One and the Only -- As in the Bible -- #3 Quiz

Answer: Miriam

Miriam was once afflicted with leprosy by the LORD due to her grumbling about Moses because he had taken an Ethiopian wife, as per Numbers 12:1-15 in the NKJV. (In the NIV, she is described as a Cushite wife.)

Although Miriam was afflicted with leprosy, she ended up being cured and re-instated into the Israelite camp. According to Scripture, the grumbling about her brother Moses' selection of an Ethiopian woman as his wife caused serious problems for Miriam. (This even though Aaron was also grumbling.) Numbers 12:5 tells of Miriam and Aaron stepping forward and the LORD coming down in a pillar of cloud. When the pillar of the cloud had disappeared, Aaron noticed his sister Miriam was leprous and "as white as snow". After Moses pleaded to God to cure Miriam of her leprosy, she was healed and reinstated into the Israelite camp after a seven-day absence.

Answer: Deborah

Deborah is the correct answer. According to Scripture, she was a prophetess, a judge of Israel and a spark plug who made things happen. She is perhaps best known for joining forces with Barak to successfully lead the Israelites to a spectacular victory over king of Canaan and the Canaanites who had been suppressing them. In a joyful victory song, she used the term 'mother in Israel' to describe herself, as per Judges 5:7. (The same phrase is used in the NKJ and the NIV.)

To put Judges 5:7 in context, here's how it reads in the NKJV with the preceding three verses:
"Lord, when You went out from Seir,
When You marched from the field of Edom,
The earth trembled and the heavens poured,
The clouds also poured water;
The mountains gushed before the Lord,
This Sinai, before the Lord God of Israel.
In the days of Shamgar, son of Anath,
In the days of Jael,
The highways were deserted,
And the travelers walked along the byways.
Village life ceased, it ceased in Israel,
Until I, Deborah, arose,
Arose a mother in Israel."

Notes in the NKJV Study Bible have this to state about the term 'a mother in Israel": "The phrase 'a mother in Israel' occurs twice in the Old Testament, here and 2 Samuel 20:18. The title is given to Deborah as one of honor, respect and prominence."

Deborah, however, is the only woman in the Bible designated with such a title. 2 Samuel 20:18 quotes an unnamed wise woman speaking to Joab, the commander of David's army: "We are the peaceful and faithful in Israel. You are trying to destroy a city that is a mother in Israel. Why do you want to swallow up the LORD's inheritance?"

Incidentally, the quiz by Kerryk7706 is called 'Bible Women' and it was filed on April 16, 2002.

Answer: Rebuilding of the walls around Jerusalem

(I'm grateful to FunTrivia player kerryk7706 for basic information used in this question. The question was inspired by her quiz titled 'Bible Women.' It was posted on FunTrivia on April 16, 2002.)

According to Nehemiah 3, the Israelite community was united as one in rebuilding the wall around Jerusalem. Nehemiah 3:11-12, in the NKJV, offers this view of work taking place: "Malchijah the son of Harim and Hashub the son of Pahath-Moab repaired another section, as well as the Tower of the Ovens. And next to him was Shallum the son of Hallohesh, leader of half the district of Jerusalem; he and his daughters made repairs."

Not much is known about the personal life of Nehemiah, apart from the fact he had a brother called Hanani and their father was Hacaliah, as per Nehemiah 1:1-2. Facing gigantic odds, Nehemiah successfully rebuilt the wall around Jerusalem. In Biblical times, walls around cities were a common feature as they were used to keep occupants safe from intruders. Although Nehemiah rebuilt the wall around Jerusalem, it is not unanimous he wrote the Old Testament book that bears his name. Some believe Ezra wrote the book, relying on Nehemiah's memories. Those who believe Ezra wrote the book point out Nehemiah 7:5-73 and Ezra 2:1-70 are almost identical.

Answer: Lot's wife

One of the best known stories in the Old Testament involves the LORD bringing down burning sulfur on Sodom and Gomorrah because of its wickedness, with Lot and his family fleeing. However, Genesis 19:26 states Lot's wife (no name is given) was turned into a pillar of salt because she looked back, contrary to the LORD'S command.

In Luke 17:32, Jesus tells listeners to remember her. To put the verse in context, here's how Luke 17:28-36, in the NKJV, states: "Likewise as it was also in the days of Lot: They ate, they drank, they bought, they sold, they planted, they built; but on the day that Lot went out of Sodom it rained fire and brimstone from heaven and destroyed them all. Even so will it be in the day when the Son of Man is revealed. In that day, he who is on the housetop, and his goods are in the house, let him not come down to take them away. And likewise the one who is in the field, let him not turn back. Remember Lot's wife. Whoever seeks to save his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life will preserve it. I tell you, in that night there will be two men in one bed: the one will be taken and the other will be left. Two women will be grinding together: the one will be taken and the other left. Two men will be in the field: the one will be taken and the other left."

Notes in the NKJV Study Bible have this to say about verse 32: "Lot's wife represents those who are attached to earthly things, those whose hearts are still in this world. Like Lot's wife, such people will perish."

Answer: Proverbs

Greyhounds are the only breed of dog mentioned in the Bible with the breed being cited in Proverbs 30:31. To put the verse in context, here's how Proverbs 30:29-31 reads in the NKJV:
"There are three things which are majestic in pace,
Yes, four which are stately in walk:
A lion, which is mighty among beasts
And does not turn away from any;
A greyhound,
A male goat also,
And a king whose troops are with him."

Meanwhile, the NIV has a substantially different translation and uses the term "a strutting rooster."
Here's how the NIV passage reads:
"There are three things that are stately in their stride,
four that move with stately bearing:
a lion, mighty among beasts,
who retreats before nothing;
a strutting rooster, a he-goat,
and a king secure against revolt."

Notes in the NIV go on to state the meaning of the Hebrew for Verse 31 is uncertain. Notes in the NKJV also state the exact identity of the animal in Verse 31 is unknown.

Incidentally, the MollyGrue quiz is titled 'Greyhounds: The Retired Racers'. It was filed March 25, 2002.

Answer: Hadassah

Hadassah, who would gain a new name and become Queen Esther, is the correct answer. Esther 2:7, in the NKJV, states: "And Mordecai had brought up Hadassah, that is, Esther, his uncle's daughter, for she had neither father nor mother. The young woman was lovely and beautiful. When her father and mother died, Mordecai took her as his own daughter."

Esther and Mordecai would join forces to thwart a diabolical plan by Haman to kill all the Jews in the vast area ruled by King Ahasuerus. (In the NIV, the king is known as Xerxes.)

Answer: Ruth

Ruth is the correct answer. She and her sister-in-law Orpah were both from Moab and were married to Naomi's sons, Mahlon and Kilion, as per the book of Ruth. According to Scripture, Naomi's husband Elimelek and her two sons died and the three women were widows.

Orpah opted to return to her homeland while Ruth decided to stay with her mother-in-law. Ruth 1:16-17, in the NIV Bible, quotes Ruth as telling Naomi: "...where you go I will go, and where you stay I will stay. Your people will be my people and your God my God. Where you die I will die, and there I will be buried. May the LORD deal with me, be it ever so severely, if even death separates you and me."

The book of Ruth is largely a story about the romance between Ruth and Boaz. After the couple became husband and wife, they became parents of Obed. Obed was the father of Jesse, who was the father of David.

Apart from Esther, Ruth is the only woman to have a book named after her in the Hebrew Bible, or the Old Testament of the English Bible. (Some Old Testaments include a Book of Judith.) She is also the only non-Jewish person to have a book named after her.

Incidentally, no book in the New Testament is named after a woman.

Answer: 1 Corinthians

The correct answer is 1 Corinthians. Although Sosthenes is one of only three people to rank in the salutations of Paul's books, little is known about him. There is a Sosthenes mentioned in Acts 18:17, a synagogue ruler who was beaten by an unruly mob, but there is no conclusive proof he is the same person referred to by Paul in his salutations in 1 Corinthians. If it is the same person, he obviously had become a Christian after being a ruler of the synagogue.

Answer: True

True. Many theologians believe the name Magdalene suggests her home town is Magdala, a community on the western shore of the Sea of Galilee, between Tiberias and Capernaum. (In the NIV, the place is called Magadan.)

Notes in the NIV Study Bible, for example, suggest Magadan is her home town.

In a parallel passage in Mark 8:10, Magdala/Magadan is called Dalmanutha in the KJV, the NKJV and the NIV.

Answer: True

True. His name appears only twice in the Hebrew Bible, or the Old Testament of the English Bible, but no less than nine times in the New Testament.

Using the NKJV, the name Melchizedek is found in Genesis 14:18 and Psalm 110:4. In the New Testament, his name is found in Hebrews 5:6, 10, 6:20, 7:1, 10,11,15,17 and 21.

There is no other Old Testament character whose name is mentioned more often in the New Testament than in the Old Testament. Eve, however, has her name mentioned twice in the Old Testament and the same number of times in the New Testament.