sons, Mahlon and Kilion, as per the book of Ruth. According to Scripture, Naomi's husband Elimelek and her two sons died and the three women were widows. Orpah opted to return to her homeland while Ruth decided to stay with her mother-in-law. Ruth 1:16-17, in the NIV Bible, quotes Ruth as telling Naomi: "...where you go I will go, and where you stay I will stay. Your people will be my people and your God my God. Where you die I will die, and there I will be buried. May the LORD deal with me, be it ever so severely, if even death separates you and me." The book of Ruth is largely a story about the romance between Ruth and Boaz.

After the couple became husband and wife, they became parents of Obed. Obed was the father of Jesse, who was the the father of David.

Answer: Rizpah

Rizpah is the correct answer. It's a bit of long story, but after the death of Saul, Israel was engaged in a civil war with one group supporting Ish-Bosheth as king and the other group supporting David. During the upheaval, Ish-Bosheth accused Abner of having sexual relations with Rizpah, a concubine of Saul. Abner was incensed by the charge and joined forces with David.

2 Samuel 3:6-8 in the NIV Bible states: "During the war between the house of Saul and the house of David, Abner had been strengthening his own position in the house of Saul. Now Saul had had a concubine named Rizpah daughter of Aiah. And Ish-Bosheth said to Abner, 'Why did you sleep with my father's concubine?' Abner was very angry because of what Ish-Bosheth said. So he answered, 'Am I a dog's head -- on Judah's side? This very day I am loyal to the house of your father Saul and to his family and friends. I haven't handed you over to David. Yet now you accuse me of an offense involving this woman! May God deal with Abner, be it ever so severely, if I do not do for David what the LORD promised him on oath and transfer the kingdom from the house of Saul and establish David's throne over Israel and Judah from Dan to Beersheba.' Ish-Bosheth did not dare to say another word to Abner, because he was afraid of him."

Notes in the NKJV Study Bible state the charge of sleeping with Rizpah was seen as extremely serious because having sex with a concubine of the king was tantamount to claiming the throne.

Answer: rose

The missing word is 'rose'. The 'rose of Sharon' is used in the Song of Solomon to describe the beauty of a young woman. According to Wikipedia, there is wide variety of speculation as to what flower was actually the rose of Sharon. Although the 'rose of Sharon' is a term that is fairly common in today's English, Song of Solomon 2:1 is the only place where the words can be found in the Bible. Sharon is one of the largest plains in Palestine.

Answer: Rahab

The story of Rahab the prostitute can be found in the second and sixth chapters of Joshua. Because she harbored two spies from the Israelite camp, Rahab and her family were spared when Joshua and his armed men succeeded in making the walls of Jericho fall down, just as the LORD told them in Joshua 6:2-5.

Incidentally, Rahab's name appears in Matthew 1:5 as part of the genealogy of Jesus and she is also saluted in Hebrews 11:31 for her "faith".

Answer: Romans

Romans appears just after Acts and is the first of 13 books Paul is credited with writing. Many theologians believe Paul wrote the book in 57 A.D., just a year before he was arrested in Jerusalem followed by imprisonment in Rome. Notes in the NKJV Study Bible has this to say about the book: "Romans serves as the flagship of the fleet of Pauline letters within the New Testament.

This letter has also loomed large in the history of Christianity. Countless men and women of faith have singled out Romans as the weapon God graciously used to bring about their surrender to Christ. Augustine, Martin Luther, John Wesley and others received unexpected spiritual volleys that pierced their defenses and ended their rebellion against God."

Answer: Rhoda

Rhoda is the correct answer. She will be always remembered as the highly excitable girl who let her mind wander from the task at hand. It's a good thing Peter was not being chased by would-be captors, as he would have been chopped liver having to stand at the door of the house trying to get in while Rhoda was busy telling everyone else the latest news.

The story in Acts 12:12-16 almost smacks of a scene from a Hollywood sitcom.