That Name Isn't in the Bible! Quiz

Answer: Arnold

The name "Adam" comes from the Hebrew word for "man". It is also etymologically related to the Hebrew words for "red", such as red skin, and "to make". According to the Bible, Adam was the first man on Earth. His wife was Eve and they had many sons and daughters (see Genesis chapter 5, verse 4), but their first three children were sons, Cain, Abel, and Seth.

"Abel" comes from the Hebrew word for "breath". For more information about Cain, Abel, and Seth, you can read about them in Genesis, chapters 4 and 5.

Now, BehindtheName.com states that the name "Aaron" possibly means "exalted" or "high mountain" in Hebrew. This was the name of the brother of Miriam and Moses. According to Exodus 7:10, Aaron threw his staff on the ground before the Egyptian pharaoh and it became a snake. Yes, it was Aaron's staff, not Moses's.

I don't expect young children to know much about etymology, but just so I am clear, "Arnold" isn't a Biblical name. It is European and means "eagle power".

Wikipedia states that Nickelodeon ran the cartoon series "Hey Arnold!" from 1996 to 2004.

Answer: Bridgette

Genesis 26:34-35 say that Esau married Basemath, the daughter of Elon. Genesis 36:1-3 state that Esau married Adah, the daughter of Elon, and a *different* Basemath, the daughter of Ishmael. Adah was perhaps a sister of the first Basemath, but a more likely situation is that Basemath, the daughter of Elon, was also called Adah. After all, Esau was also called Edom, Jacob was also called Israel, Simon was also known as Peter, etc. The name "Basemath" is Hebrew for "fragrance" or "perfume".

Basemath #1 was a Canaanite, while Basemath #2 was Abraham's granddaughter.

Benjamin was the baby brother of Joseph. Jacob, their daddy, named him "Benjamin", which means "son of my right hand". See Genesis, chapter 35.

The name "Bartholomew" comes from Greek and Aramaic. It means "son of Talmai". This was one of Christ's disciples.

Finally, "Bridgette" is the English version of the Irish name "Brighid", which means "exalted one".

Answer: Carl

Scholars apparently aren't sure what the Hebrew name "Canaan" means. He was Noah's grandson, the son of Noah's son, Ham. See Genesis, chapters 9 and 10. Cannan was the ancestor of the Canaanites, like Esau's wife.

The name "Caleb" probably comes from the Hebrew word for "dog". According to Numbers 14, Caleb was one of the spies whom Moses sent to explore the land of Canaan. Because he was faithful to God, Caleb was one of the few Israelites during Moses's time to actually reach the promised land.

The disciple Peter was originally named Simon, but Jesus gave him the name "Peter" or "Cephas", which means "rock". Cephas and Peter are really the same name, except Cephas is based on Aramaic, while Peter is based on the Greek version. See John 1:42.

"Carl" is the German version of "Charles". It means "man".

Answer: Donald

See Judges, chapters 4 and 5. Deborah was the only female judge of Israel. She predicted that a woman would defeat the enemy commander, but she was talking about Jael, instead of herself. The name "Deborah" means "bee" in Hebrew.

See Judges, chapter 16 for the story of Samson and Delilah. The name means "delicate", but her rotten personality contradicts that sweet definition!

The book of Daniel states that Daniel, a devout worshipper of God, was thrown into a lion's den by Persians because he refused to stop praying to his God. However, God rescued him. "Daniel" fittingly means, "God is my judge".

"Donald" is English and Scottish and means "ruler of the world".

Answer: Edward

According to Genesis 4:26, Enosh was a son of Seth, which would make him Adam's grandson. Possible meanings for the Hebrew "Enosh" are "mortal" or "human being". When Enosh was born, people began praising the LORD, based on the same verse.

Both Ezra and Ezekiel, prophets, have books named for them. In the order of the Protestant Bible, Ezra is before Nehemiah and Ezekiel is before Daniel. "Ezra" means "help". "Ezekiel" means "God strengthens".

The name "Edward" is of Old English origin and it means "rich guard".

Answer: Gerald

Goliath, whose name means "uncover", was the Philistine whom the young David amazingly fought and killed. See 1 Samuel, chapter 17.

The angel Gabriel appears in the Old Testament book of Daniel and in the New Testament. The Gospel of Luke states that he announced the births of John the Baptist and Jesus Christ. The name means "God is my strong man".

According to Acts 22:3, Paul, who was originally named Saul, said that Gamaliel taught him. Interestingly enough, Gamaliel apparently didn't teach Saul to hate Christians, because in Acts 5, Gamaliel, a highly respected teacher of the Jewish Law, is portrayed to be very tolerant of Christians. While the other men of the Jewish council wanted to kill Christians, Gamaliel told them to leave them alone, because if the movement wasn't of God, it would die out on its own. See Acts 5 for more details.

"Gamaliel" is Hebrew for "benefit of God".

"Gerald" is European and means "rule of the spear".

Answer: Isabelle

Iscah is only mentioned once, in Genesis 11:29. Genesis 11
29, New American Standard Bible: "Abram and Nahor took wives for themselves. The name of Abram's wife was Sarai; and the name of Nahor's wife was Milcah, the daughter of Haran, the father of Milcah and Iscah."

It is unknown who exactly Iscah was, or why her name is significant. We only know that she was Milcah's sister, and since Haran was Abraham's brother, she was also Abraham's niece. It's interesting to note that "Iscah" means something like "see" or "look", and some people speculate that she was Lot's wife, the one who looked back at the destruction of Sodom and Gamorrah.

Isaac, which means "laugh", was the son of Abraham and Sarah. See Genesis, chapter 21.

Isaiah was a prophet. This name evidently means the same as "Joshua" and "Jesus", which is "God is salvation".

"Isabelle" is a French variation of "Elizabeth", which means "God is my oath". At this point, I probably should mention that Elizabeth is a Biblical name; however, I did say that I based this quiz on English translations. I have never seen "Isabelle" in any translation.

P.S: I even searched for a couple of French translations and they don't use it, either!

Answer: Jenny

The names "Joshua" and "Jesus" are related and mean "God is salvation". "Joshua" is based on the Hebrew "Yehoshu'a", while "Jesus" comes from the Greek form, "Iesous". The Old Testament speaks a lot of Joshua, especially in the book that bears his name. According to the New Testament, Jesus is the Son of God.

The name "Joanna" means "God is gracious". Joanna was a follower of Jesus. See Luke, chapters 8 and 24.

"Jenny" is usually short for "Jennifer", a Cornish name that means "fair".

Answer: Minnie

"Michael" is Hebrew and means "who is like God?". According to Revelation, chapter 12, Michael fought against the devil and his angels in Heaven, and then Satan and his demons were thrown down into the earth.

Some people pronounce "Michal" the same as they do "Michael", but "Michal", a Hebrew feminine name, means "brook". She was a daughter of King Saul.

The name "Mary" possibly means "bitter tears", which is appropriate considering that many of these women wept for Jesus, while watching Christ die. The most famous Mary is the mother of Jesus, but there are also Mary Magdalene; Mary, the mother of James; Mary, the wife of Clopas; Mary, the sister of Lazarus and Martha; Mary, the mother of Mark, and Mary of Rome.

"Minnie" is an English name that means "will" and "protection".

Answer: Nala

The name "Nathan" means "He gave". This was the name of a prophet who knew King David. David also named one of his sons "Nathan", probably out of respect for his friend.

"Naamah" means "pleasant". This was the name of the Queen Mother, the mother of Rehoboam. Rehoboam became the king after Solomon. She was also an Ammonite and she most likely had a negative influence on Solomon, but not much is known about her. See 1 Kings, chapter 14.

Naomi, which means "pleasantness", was Ruth's mother-in-law. See the book of Ruth.

BehindtheName.com states that "Nala" is an African name that means "us".