Unscramble the letters -- MARY MAGDALENE Quiz

Answer: Adam

Adam, of course, is the correct answer. The creation of Adam and his partner Eve is told in the first and second chapters of Genesis. According to the Web site Christiananswers.net, Adam in Hebrew means man. God also created a woman and Adam gave her the name Eve, which translates as "the mother of all living", as per Genesis 3:20.

Answer: Gad

Gad was one of the founders of the Twelve Tribes of Israel. In addition to being the seventh son of Jacob, Gad was the full brother of Asher.

Leah was the first wife of Jacob and according to the 30th chapter of Genesis, after she was no longer able to give birth to children she granted permission to Jacob to sleep with her servant Zilpah. The same chapter reports Rachel, the second wife of Jacob, granted permission to Jacob to sleep with her servant, Bilhah.

Answer: Dan

Dan was the fifth son of Jacob and one of the founders of the Twelve Tribes of Israel. Gad was the full brother of Naphtali, as per Genesis 35:25.

Jacob, in the blessings pronounced on his sons, described Dan as a "judge" of the people. Genesis 49:16-17, in the NKJV, states: "Dan shall judge his people ass one of the tribes of Israel. Dan shall be a serpent by the way, a viper by the path, that bites the horse's heels so that its rider shall fall backward."

Answer: dealer

The missing word is 'dealer'. Lydia played a major role in the development of the early church at Philippi. Her conversion to Christianity is told in the 16th chapter of Acts. According to Scripture, after Lydia became a believer in a resurrected Jesus Christ, her entire household believed. Lydia's step of faith was followed in the same chapter by the conversion of the Philippian jailer and his household.

Incidentally, many theologians believe Lydia was a dynamic and wealthy woman as she was a seller of purple cloth, an item that only the very wealthy could afford in Biblical times.

Answer: rage

The missing word is 'rage'. Colossians was written by Paul, the apostle to the Gentiles. The book was addressed to members of the early church in Colosse, a city in present day Turkey.

Notes in the NKJV Study Bible have this to say about the verse: "While obedience to rules cannot bring salvation, those who are saved ought to live worthy of that salvation. Thus Paul gives the Colossians instructions concerning proper conduct."

Answer: danger

Paul, the apostle to the Gentiles was the writer of 2 Corinthians and the missing word is 'danger'. Make no mistake about it, according to the writings of Paul he suffered immensely in his quest to preach the news of a resurrected Christ.

To put 2 Corinthians 11:26 in perspective, this is how it reads with verses 25-28: "Three times I was beaten with rods, once I was pelted with stones, three times I was shipwrecked, I spent a night and a day in the open sea, I have been constantly on the move. I have been in danger from rivers, in danger from bandits, in danger from my fellow Jews, in danger from Gentiles; in danger in the city, in danger in the country, in danger at sea; and in danger from false believers. I have labored and toiled and have often gone without sleep; I have known hunger and thirst and have often gone without food; I have been cold and naked. Besides everything else, I face daily the pressure of my concern for all the churches."

Prior to becoming his conversion, Paul, who was known as Saul at the time, was a vehement opponent of members of the early church. His life was changed dramatically, however, when he encountered Jesus Christ on the road to Damascus, as per the ninth chapter of Acts. Acts 9:15 quotes Christ as saying Paul would "suffer much for My name." Going by the account in 2 Corinthians, it is obvious that prediction came true.

Answer: alarmed

The missing word is alarmed. Jesus in the passage is talking about The Tribulation that is to come followed by His Second Coming. Mark 13:5-27 is devoted to His message about the end times. Parallel passages can be found in Matthew 24:4-26 and Luke 21:8-24.

Answer: lame

'Lame' is the missing word. Verses 32 to 39 go on to tell of Jesus feeding 4,000 men with seven loaves of bread and "a few little fish". Although Scripture states 4,000 men were fed, many theologians believe Jesus fed as many as 12,000 people with the seven loaves and the fish as the figure does not include women and children. As per the custom of the day, women and children were not included in census figures and the like. According to verse 37, after the people were fed, the disciples were able to fill seven large baskets with leftovers.

Incidentally, after this miracle, Jesus and the disciples departed for Magdala, as per verse 39. Most theologians believe Magdala was the home of Mary Magdalene. Magdala was a community on the western shore of the Sea of Galilee, between Tiberias and Capernaum. In the entire Bible, Magdala is mentioned in only Matthew 15:39 in the KJV and the NKJV. (In the NIV, the place is called Magadan.) In a parallel passage in Mark 8:10, Magdala/Magadan is called Dalmanutha in the KJV, the NKJV and the NIV.

Answer: garden

The missing word is 'garden'. The garden in this case was Gethsemane and it was here, according to Scripture, that Jesus was betrayed by Judas Iscariot. Christ would then be arrested, put on trial, brutally tortured and crucified with two common thieves. The 20th and 21st chapters of John go on to tell of Christ's resurrection from the dead and His appearance to a number of people.

Answer: and

The missing word is 'and'. According to the 20th chapter of John and the 16th chapter of Mark, Mary Magdalene was the first person to see Jesus after the resurrection. Mark 16:9 in the NKJV Bible states: "Now when He rose early on the first day of the week, He appeared first to Mary Magdalene, out of whom He had cast seven demons."

According to the 28th chapter of Matthew, a woman identified as the other Mary was the second person to see Christ. However, there is no clear consensus about who the other Mary was. Many people believe it was Mary, the mother of Jesus. However, many others insist it was Mary the mother of James and Joseph while others believe it was Mary, the wife of Clopas. Everyone apparently has valid reasons for their beliefs.

Meanwhile, Matthew 28:1-10, in the NKJV, states: "Now after the Sabbath, as the first day of the week began to dawn, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary came to see the tomb. And behold, there was a great earthquake; for an angel of the Lord descended from heaven, and came and rolled back the stone from the door, and sat on it. His countenance was like lightning, and his clothing as white as snow. And the guards shook for fear of him, and became like dead men.
But the angel answered and said to the women, 'Do not be afraid, for I know that you seek Jesus who was crucified. He is not here; for He is risen, as He said. Come, see the place where the Lord lay. And go quickly and tell His disciples that He is risen from the dead, and indeed He is going before you into Galilee; there you will see Him. Behold, I have told you.'
So they went out quickly from the tomb with fear and great joy, and ran to bring His disciples word.

"And as they went to tell His disciples, behold, Jesus met them, saying, 'Rejoice!' So they came and held Him by the feet and worshiped Him. Then Jesus said to them, 'Do not be afraid. Go and tell My brethren to go to Galilee, and there they will see Me.'"

Incidentally, Mary is the English translation of Maria or Miriam, a common Hebrew name.