Hebrew, Greek, English Trivia Quiz

Answer: Two disciples and a brother of Jesus

The name here is James, which technically isn't Greek, but since the New Testament was originally written in Greek, the English name is based off the Greek. James comes from "lakobos", the New Testament version of the Hebrew "Ya'aqov", which in turn is where the name Jacob comes from.

There are three men named James in the New Testament. James the Greater and James the Lesser were both apostles. The third was a brother of Jesus and he is sometimes called James the Just. However, people debate whether he was a real brother or just some type of relative.
Zebedee and Salome were the Greater's parents, and Alphaeus and a woman named Mary were the other apostle's parents.

Jacob or James might mean "holder of the heel" or "may God protect".

Answer: Mother of Jesus

There are several women with the name Mary in the New Testament, but if I listed all of them in the answer box, it would be too long. Haha. The most famous Mary is the mother of Jesus, with Mary Magdalene probably as a close second. Magdalene, a female in a male dominated culture, was one of the first people to see the resurrected Christ.

The name Mary comes from the Greek version of the Hebrew "Miryam" or "Miriam". In the Old Testament, Miriam, the sister of Moses, was also a prophetess and a singer. The name's meaning isn't certain, but it possibly means "sea of bitterness".

Answer: Sorcerer

The New Testament variation of Simeon is Simon. There are several Simons, including a sorcerer. This Simon was wicked; witchcraft is a sin in both testaments. However, he converted to Christianity. Another Simon helped Jesus carry the cross. "Simon" was even a different name for the apostle Peter.

Interestingly, New Testament translations use "Simeon" for a righteous man, perhaps a priest. He prayed over baby Jesus.

This name means "he has heard".

Answer: Betrayed Jesus

Judas is the name used for the disciple who betrayed Jesus. Another version of this name is Jude. The New Testament contains a book titled Jude and some people believe that one of the brothers of Jesus, Jude, wrote it.

Judas comes from the Greek version of Old Testament Judah or "Yehudah", which means "praised". Christians believe that Jesus was a Jew from the tribe of Judah.

Answer: John the Baptist's mother

In the New Testament, Elizabeth was John the Baptist's mother and the wife of Zacharias. John the Baptist and Jesus were probably second cousins if not first cousins. The Bible doesn't specifically state which.

Elizabeth means "my God is my oath" or "my God is abundance". It comes from the Greek "Elisabet", which also comes from the Hebrew "Elisheva".

In the Old Testament, Elisheba was Miriam's sister-in-law, which I find interesting because in the New Testament, Elizabeth and Mary are related as well.

Answer: Brother of James the Lesser

The name here is Joses. Although the New Testament has many characters named Joseph, including the step-father of Jesus, some translations use Joses, derived from the Greek "Ioses", to distinguish James the Lesser's brother from other Josephs.

This spelling, Joses, is also sometimes used for the brother of Jesus named Joseph, even though they don't appear to be the same person. Alphaeus is listed as the father of James the Lesser and therefore Joses, while Jesus is mentioned as having four brothers, James, Joseph, Simon, and Jude or Judas.

Joseph or Joses is "Yosef" in Hebrew. It means "He will add". In the Old Testament, Joseph was a son of Jacob and his favorite wife, Rachel.

Answer: Elizabeth's husband

There are Old Testament prophets considered "major" and "minor". Zechariah, writer of the book with the same name, is one of the "minor" ones. However, the terms refer to the lengths of the books rather than the importance of the individuals.

The name comes from the Hebrew "Zekharyah" and it means "God remembers". The Greek version is Zacharias. John the Baptist's father was Zacharias.

Answer: Prophetess

Anna is the name of a prophetess who declared that Jesus was the Messiah. Both Anna and Hannah are versions of the Hebrew "Channah".

The name means "favor" or "grace", which fits because Hannah was a barren woman who prayed for God to give her a child. Then Anna witnessed and prophesied about grace coming into the world through the Messiah.

Answer: The Christ

Yes, Joshua and Jesus are variations of the same name. Joshua is the English word based on the Hebrew "Yehoshu'a", which means "God is salvation". Traditional Christianity teaches that Jesus is the son of God and that He brings salvation from peoples' sins.

In their entry about Joshua, BehindtheName.com states, "The name Jesus comes from a Greek translation of the Aramaic short form [of Yehoshu'a] יֵשׁוּעַ (Yeshu'a), which was the real name of Jesus."

Some Christians, mainly certain Messianic Jews, believe that "Yehoshu'a" and "Yeshu'a" are superior to "Jesus" and people really shouldn't call Him that. Of course, many Christians disagree.

Answer: Wife of Zebedee (feminine version of name)

Salome is the feminine version of Solomon, as both derive from the Hebrew word "shalom", which means "peace".

In the New Testament, Salome is Zebedee's wife and the mother of two disciples, James the Greater and John (the same John from Revelation). Some people even believe that she was a sister of Mary, the mother of Jesus.

While the New Testament actually doesn't name Queen Herodias's daughter, the one who caused John the Baptist's death, many people believe that her name was Salome. This is because the historian Josephus stated that the queen's daughter had the name Salome.

Solomon was a son of David and Bathsheba.