Let's Take a Look at Oxen in the Bible Quiz

Answer: Abimelech

Abimelech, known as Abimelek in the NIV, is the correct answer. It's a bit of a long story, but Abimelech gave Abraham an unspecified number of oxen and sheep as well as male and female servants after he had made Sarah a member of his harem.

The king took such action after he had been informed Sarah was Abraham's sister and not his wife. According to Genesis 12:11, Sarah was extremely beautiful and, as per the custom of the day, the king would want to add her to his harem, especially if she was not married. If the king added Sarah to his harem knowing she was married, he would've had to kill Abraham first. As a result, Abraham and Sarah pretended to be siblings to save Abraham's life.

Genesis 20:3 tells of God informing Abimelech in a dream "you are a dead man because of the woman whom you have taken... is a man's wife." In Verse 6, God tells Abimelech He prevented him from touching Sarah and that he must return her to Abraham.

Scripture goes on to tell of the king returning Sarah to Abraham, just as God commanded. Verse 14 states, "Then Abimelech took sheep, oxen, and male and female servants and gave them to Abraham and he restored Sarah his wife to him."

Answer: Moses

According to Exodus 24:5, Moses ordered the people to offer burnt offerings as well as sacrificial peace offerings of oxen to the LORD. Moses made the request after he received the ten commandments as well as various other laws from the LORD on Mount Sinai.

According to notes in the NKJV Study Bible, the peace offerings of oxen would be followed by a "great celebratory meal before the LORD."

Answer: Job

Job owned five hundred yoke of oxen, as per Job 1:3. In addition to five hundred yoke of oxen, Scripture states Job owned seven thousand sheep, three thousand camels and five hundred female donkeys, making him "the greatest of all the people of the East."

Job, of course, had his life turned upside down and inside out when he was beset with a series of calamities. According to Job 1, his seven sons and three daughters died when a windstorm toppled the house they were in while he ended up in deteriorating health. On top of this, Job lost all his material wealth.

However, after suffering through his calamities, Scripture tells of God blessing Job immensely in his latter days. Job 42 tells of Job becoming the father of seven sons and three daughters once again, enjoying good health and basically having twice as much material wealth as before.

For example, Job 42:12 tells of Job ending up owning one thousand yoke of oxen.

Answer: Elisha

1 Kings 19:19 tells of the prophet Elisha plowing a field with twelve yoke of oxen when he was first approached by Elijah. Scripture goes on to tell of Elisha slaughtering a yoke of oxen and throwing a feast, and then accepting Elijah's invitation to follow him, becoming his servant.

After Elijah's death, Elisha would become the most prominent prophet of God in Israel at the time.

Answer: Uzzah

Uzzah, a friend of David, is the correct answer. The sixth chapter of 2 Samuel tells of David and thirty thousand able young men of Israel taking the ark of God from Baalah to Jerusalem. According to the fifth verse, the Israelites were ecstatic with "David and all Israel were celebrating with all their might before the LORD, with castanets, harps, lyres, timbrels, sistrums and cymbals." Then things took a dramatic turn.

Verse 6 states the oxen pulling the ark of God stumbled and Uzzah reached out and took hold of the ark. Verse 7 explains what happened next: "Then the anger of the LORD was aroused against Uzzah, and God struck him there for his error; and he died there by the ark of God."

Answer: Psalms

The verse is found in Psalm 8:6. The psalm is one of a number written by David, the second king of a united Israel. In Psalm 8, David sings of the praises of the LORD, stating He has made man a little lower than angels and "crowned him with glory and honor."

To put things in perspective, here's how Psalm 8:6-8 reads in the NKJV:
"You have made him to have dominion over the works of Your hands;
You have put all things under his feet,
All sheep and oxen --
Even the beasts of the field,
The birds of the air,
And the fish of the sea
That pass through the paths of the seas."

Answer: Solomon

Solomon is credited with writing a major portion of Proverbs, as well as all of Ecclesiastes and Song of Solomon. On top this, he is also credited with writing two of the Psalms.

In regards to Proverbs, tradition holds he wrote all of the book with the exception of Chapter 30, which was written by Agur, and 31:1-9, written by Lemeul. However, some modern day theologians dispute this belief, claiming there are other chunks of the book Solomon did not write.

To put Proverbs 14:4 in context, here's how it reads with Verse 3 and Verse 5 in the NKJV:
"In the mouth of a fool is a rod of pride,
But the lips of the wise will preserve them.
Where no oxen are, the trough is clean;
But much increase comes by the strength of an ox.
A faithful witness does not lie,
But a false witness will utter lies."

Answer: Isaiah

The statement, "And to any hill which could be dug with the hoe, you will not go there for fear of briers and thorns; but it will become a range for oxen and a place for sheep to roam," is found in Isaiah 7:25.

Many Christians believe Isaiah 7:10-25 is prophecy pertaining to the Lord Jesus Christ. (In the NKJV Bible, the passage contains the subhead 'The Immanuel Prophecy'.

Verse 14, for example, states in the NKJV: "Therefore the LORD Himself will give you a sign: Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a Son, and shall call His name Immanuel."

Answer: Matthew

The Parable of the Wedding Feast appears in only the Gospel of Matthew. The parable is found in the 22nd chapter and runs from Verse 1 to 14.

In a nutshell, the parable tells of a king, planning a wedding feast for his son, who had his servants invite a large number of people to the celebration. However, the people were not willing to attend. So, the king sent out his servants once again telling the people he had prepared his oxen and fatted cattle for the celebration. However, the people made light of the situation and went on with their normal course of business. What's more, some of the people ended up seizing the king's servants and killing them.

The parable goes on to state that when the king heard about his servants being killed, he became furious and sent his army to destroy the murderers and burn their city.

After his army completed its mission, the king then asked his servants to go "out into the highways and gather together... both bad and good."

As a result the wedding hall was filled with guests.

However, Verse 11 tells of the king seeing a guest who did not have on a wedding garment. When the king asked the guest "how did you come in here without a wedding garment?" the man was speechless.

The king, in turn said to his servants, "Bind him hand and foot, take him away, and cast him into outer darkness; there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth."

Jesus concluded the parable by stating, "For many are called, but few are chosen."

Answer: Lystra

The incident took place in Lystra, as per Acts 14:8-20. Prior to a priest of Zeus bringing out oxen to sacrifice, Paul and Barnabas healed an unnamed man who was "a cripple from his mother's womb." The people of Lystra were so impressed with Paul and Barnabas, they hailed them as gods. Verse 12 states the people called Barnabas Zeus and Paul, Hermes, "because he was the chief speaker." (In the KJV, it states Barnabas was called Jupiter and Paul, Mercurius.)

It was with this backdrop the oxen were taken to the city gates for sacrifice. Paul and Barnabas reacted with deep anger at the actions and proceeded to preach the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

Lystra was an ancient Greek city in central Anatolia, now part of present-day Turkey. According to Acts 16:1, Lystra was the home of Timothy, a young and timid worker in the early church.