A Quick Look at Ten Women in Genesis Quiz

Answer: Eve

Eve, of course, is described as the mother of all living. According to Genesis 3:20 she was given the name by Adam. They were the parents of Cain, Abel and Seth, as well as other sons and daughters, as per Genesis 5:4. However, Scripture does not state how many children Eve had.

It could have been a large number because Adam lived to be 930 years old, according to Genesis 5:5. Scripture does not indicate how old Eve was when she died.

Answer: Rebekah

Rebekah is the correct answer. Jacob and Esau, the sons of Isaac and Rebekah, were the first set of twins in the Bible.

According to Genesis 25:27, Esau was "a skillful hunter, a man of the field" while Jacob was "a mild man, dwelling in tents". Scripture goes on to state that Isaac favored Esau, while Rebekah favored Jacob.

Incidentally, Perez and Zerah were the second set of twins in the Bible. Judah was the father and Tamar, his daughter-in-law, was the mother of the boys as per the 38th chapter of Genesis.

Answer: Asenath

The correct answer is Asenath, but not much is known about her as she is mentioned in passing reference. According to Genesis 46:20, she was the mother of Manasseh and Ephraim. At this time, Joseph was the second most powerful man in Egypt, surpassed by only the Pharaoh. As a result, Asenath would have been one of the most influential women in Egypt.

The spelling of Asenath's father, Poti-Phera, is per the NKJV. In the NIV, he is known as Potiphera and in the KJV as Potipherah.

Answer: Sarah

Sarah, the wife of Abraham, was ninety years old when she became pregnant with Isaac, according to Genesis 17:17. The same verse states Abraham was one hundred years old.

When Sarah was told by God she would give birth to a baby at age ninety, she was rightly astounded. In fact, she was so beside herself, she actually laughed at the pronouncement.

When the LORD accused Sarah of laughing, and not showing faith, she lied and insisted she didn't laugh.

Here's how the story is told in Genesis 18:1-15 in the NKJV:

"Then the LORD appeared to him by the terebinth trees of Mamre, as he was sitting in the tent door in the heat of the day. So he lifted his eyes and looked, and behold, three men were standing by him; and when he saw them, he ran from the tent door to meet them, and bowed himself to the ground, and said, 'My Lord, if I have now found favor in Your sight, do not pass on by Your servant. Please let a little water be brought, and wash your feet, and rest yourselves under the tree. And I will bring a morsel of bread, that you may refresh your hearts. After that you may pass by, inasmuch as you have come to your servant.'

"They said, 'Do as you have said.'

"So Abraham hurried into the tent to Sarah and said, 'Quickly, make ready three measures of fine meal; knead it and make cakes.' And Abraham ran to the herd, took a tender and good calf, gave it to a young man, and he hastened to prepare it. So he took butter and milk and the calf which he had prepared, and set it before them; and he stood by them under the tree as they ate.

"Then they said to him, 'Where is Sarah your wife?'

"So he said, 'Here, in the tent.'

"And He said, 'I will certainly return to you according to the time of life, and behold, Sarah your wife shall have a son.'

"(Sarah was listening in the tent door which was behind him.) Now Abraham and Sarah were old, well advanced in age; and Sarah had passed the age of childbearing. Therefore Sarah laughed within herself, saying, 'After I have grown old, shall I have pleasure, my lord being old also?'

"And the LORD said to Abraham, 'Why did Sarah laugh, saying, 'Shall I surely bear a child, since I am old?' Is anything too hard for the LORD? At the appointed time I will return to you, according to the time of life, and Sarah shall have a son.'

"But Sarah denied it, saying, 'I did not laugh,' for she was afraid.

"And He said, 'No, but you did laugh!'"

Scripture goes on to tell of Sarah giving birth to Isaac. Isaac would marry Rebekkah and they would have two children -- Jacob and Esau.

Answer: Leah

Leah, according to Scripture, was the older sister of Rachel. Genesis 29:16-17 states: "Now Laban had two daughters: the name of the elder was Leah, and the name of the younger was Rachel. Leah's eyes were delicate, but Rachel was beautiful of form and appearance."

According to Scripture, Jacob agreed to work seven years for Laban to win Rachel's hand. However, at the end of seven years, Laban gave him Leah to be his wife, stating it was the custom for the oldest daughter to be married first. Scripture goes on to state Jacob worked an additional seven years to win the right to marry Rachel.

Although Jacob was married to two sisters, he greatly preferred Rachel over Leah, as per Genesis 29:30. In fact, Verse 31 states that Leah was "unloved".

Answer: Hagar

Going by Scripture, Sarah and Hagar seldom got along and were bitter adversaries. Their dislike for each other ultimately resulted in Abraham making a decision to abandon Hagar and their son Ishmael. The problems apparently started shortly after Sarah gave permission to her husband Abraham to sleep with Hagar to produce a child. Sarah was barren at the time.

According to Scripture, Hagar started to despise Sarah for whatever reason. I suppose she felt superior because she could produce a child for Abraham while Sarah was unable. So she made a point of constantly trying to make Sarah feel small and insignificant.

It seems things snowballed with Sarah attempting to get even by being unduly harsh on Hagar. In fact, she was so harsh Hagar, even before Ishmael was born, fled from Abraham and Sarah. However, an angel of the LORD requested she go back to Abraham and Sarah and produce a child.

But things wouldn't work out. A number of years later, Abraham opted to abandon Hagar and Ishmael, sending them off with some food and water into the desert. (It appears the breaking point was Ishmael's 'scoffing', as per Genesis 21:9) With the two women separated, the turmoil between them would finally come to an end.

Answer: Deborah

Deborah was a nurse for Rebekah, according to Scripture. However, not much is known about her as she is mentioned in passing reference. The lone verse that makes reference to Deborah is Genesis 35:8. The verse in the NKJV states: "Now Deborah, Rebekah's nurse, died, and she was buried below Bethel under the terebinth tree. So the name of it was called Allon Bachuth."

According to notes in the NKJV Study Bible, Allon Bachuth means Terebinth of Weeping.

There is another woman in Scripture called Deborah. She was a prophetess and a a dynamic judge who ruled over Israel, as per Judges 4.

Answer: Zilpah

After Leah stopped having children, she gave her handmaiden Zilpah to Jacob as a wife. Zilpah bore him two sons, Gad and Asher, according to Genesis 30:9-12. Scripture records that Leah's father Laban had given Zilpah to her as an aide, as per Genesis 29:24. Little else is known about Zilpah.

However, according to Wikipedia, Jewish tradition has it that Zilpah was buried in the Tomb of the Matriarchs in Tiberias.

Answer: Tamar

Er, the son of Judah, was Tamar's first husband. Genesis 38:6, in the NKJV Bible, simply states "Then Judah took a wife for Er his firstborn, and her name was Tamar." Verse 7 goes on to state Er was "wicked", so the LORD killed him. However, no details are given about Er's wickedness.

After Tamar's first husband died, she became the wife of Onan, the son of Judah and the brother of Er. Genesis 38:8, in the NKJV Bible, states: "And Judah said to Onan, 'Go in to your brother's wife and marry her, and raise up an heir to your brother'." According to Geneses 38:9-10, Onan was also put to death by the LORD because he emitted his seed on the ground to prevent Tamar from becoming pregnant.

The 38th chapter of Genesis also reports about Tamar having a sexual relationship with her father-in-law Judah, but the two were never married.

There is no mention of Tamar having a third husband. Genesis 38:11 states Judah told Tamar to remain a widow until his son Shelah came of age and she would become his wife. However, Verse 14 goes on to state that when Shelah had grown up, she still had not been given to him as his wife.

Answer: Dinah

Dinah is the correct answer. Dinah, the daughter of Jacob and Leah, was the first rape victim in the Bible. Not much is known about Dinah apart from the fact she was sexually assaulted by Shechem, as per Genesis 34:1-31. According to Scripture two of her brothers, Simeon and Levi, went on a ruthless rampage, killing a large number of men to avenge her defilement.

After the horrific events of Genesis 34, Dinah is mentioned only one more time in Scripture. In Genesis 46:15, her name appears in a genealogy account, but there is no mention of her having a husband or children.