Bible People With the Same Name Quiz

Answer: Saul

Saul is the correct answer. According to 1 Samuel 9 and 10, Saul was anointed as the first king of Israel by Samuel, the last judge of the nation. Later, Saul would end his life by committing suicide, as per 1 Samuel 31:4.

Meanwhile, the New Testament tells of the the conversion of Saul, a strict Pharisee who was vehemently opposed to Christianity. Saul's conversion took place after he had a dramatic encounter with Jesus Christ while he was traveling on a road to Damascus, as per Acts 9:1-22. The exploits of Saul, who would later become known as Paul, are recounted in the Book of Acts.

Answer: Ahinoam

David has the distinction of being the only man in the Hebrew Bible and the entire English Bible who had a wife and a mother-in-law with the same name. They both shared the name Ahinoam.

In 1 Samuel 14:50, the mother of Michal, David's first wife, was called Ahinoam. She was the wife of Saul. This would make her his mother-in-law.

Then 1 Samuel 25:43 tells of David taking a wife called Ahinoam at the same time he married Abigail, who had been previously married to Nabal.

Little in the way of information is given about the women because they are mentioned in passing reference.

Answer: Deborah

According to Genesis 35:8, Rebekah, the wife of Isaac, had a nurse called Deborah. However, little is known about her as she is mentioned in passing reference.

Meanwhile, Deborah was the dynamic female judge who ruled over Israel. According to Judges 4:4, her husband was Lapidoth. Little is known about Lapidoth as he is mentioned in only this verse. Deborah's story is told in the fourth and fifth chapters of Judges.

Answer: Mary

There are a number of women in the New Testament who share the first name Mary. The best known is Mary, the mother of Jesus. According to Scripture, she was a young girl who gave birth to Jesus while she was a virgin. (See Luke 1:26-38)

The second best known Mary in the New Testament has to be Mary Magdalene. In Mark 16:9, it states Jesus drove seven demons out of Mary Magdalene, but no further details are given.

Some other women sharing the name Mary include the mother of James and Joses, the wife of Clopas and the sister of Lazarus and Martha. Without question, Mary is the most common female name in the New Testament. It is a derivative of the Old Testament name Miriam.

Answer: Sosthenes

Two men apparently share the name Sosthenes, although there is some speculation they could conceivably be the same person. The name Sosthenes appears in the salutations of Paul's first book to the church at Corinth (1 Corinthians). The other Sosthenes appears in Acts 18:17.

According to Acts 18:17, Sosthenes was a ruler of the synagogue and he was savagely beaten in front of the court. The beating took place in front of Gallio, proconsul of Achaia, and according to verse 17, he showed "no concern whatever."

If Sosthenes is the same person as mentioned in 1 Corinthians 1:1, he obviously converted to Christianity.

Answer: Lazarus

Two different characters share the name Lazarus. The better known Lazarus was the one Jesus raised from the dead at Bethany. According to John 11, Lazarus had been dead for four days and there was an odor coming from his tomb. He was the brother of Mary and Martha, the most well known sisters in the New Testament.

Meanwhile, Lazarus was a character in a parable that appears in only the Gospel of Luke. Titled the Rich Man and Lazarus, the parable appears in Luke 16:19-31. In a nutshell, the rich man lived in the lap of luxury while Lazarus was so helpless, "even the dogs came and licked his sores". Scripture tells of Lazarus and the rich man dying, with Lazarus ending up by the side of Abraham and the rich man in a place of torment. When the rich man requests that Lazarus come and dip the tip of his finger in water and cool his tongue, Abraham tells him this is not possible because there is a "great chasm" and no one can cross over it.

Answer: Judas

A popular name for men in the New Testament is Judas. We have Judas Iscariot, who betrayed Jesus for 30 pieces of silver, as well as Judas who was a brother of Jesus, according to Matthew 13:55 and Mark 6:3. There's also Judas who accompanied Silas and Judas the son of James. Then, according to Acts 9:11, there's Judas who lived on Straight Street in Damascus.

The Judas who lived on Straight Street housed a blinded Saul after his dramatic encounter with the Lord Jesus Christ on a road to Damascus, as per Acts 9. However, no details are given about Judas of Straight Street as he is mentioned in passing reference. Scripture states that for three days Saul was blind and did not eat or drink anything while at the home of Judas, as per Acts 9:9. When an emissary was sent to meet with him, however, scales fell from his eyes and he was able to see again. Scripture goes on to state Paul "got up and was baptized, and after taking some food, he regained his strength."

Meanwhile, it must be pointed out that while Scripture describes Judas as a "brother" of Jesus, some Christians don't regard the two as blood brothers. Adherents of the Catholic Church, for example, point out the usage of the word 'brother' in this case is similar to using the word 'associate'.

Answer: John

John is the correct answer. Three prominent men in the New Testament shared the name John. One was John the Baptist and the other John is credited with writing the Gospel of John as well as 1 John, 2 John, 3 John and Revelation.

Details about John the Baptist being a forerunner for Christ can be found in Luke 3:1-21.

Meanwhile, John, one of the Twelve Disciples, is credited with writing five books in the New Testament. The books are the Gospel of John, 1 John, 2 John, 3 John and Revelation. However, some modern day theologians dispute the fact the John who wrote Revelation was the same John who was one of the original disciples.

There's also a John, who was also called Mark. He was a worker in the early church and a cousin of Barnabas, as per Colossians 4:10.

Answer: Simon

Simon is the correct answer. Simon Peter was one of the Twelve Disciples while Scripture states Simon of Cyrene carried Christ's cross to Golgotha.

Going strictly by Scripture, Simon, also called Peter, was the only one of the Twelve Disciples who was married. We know Simon was married because Scripture says Jesus healed his mother-in-law. Luke 4:38-39, in the NKJV Bible, states: "Now He arose from the synagogue and entered Simon's house. But Simon's wife's mother was sick with a high fever, and they made request of Him concerning her. So He stood over her and rebuked the fever, and it left her. And immediately she arose and served them."

Little is known about Simon of Cyrene, but Mark 15:21 states he was the father of Alexander and Rufus. According to the "International Standard Bible Encyclopedia", Cyrene was a city of Libya in North Africa. It was separated from ancient Egypt by a portion of the Libyan desert.

A number of different men share the name Simon in the New Testament.

Answer: Ananias

There were actually three different men in the New Testament who shared the name Ananias and they are known for a variety of things.

The first Ananias was struck dead for withholding money from the early church, as per Acts 5:1-11.
The second Ananias was the high priest involved in Paul's trial before Felix, as per Acts 24:1.
Then there's the Ananias who was sent to meet with Saul after his conversion to Christianity, as per Acts 9:10-19.

Some interesting trivia: Although there are three different men with the name Ananias in the Bible, their accounts are listed in only Acts. In other words, the name Ananias appears nowhere else in Scripture.