A Bible Quiz for the 'Ages'

Answer: 969

Methuselah was the oldest person in the Bible, living for nine hundred and sixty-nine years, according to Genesis 5:27. Jared was his grandfather and Enoch was his father, as per Genesis 5:18-21. Scripture goes on to state Methuselah was the father of Lamech as well as other sons and daughters who are not named. Methuselah's longevity has given birth to today's comical expression that someone or something is "as old as Methuselah".

Answer: Jared

The correct answer is Jared, who incidentally was the grandfather of Methuselah. According to Scripture, Jared was the son of Mahalalel and the father of Enoch. However, little is known about Jared as he is mentioned in passing reference.

Incidentally, Adam, who lived for nine hundred and thirty years, was the third oldest person in the Bible, as per Genesis 5:5.

Answer: 80

Exodus 7:7 states Moses was eighty and his brother Aaron was eighty-three when they requested permission from the Pharaoh to leave Egypt.

No age is given for their sister Miriam, but many theologians believe she was older than her two brothers. They believe she was the sister of Moses who is referred to in Exodus 2.

In that chapter, baby Moses is put in a basket and left along the banks of the Nile River where the Pharaoh's daughter discovered him. Exodus 2:4 tells of Moses' sister looking on from a distance while verse 7 reports that his sister told the Pharaoh's daughter she would call a nurse from among the Hebrew women to nurse the infant.

Exodus 15:20 is the first mention of Miriam by name. Notes in the NKJV Study Bible suggest "most likely she is the one intended in the story of Moses' birth" in chapter 2 of Exodus. If this were the case, Miriam would have to be older than her two brothers. In other words, Moses would have been the youngest of the three.

According to Deuteronomy 34:7, Moses was one hundred and twenty years old when he died.

Answer: Sarah

The correct answer is Sarah. Sarah, of course, was the wife of Abraham and they had one son, Isaac.

Many theologians believe she is the only woman to have her age given in the entire Christian Bible, as well. However, some people dispute this, saying Anna's age is given in the New Testament.

Here's what Luke 2:36-38 says about Anna: "Now there was one, Anna, a prophetess, the daughter of Phanuel, of the tribe of Asher. She was of a great age, and had lived with a husband seven years from her virginity; and this woman was a widow of about eighty-four years, who did not depart from the temple, but served God with fastings and prayers night and day. And coming in that instant she gave thanks to the Lord, and spoke of Him to all those who looked for redemption in Jerusalem."

Some people interpret the verse to mean Anna was 84 years old. Some people, however, agree the verse simply states Anna had been a widow for 84 years and as a result there is no way of knowing her age.

Answer: 70

It might come as a surprise to some, but David was seventy years old when he died. 2 Samuel 5:4-5, in the NKJV, offers this information: "David was thirty years old when he began to reign, and he reigned forty years. In Hebron he reigned over Judah seven years and six months, and in Jerusalem he reigned thirty-three years over all Israel and Judah."

Prior to his death, David was frail and in failing health, giving the impression he would've been older than seventy.

For example, the first chapter of 1 Kings, tells of David's servants coming up with a plan to find the top young woman in Israel to sleep with him simply to keep him warm.

1 Kings 1:1-4 tells what happened: "When King David was very old, he could not keep warm even when they put covers over him. So his attendants said to him, 'Let us look for a young virgin to serve the king and take care of him. She can lie beside him so that our lord the king may keep warm.' Then they searched throughout Israel for a beautiful young woman and found Abishag, a Shunammite, and brought her to the king. The woman was very beautiful; she took care of the king and waited on him, but the king had no sexual relations with her."

Although David was seventy at the time of his death, notes in the NKJV Study Bible state "the long years of warfare had doubtlessly taken their toll."

The notes also have this to say about Abishag being used to keep David warm: "Using a healthy person's body warmth to care for a sick person is a medical procedure noted by the second century Greek physician Galen and the Jewish historian Josephus."

Answer: Manasseh

Manasseh became king at the tender age of twelve and, according to Scripture, ruled until he was sixty-seven. Scripture states Manasseh was extremely brutal. 2 Kings 21:16 states Manasseh "shed very much innocent blood, till he had filled Jerusalem from one end to another." Scripture also reports he worshiped false gods and rebuilt high places his father Hezekiah had destroyed.

According to Wikipedia, the name Manasseh means "causing to forget."

Answer: Mephibosheth

Mephibosheth, according to Scripture, became lame in his feet when his nurse who was fleeing with him accidentally dropped him during a time when the Israelites were in a civil war to determine who would become king. One side in the civil war backed David and the other side backed Ishbosheth, the son of Saul.

(In Chronicles 8:34 and 9:40, Mephibosheth is called Merib-Baal. Notes in the NKJV Study Bible offer this explanation: "Meib-Baal, which means 'The Master is Advocate' was the original name of Jonathan's son. The author of Samuel changed it to Mephibosheth, meaning 'He Scatters Shame', apparently to avoid the idolatrous implications of the word Baal.")

Incidentally, David and Mephibosheth's father were the best of friends. This, even though Jonathan's father Saul devoted much of his latter life trying to kill David. 2 Samuel 9:7 states that David restored to Mephibosheth all the land that belonged to his grandfather Saul and he ensured he would "always dine at his table with him."

Answer: True

True. Scripture states he became king at the tender age of sixteen and started well. However, after Uzziah, also known as Azariah, became powerful, his pride apparently led to his downfall. Similar to other kings, Uzziah was unfaithful to the LORD, Scripture states. He was afflicted with leprosy after he had an altercation with 80 priests of the LORD in the sanctuary of the temple of the LORD, as per 2 Chronicles 26:16-23.

2 Chronicles 26:19-20, in the NKJV Bible, states: "Then Uzziah became furious; and he had a censer in his hand to burn incense. And while he was angry with the priests, leprosy broke out on his forehead, before the priests in the house of the LORD, beside the incense altar. And Azariah the chief priest and all the priests looked at him, and there, on his forehead, he was leprous; so they thrust him out of that place. Indeed he also hurried to get out, because the LORD had struck him."

Answer: 12

According to Luke 2:42, Jesus was twelve years old when He participated in an apparently in-depth discussion with the rabbis. Luke 2:46-48, in the NKJV, gives this account of his parents finding Jesus after He had been missing for three days: "Now so it was that after three days they found Him in the temple, sitting in the midst of the teachers, both listening to them and asking them questions. And all who heard Him were astonished at His understanding and answers. So when they saw Him, they were amazed..."

Notes in the NKJV Study Bible specify that, according to Scripture, Jesus was not lecturing in the temple. Rather, He was engaging the rabbis in theological discussion.

Answer: 30

The correct answer is thirty. The age is given at the beginning of a section of Scripture devoted to the genealogy of Christ. His earthly ministry would last three years after which, according to Scripture, He was crucified only to rise from the dead three days later. Following His resurrection, Scripture tells of His ascension to Heaven.