Match Quiz: Old Testament Geography -- #1

Answer: Mount Carmel

Elijah competed against four hundred and fifty prophets of Baal in a special challenge on Mount Carmel, as per 1 Kings 18.

In the showdown, Elijah and the prophets of Baal called upon a higher power to ignite a sacrificial offering on Mount Carmel. The four hundred and fifty prophets called on Baal and Elijah called on the LORD, with Elijah being the clear winner, according to Scripture.

Carmel was such a lovely place that Solomon even compares the beauty of a bride to it. Song of Solomon 7:5, in the NKJV Bible, states: "Your head crowns you like Mount Carmel, and the hair of your head is like purple; a king is held captive by your tresses."

Answer: Jerusalem

David spotted Bathsheba, while she was taking a bath, from the roof of his royal palace in Jerusalem, according to Scripture. An adulterous affair would follow and when Bathsheba became pregnant, David would end up orchestrating the death of her husband Uriah.

The child from David and Bathsheba's adulterous affair would die, but later they would become the parents of Solomon, the man who replaced David as king.

Details can be found in 2 Samuel 11:1-27.

Answer: Bethel

Jacob had a vision at Bethel where, according to Scripture, he saw angels of God ascending and descending a ladder to heaven. Details can be found in Genesis 28:10-19.

Bethel is mentioned a number of times in the Old Testament, with Genesis 12:8 telling of Abraham building an altar to call upon the name of the LORD.

This marked only the second time in Scripture an altar had been built to the LORD. The first occasion was when Noah built an altar after surviving a massive flood that engulfed the world, as per Genesis 8:28.

Answer: Red Sea

God parted the Red Sea, allowing the Israelites to make a mass exodus out of Egypt, Scripture states.

Although Exodus 14 tells of the parting of the Red Sea allowing the Israelites to escape followed by the subsequent drowning of the Egyptian army, nowhere does it identify the body of water in the KJV, the NKJV or the NIV. Only in Exodus 15:4, words from the song of celebration by Moses and Miriam, does it identify the body of water as the Red Sea.

Answer: Jordan River

According to Scripture, Elisha caused an axhead to float on the Jordan River. The story of the floating axhead appears in 2 Kings 6:1-7. In a nutshell, Elisha and a group of prophets were cutting trees along the Jordan River to build a new place to live when suddenly an axhead fell into the water.

The prophet who lost the axhead was apparently filled with distress as it was borrowed. When Elisha asked the man where the axhead fell, the spot was pointed out to him. 2 Kings, 6-7, in the NIV Bible, states: "Elisha cut a stick and threw it there, and made the iron float. 'Lift it out,' he said.

Then the man reached out his hand and took it."

Answer: Gibeon

The account of the sun standing still at Gibeon, as well as the moon standing still in the Valley of Aijalon, can be found in the 10th chapter of Joshua. While in the middle of an intensive battle with the Amorites, Joshua prayed to God the sun and moon would stay put, Scripture states. Some people believe Joshua asked for the extra daylight so the enemies would not overpower his forces at night.

Joshua 10:12-14, in the NKJV Bible states: "Then Joshua spoke to the LORD in the day when the LORD delivered up the Amorites before the children of Israel, and he said in the sight of Israel:
'Sun, stand still over Gibeon;
And Moon, in the Valley of Aijalon.'
So the sun stood still,
And the moon stopped,
Till the people had revenge
Upon their enemies.
Is this not written in the Book of Jasher? So the sun stood still in the midst of heaven, and did not hasten to go down for about a whole day. And there has been no day like that, before it or after it, that the LORD heeded the voice of a man; for the LORD fought for Israel."

Answer: Canaan

Numbers 14 tells of Moses sending twelve spies into Canaan to survey the land prior to attacking, with Joshua being one of the twelve. Later, when he was leader, Joshua would use the same tactics. Joshua 2:1 tells of Joshua sending two spies to survey the city of Jericho. Scripture goes on to tell of the two spies being lodged at "the house of a harlot named Rahab." She would help save the lives of the two spies and in turn, when Joshua and the Israelites entered Jericho, the lives of Rahab and her family were spared.

Answer: Damascus

Eliezer came from Damascus, as per Genesis 15:2. Many theologians believe Eliezer was the unnamed senior servant who found a wife for Isaac. In Genesis 24, the unnamed servant is requested by Abraham to go to the land of his relatives to get a wife for his son.

Genesis 24:12-14 tells of the servant praying in this matter. The passage, in the NKJV Bible, states: "Then he said, 'O LORD God of my master Abraham, please give me success this day, and show kindness to my master Abraham. Behold, here I stand by the well of water, and the daughters of the men of the city are coming out to draw water. Now let it be that the young woman to whom I say, 'Please let down your pitcher that I may drink,' and she says, 'Drink, and I will also give your camels a drink' -- let her be the one You have appointed for Your servant Isaac. And by this I will know that You have shown kindness to my master."

Verse 15 goes on to state that before he had finished praying, Rebekah came out with her jar on her shoulder. The rest, as they say, is history.

Answer: Egypt

Hagar, according to Scripture, was from Egypt. After Abraham's wife Sarah had been unable to conceive for a number of years, she granted permission to him to sleep with Hagar, as per Genesis 16:3. According to Genesis 16:1, Hagar was a servant of Sarah.

The union resulted in the birth of a son who was named Ishmael. He would become the forefather of a great nation, according to Genesis 17:20. Traditionally, Ishmael is regarded as the father of the Arab nation.

Answer: Sodom

According to Scripture, Abraham made a solemn request to God for Sodom to be spared from destruction if ten righteous souls could be found in the city. Abraham's prayer was issued in a lengthy and direct conversation with the LORD. Sodom, along with Gomorrah, would later be destroyed by brimstone and fire. Notes in the NKJV Study Bible state the destruction took place because ten righteous people could not be found.

The study notes state one of the reasons for Abraham's concern about Sodom is the fact his nephew Lot and his family lived in the city. Although Sodom and Gomorrah were both destroyed, Lot and his family were spared.

However, Genesis 19:26 reports Lot's wife defied the LORD'S command not to look back on Sodom as they were fleeing and she was turned into a pillar of salt.

Extensive study notes about prayer in Scripture, cite the lengthy conversation involving Abraham and God as one of 80 examples of prayer in the Old Testament and the New Testament of the English Bible.

Here's how Genesis 18:16-33 in the NKJV records the lengthy conversation:
"Then the men rose from there and looked toward Sodom, and Abraham went with them to send them on the way. And the LORD said, 'Shall I hide from Abraham what I am doing, since Abraham shall surely become a great and mighty nation, and all the nations of the earth shall be blessed in him? For I have known him, in order that he may command his children and his household after him, that they keep the way of the LORD, to do righteousness and justice, that the LORD may bring to Abraham what He has spoken to him.' And the LORD said, 'Because the outcry against Sodom and Gomorrah is great, and because their sin is very grave, I will go down now and see whether they have done altogether according to the outcry against it that has come to Me; and if not, I will know."

"Then the men turned away from there and went toward Sodom, but Abraham still stood before the LORD. And Abraham came near and said, 'Would You also destroy the righteous with the wicked? Suppose there were fifty righteous within the city; would You also destroy the place and not spare it for the fifty righteous that were in it? Far be it from You to do such a thing as this, to slay the righteous with the wicked, so that the righteous should be as the wicked; far be it from You! Shall not the Judge of all the earth do right?

"So the LORD said, 'If I find in Sodom fifty righteous within the city, then I will spare all the place for their sakes.'

"Then Abraham answered and said, 'Indeed now, I who am but dust and ashes have taken it upon myself to speak to the LORD: Suppose there were five less than the fifty righteous; would You destroy all of the city for lack of five?'

"So He said, 'If I find there forty-five, I will not destroy it.'

"And he spoke to Him yet again and said, 'Suppose there should be forty found there?'

"So He said, 'I will not do it for the sake of forty.'

"Then he said, 'Let not the LORD be angry, and I will speak: Suppose thirty should be found there?'

"So He said, 'I will not do it if I find thirty there.'

"And he said, 'Indeed now, I have taken it upon myself to speak to the LORD: Suppose twenty should be found there?'

"So He said, 'I will not destroy it for the sake of twenty.'

"Then he said, 'Let not the LORD be angry, and I will speak but once more: Suppose ten should be found there?'

"And He said, 'I will not destroy it for the sake of ten.' So the LORD went His way as soon as He had finished speaking with Abraham; and Abraham returned to his place."