Word Association -- Old Testament Characters #9 Quiz

Answer: Gomorrah

Gomorrah, of course, is the correct answer. It was a city on the plain of Sidon which was destroyed by brimstone and fire, as per Genesis 19:24. According to the Website Christiananswers.net, Gomorrah means 'submersion'. Whenever the place name Gomorrah appears in Scripture, it is always mentioned after Sodom, which was destroyed by brimstone and fire at the same time.

The destruction of the two cities is also mentioned in the New Testament -- 2 Peter 2:6 and Jude 1:4-7.

Answer: Tamar

Tamar experienced many things in her lifetime, not the least of which were the deaths of her first two husbands, Er and Onan, who were struck down by the LORD, as per Genesis 38:6-10. The two men were sons of Judah.

However, after the two sons died, Judah apparently thought Tamar was a prostitute when he met up with her along the side of a road and as a result of the union, she gave birth to twins, Perez and Zerah. (Scripture reports her face was covered during intercourse.) About three months later, when it was reported Tamar was pregnant and proclaimed a prostitute, Judah announced she should be brought out and "burned to death." However, Judah had to do some serious backpedaling when Tamar was able to prove he was actually the man who had impregnated her. (Genesis 38:18 states Judah had given Tamar his "seal and its cord, and the staff in his hand" as a pledge before he slept with her. When she was about to be put to death, she was able to produce Judah's pledge to her and her life was spared.)

According to Wikipedia, Tamar means 'date palm' in Hebrew and is the original form of the names Tamara and Tammy.

Answer: Queen of Sheba

The Queen of Sheba is the correct answer. According to Scripture she travelled to Jerusalem to honor Solomon. Her visit is recalled in the tenth chapter of 1 Kings and the ninth chapter of 2 Chronicles. Scripture reports she arrived in Jerusalem with "a very great caravan" carrying spices, large quantities of gold, and precious stones. Scripture also reports she was "overwhelmed" with Solomon's wisdom and his immense wealth. According to notes in the NKJV Study Bible, Sheba was located in southwestern Arabia, present-day Yemen.

Answer: Leah

Leah might have been Jacob's first wife, but it's apparent he didn't have the feelings for her as he had for her younger sister, Rachel. After all, the only reason he married her was because he was tricked into doing so by Laban, the father of Leah and Sarah, as per the 29th chapter of Genesis.

Genesis 29:17, in the NIV Bible, states Leah had weak eyes, but Rachel had a lovely figure and was beautiful.

According to Genesis 29:31-32 in the NKJV, the LORD intervened to help Leah because she was "unloved". The passage states "When the LORD saw that Leah was unloved, He opened her womb; but Rachel was barren. So Leah conceived and bore a son, and she called his name Reuben; for she said, 'The LORD has surely looked on my affliction.'"

According to Genesis 35:23, Leah was the mother of six sons: Reuben, Simeon, Levi, Judah, Issachar and Zebulun. In Genesis 34:21, it states she was also the mother of Dinah.

Answer: Jezebel

The correct answer is Jezebel. She is regarded by many as the most wicked woman in the Bible and according to the website Meaning-of-names.com, Jezebel means 'impure'. She is despised in Scripture because she convinced her husband Ahab to worship false gods and persecuted God's prophets.

The death of Jezebel is recorded in 2 Kings 9:30-37. Scripture states that after she painted her eyes, or applied face makeup, Jehu, the son of Jehoshaphat, saw her peering down from a balcony. He commanded her aides to throw her down and it appears they were only too happy to oblige. 2 Kings 9:33, in the NKJV, states: "So they threw her down, and some of her blood spattered the wall and the horses as they trampled her underfoot."

While the KJV says Jezebel painted her face, the NKJV says she had put paint on eyes and the NIV says she put makeup on her eyes.

Answer: Nehemiah

Nehemiah was the cupbearer to King Artaxerxes, according to Nehemiah 1:11. Scripture records he was successful in getting permission from the king to lead a contingent of Israelites out of Persia and back to Jerusalem to re-build the walls around the city.

He was the son of Hachaliah. The job of the cupbearer was to serve drinks at the royal table. In other words, Nehemiah was a butler in the royal palace of King Artaxerxes.

Answer: Eli's daughter-in-law, the wife of Phinehas

The woman in the fourth chapter of Samuel who died during childbirth is not named. She is simply identified as Eli's daughter-in-law and the wife of Phinehas. Her death is recorded right after Eli died as a result of learning of the death of his two sons (Hophni and Phinehas) and the capture of the Ark of God by the Philistines. According to Scripture, as soon as Eli, a priest of Israel, heard about the capture of the Ark of God, he fell of his chair and broke his neck.

1 Samuel 4:19-22, in the NIV Bible, has this to say about the death of Eli's daughter-in-law: "His daughter-in-law, the wife of Phinehas, was pregnant and near the time of delivery. When she heard the news that the ark of God had been captured and that her father-in-law and her husband were dead, she went into labor and gave birth, but was overcome by her labor pains. As she was dying, the women attending her said, 'Don't despair; you have given birth to a son.' But she did not respond or pay any attention. She named the boy Ichabod, saying, 'The Glory has departed from Israel' -- because of the capture of the ark of God and the deaths of her father-in-law and her husband. She said, 'The Glory has departed from Israel, for the Ark of God has been captured'."

She is the second woman reported to die during childbirth in the Hebrew Bible, or the Old Testament of the English Bible. The first woman to die during childbirth was Rachel, as per Genesis 35:18. She died giving birth to Benjamin, one of the twelve sons of Jacob and his two wives and two concubines.

Answer: Tubal-Cain

Tubal-Cain forged tools out of bronze and iron, as per Genesis 4:22. His father was Lamech and his mother was Zillah. He had a sister named Naamah. Incidentally, Tubal-Cain is the first hyphenated name in the Bible.

Answer: Ruth

The correct answer is Ruth, the daughter-in-law of Naomi who ended up marrying Boaz after the death of her first husband.

Ruth 4:13-17 tells of Ruth and Boaz becoming parents of Obed. Obed would become the father of Jesse, who would become the father of eight sons, with David being the youngest.

Scripture states Ruth and Orpah, two Moabite women, were both married to sons of Naomi. All three women became widows with Orpah returning to her home country and Ruth opting to stick things out with her mother-in-law. Ruth's name is listed in Matthew 1:5 as part of the genealogy of Christ.

Answer: Zedekiah

Zedekiah was the last king of Judah. According to 2 Kings 24:19-20 and Jeremiah 52:2-3, Zedekiah did "evil in the sight of the LORD". He was a son of Josiah, and his mother's name was Hamutal. The 39th chapter of Jeremiah tells of Zedekiah's capture by the Babylonian army.

He certainly didn't receive any preferential treatment. Jeremiah 39:7 tells of Zedekiah's eyes being put out and of the king being bound with bronze shackles and taken to Babylon.