Nine Out of Ten: General Bible Trivia -- #13 Quiz

Answer: Malchus

The account of Malchus having his ear severed by Peter can be found in Matthew 26:51, Mark 14:47, Luke 22:50 and John 18:10. (Peter is identified in only John 18:10. In the other references, it simply tells of the severing of Malchus' ear.)

I find it highly fascinating that Luke, the physician, is the only one to report about the healing of Malchus' severed ear. After the ear was cut, Jesus tells Peter to put away the sword. After Jesus touches Malchus in the area of the wound, his ear is restored to normal.

Answer: Urijah

Urijah, who is also known as Urriah in the NIV, is the correct answer. 2 Kings 16:10-16, in the NKJV, tells of King Ahaz meeting in Damascus with Tiglath-Pileser, king of Assyria, and seeing an altar that deeply impressed him. So Ahaz commissioned Urijah to build an altar of the same design as the one in Damascus.

Answer: Rufus

Rufus was the son of Simon of Cyrene, according to Mark 15:21. The same verse states Simon was also the father of Alexander. Simon, of course, was called upon to carry the cross for Jesus to Golgotha.

In Romans 16:3, the apostle Paul extends greetings to Rufus and some theologians suspect it is the same man who is mentioned in Mark 15:21. However, there is no way of knowing for certain if the men are one and the same.

Answer: Darius

Darius is the correct answer. Haggai 1:1 and Zechariah 1:1 tell of the Israelites resuming work on the temple and completing it in the sixth year of Darius' reign, as per Ezra 6:15. According to notes in the NKJV Study Bible, Darius provided significant help to the Israelites in rebuilding the temple.

Answer: Epaphras

In Philemon 1:23, Paul describes Epaphras as his "fellow prisoner in Christ Jesus". It is generally believed Paul wrote his letter to Philemon while in prison in Rome, but some modern day theologians have a different view.

In Colossians 1:7-8, Paul also describes Epaphras as "our dear fellow servant who is a faithful minister of Christ."

It is possible Timothy, Barnabas and Luke were also imprisoned with Paul as they served along side him during his missionary trips. However, there is no mention in Scripture of such being the case. With the question stating "going strictly by Scripture", Epaphras is the only correct answer when it comes to the four choices as to which one was imprisoned with Paul.

Answer: Romans

Romans appears just after Acts, and is the first of thirteen books Paul is credited with writing. Many theologians believe Paul wrote the book in 57 A.D., just a year before he was arrested in Jerusalem followed by imprisonment in Rome. The book, of course, is addressed to believers in the early church at Rome. Romans follows Acts and appears before First Corinthians.

Outside of the four Gospels, some people describe Romans as the "bull's eye" of the New Testament. Notes in the NKJV Study Bible describes Romans as the "flagship" of Paul's letters.

Answer: Epaphroditus

Epaprhoditus was apparently assigned by members of the early church in Philippi to assist Paul in his ministry. Epaphroditus is mentioned in only Philippians 2:25-30, but Paul makes it abundantly apparent he was a highly valued worker in the early church, having no regard for his own life. The passage tells of Epaphroditus becoming sick and almost dying, with God sparing him. In the passage, Paul, the apostle to the Gentiles, writes Epaphroditus should be held in esteem.

Philippi, by the way, was the community in which Paul converted Lydia, the seller of purple cloth, and the unnamed jailer to Christianity. According to Scripture, the entire households of Lydia and the jailer were baptized.

Answer: repentance

The missing word is repentance. The word repentance played a major role in John the Baptist's ministry. According to Scripture, a large number of people repented of their sins and were baptized by John in the Jordan River. However, the Pharisees and Sadducees apparently saw no need to repent, and they infuriated John with their self righteousness

The word 'repentance' also appears in the verse in the KJV and the NIV.

Answer: Solomon

According to Scripture, Nathan, a prophet of God, received word from the LORD that Solomon, the second son of David and Bathsheba, should be called Jedidiah. (Their first son died a few days after birth.) For whatever reason, the name never stuck and the child became known as Solomon.

Details can be found in 2 Samuel 12:24-25. According to Wikipedia, Jedidiah means beloved of the LORD.

A number of years later, Nathan would be instrumental in making sure Solomon would become king. According to the first chapter of 1 Kings, he joined forces with Bathsheba to torpedo plans for Adonijah to become king and to make certain Solomon would ascend to the throne, replacing David. 1 Kings 1:8, 11 states he was a confidante to both David and Solomon.

The 34th chapter of 1 Kings tells of "Zadok the priest and Nathan the prophet" anointing Solomon as king over Israel.

Answer: Murderers

Cain, Lamech and Moses were all murderers, according to Scripture.

Cain killed his brother Abel, as per Genesis 4:1-15, while Lamech became the world's second murderer when he killed an unnamed man, as per Genesis 4:19-24. Meanwhile, Exodus 2:11-15 tells of Moses killing an unnamed Egyptian man and then fleeing to Midian.