Bible People Who Tore Their Clothes -- #1 Quiz

Answer: Reuben

Reuben tore his clothes after he gone to a pit where Joseph had been placed by his brothers and he could not find him. According to Scripture, the brothers had sold Joseph to Midianite traders for twenty shekels of silver. The Midianites in turn took Joseph to Egypt where they sold him into slavery.

Afterwards, Joseph's brothers created the impression with their father Jacob that Joseph had been killed by a wild beast. Scripture tells of them taking Jacob's tunic of many colors and dipping it in the blood of a goat and presenting the tunic to Jacob. Upon seeing the blood-soaked tunic, Jacob tore his clothes and mourned the apparent death of Joseph for "many days".

See Genesis 37:12-36 for more details.

Answer: Job

Job is the correct answer, as per Job 1:20. Scripture states a "great wind" destroyed a house in which Job's seven sons and three daughters were inside and they all perished. On top of this, Job became seriously ill and lost all his material wealth.

According to Job 1:20-21, after Job learned about his horrific misfortune, he tore his robe, shaved his head and fell to the ground in worship, proclaiming, "Naked I came from my mother's womb, and naked shall I return there. The LORD gave, and the LORD has taken away; blessed be the name of the LORD."

Answer: Elisha

Elisha was filled with grief when Elijah, his mentor, was taken to heaven in a whirlwind and seen no more. 2 Kings 2:10-12 tells of Elisha and Elijah walking together when "suddenly a chariot of fire appeared with horses of fire and separated the two of them and Elijah went up by a whirlwind into heaven." Verse 12 tells of a distraught Elisha taking hold of his clothes and tearing them in two pieces.

Scripture goes on to tell of Elisha taking Elijah's mantle and parting the Jordan River, indicating he had officially become Elijah's replacement as a prophet of God for Israel.

Answer: Tamar

Scripture states Tamar tore her clothes after she was raped by her half-brother Amnon. The account of Amnon, the son of David and Ahinoam raping Tamar, the daughter of David and Maacah, is found in 2 Samuel 13:1-18.

According to Scripture, Amnon was hopelessly in love with Tamar and pretended to be sick in bed and set things up to have Tamar serve him food. While Tamar was serving Amnon, he forced himself upon her.

After tearing her clothes, Scripture states Tamar put ashes on her head and "went away crying bitterly".

Later, Absalom, a full brother of Tamar, would kill Amnon, as per 2 Samuel 13:19-29.

Answer: Ezra

Ezra is the correct answer, as per Ezra 9:3-5. In addition to tearing his clothes, Ezra writes he was so perturbed he "plucked out some of the hair of his head and beard."

Religious leaders of the day were deeply opposed to intermarriages because they often resulted in Jews becoming less inclined to follow the LORD and in many cases worship false gods.

Answer: Joshua and Caleb

Joshua and Caleb were livid when their compatriots who had accompanied them on a spying mission into Canaan disapproved of the Israelites taking possession of what was known as the Promised Land. What's more, the Israelites in general sided with the ten spies who were opposed to going into Canaan, leaving Joshua and Canaan isolated on the issue. Numbers 14:6 tells of the two men tearing their clothes and making a passionate plea to enter the Promised Land, insisting the LORD would be behind the Israelites and their efforts would be rewarded with success.

Answer: Josiah

According to 2 Kings 22, Hilkiah the high priest found the long lost Book of the Law in the eighteenth year of Josiah, king of Judah. After the king was made aware of Hilkiah's astounding find, Scripture states Josiah tore his clothes.

Apparently, Josiah tore his clothes in genuine remorse because after learning of the contents of the Book of the Law for the first time in his life, he became aware he and his people were not living in accordance with God's commands.

Answer: Saul and Jonathan

2 Samuel 1:11 states David and his men tore their clothes when they learned of the deaths of King Saul and his son Jonathan. The two men died in a fierce battle with the Philistines. According to Scripture, Saul was mortally wounded in battle and requested his armor bearer to kill him with his sword. When the armor bearer refused, Saul fell on his sword, ending his life.

It's interesting to note that while Jonathan was David's best friend, Saul was his biggest adversary. In fact, Saul spent considerable effort trying to kill David simply because he was jealous of how popular David was with the people in general. David, however, had no hard feelings against Saul and always showed respect to him.

According to 2 Samuel 1:12, after tearing their clothes, David and his men "mourned and wept and fasted until evening for Saul and for Jonathan."

Answer: The high priest

The high priest tore his clothes when Jesus stated, "... nevertheless, I say to you, hereafter you will see the Son of Man sitting at the right hand of the Power, and coming on the clouds of heaven," as per Matthew 26:24 in the NKJV. The following verse tells of the high priest tearing his clothes and stating, "He has spoken blasphemy! What further need do we have of witnesses? Look, now you have heard His blasphemy! What do you think?" Scripture goes on to state they answered, "He is deserving of death."

Answer: Paul and Barnabas

According to Scripture, Paul and Barnabas tore their clothes as they were filled with anger when the people of Lystra thought they were gods. Acts 14:8-18, states people became convinced the two men were gods after they healed an unnamed man who was "a cripple from his mother's womb." Verse 12 states the people called Barnabas Zeus and Paul, Hermes, "because he was the chief speaker." (In the KJV, it states Barnabas was called Jupiter and Paul, Mercurius.)