Biblical Mothers and Sons Trivia Quiz

Answer: Ruth

Ruth had originally married Naomi's son, Kilion, in Moab. After he, his brother and his father died, Naomi decided to return home to Bethlehem. She wanted both her daughters-in-law to stay in Moab but Ruth loved her mother-in-law dearly and wouldn't stay behind. When she came to Bethlehem she helped to provide for Naomi by gleaning grain in Boaz's fields. Boaz had heard how Ruth was caring for her mother-in-law and was impressed with her. He ended up marrying Ruth and they had a son named Obed. Obed in turn fathered Jesse who was the father of King David. The story can be read in the short Old Testament book of Ruth.

Rahab was the prostitute who hid the two men who went to spy in the city of Jericho. She was then saved when Jericho was destroyed. (See Joshua 6.) Rahab was also the mother of Boaz - a foreigner to Israel like her daughter-in-law, Ruth. (See Matthew 1:5.)

Rebekah was Isaac's wife and mother to twins Jacob and Esau.

Answer: Jabez

Just two verses of the Bible are devoted to Jabez (1 Chronicles 4:9-10). They describe him as being more honorable than his brothers, which should be quite a compliment (unless his brothers were really evil!). Jabez's mother obviously had such a difficult time giving birth to him that she resented him and decided to call him Jabez which sounds like the Hebrew for pain. Jabez must have put up with this name for years until one day he prayed to God the heartfelt prayer given in verse 10. "Oh, that you would bless me and enlarge my territory! Let your hand be with me, and keep me from harm so that I will be free from pain." (New International Version) And the wonderful thing is that it says that God granted his request. After all those years the pain was gone!

Helah, Shuhah and Kenaz are all other men mentioned in the genealogy in 1 Chronicles 4 in the verses surrounding the story of Jabez.

Answer: Hannah

Barren Hannah was desperate for a child even though she knew that her husband loved her dearly and tried to encourage her that he meant more to her than ten sons! One year, during the annual trip to Shiloh to worship the Lord, Hannah just couldn't take any more of her rival's taunting. In desperation she prayed silently in the tabernacle asking God for a son whom she would dedicate to him. Eli the priest was watching her and thought that she was drunk! When she explained the situation though, he told her to go in peace and prayed that God would answer her request. Hannah went home, became pregnant and gave birth to Samuel. When he was weaned she took him to Shiloh to train in the Lord's service under Eli the priest. The story of Hannah and Samuel can be found in 1 Samuel 1.

Sarah was the mother of Isaac and Rachel was the mother of Joseph and Benjamin. Both of these women were also barren and God allowed them to have children. Mary was the virgin mother of Jesus.

Answer: Solomon

King David saw beautiful Bathsheba bathing while he walked on his palace roof. Being the king he ordered that she be brought to him to spend the night, even though she was married to Uriah, one of David's soldiers. Bathsheba became pregnant. On hearing this David first tried to get Uriah home from the war to spend the night with his wife. However, Uriah was an honourable man and could not bring himself to go home and enjoy time with his wife while all his fellow soldiers were living in a war zone. When this plan of David's didn't work he arranged to have Uriah placed at the most intense part of the battle and his death was inevitable. David then brought Bathsheba to the palace as his wife.

The baby was born but within a week he had become very ill and died. David and Bathsheba were grieved and it was during this time that David repented of the wrongs which he had done. Some time later David and Bathsheba had other children, the first being Solomon who succeeded his father as king.

The Lord told Solomon to ask of him anything he wanted and (the already wise?) Solomon didn't ask for wealth or long life etc. but asked for wisdom. God was pleased with his request and granted him those other things as well.

The story of David and Bathsheba can be read in 2 Samuel 11 and 12 and the story of Solomon asking for wisdom can be read in 1 Kings 3.

Hezekiah and Josiah were also biblical kings (two of the good ones among quite a few bad ones!)

Answer: Jochebed

The Pharaoh was worried as the Israelite population had greatly increased. He was concerned that if there was a war the Israelites would side with the Egyptians' enemies. He therefore enslaved them and commanded that all baby boys should be killed at birth. However, the Israelite midwives Shiphrah and Puah ignored this command as they feared God. Jochebed also ignored this when her son Moses was born and hid him for three months. As hiding him became increasingly difficult she formed a plan. She made a floating crib basket and set it on the Nile. Her daughter Miriam kept watch over her baby brother. After a while the princess came down to bathe and on discovering the cute little baby in the basket she decided to adopt him. Miriam came forward and offered to find a Hebrew wet nurse for the baby and immediately went to fetch her own mother. Jochebed ended up getting paid by the princess to nurse her own child! When Moses was older he went to live in the palace and was brought up and educated as an Egyptian. (See Exodus 1 and 2 for further details.)

Zipporah, the daughter of a Midianite priest, was Moses' wife.

Answer: Ben-Oni

Jacob was devastated when his beloved wife Rachel died giving birth to their second child. She had been barren for many years until God had allowed her to have her first son, Joseph. As Rachel breathed her last she named her baby after her trouble. (Ben-Oni means "Son of my trouble.) Although Jacob was heartbroken to lose his wife he obviously didn't blame the baby but favoured the boy - his youngest child and son of his favourite wife. From his name one would assume that he wanted to keep Benjamin close by him and would look to him for support when he himself became old. (Benjamin means "Son of my right hand.) (See Genesis 35:16-20.)

Answer: Eve

Eve was the first woman in the Bible. She was created by God from one of Adam's ribs. Her sons were Cain, Abel and Seth. Cain became angry with Abel after Abel's sacrifice was pleasing to God and Cain's wasn't. His anger led to him killing his brother. You can read about Eve, her husband Adam and their sons Cain and Abel in Genesis 2-4.

Adah and Zillah were the two wives of Cain's descendant Lamech (Genesis 4:19-24).

Milcah was Abraham's sister-in-law (wife of his brother Nahor). (See Genesis 11:29.)

Answer: Ishmael

God promised that Abraham and Sarah would have a son but the promise seemed a very long time in coming and Sarah was aging rapidly. One day she had the bright idea of how they could bring about the promise by themselves and gave her slave girl, Hagar, to Abraham. Hagar became pregnant and began to despise Sarah; Sarah became jealous and angry and started to mistreat Hagar. The great plan wasn't exactly working out very well! Hagar couldn't take any more and ran away from her mistress. However the angel of the Lord found her in the desert and told her to return to her mistress, giving her the promise that her descendants would be too numerous to count! Her son Ishmael was born and became father to the Arabic peoples. Several years later Sarah herself had a son, Isaac, who became the father of Jacob also known as Israel.

You can read about Hagar in Genesis 16.

Answer: Eunice

Timothy, the young disciple, appeared to be the apostle Paul's right hand man. It was Paul who had first taken him on missionary trips and had taught him and encouraged him in his faith. There are two letters in the New Testament written by Paul to Timothy. It is in the second of these, in chapter 1:5, that Paul mentions Timothy's mother Eunice and grandmother Lois, commending both of them as well as Timothy for their sincere faith.

Priscilla was another faithful lady who served and assisted Paul along with her husband Aquila. Paul commends them in Romans 16:3 as his fellow workers who risked their lives for him.

Phoebe is also mentioned in Romans 16:1-2 where Paul describes her as a servant of the church at Cenchrea and someone who has been a great help to him and many others.

Answer: James and John

James and John were given the nickname "Sons of Thunder" by Jesus (Mark 3:17). They could certainly be impetuous, asking Jesus to call fire down from heaven on one occasion (Luke 9:54)! I wonder where they got these characteristics from: was it from their fisherman father, Zebedee or from their mother? In Matthew 20:20-24 we read of the account when Zebedee's wife came to Jesus and asked if her sons could have the seats either side of him when his kingdom came. Jesus' reply was to quite correctly tell her that she didn't know what she was asking and that, anyway, it wasn't up to him to assign those places to anyone! He then proceeded to explain to his disciples that greatness doesn't come through lording it over people but through humbly serving them.

Peter and Andrew were James and John's fellow disciples and fishermen. Philip and Nathanael weren't brothers but were also two of Jesus' disciples. (It was Philip who first introduced Nathanael to Jesus.) Judas and Joseph were two of Jesus' half-brothers, regarded as the natural sons of Mary and Joseph.