Nine out of Ten: Old Testament Trivia Quiz

Answer: Bethel

Bethel is mentioned a number of times in the Old Testament. The first reference is Genesis 12:8 telling of Abram building an altar to call upon the name of the LORD. It was here Jacob had a vision of angels of God ascending and descending on a ladder from heaven, as per Genesis 28:10-19. According to Scripture, he was on his way from Beersheba to Haran. Bethel was west of Ai.

Answer: Adah

With the exception of Eve, Adah is the first female mentioned by name in the Old Testament. Her name appears in Genesis 4:19, just before the name of another woman, Zillah. The two women were both married to Lamech and Adah was the mother of Jabal, described in Scripture as "the father of those who live in tents and raise livestock."

There is another woman in the Bible with the name Adah. According to Scripture, the other Adah was the daughter of Elon and the wife of Esau.

And some more trivia. According to Wikipedia, Adah is also a placename in Pennsylvania. It is an unincorporated community in German Township, Fayette County. "It is known as a patch town as it was created to support a coal mine," Wikipedia reports. "Adah is the home of the Palmer Mine."

Answer: Tola

Tola is the correct answer. According to Judges 10:1-2, Tola judged Israel for 23 years. Scripture states Tola was the son of Puah and the grandson of Dodo and he lived in Shamir in the hill-country of Ephraim. According to the two passages, Tola "arose to save Israel". After he died he was buried in Shamir, according to Scripture.

Tola was replaced by Jair, who according to Scripture, "had thirty sons who rode on thirty donkeys."

Answer: Hezekiah

Hezekiah is the correct answer. He was the fourteenth king of Israel, according to Wikipedia. The prophet Isaiah told Hezekiah to get his house in order "for you shall die, and not live," as per 2 Kings 20:1. Hezekiah then pored out his heart to the LORD immediately after Isaiah left and Scripture reports the prophet promptly received a message from the LORD.

2 Kings 20:4-6, in the NKJV Bible, states: ""And it happened, before Isaiah had gone out into the middle court, that the word of the Lord came to him, saying, 'Return and tell Hezekiah the leader of My people, 'Thus says the Lord, the God of David your father: 'I have heard your prayer, I have seen your tears; surely I will heal you. On the third day you shall go up to the house of the Lord. And I will add to your days fifteen years. I will deliver you and this city from the hand of the king of Assyria; and I will defend this city for My own sake, and for the sake of My servant David'."

Answer: Samson

Samson is the correct answer. He was, without question, the most colorful of the judges. Samson was betrayed by his mistress Delilah. According to Scripture, Samson had had immense strength and was even able wrestle with a lion. What's more, Scripture states he killed 1,000 soldiers with only the jawbone of a donkey.

When Delilah discovered the secret to Samson's super-strength was his long hair, she had his locks cut and the immensely weakened Samson was delivered to his enemies who blinded and imprisoned him. While in captivity, Samson fervently prayed to the LORD and regained his strength and he was able to cause a temple to collapse. According to Judges 16:23-31, the collapse of the temple killed thousands of Philistines as well as Samson.

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

Answer: Habakkuk

The correct answer is Habakkuk with his book of prophecy appearing eighth of the twelve Minor Prophets. (In the Hebrew Bible, it is known as the Twelve Prophets.) According to the Web site Christiananswers.net, Habakkuk means 'embrace'. However, the Web site reports little is known about Habakkuk's personal history.

Here's the order the books appear in the Minor Prophets, or the Twelve Prophets: Hosea, Joel, Amos, Obadiah, Jonah, Micah, Nahum, Habakkuk, Zephaniah, Haggai, Zechariah and Malachi.

(According to Wikipedia, the Septuagint of the Eastern churches has this order: Hosea, Amos, Micah, Joel, Obadiah, Jonah, Micah, Nahum, Habakkuk, Zephaniah, Haggai, Zechariah and Malachi. Wikipedia goes on to state the Septuagint of the Eastern churches also puts the Minor Prophets before, instead of after, the 'Major Prophets'.)

Answer: Eglon

Eglon is the correct answer. According to Judges 3:17, Eglon was "very fat" while the same same passage describes Ehud as a "deliverer" from God. In addition to being left-handed, Ehud was the second judge of Israel.

Scripture goes into some gory details about the king's death. Judges 3:20-22, in the NKJV Bible, states: "So Ehud came to him (now he was sitting upstairs in his cool private chamber). Then Ehud said, 'I have a message from God for you.' So he arose from his seat. Then Ehud reached with his left hand, took the dagger from his right thigh, and thrust it into his belly. Even the hilt went in after the blade, and the fat closed over the blade, for he did not draw the dagger out of his belly; and his entrails came out."

The chapter goes on to tell of Ehud making his escape and then leading the Israelites to a military victory over the Moabites, killing about 10,000 "stout men of valor." The chapter concludes by stating the Israelites enjoyed eighty years of "rest".

Answer: Ben-Oni

Ben-Oni is the correct answer. 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'.

Answer: Achan

The correct answer is Achan. According to the seventh chapter of Joshua, after Achan stole a large amount of booty in the capture of Jericho, the LORD turned against the Israelites and they were defeated in battle at Ai. It's one of those long stories, but the Israelites invaded Jericho and were attempting to conquer Ai as it had been allocated to them as 'The Promised Land.'

Joshua 7:21, in the NKJV, tells of Achan making his confession of guilt to Joshua: "When I saw among the spoils a beautiful Babylonian garment, two hundred shekels of silver, and a wedge of gold weighing fifty shekels, I coveted them and took them. And there they are, hidden in the earth in the midst of my tent, with the silver under it."

After Achan made his confession, his fate was sealed.

Joshua 7:22-26 states: "So Joshua sent messengers, and they ran to the tent; and there it was, hidden in his tent, with the silver under it. And they took them from the midst of the tent, brought them to Joshua and to all the children of Israel, and laid them out before the LORD. Then Joshua, and all Israel with him, took Achan the son of Zerah, the silver, the garment, the wedge of gold, his sons, his daughters, his oxen, his donkeys, his sheep, his tent, and all that he had, and they brought them to the Valley of Achor. And Joshua said, 'Why have you troubled us? The LORD will trouble you this day.' So all Israel stoned him with stones; and they burned them with fire after they had stoned them with stones. Then they raised over him a great heap of stones, still there to this day. So the LORD turned from the fierceness of His anger. Therefore the name of that place has been called the Valley of Achor to this day."

The Web site Christiananswers.net reports Achan means "one who troubles."

Answer: Bathsheba

Bathsheba is the correct answer. She had an adulterous affair with King David while she was married to Uriah, a soldier. After Bathsheba became pregnant, David devised a scheme in which Uriah was killed in battle. Following her husband's death, Bathsheba married David, becoming the king's most famous wife. Their story is largely told in the 11th and 12th chapters of 2 Samuel.