A Bible Quiz Dealing With a Grave Matter -- #1

Answer: Deborah

Deborah was a nurse for Rebekah, the wife of Isaac, according to Genesis 35:8. However, little is known about Deborah as she is mentioned in passing reference. Scripture states she was buried under a terebinth tree and it was called Allon Bachuth. (The KJV and the NIV describe it as an oak tree rather than a terebinth tree. Rather than Allon Bachuth, the KJV states Allonbachuth while the NIV states Allon Bakuth.) This is the first mention in Scripture of the burial of a servant.

For the record, there was another woman in the Old Testament called Deborah. She was a prophetess and a judge of Israel, as per Judges 4.

Answer: Shechem

Joseph's bones were buried in Shechem, as per Joshua 24:32. According to the verse, the Israelites brought up Joseph's bones when they left Egypt and buried them in the plot of ground which Jacob had bought from the sons of Hamor for one hundred pieces of silver.

Joseph was one hundred and ten years old when he died, according to Genesis 50:26. No details are given about the cause of his death. Before his death, Joseph requested his bones be taken out of Egypt for burial.

Answer: Achan

According to Joshua 7:26, "a great heap of stones" was put over Achan's grave after he was stoned for thievery. Achan is perhaps the best known thief in the Old Testament, as he stole a number of valuable items in Canaan while the Israelites were preparing to drive out the inhabitants and assume possession of the Promised Land. As a result of Achan's actions, which were contrary to God's instructions, Scripture reports the LORD turned against the Israelites and Joshua experienced a stinging military defeat at Ai.

Joshua 7:21 in the NKJV tells of Achan making his confession of guilt to Joshua and then being stoned with "a great heap of stones" put over his grave. (In the NIV, it states the Israelites heaped up "a large pile of rocks" on Achan's grave.)

Answer: Samson

Samson is the correct answer. The 16th chapter of Judges tells of Samson, a super strong judge of Israel, being betrayed by Delilah, his Philistine lover. After Delilah learned the secret to Samson's immense strength was his long hair, she accepted a bribe from a group of Philistine lords and had his locks cut. With Samson's strength immensely diminished, the Philistines overpowered him and took him prisoner.

After Samson died, Verse 31 tells of "his brothers and all his father's household" going to Philistine and taking his body and burying him "between Zorah and Eshtaol in the tomb of his father Manoah." The verse also states Samson had judged Israel for twenty years.

Answer: True

True. Moses, according to Scripture was buried by the LORD. Deuteronomy 34:1-9 tells of the death of Moses on Mount Nebo after the LORD showed him the Promised Land the Israelites were about to enter. Moses had served as leader of the Israelites for forty years, beginning at the time they left Egypt.

Deuteronomy 34:5-6, in the NKJV, states: "So Moses the servant of the LORD died there in the land of Moab, according to the word of the LORD. And He buried him in a valley in the land of Moab, opposite Beth Peor; but no one knows his grave to this day."

According to Scripture, Moses was one hundred and twenty years old when he died and his "eyes were not dim nor his natural vigor diminished".

Answer: Rachel

Rachel is the correct answer. Genesis 35:16-20 tells of Rachel dying while giving birth to her second son, Benjamin. Verse 20 states Jacob buried Rachel at Ephrath, or Bethlehem, and placed a pillar on her grave.

Jacob had two wives, Rachel and Leah, and two concubines, Bilhah and Zilpah. However, Rachel was clearly his favorite.

Rachel and Leah were sisters, the daughters of Laban.

Answer: Jeremiah

Jeremiah is the correct answer as per Jeremiah 20:17. The verse is part of a passage in which Jeremiah laments about his unpopular ministry. The passage runs from Verse 7 to 18.

In Verse 14, for example, Jeremiah writes, "Cursed be the day in which I was born! Let the day not be blessed in which my mother bore me!"

In Verses 17-18, he writes, "Because he [the man who announced his birth to his father] did not kill me from the womb,
That my mother might have been my grave,
And her womb always enlarged with me.
Why did I come forth from the womb to see labor and sorrow,
That my days should be consumed with shame?"

Jeremiah is known as the weeping prophet. In addition to writing the book that bears his name, Jeremiah is traditionally credited with writing the books of Kings as well as Lamentations.

Answer: Matthew

Spectacular details about dead people coming back to life are found in Matthew 27:51-53.

Here's how the verses read in the NKJV: "Then, behold, the veil of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom; and the earth quaked, and the rocks were split, and the graves were opened; and many bodies of the saints who had fallen asleep were raised; and coming out of the graves after His resurrection, they went into the holy city and appeared to many."

No further details are given about the dead people who came back to life. The three other Gospels -- Mark, Luke and John -- do not contain any details about the mindboggling incident.

Answer: A burial field for strangers

According to Scripture, the chief priests paid Judas thirty pieces of silver to betray Jesus. However, after Judas betrayed Christ in the Garden of Gethsemane, Scripture states he was overcome with remorse and returned the money to the chief priests and then hanged himself.

After debating the issue, the chief priests agreed to use the thirty pieces of silver to buy the potter's field to bury strangers. Their decision to buy the potter's field is believed by Christians to be fulfillment of Old Testament prophecy pertaining to Christ.

Matthew 27:9-10 tells of Jeremiah saying "And they took the thirty pieces of silver, the value of Him who was priced, whom they of the children of Israel priced, and gave them for the potter's field, as the LORD directed me."

Answer: Joseph of Arimathea

Matthew 27:57-61 states Jesus was buried in a tomb provided by Joseph of Arimathea who had obtained permission from Pilate to bury Christ's body. According to John 19:39-40, Joseph was assisted in the burial by Nicodemus. Miraculously, three days later Christ would rise triumphantly from the dead.