Match These Old Testament Characters -- #2 Quiz

Answer: Betrayed by brothers

Joseph was betrayed by his brothers and sold into slavery in Egypt, only to eventually rise up to become second in command in the country with only the Pharaoh above him. There were setbacks along the way, of course, with him ending up in prison on false charges of attempting to rape Potiphar's wife.

His ordeal is one of the best known stories in the Old Testament and is told in the hit musical "Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat", written by Andrew Lloyd Weber and Tim Rice. The story of Joseph starts in the 37th chapter of Genesis and runs through to the 50th chapter.

Answer: David's first wife

Michal was David's first wife. It's a long story, but Saul, the father of Michal, ordered David to produce the foreskins from one hundred Philistines to win his daughter's hand as he firmly believed David would be killed in the process and he would no longer have to contend with him. David, however, killed twice as many Philistines as needed and easily won Michal's hand, much to the consternation of Saul.

The account of David winning the right to marry Michal is found in 1 Samuel 18:17-27.

Answer: Queen Esther's cousin

Mordecai figures prominently in the book of Esther. He teamed with Queen Esther to comprise a dynamic duo that saved the day for the Jewish people. In fact, had it not been for this duo, there's a very real possibility the ruthless Haman would have had his way and had all the Jews executed in the region ruled over by King Ahasuerus. (In the NIV, the king is known as Xerxes.) After Haman was thwarted, he ended up being hanged on the gallows he had rigged for the intended execution of Mordecai. The story of Esther and Mordecai teaming up to save the Jewish people is told in the book of Esther.

Answer: Jezebel's husband

Jezebel was King Ahab's wife and she is regarded by many as the most wicked woman in the Bible. According to the Website Meaning-of-names.com, Jezebel means 'impure'. She is despised in Scripture because she convinced her husband Ahab to worship false gods and persecuted God's prophets.

Her life ended when she was thrown out of a window by her aides and she was trampled by horses and eaten by dogs, as per 2 Kings 9:30-37.

Answer: Nabal's wife

Abigail became David's wife after Nabal died. Scripture has nothing but nice things to say about Abigail, portraying her as beautiful, wise and gracious. It's a different matter for her first husband, however. Nabal is portrayed as being foolhardy and an obstinate man. In fact, his name means 'fool', according to 1 Samuel 25:25.

Answer: Daughters of Laban

Leah and Rachel were the daughters of Laban. There's no disputing the fact he was shrewd as he got a total of fourteen years of labor out of Jacob for the right to marry his two daughters. According to Scripture, Jacob had agreed to work seven years for the right to win Rachel's hand, however, when the seven years were up, Laban insisted Jacob had to marry Leah, his older daughter. Laban told Jacob it would not be right for his younger daughter to marry before his older daughter, so Jacob agreed to marry Leah and then work for seven more years for the right to marry Rachel, the one who had caught his eye all along.

Answer: Unsuccessful coup

While David was advanced in years, Adonijah attempted to set himself up as king. Bathsheba, David's most famous wife and mother of Solomon, however, thwarted Adonijah's sceheme and Solomon became king, as per David's plans. In 1 Kings 2:25, Solomon instructs Benaiah to kill Adonijah, and so ends the story of a would-be king.

Answer: Leprosy

According to Scripture, Miriam was struck with leprosy. Numbers 12:1-5 states Miriam was struck with leprosy after she and Aaron opposed Moses. However, after Moses cried out to the LORD to heal her, Miriam was cured of her leprosy and re-instated in the Israelite camp.

No one knows for certain, but many theologians believe Miriam was the one who watched from a distance when Moses was placed in a basket along the banks of the Nile River, as per Exodus 2:4. Miriam is known for leading a victory song by the women after the Israelites crossed the Red Sea. According to Exodus 15:20, she took a tambourine in her hand and "all the women followed her, with tambourines and dancing."

Answer: Son of Hagar

Ishmael's mother was Hagar, an Egyptian servant of Sarah. Because Sarah was unable to conceive, she gave permission to her husband Abraham to sleep with Hagar and as a result Ishmael was born. This account can be found in the 16th chapter of Genesis, where Abraham was known as Abram and Sarah was known as Sarai. (Their names were changed to Abraham and Sarah in the 17th chapter.) The account of Hagar and Ishmael being sent away is documented in the 28th chapter of Genesis. Ishmael is considered to be the founder of the Arab nations.

Answer: Prostitute

The story of Rahab the prostitute can be found in the second and sixth chapters of Joshua. Because she harbored two spies from the Israelite camp, Rahab and her family were spared when Joshua and his armed men succeeded in making the walls of Jericho fall down, just as the LORD told them in Joshua 6:2-5.

Incidentally, Rahab's name appears in Matthew 1:5 as part of the genealogy of Jesus and she is also saluted in Hebrews 11:31 for her "faith".