God, Goliath and Gethsemane Quiz | Bible Alphabetics

Quiz Answer Key and Fun Facts

1. The first verse of the book of Genesis begins with, "In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth." (NIV) It's a book about beginnings, but how many times (apart from the title) does the word 'genesis' appear in Genesis?

Answer: Zero

The book of Genesis begins with the creation of the universe, and specifically the world and everything in it. It goes on to chronicle the lives of a few specific people, beginning with Adam and Eve (the first humans) and their children, continuing with Noah and the flood, and then on to Abram and Sarai (Abraham and Sarah).

Abraham proves to be the father of a great nation. Genesis goes on to tell of Abraham's son Isaac, and Isaac's sons Jacob and Esau. Lastly, Jacob (renamed Israel) and his family find their way to Egypt, leaving things primed for the next book, Exodus.

More importantly, Genesis explains how God made his covenants with Noah, with Abraham, and with Jacob to become God's chosen people.

2. Jacob (Israel) had 12 sons whose names became the names of the 12 tribes of Israel. Who was his seventh son, his first with his wife Leah's handmaid Zilpah?

Answer: Gad

Jacob had two wives, both of them the daughters of Laban. Each of his wives also had a servant, both of whom also provided Jacob with children. In order, here are Jacob's 12 sons (and one daughter):

1. Reuben (Leah)
2. Simeon (Leah)
3. Levi (Leah)
4. Judah (Leah)
5. Dan (Rachel's servant Bilhah)
6. Naphtali (Bilhah)
7. Gad (Leah's servant Zilpah)
8. Asher (Zilpah)
9. Issachar (Leah)
10. Zebulun (Leah)
11. The one daughter, Dinah (Leah)
12. Joseph (Rachel)
13. Benjamin (Rachel)

3. While Moses was receiving the ten commandments from the Lord on Mount Sinai, the Israelites demanded 'gods' to go before them. What did Aaron make?

Answer: A golden calf

I find it incredible how the nation of Israel, so soon after so miraculously being delivered from Egypt (remember the ten plagues and the parting of the Red Sea), could turn away from God.

Exodus 32:1-4 - "When the people saw that Moses was so long in coming down from the mountain, they gathered around Aaron and said, "Come, make us gods who will go before us. As for this fellow Moses who brought us up out of Egypt, we don't know what has happened to him."

Aaron answered them, "Take off the gold earrings that your wives, your sons and your daughters are wearing, and bring them to me." So all the people took off their earrings and brought them to Aaron. He took what they handed him and made it into an idol cast in the shape of a calf, fashioning it with a tool. Then they said, "These are your gods, Israel, who brought you up out of Egypt.""

In response to this grave sin, the Lord wanted to wipe out the Israelites, but Moses interceded on their behalf. Instead, Moses told the Levites (the only tribe that rallied to the Lord) to kill a brother and a friend and a neighbour, which ended up being about 3,000 men. Then God also struck them with a plague.

4. In the time of the Judges, while Israel was being oppressed by the Midianites, an angel of the Lord came to this man and said, "The Lord is with you, mighty warrior." (Judges 6:12b NIV) Who was he?

Answer: Gideon

The story of Gideon is told in Judges 6-8, following a period of 40 years of peace for the people of Israel. But, as they demonstrate multiple times in the bible, the Israelites (in their prosperity) turn away from God. As a consequence, God allows their enemies (the Midianites) to dominate them. Now, after seven years of oppression, Gideon enters the scene.

God commanded Gideon to destroy the idols that the Israelites had been worshiping, and to free them from their enemies. Gideon tested God (Judges 6:36-40), and in turn, God tested Gideon's faith (Judges 7) and showed his power to Israel, allowing him only 300 men to rout the much larger army of Midianites.

5. The story of David and Goliath is very well known, but can you complete Goliath's introduction from 1 Samuel 17:4 (NIV)? "A champion named Goliath, who was from _____, came out of the Philistine camp. His height was six cubits and a span." Where was Goliath from?

Answer: Gath

The height of Goliath varies, depending on the source of the story, from four cubits and a span (6 feet 9 inches, according to the Dead Sea Scrolls), to nine cubits and a span (9 feet 9 inches) in this passage. Either way, he was a big boy.

Gath was the greatest of the five royal city-states of the Philistines, and was located in the northwest part of Philistia. It was situated close to the Israelites, and offered a position to both protect Philistine lands from Israelite raids, and to stage their own raids in return.

6. "And I heard a man's voice from the Ulai calling, "______, tell this man the meaning of the vision." As he came near the place where I was standing, I was terrified and fell prostrate. "Son of man," he said to me, "understand that the vision concerns the time of the end." (Daniel 8:16-17, NIV) Which angelic being delivered this message to Daniel?

Answer: Gabriel

Gabriel is only named in four verses in the bible: Daniel 8:16 and 9:21 (appearing to Daniel), then in Luke 1:19 (telling Zechariah that he was going to be a father), and Luke 1:26 (visiting Mary to tell her of her favoured status to bear the son of God).

7. The Old Testament book of Genesis has three of these lists, while two more can be found in the New Testament books of Matthew and Luke. What kind of list?

Answer: Genealogical

In the book of Genesis, in chapter four, a genealogy is given for the descendants of Cain, and in chapter five, the descendants of Seth as far as Noah's family. Chapters ten and eleven continues the line from Noah (through Shem) down to Abram (Abraham), with a brief pause to tell about the Tower of Babel.

Matthew 1:2-16 provides a genealogy from Abraham through King David to Joseph, the earthly father of Jesus, while Luke 3:23-38 goes from Joseph back all the way to Adam.

8. Jesus performed much of his ministry in and around the region of Galilee, and his home city of Nazareth was also within its borders. What else carries the name of Galilee?

Answer: Sea

The Sea of Galilee is actually a freshwater lake, the largest such in Israel. It is also known as Kinneret, Lake of Gennesaret, and Lake Tiberias. It varies between 686 feet and 705 feet below sea level, making it the lowest freshwater lake in the world. Only the Dead Sea sits lower.

9. The Garden of Gethsemane is famous for being the location where Jesus prayed (and his disciples slept) the night before he was crucified. Where is it?

Answer: Jerusalem

The Garden of Gethsemane still exists today, although there are different trees there now. It is located at the foot of the Mount of Olives, and was a place that Jesus and his disciples frequented.

Interestingly, testing in 2012 on the olive trees in the Garden of Gethsemane showed some of them to be nearly 1000 years old.

10. The Apostle Paul wrote the Epistle to the Galatians to the Christian communities in the Roman province of Galatia. If it still existed today, Galatia would be found in Greece.

Answer: False

Galatia today would be located within the borders of Turkey. The capital of the province was Ancyra, which today you may better recognize by its modern name Ankara, the capital of Turkey.

Source: Author reedy

This quiz was reviewed by FunTrivia editor agony before going online.
Any errors found in FunTrivia content are routinely corrected through our feedback system.

God, Goliath and Gethsemane Trivia Quiz

God is good! Join me as my bible alphabetics quiz series continues with its seventh installment; all about G! (All biblical quotes are from the NIV)

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