A Quick Look at Bold Face Liars in the Bible Quiz

Answer: Cain

Cain, of course, is the correct answer. According to Genesis 4:1-15, Cain became extremely envious and angry when his brother Abel's offerings were seen by God as more pleasing than his offerings. As a result, Cain ended up killing Abel.

After the murder, Genesis 4:9, tells of the LORD asking Cain the whereabouts of his brother Abel, and he professed not to know. In other words, he told a bold face lie.

Verses 10, 11 and 12 go on to tell of God announcing punishment for Cain. As part of the punishment, Cain was told in the NKJV he would be cursed by God, be a "fugitive and a vagabond" and when he tilled the ground he would not have bountiful harvests.

Answer: Potiphar's wife

Potiphar's wife was a bold faced liar, and then some. According to Scripture, Potiphar's wife (no name is given) attempted to seduce Joseph and when she was spurned, she accused him of trying to force himself onto her.

Joseph fled after the woman attempted to lure him into bed with her, and he left behind his cloak. Shortly afterward, the woman produced Joseph's clothing to Potiphar, citing it as proof Joseph had attempted to make sport of her. Joseph would end up being tossed in prison as a result.

Through a number of twists and turns, Joseph would be released from prison and become the second most powerful man in Egypt, surpassed by only the Pharaoh. Scripture does not say if there was any interaction between Joseph and his false accuser after his release from prison, but I can't help but wonder what might have happened.

Details about Joseph being falsely accused of attempted rape can be found in Genesis 39.

Answer: Abraham

Abraham, who was known as Abram at the time, told people in Egypt that Sarai was his sister and not his wife. (See Genesis 12:11-20.) The ruse took place while they were forced to move to Egypt due to a famine, and he apparently took such action to prevent himself from being killed.

According to Genesis 12:11, Sarai, who would later become known as Sarah, was extremely beautiful and as per the custom of the day, the Pharaoh would want to add her to his harem. Notes in the NIV Study Bible state that, if Pharaoh added Sarai to his harem while knowing she was Abram's wife, Abram would have been first killed.

According to Genesis 12:10-20, in the NKJV, the Pharaoh took Sarai into his house and treated Abram well, but the LORD "plagued" the Pharaoh and his household with "great plagues". When the Pharaoh found out Sarai was actually Abram's wife, and not his sister, he was apparently angry, but allowed the two to be reunited.

Abraham and Sarah would pull off the same ruse in Genesis 20 to deceive Abimelech, king of Gerar, into thinking they were brother and sister. And once again, the deception was designed to save Abraham's life.

It's interesting to note Isaac and Rebekkah pulled off the same deception, pretending to be brothers and sisters, in Genesis 26:7. Again, such action was taken to prevent Isaac from being killed.

Answer: Gehazzi

Yes, Gehazi is the correct answer. After Naaman, a commander of the Syrian army, was cured of leprosy, he offered Elisha a reward which the prophet declined. Scripture reports Gehazi caught up with Naaman after his departure and asked to receive a talent of silver and two sets of clothing. Naaman promptly responded to Gehazi's request, giving him two talents of silver and two sets of clothing.

Later, Gehazi would deny his actions to Elisha and after he left the prophet's presence, Scripture reports he was leprous, as white as snow. The account of Gehazi lying to Elisha and being afflicted with leprosy is found in 2 Kings 5:20-27.

Answer: Rebekah

Rebekah, the wife of Isaac and mother of Jacob and Esau, is the correct answer. Jacob disguised himself as Esau with lots of help from Rebekah to pull off a major ruse on Isaac who was elderly and frail and his eyes "were so dim that he could not see." The deception and the lies are recounted in Genesis 27:1-40. It's easy to blame Rebekah for orchestrating things in Jacob's favor over Esau, but it doesn't remove the fact Jacob was a willing participant in the deception.

Rebekah favored Jacob while Isaac favored Esau, and this is where things started to fall apart. What made the ruse successful in this dysfunctional family was the fact Isaac was elderly and frail and basically on his deathbed. Scripture states Rebekah convinced Jacob to disguise himself as Esau to obtain his brother's blessing. Scripture reports Isaac requested Esau to hunt game for him and make some "savory food' and when he returned he would bless his son. Rebekah overheard the conversation and swung into action.

Genesis 27:15-17, in the NKJV, states Rebekah gave Jacob the clothes of Esau to wear as well as the skins of baby goats on his hands and neck to create the impression he was hairy like Esau. Then Rebekah gave Jacob savory food and bread she had prepared to serve to Isaac.

Jacob in turn went to his father and impersonated Esau. He was so effective at his impersonation he was able to deceive Isaac and receive Esau's blessing.

Answer: Rachel

Rachel stole the household gods of her father Laban and then lied to her father, denying she had any part in the heist, as per the 31st chapter of Genesis. Verse 19 tells of Rachel stealing the household gods after her husband Jacob had a quarrel with her father.

According to Scripture, Rachel had put the stolen items in the saddle on her camel and was sitting on them when Laban came looking for them. When Laban wanted to check the saddle on her camel, Rachel, in the NIV, claimed she was having her monthly period and could not stand up. However in the NKJV, it quotes her as saying she could not stand up "for the manner of women is with me".

By the way, Jacob was the very first thief in the Bible, in the sense he stole his father's blessing from Esau.

Answer: Jehu

Jehu is the correct answer as per 2 Kings 10:18-31. According to Scripture, Jehu invited all the prophets of Baal to gather for "a great sacrifice to Baal." In his invitation, Jehu proclaimed he intended to serve Baal full heartedly. It was a ruse, of course. When the prophets of Baal arrived and went into a temple to offer incense, Jehu gave instructions to eighty of his top fighters to "go in and kill them; let no one come out!"

Details about the massacre of the prophets of Baal can be found in 2 Kings 10:25-28.

Answer: Naboth

1 Kings 21:12-14 tells of two scoundrels bringing false charges against Naboth with the end result that he was killed by stoning. It was all part of an evil plan so Ahab and his conniving wife Jezebel could assume ownership of a vineyard close to where they lived.

Scripture states Naboth was a Jezreelite and his vineyard was in Jezreel, close to the palace of Ahab. I Kings 21:9-10 reports about Jezebel ordering letters be sent to elders and nobles in Naboth's city. The letter gave instructions to hold a feast and seat Naboth at a place of honor with two "scoundrels" before him to proclaim he had blasphemed God and the king. After the charges were announced, Jezebel's letter stated Naboth was to be taken out and stoned to death.

Sure enough, Jezebel would have her way and her husband would assume ownership of the vineyard. According to Scripture, Ahab had sulked on his bed, turned away his face and refused to eat as he was so depressed when Naboth had declined his offer to buy the vineyard. 1 Kings 21:2 states Ahab simply wanted Naboth's property to use as a vegetable garden.

Answer: Pashur

Pashur, described as a lying prophet in Jeremiah 20:6, is the correct answer. According to Scripture, he put Jeremiah, a noted prophet of God, in stocks. Pashur apparently took such action because, according to Jeremiah 19, Jeremiah had prophesied doom because the people had "stiffened their necks" and were no longer following the LORD.

Shortly after putting Jeremiah in stocks, Pashur had a change of heart and released him. After being released, Jeremiah prophesied that Pashur, and all the members of his household, would be taken into captivity in Babylon where they would die and be buried.

In Jeremiah 20:1, Pashur is described as the son of Immer, chief governor in the house of the LORD.

Answer: Sapphira

Sapphira was struck dead after she told Peter she had turned over the entire proceeds from the sale of a property to the early church. It was a bold-face lie, as she and her husband Ananias had kept some of the money for themselves, as per Acts 5:1-11. According to Scripture, Ananias told the same lie and was struck dead three hours before Sapphira.

After Sapphira and Ananias were struck dead for lying, "great fear came upon all the church," Scripture states.