Match These Old Testament Characters -- #1 Quiz

Answer: First man

According to Genesis 2:7-15, Adam was the first person created by God. Scripture states Adam lived for 930 years, which would make him the third oldest person in the Bible. In terms of age, Adam is surpassed by only Methuselah, at 969 years, and Jared, at 962 years.

God also created a woman, and Adam gave her the name Eve, which translates as "the mother of all living", according to Genesis 3:20.

Answer: Joseph's wife

Asenath was the wife of Joseph. According to Genesis 46:20, she was the mother of Manasseh and Ephraim. Genesis 41:45 states Asenath was the daughter of Poti-Pherah, priest of On. At this time, Joseph was the second most powerful man in Egypt, surpassed by only the Pharaoh. As a result, Asenath would have been one of the most influential women in Egypt.

Answer: Committed suicide

Saul, the first king of Israel, committed suicide, according to Scripture. His reign started smoothly but ended in chaos with much time devoted to trying to kill David. This, even though David basically wanted to live in peace with Saul! According to the 31st chapter of 1 Samuel, Saul was critically injured in battle with the Philistines and pleaded with his armor bearer to kill him with a sword. 1 Samuel 31:4, in the NIV Bible, states: "But his armor-bearer was terrified and would not do it; so Saul took his own sword and fell on it." Just prior to this incident, Saul's three sons -- Jonathan, Abinadab and Malki-Shua -- were killed in battle, Scripture states.

Answer: Mother of Samuel

Hannah's story is told in the first chapter of 1 Samuel which is devoted to the birth of Samuel. Scripture reports Hannah was married to Elkanah, who had a second wife named Peninnah. While Peninnah was giving birth to children, Hannah was barren, a status that depressed her immensely. Making matters worse, Peninnah would apparently remind Hannah she was unable to conceive, simply to provoke her.

In 1 Samuel 1:11 Hannah issues a prayer: "LORD Almighty, if you will only look on your servant's misery and remember me, and not forget your servant but give her a son, then I will give him to the LORD for all the days of his life, and no razor will ever be used on his head." The chapter concludes by stating in the course of time Hannah became pregnant and gave birth to a son.

She named him Samuel, saying, "because I asked the LORD for him."

Answer: Nurse for Rebekah

According to Scripture, Deborah was a nurse for Rebekah. Not much is known about her as she is mentioned in passing reference. Genesis 35:8 in the NKJV simply states, "Now Deborah, Rebekah's nurse, died, and she was buried below Bethel under the terebinth tree. So the name of it was called Allon Bachuth."

There is a second Deborah in the Old Testament who is much better known, of course. She was a prophetess and a dynamic female judge who led the Israelites to a key military victory. Her husband's name is Lapidoth. Deborah's story is told in the fourth and fifth chapters of Judges.

Answer: Mother of twins

Tamar was the mother of twins -- Perez and Zerah. According to Scripture, she was impregnated by her father-in-law Judah. Previously, Tamar had been married to two sons of Judah who were both struck dead by the LORD. The sons were Er and Onan. Tamar's highly unusual story is told in Genesis 38:1-30.

According to Wikipedia, Tamar means 'date palm' and is the original form of the names Tamara and Tammy.

Incidentally, Tamar is the mother of the second set of twins in the Bible. Rebekah was the mother of the first set of twins when she birth to Esau and Jacob, as per Genesis 25:24-26.

Answer: Betrayed by Deliah

The story of Samson and Delilah is one of the most colorful ones in the Old Testament. According to Scripture, his long hair was the secret to his strength and when his locks were cut by Delilah, he lost his power.

Greed was the simple reason Delilah betrayed Samson. Judges 16:5, in the NKJV, states: "And the lords of the Philistines came up to her and said to her, 'Entice him, and find out where his great strength lies, and by what means we may overpower him, that we may bind him to afflict him; and every one of us will give you eleven hundred pieces of silver.'"

Make no mistake about it. Delilah was bribed with a massive amount of money to betray Samson. It's as if no price was too high for the lords of the Philistines to bring him down.

It's worth noting the offer of eleven hundred shekels of silver each was multiplied by five. In other words, she was offered 5,500 pieces of silver from the five rulers.

Samson, however, would have his final hurrah. With his hair partially grown back, the 16th chapter of Judges states he used his remaining strength to get revenge against the Philistines who had taken him captive. While the Philistine rulers were offering "a great sacrifice" to Dagon their god, it was decided to bring out Samson for "entertainment" purposes. A crucial mistake was made when Samson was placed by the pillars that supported the temple.

Judges 16:30 states: "Samson said, 'Let me die with the Philistines!' Then he pushed with all his might, and down came the temple on the rulers and all the people in it. Thus he killed many more when he died than while he lived."

According to Wikipedia, Delilah means "One who weakened or uprooted or impoverished."

Answer: King at age 12

Manasseh became king at the tender age of twelve and, according to Scripture, ruled until he was 67. Scripture states Manasseh was extremely brutal.

2 Kings 21:16, in the NKJV Bible, states Manasseh "shed very much innocent blood, till he had filled Jerusalem from one end to another." Scripture also reports he worshiped false gods and rebuilt high places his father Hezekiah had destroyed. According to Wikipedia, the name Manasseh means "causing to forget."

Answer: Mara

The account of Naomi referring to herself as Mara can be found in the first chapter of Ruth when she traveled to Bethlehem with her daughter-in-law Ruth. In the NKJV Bible, Ruth 1:19-20 states: "Now the two of them went until they came to Bethlehem. And it happened, when they had come to Bethlehem, that all the city was excited because of them; and the women said, 'Is this Naomi?' But she said to them, 'Do not call me Naomi; call me Mara, for the Almighty has dealt very bitterly with me."

Notes in the NIV Study Bible state Naomi means 'pleasant' while Mara means 'bitter'. According to the first chapter of Ruth, Naomi's husband Elimelek and her two sons, Mahlon and Chilion, died. However, there is no indication in Scripture as to how the three men died.

Answer: First woman

Eve, according to Scripture was the first woman. Genesis 3:20 states Adam called her Eve "because she was the mother of all living."

It is not known exactly how many children Adam and Eve had, although three of them are named. The three are Cain, Able and Seth. Genesis 5:4, however, states Adam begot other sons and daughters.

It boggles the mind to think how many people she has become the mother of. (I suspect you could call this one the mother of all records!) According to Wikipedia, the population of the world at the beginning of 2010 was 6,875,300,000 with the population expected to jump to between 8 and 10.5 billion by 2050. The 6,875,300,000 figure skyrockets when you consider the number of people who have ever lived. In other words, in this reckoning, Eve has become the mother of countless billions.

Incidentally, Eve's name appears twice in the Old Testament and twice in the New Testament of the NKJV, giving it the distinction of being one of only two names that appears at least as many times in the New Testament as in the Old Testament. The Old Testament name Melchizedek is actually found more times in the New Testament than in the Old. Melchizedek appears twice in the Old Testament and nine times in the New Testament.

Adam's name, for example, appears twenty-two times in the Old Testament and only eight times in the New Testament.