People with Prophetic First Names Quiz

Answer: Moses Malone

Moses Malone won his only NBA championship ring with the 76ers (1983), wore jersey #2 with the 76ers (retired), Hawks and Spurs, and was awarded NBA MVP with the Rockets (1979,1982) and with the 76ers (1983). He was immortalized in song by rapper Kurtis Blow: "I like the way they dribble up and down the court / Just like I'm the King on the microphone so is Dr. J and Moses Malone".

While all the players listed share their names with a prophet of Judaism, Moses is the cardinal one. For more information on the prophets, please refer to http://www.jewfaq.org/prophet.htm

Answer: Deborah Kerr

I find it a bit disturbing that Deborah Kerr never won a major cinematic award (only honorary ones). Her career was strewn with well known films and roles such as "From Here to Eternity" (1953), "The King and I" (1956, where she played Anna Leonowens of course), "An Affair to Remember" (1957), "Black Narcissus" (1947) and "Heaven Knows, Mr. Allison" (1957). She passed away in 2007 aged 86.

Answer: Walked on the moon

Col. David Scott commanded the Apollo 15 mission (1971) and was the seventh moon-walker and first moon-driver of the lunar rover (Rover-1). Only two astronauts but Scott both orbited the Earth and took part in lunar Apollo Missions.

While considered the major king of the people of Israel, David is indeed also listed as a Judaic prophet.

Answer: Huldah

Abigail Adams (nee Smith) was the wife of John Adams, 2nd US president.
Hannah Hoes Van Buren was the wife of Martin Van Buren, 8th US president.
Sarah Childress Polk was the wife of James K. Polk, 11th US president.
Abigail Powers Fillmore was the wife of Millard Fillmore, 13th US president.

Huldah (not to be confused with the Scandinavian given name Hulda) is one of seven prophetesses. However, her name was not adopted in the English-speaking countries, unlike the others. Actually, the name even vanished from the Hebrew list. Could it have something to do with the fact that in modern Hebrew "Huldah" means "rat"?

Answer: Elijah Wood

Elijah Wood (born 1981) debuted in a feature film with a tiny role in "Back to the Future II" (1989). Other landmarks in his ongoing acting career include "The Good Son" (1993), "Oliver Twist" (1997, TV film), "The Lord of the Rings" trilogy (2001-2003) and "Everything Is Illuminated" (2005).

Occasionally, his younger sister also shares her name with a prophetess - Hannah (Samuel's mother).

Answer: A South African singer and civil rights activist

Also known as "Mama Afrika", Miriam Makeba was a prominent anti-apartheid figure. Due to her activities, she lived in forced exile (1959-1990) until called back to South Africa by Nelson Mandela. She kept recording and performing till her death in Italy on November 2008 (aged 76) which was caused by a heart failure minutes after performing "Pata Pata".

Answer: Jonas Salk

Jonas Edward Salk (1914-1995) was the son of Jewish Russian immigrants to the US. His name is a derivative of Jonah, the Biblical prophet. In 1952, he was the first to complete the implementation the Nobel prize winning discovery of Enders, Weller and Robbins by producing and testing (also on himself and his family) a vaccine consisting of dead polio virus which came to be named after him. At its time, the public test for the Salk vaccine (USA, 1954-5) was the grandest medical experiment performed by mankind.

Answer: Jeremiah Wright

Barack Obama was close to Jeremiah Wright, who even conducted his marriage and baptized his daughters. "The Jeremiah Wright Controversy" was a hot topic between March and May of 2008. The sermons, "The Day of Jerusalem's Fall" delivered shortly after the 9/11 attacks and "Confusing God and Government" delivered in April 2003, carried extreme tones and Obama's close association with Wright was scrutinized. During the public debate Wright even escalated his hard line and Obama finally cut off relations with him at the end of May 2008.

The Biblical Jeremiah is considered one of the gravest "prophets of wrath" and his prophecies on the upcoming fall of Jerusalem (to Babylon) are among the harshest recorded in the Bible.

Answer: Madonna

A name change is one of the steps facilitated in Judaism when a person undergoes a major physical change (e.g. a very sick person may change his name) or a major spiritual change (e.g. Avram renamed to Avraham). I wonder how you categorize Madonna?

Answer: Joel

Frances McDormand and Joel Coen have been married since 1984 and have an adopted child. As of 2008, they have worked together in a total of six films. Here's a favourite quote by Frances McDormand on Joel Coen: "Can I say that, even though he's 49, my husband idolises Dylan?" ("Uncut Magazine", 2004).

This one was easy if you're a Coen brothers enthusiast, as well as a bonus for Bible savvies, since Joel is one of the prophets while Ethan is not. Otherwise, I hope you fell on the right side of the 50% toss. Thank you for playing!