A Common Link -- Old Testament Characters -- #2 Quiz

Answer: Servants of Rachel and Leah who bore children for Jacob.

The two women were servants of Rachel and Leah who bore children for Jacob. According to Scripture, Bilhah was a handmaiden for Rachel and gave birth to Dan and Naphtali. Meanwhile, Zilpah was a handmaiden for Leah and gave birth to Gad and Asher. Genesis 30 tells of the births of their first children.

Answer: Father and son who served as kings of Israel and are described as being evil in the eyes of the LORD.

Ahab and Ahaziah were father and son who served as kings of Israel and are described in Scripture as doing evil in the eyes of the LORD. Ahab reigned for 22 years and was replaced by Ahaziah, who reigned two years. Ahab's wife was Jezebel, known as the most evil woman in the Bible. Ahaziah's wife is not named in Scripture.

However, according to 2 Kings 1:17, he died without a son and was succeeded by Joram.

Answer: Both made unsuccessful bids to replace David as king.

Both Absalom and Adonijah made unsuccessful bids to replace David as king. Absalom's attempt (2 Samuel 15-18) was filled with bloodshed while Adonijah's bid to become king was largely peaceful and subdued. Absalom's plan to become king led to a civil war which ended in his death and the crushing defeat of his supporters. (Technically, Absalom did become king although for a short period. According to Scripture, David had to leave Jerusalem to make way for his son and avoid bloodshed. However, Absalom is not classed as one of Israel's kings.)

Adonijah, however, attempted to become king when David was old and frail and apparently tried to orchestrate a coup without David even knowing about it. According to 1 Kings 1:11, David wasn't even aware Adonijah had set himself up as king. Bathsheba, however, intervened and made sure her oldest son, Solomon, would end up as king.

Answer: Both gave birth to sons after being unable to conceive for a number of years.

The correct answer is both gave birth to sons after being unable to conceive for a number of years. Rachel was the mother of Joseph and Benjamin while Manoah's wife was the mother of Samson. Scripture states Rachel was barren for a number of years and according to Genesis 30:1, she was so depressed by the fact she stated she would be better off dead. Genesis 30:22 states the LORD enabled her to conceive and she gave birth to Joseph, who would go on to become one of most famous men in the Old Testament.

Meanwhile, the account of Manoah and his wife is found in the 13th chapter of Judges. Scripture states the woman was unable to conceive and an angel of the LORD visited her stating she would give birth to a boy and that a razor should never touch his head. The angel also stated the boy would "take the lead in delivering Israel from the hands of the Philistines." The boy, of course, was Samson, who would become a famous Israelite judge.

Answer: Both were wives of Solomon.

According to Scripture, Solomon had 700 wives of royal birth and 300 concubines. However, Naamah is the only woman mentioned by name. Naamah was the mother of Rehoboam who replaced Solomon as king. According to 1 Kings 3:1, Solomon made an alliance with Pharaoh, king of Egypt, and married his daughter, but no name is given. 1 Kings 11:1-4 tells of Solomon being led astray by his wives. Verses 1 and 2, in the NIV Bible, states: "King Solomon, however, loved many foreign women besides Pharaoh's daughter -- Moabites, Ammonites, Edomites, Sidonians and Hittites.

They were from nations about which the LORD had told the Israelites, 'You must not intermarry with them, because they will surely turn your hearts after their gods'." There are few other details about Solomon's wives.

Answer: The writers of the first and last books known as the Minor Prophets.

Hosea and Malachi were the writers of the first and the last books known as the Minor Prophets in the Christian Bible. (Their writings appear in the Twelve Prophets section of the Hebrew Bible.) They are called minor prophets simply because their books are shorter than the other prophets like Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel and Daniel.

Their writings, however, are seen as every bit as important as any other prophet in the Old Testament. Incidentally, there is no conclusive proof Malachi was actually the name of the writer of the book. According to notes in the New King James Study Bible, Malachi basically means "My Messenger." Tradition has it, however, Malachi is the name of the man who wrote the book.

Answer: Two judges of Israel.

Tola and Ibzan were both judges of Israel. According to Judges 10:1-2, Tola judged Israel for 23 years. Scripture states Tola was the son of Puah and the grandson of Dodo and he lived in Shamir in the hill-country of Ephraim.

Meanwhile Ibzan judged Israel for seven years. He obviously had a large number of wives as Scripture states he had 30 sons and 30 daughters. On top of this, he was a proponent of what would be seen as mixed marriages in Biblical days. Judges 12:9, in the NIV Bible, states this about Ibzan: "He had thirty sons and thirty daughters. He gave his daughters away in marriage to those outside his clan, and for his sons he brought in thirty young women as wives from outside his clan. Ibzan led Israel seven years."

Answer: All were sons of Bathsheba.

According to 1 Chronicles 3:5, Bathsheba was the mother of four sons -- Shammua, Shobab, Nathan and Solomon. She actually had five sons, but her firstborn died shortly after childbirth following an adulterous affair with King David. Although the names are listed in 1 Chronicles 3:5 with Solomon's last, he was the oldest of the four, as per 2 Samuel 12:15-24.

Answer: Three of David's mighty warriors.

Josheb-Basshebeth, Eleazar and Shammah were known as David's mighty warriors. Details about the warriors appear in 2 Samuel 23:8-37. Scripture states Josheb-Basshebeth raised his spear against 800 men, whom he killed in one encounter.

2 Samuel 23:9-10 tells of Eleazar scoring a similar victory single handed over a large number of Philistines. Verse 10 states Eleazar "struck down the Philistines till his hand grew tired and froze to the sword."

Meanwhile, verses 11 and 12 state this about Shammah son of Agee the Hararite: "When the Philistines banded together at a place where there was a field full of lentils, Israel's troops fled from them. But Shammah took his stand in the middle of the field. He defended it and struck the Philistines down, and the LORD brought about a great victory."

Answer: Four sons of Ishmael.

The four men were sons of Ishmael, the son of Hagar, an Egyptian, who served as helper for Sarah. Their names are listed in the 25th chapter of Genesis, along with the names of eight other brothers. The 12 sons of Ishmael all served as tribal rulers, according to Scripture. Genesis 25:18, in the NIV Bible, states this about Ishmael's offspring: "His descendants settled in the area from Havilah to Shur, near the eastern border of Egypt, as you go toward Ashur. And they lived in hostility toward all the tribes related to them."