Least Discussed Bible Stories Trivia Quiz

Answer: Gershom

Gershom was the son of Zipporah and Moses. According to the fourth chapter of Exodus, the Lord sought to kill Moses as the prophet was returning to Egypt. The reason for God's anger is somewhat unclear from the text, but apparently it had to do with Moses's failure to circumcise his son. So his wife, Zipporah, "took a sharp stone, and cut off the foreskin of her son, and cast it at [Moses's] feet." She also called Moses "a bloody husband" because of the circumcision. Perhaps Zipporah had previously resisted the custom, and Moses had bowed to her wishes.

Answer: Tamar

Tamar was, in a sense, simply claiming what was owed her. Her husband died without producing an heir to protect and care for her. By law, she was entitled to marry the brother of her deceased husband, but her father-in-law Judah refused to allow his son to marry her. Judah admitted his culpability when Tamar revealed she was pregnant with his child, saying, "She hath been more righteous than I." You can read his confession in Genesis 38.

Answer: Amnon

Tamar, the daughter of David (not to be confused with the Tamar the daughter-in-law of Judah), was raped by her half-brother Amnon. When David did not respond, her rape was avenged by her full brother Absalom. See 2 Samuel 13 for the story.

Answer: Jacob

If you answered David, note that the question asked who got angry at his sons (plural). David was only angry at Absalom for killing Tamar's rapist Amnon. In Jacob's case, two of his sons, Simeon and Levi, avenged their sister Dinah's rape by slaughtering more than the rapist. Jacob was none too pleased: "Ye have troubled me to make me to stink among the inhabitants of the land." You can read the story in Genesis 34.

Answer: Jephthah

Ahab was a king, not a judge, of Israel. This story is found in chapter 11 of Judges. Scholars debate whether Jephthah actually killed his daughter or merely dedicated her to be a perpetual virgin in service of the Lord. The first view was the most common interpretation in the early years of Christianity.

Answer: Moab

After the fall of Sodom, Lot's daughters got him drunk in order to preserve his seed. Their offspring were Moab (the ancestor of the Moabites) and Benammi (the ancestor of the Ammonites), enemies of Israel. This story is in Genesis 19.

Answer: Sisera

Jael is seen as a heroine for killing Israel's enemy Sisera. She invited Sisera into her tent and later slew him. According to Jonathan Kirsch's book "Forbidden Tales of the Bible," "the ancient rabbis" believed "that Jael engaged in sexual intercourse with Sisera seven times before slaying him." The story of Jael is found in Judges Chapter 4.

Answer: Two spies sent by Joshua

The harlot was Rahab, who was spared for sheltering the spies. Rahab is one of the four women included in Christ's genealogy in the Gospels. Many Bible scholars argue that the spies were merely staying with Rahab as lodgers in her inn, and that they were not availing themselves of her services.

Answer: Moses

Moses married an Ethiopian, and his brother and sister, Aaron and Miriam, spoke against him because of it. As a consequence, Miriam was struck with leprosy. "The KJV Parallel Bible Commentary" (ed. Edward Hindson) points out that Moses's marriage to the Ethiopian would not be in violation of the law, since "Exodus 34:16 referred only to the Canaanites." Apparently, the problem was that Aaron and Miriam were vying for Moses's leadership position and claiming an authority God had never granted them: "And they said, Hath the Lord indeed spoken only by Moses? Hath he not spoken also by us?" God's answer was: "If there be a prophet among you, I the Lord will make myself known unto him . . . With [Moses] will I speak mouth to mouth" (Numbers 12:6-8).

Answer: False

These stories were incorporated into the canon from the beginning of its formation. If you answered "false," then perhaps you have read or heard of Jonathan Kirsch's book "Forbidden Tales of the Bible." These tales are not generally common fodder for Sunday school classrooms, but they are not unfamiliar to regular readers of the Bible.

They were, however, unfamiliar to Kirsch, so upon discovering them he wrote a book arguing in favor of his personal theory that these Biblical tales are but sanitized versions of earlier stories. Those earlier, hypothetical stories are the "forbidden tales" to which Kirsch refers.