A Quick Look at Landowners in the Bible Quiz

Answer: Abraham

Genesis 23:17-20 tells of Abraham buying the field of Machpelah which contained a cave to serve as the burial site for his wife Sarah. Scripture states Abraham paid Ephron four hundred shekels of silver for the land, which was in Canaan. Later, Abraham would be buried in the cave as well.

Answer: Boaz

Boaz is the correct answer. Scripture tells of Ruth, a widow, gleaning barley in a field belonging to Boaz. Ruth, the daughter-in-law of Naomi, would end up marrying Boaz and they would become parents of Obed. Obed would become the father of Jesse and the grandfather of David, the illustrious king of Israel.

Answer: Job

Job had massive wealth, with Job 1:3 stating he was the greatest of all people in the East. The same verse states that, earlier in life, Job owned seven thousand sheep, three thousand camels, five hundred yoke of oxen and five hundred female donkeys.

However, Scripture tells of Job being beset by a series of tragedies and he lost his ten children in a violent windstorm, had all his material wealth taken from him and ended up in dire health.

Thorough it all, Job remained faithful to God and he ended up being blessed immensely later in life. Job 42, tells of Job regaining his health, becoming the father of ten more children and owning twice as many animals as before. In other words, he owned fourteen thousand sheep, six thousand camels, one thousand yoke of oxen, and one thousand female donkeys. No details are given, however, as to the amount of land Job owned.

Answer: Naboth

Naboth was the owner of a vineyard that King Ahab coveted and when Nabob refused to sell the land, Jezebel took decisive action. To make sure her husband Ahab would acquire ownership of the land, Jezebel set up a series of events in which Nabob was falsely accused of blasphemy and then stoned. With Naboth removed from the scene, Ahab was able to gain ownership of the vineyard, which was close to the royal palace.

Answer: Shaphat

Shaphat was the father of Elisha and theologians believe he owned an immense amount of land. 1 Kings 19:19, for example, tells of Elisha plowing a field with twelve yoke of oxen. Scripture goes on to tell of Elisha being chosen to follow Elijah. However, before Elisha left his family Scripture states "a yoke of oxen" was slaughtered and served to the people. It must have been a large gathering of people as there would have been lots of food to consume.

No details are given, however, as to the amount of land Shaphat owned.

Answer: Joab

2 Samuel 14:25-33 tells of Absalom, the son of David, setting Joab's barley field on fire largely because he felt ignored. Joab was the commander of David's army and on two different occasions, Absalom sought an audience with Joab. Absalom apparently wanted Joab to serve as an intermediary to arrange a meeting with his father David. As a result, Absalom set Joab's barley field on fire when Joab ignored his request.

Scripture goes on to tell of Joab killing Absalom when a bloody civil war erupted. In the civil war, one side supported Absalom as king and the other side supported David.

Answer: Abiathar

Abiathar has the distinction of being the only high priest in the Old Testament to be dismissed from his duties by a king. 1 Kings 2:26 tells of Solomon dismissing Abiathar from his duties as he had previously supported Adonijah to become king to replace David.

In Verse 26, Solomon states Abiathar was deserving of death. However, Solomon said he would not take such action because Abiathar had been a tremendous help to his father David. The verse tells of Abiathar being dismissed from his position and ordered to "go to Anathoth, to your own fields".

Answer: Ananias

Ananias and his wife Sapphira were struck dead when they sold property and lied to the Holy spirit saying they had donated all the proceeds to the early church. However, the couple had kept a portion of the proceeds for themselves.

Acts 5:5 tells of Ananias being struck dead in a case of divine retribution. About three hours later, Sapphira was struck dead when she also told Peter they had turned all the proceeds over to the church.

Answer: Barnabas

Barnabas is the correct answer. Acts 4:37 states Barnabas, a worker in the early church, sold land he owned and laid the money at the apostles feet. No details are given, however, about the land Barnabas sold.

According to Acts 4:36, his real name was Joses (Jospeh in the NIV) and he was a Levite from Cyprus. However, the apostles gave him the nickname Barnabas which translates as 'Son of Encouragement'.

Answer: Joseph of Arimathea

Matthew 27:57 describes Joseph of Arimathea as a "rich man", so it's obvious he was a landowner. Although no details are given in Scripture about the amount of land Joseph owned, one thing is certain -- he owned a tomb. Matthew 27 goes on to tell of Joseph taking the body of Christ after the crucifixion and burying it in a tomb he owned. The tomb was occupied for only three days, however, as all four Gospels tell of Christ triumphantly rising from the dead -- just like He said He would.