Match Quiz: Old Testament Geography -- #3

Answer: Nineveh

Nineveh is the correct answer. Jonah was the man who was swallowed by a huge fish or whale only to be regurgitated onto dry land after surviving three days and three nights in its stomach, according to Scripture. After surviving his ordeal in the whale's (or fish's) stomach, Jonah agreed to go to Nineveh, the place the LORD wanted him to go all along. According to the book of Jonah, the LORD told him to go to Nineveh and "preach against it" because of its wickedness. His story is one of the best known in the Old Testament.

Wikipedia states Nineveh "was an ancient city on the eastern bank of the Tigris River in ancient Assyria. Its ruins are across the river from the modern-day major city of Mosul, in the Ninawa Governorate of Iraq."

Answer: Jordan River

Jordan River is the correct answer. Joshua 3:14-17, in the NKJV, tells of the miracle: "So it was, when the people set out from their camp to cross over the Jordan, with the priests bearing the ark of the covenant before the people, and as those who bore the ark came to the Jordan, and the feet of the priests who bore the ark dipped in the edge of the water (for the Jordan overflows all its banks during the whole time of harvest), that the waters which came down from upstream stood still, and rose in a heap very far away at Adam, the city that is beside Zaretan. So the waters that went down into the Sea of the Arabah, the Salt Sea, failed, and were cut off; and the people crossed over opposite Jericho. Then the priests who bore the ark of the covenant of the Lord stood firm on dry ground in the midst of the Jordan; and all Israel crossed over on dry ground, until all the people had crossed completely over the Jordan."

This marked the second time the Israelites had crossed a body of water as a result of a miracle by God, according to Scripture. Exodus 14 tells of the Israelites safely crossing the Red Sea after God parted it.

Answer: Mountain in Moriah

The story of Abraham preparing to sacrifice Isaac is one of the best known stories in the Old Testament. Scripture reports God commanded Abraham to take his son Isaac to a mountain in the region of Moriah and to sacrifice him as a burnt offering.

Just as Abraham was preparing to sacrifice Isaac, Scripture reports an angel of the LORD called out and told him to spare his son because it was evident Abraham feared God. After the angel called out, Abraham spotted a ram in the thicket and used it as his sacrificial offering.

The story is told in the 22nd chapter of Genesis. Many Christians compare this episode to God's sacrifice of His own son, Jesus in the New Testament.

Some people refer to the site as Mount Moriah. However, there are various views as to the location of the site.

Answer: Sheba

The visit by the Queen of Sheba is recalled in the 10th chapter of 1 Kings and the 9th chapter of 2 Chronicles. Scripture reports she arrived in Jerusalem with "a very great caravan" carrying spices, large quantities of gold, and precious stones. Scripture also reports she was "overwhelmed" with Solomon's wisdom and his immense wealth.

According to notes in the NKJV Study Bible, Sheba was located in southwestern Arabia, present-day Yemen.

Answer: Land of Nod

According to Genesis 4, he murdered his brother Abel and as punishment he was exiled by God to the land of Nod and had a mark put on him. Genesis 4:11-12, in the NKJV, tells of the LORD making the following statement to Cain: "So now you are cursed from the earth, which has opened its mouth to receive your brother's blood from your hand. When you till the ground, it shall no longer yield its strength to you. A fugitive and a vagabond you shall be on the earth."

Christiananswers.net offers this interpretation of Cain's punishment: "For this crime, from that day on he led the life of an exile, bearing upon him some mark which God had gave him in answer to his cry for mercy. This may have served as a protection from the wrath of his fellow men, or it may be that God only gave him some sign to assure him that he would not be slain (Genesis 4:15). Doomed to be a wanderer and a fugitive in the earth, he went forth into the 'land of Nod', i.e., the land of 'exile', which is said to have been in the 'east of Eden', and there he built a city, the first we read of, and called it after his son's name, Enoch. Six generations of Cain's descendants are listed in the Bible. They gradually degenerated in their moral and spiritual condition till they became completely corrupt before God. Eventually, the Deluge was sent by God to prevent the final triumph of evil."

Answer: Ai

The Israelites were initially unstoppable in their conquest of Canaan, according to Scripture. However, the tide turned mightily against them in a battle to gain control of Ai. According to Scripture, the LORD was filled with anger when Achan stole "accursed things" during the conquest of Jericho. As a result, Joshua and his troops were soundly defeated when they attempted to overtake Ai.

According to the seventh chapter of Joshua, after Achan stole a large amount of booty, described as "accursed things", in the capture of Jericho, the LORD turned against the Israelites and they were defeated in battle at Ai. It's one of those long stories, but the Israelites invaded Jericho and were attempting to conquer Ai as it had been allocated to them as 'The Promised Land.'

Joshua 7:21, in the NKJV, tells of Achan making his confession of guilt to Joshua: "When I saw among the spoils a beautiful Babylonian garment, two hundred shekels of silver, and a wedge of gold weighing fifty shekels, I coveted them and took them. And there they are, hidden in the earth in the midst of my tent, with the silver under it."

After Achan made his confession, his fate was sealed.

Joshua 7:22-26 states: "So Joshua sent messengers, and they ran to the tent; and there it was, hidden in his tent, with the silver under it. And they took them from the midst of the tent, brought them to Joshua and to all the children of Israel, and laid them out before the LORD. Then Joshua, and all Israel with him, took Achan the son of Zerah, the silver, the garment, the wedge of gold, his sons, his daughters, his oxen, his donkeys, his sheep, his tent, and all that he had, and they brought them to the Valley of Achor. And Joshua said, 'Why have you troubled us? The LORD will trouble you this day.' So all Israel stoned him with stones; and they burned them with fire after they had stoned them with stones. Then they raised over him a great heap of stones, still there to this day. So the LORD turned from the fierceness of His anger. Therefore the name of that place has been called the Valley of Achor to this day."

After the execution of Achan, Scripture goes on to tell of the Israelites successfully conquering Ai. In other words, it was a glorious victory after the devastating defeat.

The Website Christiananswers.net reports Achan means "one who troubles."

Answer: Mountains of Ararat

Noah's ark came to a rest in the mountains of Ararat, according to Genesis 8:4. Today, the common term is Mount Ararat.

According to Scripture, Noah and his wife, and their three sons and their wives were taken aboard the ark and survived a massive flood that covered the world. The three sons were Shem, Ham and Japheth, as per Genesis 5:32. However, no name is given for Noah's wife.

The account of the flood is found in the seventh and eighth chapters of Genesis.

According to Wikipedia, Mount Ararat is in the eastern Anatolia Region of Turkey, near the border with Iran.

Answer: Syria

The story of Naaman is found in the 5th chapter of 2 Kings. After coming down with leprosy, Naaman followed the advice of a Jewish slave girl who served his wife. In 2 Kings 5:23, she told him to see the "prophet in Samaria." The end result is this: Elisha the prophet told Naaman to bathe himself seven times in the Jordan River.

Afterward, he was cleansed of the dread disease. 2 Kings 5:15, in the NIV Bible, states: "1Then Naaman and all his attendants went back to the man of God. He stood before him and said, 'Now I know that there is no God in all the world except in Israel. So please accept a gift from your servant.'" Elisha, however, refused to accept any gift.

Answer: Nile River

The Nile River was turned into blood as the first of ten plagues the LORD unleashed on Egypt to convince the Pharaoh to grant permission to the Israelites to stage a mass exodus out of the country. The account can be found in Exodus 7:14-25. You will note there is no direct reference to the Nile River in the passage. However, it is generally understand when mention is made "of the river" in Egypt, it is in reference to the Nile.

At the same time, it must be pointed out more than the water of the Nile River was turned into blood.

Exodus 7:19-21 in the NKJV explains things this way: "Then the LORD spoke to Moses, 'Say to Aaron, 'Take your rod and stretch out your hand over the waters of Egypt, over their streams, over their rivers, over their ponds, and over all their pools of water, that they may become blood. And there shall be blood throughout all the land of Egypt, both in buckets of wood and pitchers of stone.' And Moses and Aaron did so, just as the LORD commanded. So he lifted up the rod and struck the waters that were in the river, in the sight of Pharaoh and in the sight of his servants. And all the waters that were in the river were turned to blood. The fish that were in the river died, the river stank, and the Egyptians could not drink the water of the river. So there was blood throughout all the land of Egypt."

Answer: Red Sea

While in pursuit of the Israelites, the entire Egyptian army drowned when the Red Sea, which had been parted to allow Moses and his people to escape, closed in on them.

Exodus 14:26-29 in the NKJV gives this account: "Then the LORD said to Moses, 'Stretch out your hand over the sea, that the waters may come back upon the Egyptians, on their chariots, and on their horsemen.' And Moses stretched out his hand over the sea; and when the morning appeared, the sea returned to its full depth, while the Egyptians were fleeing into it. So the LORD overthrew the Egyptians in the midst of the sea. Then the waters returned and covered the chariots, the horsemen, and all the army of Pharaoh that came into the sea after them. Not so much as one of them remained. But the children of Israel had walked on dry land in the midst of the sea, and the waters were a wall to them on their right hand and on their left."

Later, Scripture tells of God parting the Jordan River, allowing Joshua to lead the Israelites into the Promised Land.