Match These Old Testament Characters -- #15 Quiz

Answer: Two civil wars

Peace and tranquility did not come easily for David. First, he became king of Israel after the nation was plunged into a bloody civil war. According to Scripture, David reigned as king over Judah while Ishbosheth, the son of Saul, reigned over the northern ten tribes. (In the NIV, Ishbesheth is referred to as Ishb-Bosheth.) After two years of war, Ishbosheth was assassinated (2 Samuel 4:5-6) and David ended up ruling as king over a united Israel.

A second civil war erupted when David's son Absalom led a coup. Once again, David's forces emerged victorious -- but not before a lot of blood was shed. 2 Samuel 18:7 reports there were no less than 20,000 casualties in a key battle in the forest of Ephraim. Scripture goes on to report about Absalom being killed by Joab and David's forces emerging victorious.

Answer: Husband of Deborah

Lapidoth was the husband of Deborah, the dynamic judge of Israel. (In the NIV, he is referred to as Lappidoth.) Little is known about him as he is mentioned in passing reference in Scripture. It's an entirely different matter when it comes to Deborah, who was a spark plug who made things happen.

Her story is told in the fourth and fifth chapters of Judges. According to Judges 4:2, Jabin king of Canaan ruled over the Israelites, who were cruelly oppressed by Sisera, the commander of his army. Things changed dramatically, however, when Deborah rose to power.

The Israelites, led by Deborah and her general Barak, scored a decisive military victory over Sisera and their freedom was gained. According to Judges 4:16, "all Sisera's troops fell by the sword; not a man was left." Notes in the NIV Study Bible indicate Deborah was the only judge referred to as a prophetess. And according to Wikipedia, she was the "fourth, and the only female, Judge of pre-monarchic Israel in the Old Testament (Tanakh)."

Answer: Husband of Naomi

Elimelech was the husband of Naomi. (In the NIV, he is referred to as Elimelek.) However, not much is known about him as he is mentioned in passing reference in Scripture. According to 1 Ruth, Elimelech died, leaving Naomi a widow. The two sons of Elimelech and Naomi also died, leaving Oraph and Ruth as widows as well. According to Scripture, Orpah opted to return to Moab, her homeland, while Ruth stayed with Naomi.

Answer: Father of Arab nation

Ishmael, the son of Abraham and Hagar, is generally regarded as the father of the Arab nation. Genesis 21:21 tells of Hagar getting a wife for Ishmael from "the land of Egypt." However, no name is given. According to Genesis 25:13-15, Ishmael was the father of twelve sons. They were Nebajoth, Kedar, Adbeel, Mibsam, Mishma, Dumah, Massa, Hadar, Tema, Jetur, Naphish, and Kedemah.

Genesis 21:9 states Ishamel dwelt in the Wilderness of Paran. According to Christiananswers.net, Paran was a region between Canaan and the mountains of Sinai.

Answer: Saved David's life

According to the 19th chapter of 1 Samuel, David's wife Michal saved his life when she put an idol in his bed, covered it, and pretended it was the future king. She pulled off the ruse when her father Saul had devoted his life to killing David simply because he was deeply jealous of the him.

It appears her actions saved David's life. 1 Samuel 19:11-18 in the NKJV describes what happened: "Saul also sent messengers to David's house to watch him and to kill him in the morning. And Michal, David's wife, told him, saying, 'If you do not save your life tonight, tomorrow you will be killed.' So Michal let David down through a window. And he went and fled and escaped. And Michal took an image and laid it in the bed, put a cover of goats' hair for his head, and covered it with clothes. So when Saul sent messengers to take David, she said, 'He is sick.' Then Saul sent the messengers back to see David, saying, 'Bring him up to me in the bed, that I may kill him.' And when the messengers had come in, there was the image in the bed, with a cover of goats' hair for his head.

Then Saul said to Michal, 'Why have you deceived me like this, and sent my enemy away, so that he has escaped?' And Michal answered Saul, 'He said to me, 'Let me go! Why should I kill you?' So David fled and escaped, and went to Samuel at Ramah, and told him all that Saul had done to him. And he and Samuel went and stayed in Naioth."

Answer: Wife of Solomon

According to 1 Kings 11:3, Solomon had 700 wives, princesses and 300 concubines. Namaah is the only one them named in Scripture, as per 1 Kings 14:21. Not much is known about Namaah, however, as she is mentioned in passing reference. She is described as an Ammonite in 1 Kings 14:21 and 2 Chronicles 12:13. The same verses report she was the mother of Rehoboam who became king, replacing his father Solomon after his death.

Christiananswers.net reports Naamah was the daughter of the king of Ammon. The same Website reports Naamah means 'the beautiful'.

There is a second woman known as Naamah in Scripture. The other woman was the daughter of Lamech and Zillah, as per Genesis 4:22.

Answer: Joseph's younger brother

According to Scripture, Benjamin was the younger brother of Joseph. However, the child was originally called Ben-Oni, according to Scripture. Genesis 35:18 in the NKJV Bible states Rachel, "...as her soul was departing (for she died), that she called his name Ben-Oni; but his father called him Benjamin." Ben-Oni means 'son of my trouble' while Benjamin means 'son of my right hand'. Benjamin would become a founder of one of the twelve tribes of Israel.

Answer: Son of Joseph

Ephraim was the son of Joseph and his wife Asenath. According to Genesis 41:52, Ephraim means "For God has caused me to be fruitful in the land of my affliction." In other words, Joseph was enjoying immense fruitfulness, this even though he arrived in Egypt as a slave. Not much is known about Ephraim as he is largely mentioned in passing reference. Chapter 48 of Genesis tells of Ephraim being blessed by his grandfather Jacob.

Their other son was Manassah. According to Genesis 41:51, Manassah means "For God made me forget all my toil and all my father's house." Not much is known about Manassah as he is largely mentioned in passing reference. Chapter 48 of Genesis tells of Manassah being blessed by his grandfather Jacob.

Answer: Prophets of Baal

Elijah is well known for many things, but perhaps the best known story involving him is his duel with the prophets of Baal on Mount Carmel.

According to 1 Kings 18, Elijah and the prophets of Baal had a showdown to see who could call upon a higher power to ignite a sacrificial offering on Mount Carmel. The 450 prophets called on Baal and Elijah called on the LORD with Elijah being the clear winner, according to Scripture.

Answer: 15 additional years

According to Scripture, Hezekiah was dying and then had fifteen extra years miraculously added to his life after he poured PORED his heart out to the LORD. Hezekiah was the 14th king of Israel, according to Wikipedia. The prophet Isaiah told Hezekiah to get his house in order "because you are going to die, you will not recover," as per 2 Kings 20:1.

Hezekiah then poured out his heart to the LORD immediately after Isaiah left and Scripture reports the prophet promptly received a message from the LORD. 2 Kings 20:4-5, in the NIV Bible, states in part: "...the word of the LORD came to him: 'Go back and tell Hezekiah, the ruler of my people, 'This is what the LORD, the God of your father David, says: I have heard your prayer and seen your tears; I will heal you.'" Scripture goes on to report 15 more years were added to Hezekiah's life.