Boats and Other Things That Float Quiz

Answer: Gopherwood

Gopherwood is the correct answer. (Rather than gopherwood, the NIV uses cypress wood.) No one seems to know exactly what type of a tree gopherwood came from. (As Wikipedia points out, there is no connection between the wood and the North American animal, the gopher.)

Similar to the NIV, a number of newer translations of the Bible state the ark was built out of cypress wood. But, according to Wikipedia, no one can be certain about the ark being built out of cypress wood.

Some theologians suspect the ark was made out of pine, fir, cedar, teak and sandalwood, but there is no way of knowing for sure.

Answer: Jonah

Jonah is the correct answer as per Jonah 1:4-16. According to Scripture, Jonah refused to follow a request from God to go to Nineveh and preach against it. Scripture goes on to tell of Jonah being on a ship in a raging storm when Jonah stated to the crew "pick me up and throw me into the sea and the sea will become calm for you."

Sure enough, when Jonah was tossed overboard, the storm subsided. Scripture goes on to tell of Jonah spending three days and three nights in the belly of a gigantic fish before being regurgitated on dry land. Finally, he gave into the LORD'S wishes and travelled to Nineveh and urged its residents to repent.

Answer: David

David's household was carried across the Jordan River on a ferry boat, as per 2 Samuel 19:16-18. (The NIV does not use the word ferry and states the crossing of the Jordan was made at a ford.)

The crossing took place after Israel had been embroiled in a bloody civil war with one side supporting David as king and the other side supporting his son Absalom as king. The war came to a sudden end, however, when Absalom was killed by Joab, the commander of David's army. (See 2 Samuel 18 for details about Absalom's death.)

When the war was at its height, David and his household had to flee Jerusalem. The passage about the ferry boat tells of David returning to Jerusalem.

Answer: Solomon

According to Scripture, Solomon had two fleets of ships. 1 Kings 9:26 tells of Solomon building a fleet of ships at Ezlon Geber, near Elath on the shore of the Red Sea in the land of Edom. Meanwhile, 1 Kings 10:22 tells of Solomon having merchant ships at sea with the fleet of Hiram. "Once every three years the merchant ships came bringing gold, sliver, ivory, apes and monkeys," Scripture states. Verse 23 goes on to state Solomon "surpassed all the kings of the earth in riches and wisdom."

Answer: Jehoshaphat

Jehoshaphat is regarded as a good king, as he generally did what was right in the eyes of the LORD, according to Scripture. This even though he failed to remove high places where Israelites worshiped false gods, as per 2 Chronicles 20:33. Meanwhile, Verses 35 to 37 tell of Jehoshaphat forming an alliance with Ahaziah who acted "very wickedly".

As part of the alliance, the two kings agreed to construct a fleet of ships to go to Tarshish. Scripture goes on to tell of Eliezer, a prophet of God, proclaiming to Jehoshaphat the LORD would destroy the ships because he had aligned himself with Ahaziah. And sure enough, the ships were wrecked, as per Verse 37.

Answer: Isaiah

Isaiah 33:17-24 tells of a glorious time for God's people when they will see "the King in His beauty". The passage goes on tell of a time of peace and tranquility. Verse 21 in the NKJV states: "But there the majestic LORD will be for us. A place of broad rivers and streams, in which no galley with oars will sail, nor majestic ships pass by."

The New Living Translation Bible uses the term "enemy ships" rather than "galley with oars".

Answer: Hiram of Tyre

Hiram of Tyre is the correct answer. According to 1 Kings 5:8-9, Hiram agreed to construct rafts of cedar and cypress logs and float them by sea to a pre-determined location. The lumber was used for the construction of a temple of God in Jerusalem. Scripture goes on to tell of Solomon giving vast quantities of wheat and pressed oil to Hiram as a sign of his gratitude.

Answer: Three

According to 2 Corinthians 11:25, Paul was shipwrecked on three different occasions and as result of one of the shipwrecks, he spent a night and a day in open water. However, details are given in Scripture about only one of the shipwrecks. Acts 27 and 28 tell of Paul and his companions being shipwrecked off the coast of Malta.

While on the island, Paul used the occasion to convert a number of people to Christianity.

Answer: Jesus

Jesus used a small boat as a pulpit, as per Luke 5:3. Scripture tells of a multitude pressing against Him to hear the word of God when Jesus saw two boats on the Sea of Galilee. (The body of water is also known as the Lake of Gennesaret in some Bible versions.) Scripture goes on to tell of Jesus getting in one of the boats and after pulling out a little from the land, "He sat down and taught the multitudes from the boat." According to the passage, the boat Jesus used as a pulpit was Simon Peter's.

Answer: James

The epistle of James is the correct answer with details found in James 3:4 To put the verse in context, here's how James 3:3-5 appears in the NKJV: "Indeed, we put bits in horses' mouth that they may obey us, and we turn their whole body. Look also at ships: although they are so large and driven by fierce winds, they are turned by a very small rudder where ever the pilot decides. Even so, the tongue is a little member and boasts great things."

Although the epistle is named after James, its writer, no one knows for certain who he was. Some believe the book was written by the half brother of Jesus, while others insist the brother of John was the writer. Other possibilities are James, the son of Alphaeus, and James the father of the apostle called Judas.

(It must be pointed out, Catholic church officials do not believe Jesus had any half brothers. They consider that the correct interpretation for the word 'brother' in the passages referring to Jesus, actually means 'association' or 'brethren'.)

Meanwhile, notes in the NKJV Study Bible state James was a common name in the early church. The beginning sentence in the NKJV says, "James, a bondservant of God and the Lord Jesus Christ." With that claim, James could have been practically any Christian with such a name.