Farmers in the Old and New Testaments Quiz

Answer: Cain

Cain, described as a tiller of the ground in Genesis 4:2 in the NKJV, is the correct answer. (The same verse in the NIV describes him as a person "who worked the soil".)

Incidentally, Genesis 4:2, indicates Cain's brother Abel was a keeper of sheep. In other words, he was the first shepherd.

Chapter 4 of Genesis goes on to tell of Cain becoming severely jealous of Abel and killing him.

Answer: Gideon

Judges 6:11 tells of Gideon threshing wheat in a winepress "in order to hide it from the Midianites" when he was visited by an Angel of the LORD. At the time, the Midianites ruled over the Israelites and in a divine message, Gideon was told he would lead Israel to victory over its oppressors.

Scripture goes on to tell of Gideon leading the Israelites to spectacular military victories and becoming a judge of the nation.

Answer: Noah

Noah is the correct answer. After surviving a massive flood that engulfed the world, Scripture tells of Noah becoming a farmer and planting a vineyard. In the process, he became the first person in the Bible to become drunk. For details, see Genesis 9:20-21. For an account of the flood that engulfed the world, see Genesis 6, 7 and 8.

Answer: barley

Boaz, the future husband of Ruth, was a barley farmer. References to barley appear in a number of occasions in the Book of Ruth -- Ruth 1:22, 2:17, 2:23, 3:2, 3:15 and 3:17.

The book of Ruth is largely about a romance between Boaz, an Israelite farmer, and Ruth, a Moabite widow. Scripture tells of Boaz and Ruth marrying and becoming parents of Obed. Obed was the father of Jesse and the grandfather of David, one of the greatest kings in Israel's history.

Answer: Joab

bAbsalom's servants set Joab's field on fire, as per 2 Samuel 14:30. Absalom was the son of David and Joab was the commander of David's army. However, Absalom and Joab had their differences, some of which surfaced after Absalom killed his own half brother Ammon. (According to 2 Samuel 13, Absalom killed Ammon after he raped Tamar, Absalom's full sister.)

Scripture goes on to tell of Absalom staging a coup attempt against David with a bloody civil war erupting. The war would come to an end only when Joab killed Absalom by plunging three spears through his heart when his long hair became entangled in the branches of a tree. At the time, Absalom was riding on a donkey and when his hair became entangled, the animal kept going forward, according to Scripture.

Joab's killing of Absalom was contrary to orders of David. Even though Absalom was attempting to oust his father as king, David did not want any harm to come to Absalom. Scripture, however, indicates Joab took delight in the killing because he had taken action to avenge for his destroyed barley fields.

Answer: Naboth

King Ahab and his wicked wife Jezebel orchestrated the death of Naboth so they could acquire ownership of his land, as per the 21st chapter of 1 Kings.

Naboth's vineyard was in Jezreel, close to the palace of Ahab, and Scripture tells of Jezebel taking dastardly action. As per I Kings 21:9-10, Jezebel ordered letters be sent to elders and nobles commanding them to hold a feast in honor of Naboth. In the letters, Jezebel ordered Naboth be seated near two "scoundrels" who were instructed to bring false charges of blasphemy again him.

The sordid story ends with Naboth being stoned and Ahab acquiring the vineyard.

Answer: Uzziah, also known as Azariah

Uzziah, also known as Azariah, loved farming, according to Scripture. 2 Chronicles 26:10 in the NKJV states he "loved the soil" and dug many wells for he had "much livestock, both in the lowlands and in the plains." The verse also states he had farmers and vinedressers in the mountains and in Carmel.

Uziah was the son of Amaziah and reigned as king of Judah for fifty-two years. According to Wikipedia, his reign marked the height of Judah's power.

Answer: Job

Job is the correct answer. In addition to owning a massive amount of livestock, Job 1:14 tells of Job's oxen plowing a field with donkeys feeding beside them when Sabeans raided. Notes in the NKJV Study Bible state the Sabeans were possibly from Sheba.

According to Job 1:3 Job was "the greatest of all people in the East", owning an enormous number of livestock, including seven thousand sheep, three thousand camels, five hundred yoke of oxen and five hundred female donkeys.

Answer: Paul

2 Timothy was written by Paul, the apostle to the Gentiles. Timothy was a young worker in the early church who Paul apparently had a close relationship with. In fact, in different instances in Scripture, Paul refers to Timothy as his son.

According to Acts 16:1, Timothy was from Lystra, an ancient Greek city in present day Turkey. It is believed Paul wrote Second Timothy shortly before he was executed in Rome. In the fourth chapter, he states a number of believers had deserted him and Luke was the only one with him at the time of the writing of the letter.

Answer: James

The verse is from James 5:7 in the NKJV. While the book is named after James, the writer of the book, no one know exactly who he was. Speculation over the centuries by Protestant scholars centres on the book being written by the half-brother of Jesus or the brother of John, one of the Original Twelve Disciples. Others believe the book was written by James, the son of Alphaeus or James the father of the apostle called Judas.