25 Bible Names Starting with the Letter 'P' Quiz

Answer: Potiphar

According to Genesis 37:36, Joseph was sold as a slave to Potiphar, one of the Pharaoh's officials and captain of the guard. Genesis 39:4 reports Potiphar liked Joseph and put him in charge of his household, entrusting "his care to everything he owned." Things would change dramatically, however, when Potiphar's wife falsely accused Joseph of attempted rape and he was tossed into prison.

Answer: Phinehas

Phinehas is the correct answer. He was the grandson of Aaron and is known for the zealousness of his faith. According to Numbers 25, Israelite men, while staying in Shittim, were indulging in sexual immorality with foreign women "who invited them to the sacrifices to their gods". Scripture states God's anger was burning against them, with Numbers 25:4 telling of the LORD instructing Moses to kill "all the leaders of these people."

This is when Phinehas decided to take action. Verses 6 to 8, provide macabre details of Phinehas taking a spear in his hand and following an Israelite and a Midianite woman into the tent. Scripture states he drove the spear "into both of them, right through the Israelite man and into the woman's stomach."

There is a second man in the Old Testament called Phinehas. But we'll save that information for a later question.

Answer: Perez

The correct answer is Perez, an ancestor of King David, as per Ruth 4:18-22. Perez's name also shows up in the genealogy of Jesus in the third chapter of Luke. The twin brother of Perez was Zerah. The two were the sons of Judah and his daughter-in-law Tamar. Details about the births of Perez and Zerah can be found in Genesis 38:28-30.

Answer: Peninnah

Peninnah and Hannah were both married to Elkanah and, according to Scripture, the two didn't get along. In fact, it seems Peninnah, who was the mother of children, took tremendous delight in taunting Hannah who was barren. 1 Samuel 1:6-7 tells of Peninnah continually provoking Hannah simply to irritate her. Peninnah's efforts were not in vain, as Scripture states Hannah wept and lost her appetite for eating.

The chapter goes on to tell about Hannah fervently praying to the LORD and eventually giving birth to Samuel.

Answer: Phinehas

Phinehas is the correct answer. He and his brother Hophni were nothing but scoundrels, this even though they were the sons of Eli, the high priest and judge of Israel.

1 Samuel 2 tells of Phinehas and his brother Hophni disobeying sacred protocol when people came to the tabernacle of meeting to offer a sacrifice.

Verse 22 in the same chapter tells of the men having sexual relations with the women "who assembled at the door of the tabernacle of meeting."

The chapter goes on to tell of an unnamed man of God telling Eli his two sons would be killed through divine retribution.

The fourth chapter of 1 Samuel tells of the Philistines capturing the ark of God and Hophni and Phinehas being killed in battle with Eli dying shortly afterwards. Meanwhile, Verses 19-22 tells of the unnamed wife of Phinehas dying giving birth to a son, Ichabod.

Answer: True

Yes, Haman had ten sons who were also executed, and three of them had names that started with the letter 'P' Their names were Parshandatha, Poratha and Parmashta, according to Esther 9:9-10. Names of the seven other sons were Dalphon, Aspatha, Adalia, Aridatha, Arisai, Aridai and Vaizatha. Haman was thwarted in his plans to kill the Jews by Queen Esther and her cousin Mordecai.

Answer: Poti-Pherah

Poti-Pherah's daughter Asenath was Joseph's wife, according to Genesis 41:45. (In the NIV, his name appears as Potiphera.) Scripture states Poti-Pherah was the priest of On, but little else is known about him.

According to notes in the NKJV Study Bible, Poti-Pherah means 'He Whom Ra (the sun god) Gave'. The notes go on to state On was a city in northern Egypt known for its worship of Ra.

Joseph and Asenath were the parents of Manasseh and Ephraim.

Answer: Pharaoh

The king of Egypt was known as the Pharaoh, of course. A number of different Pharaohs are mentioned in the Old Testament. They include unnamed Pharaohs who ruled during the time of Joseph through to the exodus of the Israelites, as well as others who ruled over Egypt in later years.

Answer: Pekahiah

According to Scripture, Pekaniah became king of Israel in the fiftieth year of Azariah, king of Judah. 2 Kings 15:23 states Pekaniah reigned for two years and succeeded his father Menahem. Scripture states Pekaniah did evil in the eyes of the LORD and was assassinated by Pekah the son of Remaliah. Pekah, according to Scripture, was an officer of Pekaniah.

Answer: Palti

Palti, the son of Raphu of the house of Benjamin, was one of twelve spies sent into Canaan by Moses, as per Numbers 13:9. Out of the twelve spies, only two -- Joshua and Caleb -- returned with a favorable report. The ten dissenting spies were impressed with the land of Canaan, describing it as a land of milk and honey, but stated they didn't think the Israelites were capable of scoring a military victory over the inhabitants.

Scripture goes on to tell of the ten dissenting spies being killed in a case of divine retribution. In addition to Palti, Joahua and Caleb, the spies were Shammua, Shaphat, Igal, Gaddiel, Gaddi, Ammiel, Sethur, Nahbi and Geuel.

Answer: Pashhur

Pashhur is the correct answer. Jeremiah 38:1-6 tells of the prophet Jeremiah angering the people with his prophecies that they were doomed to die "by the sword, by famine, and by pestilence." Pashhur, the son of Malchiah, was one of four men who urged Zedekiah put Jeremiah to death, as per Jeremiah 38:4. Scripture goes on to tell of Jeremiah being let down with ropes into a dungeon where "there was no water, but mire", and Jeremiah "sank in the mire".

In the passage, there is a second man named Pashhur. According to Verse 1, he was the father of Gedaliah, one of the men who joined Pashhur in calling for Jeremiah's execution.

Answer: Parnach

Parnach, according to Numbers 34:25, was the father of Elizaphan, a leader of the Tribe of Zebulun. (In the NIV, Parnach's name appears as Parnak.) Little is known about Parnach, as his name appears in only Numbers 234:25 and nowhere else in the Bible. According to Scripture, Elizphan helped divide the land of Canaan among the members of the Tribe of Zebulun.

Answer: Pedahel

Pedahel is the correct answer. Numbers 34:28 states Pedahel was the son of Ammihud. However, little else is known about him as this is the only time his name appears in Scripture. According to the Easton's Bible Dictionary, Pedahel means 'Redeemed of God'.

Answer: Putiel

Putiel's unnamed daughter was the wife of Eleazar, a son of Aaron and a nephew of Moses. However, little is known about Putiel, as he is mentioned in only Exodus 6:25 in the entire Bible. The verse states Eleazar and his wife were the parents of Phinehas. The same verse states Putiel had other daughters who are not named.

Answer: Paul

The apostle Paul was born in Tarsus, as per Acts 22:3. Tarsus is in present day south-central Turkey. According to Scripture, he was once a vehement opponent of Christianity, but ended up becoming a dominant force for the spread of the new religion. Paul's conversion took place in dramatic fashion, with Scripture telling of him encountering Jesus Christ on the road to Damascus.

In much of the 22nd chapter of Acts, Paul tells of his life before he became a Christian and after he encountered Jesus.

After converting to Christianity, Paul became the main apostle to the Gentiles.

Answer: Pontius Pilate

Pontius Pilate is the correct answer. Pilate's wife was troubled by a dream she had about Jesus and passed the information on to her husband. Matthew 27:19 in the NKJV states: "While he [Pilate] was sitting on the judgment seat, his wife sent to him, saying, 'Have nothing to do with that just Man, for I have suffered many things today in a dream because of Him.'" She made the request just prior to her husband giving in to the crowd and ordering the execution of Jesus.

The world would never be the same.

Answer: Philologus

In Romans 16:15, Paul extends greetings to Philologus. The verse in the NKJV simply states, "Greet Philologus and Julia, Nereus and his sister, and Olympas, and all the saints who are with them." This is the only verse in the Bible in which the name Philologus appears.

Romans 16 contains a number of names of 'Joe' and 'Jill' Christians in which Paul extends greetings.

Answer: Philetus

Philetus and Hymenaeus are described as false teachers by Paul in 2 Timothy 2:17-18. Little is known about Philetus and Hymenaeus as they are mentioned in passing reference. However, Paul, in his epistle to Timothy, warns the teaching of the two men will "spread like gangrene".

In 1 Timothy 1:20, Paul tells Timothy he had handed over Hymenaeus and Alexander "to Satan to be taught not to blaspheme." The name Philetus can be found in only 2 Timothy 2:17.

Answer: Publius

Publius is the correct answer. He is described in Scripture as "a leading official" on the island of Malta who had a father sick in bed with a fever and dysentery. According to Acts 28:8, Paul laid his hands on the unnamed father of Publius and healed him. No further details are given.

Paul and his entourage ended up on Malta after surviving a shipwreck off the coast of the island nation. According to Scripture, Paul was on his way to Rome to appear before Caesar.

Answer: Philemon

Philemon was the owner of the runaway slave Onesimus. Philemon lived in Colossae, in what is now part of Turkey, and after Onesimus ran away, he ended up in Rome where the apostle Paul converted him to Christianity. The tiny book of Philemon is a heart-felt request by Paul to Philemon to accept Onesimus back, not as a runaway slave, but as an equal in Christ.

Answer: Philip

Herodias was originally married to Philip, the brother of Herod, according to Scripture. Mark 6:14-29 tells of John the Baptist denouncing the marriage of Herod and Herodias, and he ended up being killed because of his comments. Scripture goes on to tell of Herod jailing John the Baptist "for the sake of Herodias". With John in her evil clutches, it would be only a matter of time before Herodias would orchestrate his execution. According to Scripture, she pulled strings behind the scenes and had John beheaded.

Answer: Philip

Interestingly, Philip's name always appears fifth when a list of names of the Twelve Disciples appears. (See Matthew 10:2-4, Mark 3:16-19, Luke 6:14-16 Acts 1:13.) On the same theme, Peter's name always appears first.

According to John 1:44, Philip was from Bethsaida, the same town as Peter and Andrew. Scripture goes on to tell of Philip recruiting Nathanael, also known as Bartholomew, as one of the Twelve Disciples.

Philip is not to be confused with the Philip who served as one of the seven elders among the Grecian Jewish.

Answer: Philip

Philip was responsible for converting the Ethiopian eunuch, the first believer in Africa in a resurrected Jesus Christ. The conversion of the eunuch is found in Acts 8:26-40. Some trivia about the eunuch: Acts 8:27 describes him as an "important official", as he was in charge of the treasury for Candace, queen of the Ethiopians.

Philip is referred to as Philip the evangelist in Acts 21:8. When making reference to him, many people today call him Philip the evangelist to avoid any confusion with Philip, one of the original Twelve Disciples.

Answer: Priscilla

Priscilla, along with her husband Aquila, played a key role in helping spread the Gospel in the early days of the church. In Romans 16:4, Paul states Priscilla and Aquila risked their lives for him and "all the churches of the Gentiles are grateful for them." However, no details are given as to what exactly Priscilla and Aquila did to risk their lives for Paul.

It's also interesting to note Paul places Priscilla's name before Aquila's in most of his letters, and this at a time when women were seen as grossly inferior and not even included in census figures of the day.

As a result, many theologians believe Priscilla was extremely dynamic and a moving force in the early church.

Answer: Peter

We know Peter, also known as Simon, was married, because Scripture says Jesus healed his mother-in-law. The healing of Peter's unnamed mother-in-law is recorded in Luke 4:38-39. The verses state she was in bed with a "high fever" and Jesus stood over her and "rebuked" the fever. Scripture goes on to tell of the woman "immediately" getting out of bed and serving the guests who were in her home. No name is given for Peter's wife.

Going strictly by Scripture, Peter was the only one of the Twelve disciples who was married.