Bible People Who Tore Their Clothes -- #2 Quiz

Answer: David

David and his servants tore their clothes after Absalom killed his half-brother Amnon. David was the father of both men. According to Scripture, Absalom killed Amnon out of revenge after he raped Tamar. Tamar was a full sister of Absalom and a half sister of Amnon. The killing took place two years after the sexual assault, Scripture states.

David was originally told that Absalom had killed "all the king's sons and not one of them is left." With that gruesome news, David and his servants tore their clothes. Then Jonadab, the son of Shimeah, David's brother, explained that only Amnon had been killed.

For details, see 2 Samuel 13:1-33.

Answer: Hezekiah

According to Scripture, Hezekiah tore his clothes after hearing boastful and demeaning statements from the Rabshakeh of Syria. (It is not known for certain, but notes in the NKJV Study Bible state the Rabshakeh was probably a title for Chief of Staff, or Governor, of Syria.)

According to 2 Kings 18:37, the Rabshakeh's statements were originally heard by Eliakim, who was over Hezekiah's household, Shebna, the scribe and Joah, the recorder, and they tore their clothes. When the three men relayed the information to Hezekiah, he too tore his clothes, as per 2 Kings 19:1.

For details, see 2 Kings 18:17-36 and 19:1-37.

Answer: Job

According to Scripture, Job's three friends tore their clothes when they saw the pitiful condition he was in after suffering through a series of calamities.

The friends were Eliphaz the Temanite, Bildad the Shuhite, and Zophar the Naamathite. After seeing Job, Scripture states the three men "lifted their voices and wept and each one tore his robe and sprinkled dust on his head toward heaven." They were so shocked by Job's condition, they sat with him for seven days and seven nights "and no one spoke a word to him, for they saw that his grief was very great."

Details can be found in Job 2:11-13.

Answer: Joseph's brothers

Joseph's brothers tore their clothes after Joseph's silver cup was found in Benjamin's sack. Scripture states the cup was planted in a sack belonging to Benjamin, Joseph's younger full-brother. After the departure of his brothers, Joseph assigned his steward to pursue the caravan and check it for stolen items. Joseph's other half brothers were highly distraught when a silver cup was found in Benjamin's sack because they knew their elderly father wouldn't be able to deal with the loss of him after the so-called death of Joseph. As a result of their anger and grief, the brothers tore their clothes, as per Genesis 44:13.

During their visits to Egypt, the brothers did not recognize Joseph. They simply saw him as the second in command in Egypt, not as their long-lost brother. Eventually, Joseph revealed his true identity to them and after complete amazement they agreed to return to Canaan to get Jacob and take him to Egypt to see Joseph. The end result was that the Israelites became permanent residents of Egypt for about 400 years.

Answer: Athalia

Athalia, a wicked and evil queen of Israel, tore her clothes when she came to the realization the end of her reign was near. In fact, shortly after Athalia tore her clothes, Scripture tells of Jehoaida, the priest, commanded army captains to seize Athalia and kill her. After she was killed, Scripture states "the people of the land rejoiced". For details about her death, see 2 Kings 11:13-21.

The sordid story of Queen Athaliah is found in the 11th chapter of 2 Kings as well as the 22nd and 23rd chapters of 2 Chronicles. She was the daughter of Ahab and Jezebel (2 Kings 8:18).

When her son Ahaziah died, she was unstoppable in her blood-thirsty mission to have herself installed as queen. To this end, she killed all Ahaziah's children except Joash, the youngest, as per 2 Kings 11:1-2. (The only reason she didn't kill Joash is the fact he was placed in hiding.) In other words, she killed her own grandchildren to cement her hold on power.

Answer: David

David is the correct answer, as per 2 Samuel 3:31. According to Scripture, Abner was the commander of king Saul's army and after the death of Saul he was a promoter of Isbosheth as king of Israel. At the time, Israel was engaged in a bloody civil war with one side supporting Ishobsheth as king and the other side favoring David.

However, Ishboseth and Abner had a falling out when Ishbosheth accused him of sleeping with Rizpah, a concubine of his father Saul. As a result, Abner left Ishbosheth's camp and joined David's side.

Scripture goes on to tell of Joab, the commander of David's army, stabbing Abner in the stomach. Joab killed Abner to avenge the death of his brother Asahel who was killed in a battle by Abner, as per 2 Samuel 2:18-23. According to the passage, Abner killed Asahel by plunging him in the stomach with the blunt end of a spear that came out his back.

See 2 Samuel 2:18 through to 2 Smauel 3:39 for details about the defection and death of Abner as well as David's mourning.

Answer: Jephthah

According to Scripture, Jephthah made a vow to the LORD and his daughter ended up losing her life as a result. Scripture states Jephthah was commander of the Israelite army which was engaged in a heated battle with the Ammonites when he made his vow.

Judges 11:30-31 tell of his vow with Jephthah proclaiming to the LORD, "If You will indeed deliver the people of Ammon into my hands, then it will be that whatever comes out of the doors of my house to meet me, when I return in peace from the people of Ammon, shall surely be the LORD'S, and I will offer it up as a burnt offering."

Scripture goes on to tell of the Israelites scoring a decisive military victory of the Ammonites. However, to Jepthhah's horror, when he returned home from war, the first person he saw was his only child, a daughter, who met him with timbrels and dancing. Immediately, he tore his clothes.

Scripture goes on to tell of Jephthah telling his daughter he had made a vow with the LORD "and I cannot go back on it."

Judges 11:36 tells of his unnamed daughter being fully understanding and accepting of the situation. The verses quote her as saying, "My father, if you have given your word to the LORD, do to me according to what has gone out of your mouth, because the LORD has avenged you of your enemies, the people of Ammon."

She then asked for two months alone in the mountains so she could "bewail" her virginity. Jephthah granted the request and after two months, his obedient daughter returned and he fulfilled his vow.

Scripture goes on to state it became a custom in Israel that the daughters of Israel went four days each year to lament the daughter of Jephthah.

Answer: Gedaliah

Gedaliah was a governor appointed by Nebechadezzner and his assassination sparked an outpouring of grief. Jeremiah 41:1-2 states Ishmael, the son of
Nethaniah, killed Gedaliah with a sword.

Jeremiah 41:5 goes on to state eighty men from Shechem, Shiloh and Samaria tore their clothes, shaved their beards, and cut themselves to presented offerings in the house of the LORD.

See Jeremiah 41:6-18 for more details.

Answer: Naaman

A plea was issued to the king of Israel on behalf of Naaman, commander of the Syrian army, to be cured of his leprosy. The king, however, was not impressed with the written request from the king of Syria. In fact, 2 Kings 5:5-7 tells of him tearing his clothes after receiving the request on behalf of Naaman. Scripture doesn't provide a reason for why the king tore his clothes, but it is believed he suspected the Syrian king and Naaman were attempting to pull off a ruse,

The story of Naaman is found in 2 Kings 5:1-26. After coming down with leprosy, Naaman followed the advice of a Jewish slave girl who served his wife. In 2 Kings 5:3, she told him to see the "prophet in Samaria." The end result is this: Elisha the prophet told Naaman to bathe himself seven times in the Jordan River. Afterward, he was cleansed of the dread disease. 2 Kings 5:15, in the NKJV Bible, states Naaman proclaimed to Elisha, "now I know that there is no God in all the earth, except in Israel."

Answer: Hushai

Hushai is the correct answer. According to Scripture, Hushai was a friend of David who worked deviously behind the scenes during a civil war between factions supporting David as king and those supporting Absalom as king. Scripture states Hushai agreed to work as an adviser to Absalom but in reality, worked to sabotage Absalom's plans and secretly provided information to David.

2 Samuel 15:32 tells of David going to the Mount of Olives to worship God and encountering Hushai who had his robe torn and dust on his head. Notes in the NKJV Study Bible suggest Hushai tore his robe and put dust on his head as signs of grief that David was being challenged as king.

For details about Hushai undermining the efforts of Absalom and helping David, see 2 Samuel 16:15-23 and 17:1-29.