Exiles in the Old and New Testaments -- #2 Quiz

Answer: Abraham

Hagar and her young son Ishmael were banished into the desert by Abraham. This even though Hagar had been Abraham's concubine and a handmaiden to his wife Sarah. According to Scripture, they were given meagre supplies before they were forced to fend for themselves.

Genesis 21:14, in the NKJV, states: "So Abraham rose early in the morning, and took bread and a skin of water; and putting it on her shoulder, he gave it and the boy to Hagar, and sent her away. Then she departed and wandered in the Wilderness of Beersheba."

Scripture goes on to state God was with Hagar and Ishmael and Ishmael became father of the Arab nation.

Answer: 400

Genesis 15:13 tells of the Israelites being afflicted in a foreign land for four hundred years and sure enough that's what eventually happened. Chapters 42 through to 46 of Genesis report about Jacob and his eleven sons moving to Egypt in a time of severe famine when it was discovered Joseph was the second most powerful man in Egypt.

The Pharaoh and the Egyptians initially welcomed the Israelites, but things changed drastically over the years, with the Jews being reviled and becoming slaves of the Egyptians. Their suffering would go on until Moses and Aaron were raised up by God. The two brothers got permission to lead the Israelites on a mass exodus out of Egypt and into Canaan, known as the Promised Land.

Answer: Zedekiah

The 39th chapter of Jeremiah tells of Zedekiah, the last king of Judah, being captured by the Babylonian army and undergoing extremely brutal treatment.

According to 2 Chronicles 36:11, Zedekiah was twenty-one years old when he became king and he reigned eleven years in Jerusalem. He was a son of Josiah, and his mother's name was Hamutal.

Answer: Nebuchadnezzar

Nebuchadnezzar was the conquering king of Babylon when the inhabitants iof Jerusalem were taken in captivity, as per 2 Kings 24:10-11. As Biblehub.com states, "Of all the heathen monarchs mentioned by name in the Scriptures, Nebuchadnezzar is the most prominent and the most important."

Many of the prophecies of Jeremiah, Ezekiel, and Daniel pertain to Nebuchadnezzar.

The heart of the Babylonian empire was based between the Tigris and the Euphrates rivers in what is now known as Iraq.

Answer: Jeremiah

Jeremiah 43:1-13 tells of Jeremiah being taken to Egypt. With the Babylonians taking possession of Jerusalem, Scripture tells of Jeremiah, as well as a number of other Jews, ending up in Egypt.

Jeremiah, along with Isaiah, Ezekiel and Daniel, is one of the major prophets of the Bible.

Answer: Manasseh

Manasseh is the correct answer. 2 Chronicles 33:10-13 states Manasseh and his people would not listen to the LORD and as result there were consequences to pay. Verse 11 tells of the king of Assyria taking Manasseh prisoner and binding him with bronze fetters before he was carried off to Babylon. While being afflicted in Babylon, Scripture states Manasseh "implored the LORD his God, and humbled himself greatly before the God of his fathers, and prayed to Him."

Scripture goes on to tell of Manasseh returning to Jerusalem, knowing that the "LORD was God". Verse 15 states he "took away the foreign gods and the idols from the house of the LORD, and all the altars that he had built in the mount of the house of the LORD and in Jerusalem."

Answer: Jehoiachin

2 Kings 24:14-16 tells of Jehoiachin being taken into captivity by the Babylonians, along with his mother, his wives and his officers.

However, Jehoiachin would be released from prison after seven years when Evil-Merodach, became king of Babylon., 2 Kings 25:27-30 in the NKJV states Evil-Merodach "spoke kindly to him, and gave him a more prominent seat than those of the kings who were with him in Babylon."

Scripture goes on to tell of Jehoiachin eating bread regularly with Evil-Merodach "all the days of his life". No information is given in Scripture about what happened to Jehoiachin's mother, his wives and his officers. There is also no mention on how many wives he had or how many officers served under him.

Answer: 1 Peter

The verse in question is from 1 Peter 1:1. The epistle was written by Peter, one of the original Twelve Disciples. (In the NKJV, the verse states, "to the pilgrims of the Dispersion in Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and Bithynia.")

Incidentally, James 1:1 has a similar theme as its introduction. The verse in the NIV states, "to the twelve tribes scattered among the nations." The NKJV uses almost the same wording, but states, "to the twelve tribes which are scattered abroad".

Answer: Stephen

The death of Stephen resulted in Christians being scattered throughout Judea and Samaria, according to Acts 8:1. Going strictly by Scripture, Stephen was the first martyr in the early church. Details about his trial and subsequent execution are found in Acts 6:8-15 as well as Acts 7:1-60.

Acts 8:2 in the NKJV states, "At that time a great persecution arose against the church which was at Jerusalem; and they were all scattered throughout the regions of Judea and Samaria, except the apostles. And devout men carried Stephen to his burial, and made great lamentation over him."

However, the scattering of believers only helped to spread the Gospel message, as members of the early church had a new audience to witness to.

Answer: Joseph, Mary and Jesus

Matthew 2:13-15 tells of Joseph, Mary and Jesus fleeing from Nazareth to Egypt after Joseph was warned in a dream to leave Israel. According to Scripture, the family fled just prior to Herod ordering the killing of every male infant aged two and under in a desperate bid to prevent Jesus from growing up and replacing him as king.

Verse 15 states Joseph, Mary and Jesus stayed in Egypt until the death of Herod "so that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the Lord through the prophet, saying, 'Out of Egypt I called My Son'." The prophecy pertaining to 'Out of Egypt I called My Son' can be found in Hosea 11:1.