Daniel In De Lion's Den Trivia Quiz

Answer: Daniel

We had to have a Daniel question and get it out of the way, didn't we? Daniel's friends Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah were given the names Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego: the names we know them by when we read the story of the blazing furnace in the third chapter of Daniel. I'm glad we don't have to call Daniel "Belteshazzar"!

Answer: David

I Samuel 17 tells the famous story of David and Goliath. We can picture how funny David must have looked trying to walk around in King Saul's heavy battle gear. Imagine how he would have looked in Goliath's armor: "He had a bronze helmet on his head and wore a coat of scale armor of bronze weighing five thousand shekels; on his legs he wore bronze greaves, and a bronze javelin was slung on his back.

His spear shaft was like a weaver's rod, and its iron point weighed six hundred shekels" (I Samuel 17:5-7 NIV).

A shekel weighed about 15 pounds or about 6.9 kilograms. Do the math! Wow!

Answer: Damascus

Saul of Tarsus was called "Paul" after his encounter with the Lord Jesus on the Road to Damascus, Syria, because his life was completely changed by this amazing event. He was going to Damascus to cause harm to the Christians there, but he joined their side and became a great missionary. The letters he wrote to churches and individuals make up a large part of the New Testament.

Answer: Deborah

Deborah is the only female judge of Israel mentioned in the Bible. As a prophet, Deborah had wisdom about what God needed the people of Israel to know. The "Song of Deborah" in Judges 5 includes women in the celebration of a war victory; but - watch out - it's violent! My favorite verse is 5:22: "Then thundered the horses' hooves-galloping, galloping go his mighty steeds" (NIV).

Answer: Didymus

Some translations just say he was called "the twin" rather than including the Greek nickname Didymus, but you can usually find it in a footnote if your translation doesn't include it in the verse. Of course, the New Testament was originally written in Greek.

Some people think Thomas was called "the twin" because he looked a lot like Jesus. I like to think about that when I read this story in John 20, where the other disciples see Thomas touch Jesus after the Resurrection.

Answer: Donkey

The donkey sees an Angel of the Lord standing in the road with a drawn sword! Balaam doesn't see the angel, so he beats the donkey for going off the road. In Numbers 22:28, we are told that "the Lord opened the donkey's mouth" and the donkey was able to speak. That must have been a shock!

Answer: Delilah

Judges 16:4 says that Samson "fell in love" with Delilah (NIV). But the rulers of the Philistines offered Delilah a huge amount of money to find out the secret of Samson's strength. He lies to her three times, and even after it should be obvious that she is trying to trick him, he finally tells her the truth to prove that he really loves her.

When she tells the men to cut his hair, he loses his strength and they are able to capture him.

Answer: Dorcas

When Peter is called to come to Joppa after Dorcas gets sick and dies, the people are crying and showing him the robes that she has made. Peter says to her, "Tabitha, get up!" and she opens her eyes and comes back to life. The names Dorcas (in Greek) and Tabitha (in Aramaic) mean "gazelle" in English: a graceful name for a woman who showed grace to others by taking care of their needs.

Answer: Diana

This one is tricky, because most current translations call the Roman goddess Diana by her Greek name Artemis in Acts 19:28, as it was written in the original Greek. Latin translations used the Roman name, so some English translations use it, too. The Temple of Artemis was considered one of the Seven Wonders of the World in ancient times.

The story in Acts 19:23-41 tells about a riot (over money and religion) at this famous place in history.

Answer: Deuteronomy

The Hebrew name for this fifth book of the Torah is "Devarim" - "Words" - because the book opens with "These are the words Moses spoke to all Israel..." (NIV). We are meant to picture Moses at the end of the journey that began in Exodus, explaining to the people how important it will be to follow the commandments of God in their new land. Deuteronomy 6:4 has the Shema: "Hear, O Israel: the Lord, our God, the Lord is One" (NIV). Christians remember that Jesus in Matthew 22:37 called Deuteronomy 6:5 the Greatest Commandment: "Love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength" (NIV).