Women of the Old Testament Trivia Quiz

Answer: Rebekah

Rebekah is the mother of Esau and Jacob, twin sons fathered by Isaac, the son of Abraham. Esau is described as 'red and hairy' and is a hunter by nature while Jacob is smooth skinned and stays near his home. Isaac favours Esau while Rebekah loves Jacob more.

When Isaac is old, infirm and nearly blind. Rebekah plots with Jacob for the latter to receive his father's blessing, even though he is the younger twin. While Esau is out hunting, Rebekah gives Jacob his brother's clothes and covers his arms in goat skin so they resemble the hairy Esau. Isaac has doubts, but is eventually convinced and gives his blessing to Jacob.

The story is told in Genesis chapter 27.

Answer: Delilah

Samson is the strong man of the Israelites, who are beset by the Philistines. His destiny was to be a Nazarite, forbidden to drink alcohol or cut his hair, which was the source of his strength. Samson had shown his weakness for women, and had failed to keep his vows in other ways, which the Philistines exploited by bribing Delilah to find out the source of his strength.

By a mixture of cajolery and beguilement, she was able to get Samson to tell her that his long hair was the secret, and Delilah betrayed him by telling this to the Philistines. With his hair shorn, Samson was captured and blinded, but regained his strength long enough to break down the Philistine temple, killing himself and numerous enemies in the process.

The story of Samson appears in Judges 16.

Answer: Hannah

Hannah's much wanted son was Samuel, who has two books of the Bible devoted to him. Hannah was married to Elkanah, one of his two wives, and was the one he preferred. Despite this, she was unable to conceive while the other wife proved fertile.

Hannah went to pray, and was so overcome with emotion that the High Priest, Eli, was convinced she was drunk. Hannah pledged that if she was granted a son, she would dedicate him to God's service. Her prayers were answered and Samuel was born - Hannah gave him to Eli to raise in accordance with her vow.

Hannah's part of the story appears early in 1 Samuel, in chapters one and two, while Samuel is much more important, being the man who appoints Saul as the first king of Israel.

Answer: Tamar

Tamar is the daughter-in-law of Judah, the fourth son of Jacob and the founder of the tribe bearing his name. Tamar was married to Judah's oldest son, who displeased God and died as a result. Under tribal law, known as levirate, Tamar was then married to Judah's next son, Onan - any child born to them would be treated as being that of the older brother. Onan refused to consummate the marriage and was also killed by God.

Believing Tamar to be a curse, Judah refuses to allow his youngest son to marry her, which means Tamar is destined to remain childless. She devises a plan to trick Judah into having sex with her by posing as a prostitute. The ploy works and she gives birth to twin boys, one of whom, named Perez, is an ancestor of King David.

The story appears in Genesis, chapter 38. It is another illustration of how important it was to a woman to bear a son.

Answer: Rahab

Joshua sent spies to Jericho in preparation for his planned attack. When they find themselves at risk of discovery, Rahab hides them and saves them from almost certain death. In return, they give her a scarlet thread to hang from her window, telling her to gather all her family in her home for safety.

The thread is a marker that the house is not to be attacked, and is reminiscent of the red of the blood which saved the Israelites in Exodus, and Rahab and her family survive the destruction of city.

Rahab's story appears in Joshua, chapter two.

Answer: Jezebel

Jezebel was the wife of King Ahab of Israel and introduced the worship of the heathen god Baal to the kingdom. Among her wicked actions was the plot to acquire a vineyard owned by Naboth, which was near the royal palace. King Ahab coveted the vineyard but Naboth refused to part with his heritage. Jezebel then falsely accused Naboth of blasphemy, and he was stoned to death, with Ahab taking possession of the vineyard.

Elijah the prophet cursed Ahab and his heirs, predicting the end of his family and that Jezebel would be eaten by dogs, both of which came to pass.

The story of the ill-fated Naboth can be found in I Kings 21, while the death of Ahab is in chapter 22. Jezebel's demise is described in II Kings, chapter 9.

Answer: Jael

The story of Jael is linked to that of another woman who could have been included in this quiz, the judge called Deborah. The Israelites were being oppressed by Canaanites, led by King Jabin, whose chief commander was Sisera. Deborah raised an army to attack Sisera and his troops, with the aid of Barak, although she prophesied that Sisera would be killed by a woman. The battle was a victory for the Israelites, with the Canaanites killed, apart from Sisera, who escaped on foot.

As her husband was an ally, Sisera trusted Jael to hide him, which she pretended to do, giving him drink and covering him so he could rest. While he slept, she took a tent nail and hammered it into his forehead, killing him.

The stories of Jael and Deborah both appear in Judges chapter four, with Deborah's song, in chapter five, praising Jael for her actions and calling her 'blessed above women'.

Answer: Naomi

Naomi suffers a great deal during her story. Having been forced to leave her home, due to famine, she arrives in Moab with her husband and two sons, who marry local women (Orpah and Ruth). Naomi's husband dies, with her sons also dying some years later without having produced grandchildren.

Naomi decides to return to her native land, learning that the famine has ended, and tries to persuade Orpah and Ruth to stay in Moab. Ruth refuses, and insists on going with Naomi, who is then instrumental in finding Ruth a new husband in Boaz, a kinsman of her late husband. Boaz and Ruth are important in the New Testament as ancestors of Jesus.

Naomi's attempt to change her name to Mara, meaning bitter, comes early in the story, in chapter one, and seems to have been ignored.

The story of Ruth takes only four chapters to tell, and Naomi is the more dominant character in the tale.

Answer: Eve

The murderer was Cain, the oldest son of Adam and Eve, who killed his brother Abel in a fit of jealousy when God preferred Abel's offering of a lamb to the produce grown by Cain. The famous saying, 'Am I my brother's keeper?' arises from this incident when God asks Cain where Abel is.

Eve is the one who suffers, with one son dead and the other banished for his sin. She gives birth to another son, named Seth, who she regards as God's replacement for Abel. Eve is known as the 'mother of all living' and is also the person who was tempted by the serpent to eat from the forbidden tree in the Garden of Eden.

The story of Eve is in Genesis, with Cain and Abel appearing in chapter four.

Answer: Bathsheba

In truth, Bathsheba probably didn't have much choice. She was seen by King David while taking a bath on the roof of her own home. He was so struck by her beauty that he ordered her to be brought to her. On finding out that she was pregnant by him, the king arranged for her husband, Uriah, to be placed in danger during a battle, where Uriah duly perished.

King David was then able to marry Bathsheba, although his wickedness was punished by the death of the child he had fathered with her. A later son became the successor to David, with Bathsheba successfully managing to pull the strings to bypass an older brother. This was King Solomon, renowned for his wisdom.

Bathsheba is mentioned in both 2 Samuel and 1 Kings, with the story of her involvement with David in the first of these.