An 'Alex Trebek' Old Testament Quiz -- #7

Answer: Who is Esther?

Esther, the queen of Persia, was originally known as Hadassah, as per Esther 2:7. The verse in the NKJV describes her as "lovely and beautiful" and becoming an orphan when her parents died. Esther's cousin Mordecai then "took her as his own daughter." No details are given about Esther's parents or how they died.

Later in life, Esther and Mordecai would form a dynamic duo and prevent Haman from carrying out a scheme to kill all the Jews in the Persian empire that stretched from India in the east to Ethiopia in the west.

Answer: What is Midian?

After killing an unnamed Egyptian man, Moses fled to Midian. as per Exodus 2:15. It was in Midian that Moses married Zipporah, one of seven daughters of Jethro, priest of Midian. (Jethro also went by the name Reuel.)

Exodus 3:1-22 tells of God appearing before Moses in the form of a burning bush in Midian and giving him instructions to return to Egypt to lead the Israelites to Canaan, known as the Promised Land.

Answer: What is cupbearer?

Nehemiah was the cupbearer for Artaxerxesis, king of Persia, as per Nehemiah 1:11. (In the Easy to Read Version, Nehemiah is described as the king's wine servant.) Nehemiah obtained permission from the king for the Israelites to depart for Jerusalem to rebuild the walls around the city.

Answer: Who is Samson?

Samson was a super strong judge of Israel who was the son of Manoah. According to Judges 13:2, Manoah was from Zorah and his unnamed wife was unable to conceive. However, things changed dramatically when Manoah prayed to God for a child and prayers were answered with the the birth of Samson.

Samson would grow up to become a judge of Israel, serving for twenty years. He was known for his super strength.

Answer: Who is Absalom?

Absalom, the rebellious son of David, was well known for his beautiful long hair. However, his tresses would result in his death when he was staging a bloody coup attempt against his father. 2 Samuel 18 tells of a heated battle erupting between forces loyal to the two men. According to Scripture, Absalom was riding on a donkey when his long hair became entangled in tree branches and when the donkey kept moving forward, Absalom was left dangling in mid air. Joab, one of David's three military commanders, seized the opportunity and plunged three spears into Absalom's heart. For good measure, ten unnamed young men who bore Joab's armor surrounded Absalom and struck him to make sure he was dead.

Answer: Who is Rebekah?

The correct answer is Rebekah, the mother of Jacob and Esau. After Esau married two Hitite women, Rebekah is quoted as saying in the NKJV if Jacob did the same, "what good will my life be to me?" In the NIV, she is quoted as saying "life will not be worth living" if Jacob married a Hittite woman. (Esau's wives are also described as "daughters of Heth" in the NKJV.)

Esau's two wives were Judith and Basemath, as per Genesis 36:24. Verse 35 goes on to state the women were a "grief of mind" to Isaac and Rebekah. However, no details are given.

Answer: Who is Abimelech?

Abimelech, known as Abimelek in the NIV, died after an unnamed woman who was in a tower dropped a millstone on his head. Judges 9:22-56 tells of Abimelech going to Thebez and attempting to overtake a tower in which a number of Israelite men and women had taken refuge. Abimelech was as ruthless as they come and he decided to set the tower on fire. However, when he was approaching the structure, Scripture states an unnamed woman dropped an upper millstone on his head and cracked his skull.

Judges 9:54-55 tells of the king requesting his armor-bearer to draw his sword and kill him as he didn't want to be remembered as a man who was killed by a woman. The servant obliged and the saga of Abimelech came to an abrupt end. Judges 9:23-24 states his death was divine retribution.

Answer: Who is Memucan?

Memucan was a prince and an adviser to Ahasuerus, king of Persia, as per Esther 1:14. Memucan is best known for advising Ahasueres, known as Xerxes in the NIV, to take decisive action against Queen Vashti when she refused a request of the king to appear before a party he was hosting to display her beauty.

Memucan advised Vashti should no longer be queen and the crown given to another woman in the king's harem. By taking such action, Memucan reasoned all women in the Persian empire would "honor their husbands, both great and small," as per the NKJV. Memucan's advice was followed and with Vashti stripped of her crown, there is no further mention of her in Scripture.

With Vashti removed from the scene, Esther was crowned queen.

According to Esther 1:14, in addition to Memucan, six other men served as advisers to Ahasuerus. They were Carshena, Shethar, Admatha, Tarshish, Meres and Marsena.

Answer: Who is Jeremiah?

Tradition holds Jeremiah was the author of Lamentations, a book in the Old Testament. However, some modern day scholars dispute this belief.

Lamentations is a collection of laments pertaining to the impending destruction of Jerusalem. Jeremiah is known as the Weeping Prophet, largely because of the sorrow he expressed about the fate of the Jewish people who had turned away from serving God.

Answer: What is Haggai?

Haggai, part of the Minor Prophet section of the Old Testament, consists of only two chapters. Using Bible versions such as the KJV, NKJV and NIV, it is the only book in the Old Testament that consists of two chapters.

The three other books mentioned as possible answers contain considerably more than two chapters. Using the KJV, NKJV and NIV, Genesis consists of fifty chapters, Jeremiah fifty-two chapters and Job forty-two chapters.