Miraculous Pregnancies in the Bible Quiz

Answer: Sarah

After being unable to conceive children all her life, Scripture tells of Sarah miraculously becoming a mother when she was ninety years old while her husband Abraham was one hundred. In Genesis 17:15-16, Abraham fell on his face laughing in total disbelief when God told him about the impending birth. Their son was called Isaac.

Answer: Rebekah

After being unable to conceive for a number of years, things changed dramatically for Rebekah after her husband Isaac prayed to the LORD, according to Scripture. Genesis 25:23-25 tells of Rebekah giving birth to twin boys -- Esau and Jacob. Going strictly by Scripture, the boys were the first set of twins, with Esau being the first born.

Answer: Rachel

While her older sister Leah was giving birth to a number of children, Scripture states Rachel was depressed because she was barren. The two sisters were both married to Jacob. However, Rachel's spirits would be dramatically lifted when she miraculously gave birth to a son, Joseph. Later, she would die giving birth to a second son, Benjamin.

Answer: Leah

After bearing a number of children, Leah, the wife of Jacob, became barren for a number of years. Genesis 30:9 states because Leah was unable to conceive, she gave her handmaiden Zilpah to her husband to sleep with to produce children. Sometime afterwards, Leah became fertile again; as Verse 17 states, God listened to her and she gave birth to another son.

For the record, Leah was the mother of six sons and one daughter. The six sons were Reuben, Simeon, Levi, Judah, Issachar, and Zebulun, while the lone daughter was Dinah.

Answer: No name is given

No name is given for Manoah's wife who was the mother of Samson. The boy would grow up to become a judge of Israel known for his brute strength. The betrayal of Samson by his Philistine lover Delilah is one of the best known stories in the Old Testament.

Judges 13:2-5 tells of Manoah's wife receiving news from an angel she would become a mother. This even though she had been unable to conceive.

Answer: Hannah

Hannah, one of two wives of Elkanah, is the correct answer. 1 Samuel 1 tells of Hannah being unable to conceive while Peninnah, the other wife of Elkanah, had given birth to an undisclosed number of children. Making things extremely frustrating for Hannah was the fact Peninnah took delight in taunting her about being barren.

Things would change dramatically, however, as 1 Samuel 1 goes on to tell of Hannah fervently praying to become a mother with the LORD answering her prayers. After miraculously giving birth to Samuel, 1 Samuel 2:21 tells of Hannah bearing three sons and two daughters.

Answer: No name is given

No name is given for the Shunammite woman who gave birth to a son as boldly predicted by Elisha, a prophet of God. According to 2 Kings 4:16-17, the woman refused to believe Elisha, but what he said would happen took place.

The chapter goes on to tell of the boy dying and Elisha miraculously bringing him back to life. Similar to the woman, no name is given in Scripture for the boy.

Answer: Rachel

For the longest time, Rachel was unable to conceive and as a result became deeply depressed. In fact, in Genesis 30:1, she is quoted as telling her husband Jacob in the NKJV "Give me children, or else I die'!" It appears Rachel was so depressed she was even considering suicide.

Scripture goes on to tell of Rachel being able to conceive, thanks to divine intervention, as per Genesis 30:22. After giving birth to Joseph, she died giving birth to a second son, Benjamin, as per Genesis 35:18. It's a gigantic irony that Rachel wanted to die at one time because she was barren and then when she was finally able to conceive, she died giving birth.

Answer: Elizabeth

No age is given, but Scripture states Elizabeth and her husband Zecharias were both "well advanced in years" when she gave birth to John the Baptist. According to Luke 1:5-25, John the Baptist was born after an angel of the Lord proclaimed to Zecharias he and his wife would become parents. Scripture tells of Zecharias scoffing at the pronouncement by the angel Gabriel. As a result, Zecharias was rendered speechless and only regained the ability to talk after John was born.

In the NIV, Zecharias is known as Zechariah.

Answer: Mary

Mary, of course, was the young teenage girl who miraculously gave birth to Jesus while still a virgin. Nowhere in Scripture does it state Mary was a young teenager, but it was the norm for girls to marry around age fifteen in Biblical times.

For details about Mary becoming pregnant while still a virgin, see the first chapter of the Gospel of Matthew as well as the first and second chapters of the Gospel of Luke.