The Long and the Short of It Trivia Quiz

Answer: 12

According to Numbers 13:1-14, Moses commissioned twelve men -- one from each Israelite tribe -- to go into Canaan to scout out the land. Even though God had told the Israelites Canaan was their Promised Land, the vast majority of the spies were opposed to a plan for the Jews to go in and occupy the territory. In fact, ten of the twelve spies lamented the Israelites would never be successful in defeating the occupants because Canaan was occupied by giants who made the Israelites appear as grasshoppers.

Numbers 13:33 in the NKJV sums up how the ten spies felt about the Jews' chances of taking over the land of the giants: "The land through which we have gone as spies is a land that devours its inhabitants, and all the people whom we saw in it are men of great stature. There we saw the giants (the descendants of Anak came from the giants); and we were like grasshoppers in our own sight, and so we were in their sight."

Two of the twelve spies, however, saw things differently. Joshua and Caleb implored Moses and the Israelites to proceed with plans to take over Canaan because they were convinced God would lead them to victory.

Scripture goes on to tell of the Israelites following the advice of Joshua and Caleb and miraculously scoring a series of military victories over their giant adversaries.

Answer: Anak

The Anakims were giants who were descendants of Anak, as per Numbers 13:33. However, not much is known about Anak the man, as he is mentioned in passing reference in Scripture.

As pointed out in the information to Question No. 1, the Anakim lived in Canaan and were so tall they made a group of Israelite spies feel as if they were grasshoppers.

The Anakim are also mentioned in the books of Deuteronomy and Joshua.

According to Deuteronomy 2:10 the Emim, another race of people, were "as great and numerous and tall as the Anakim."

Answer: Saul

Saul is the correct answer. In addition to being taller than anyone else in Israel, 1 Samuel 9:2 describes Saul as "choice and handsome". Saul was the first king of Israel and is known for his extreme hatred for David who would eventually become king. He was the son of Kish, as per 1 Samuel 9:1.

Answer: True

True. Goliath stood six cubits and a span, according to 1 Samuel 17:4 in the KJV, NKJV and NIV. That's the equivalent of nine feet, nine inches tall or 2.8956 meters.

In some different versions of the Bible, Goliath's height is given in feet, rather than cubits. For example, the Complete Jewish Bible and the Christian Standard Bible state the height of the Philistine behemoth was nine feet, nine inches.

For David, a young shepherd boy, it was a case of the bigger they come, the harder they fall, as he was able to defeat Goliath by firing one stone from his sling shot.

Answer: Lahmi

According to 1 Chronicles 20:5, Goliath's brother was called Lahmi. Scripture tells of the Israelites and Philistines involved in yet another battle, with Elhanan killing Lahmi, the brother of Goliath. Little in the way of details are given about the killing, with Scripture simply stating that Elhana was the son of Jair and Lahmi had a spear that was like "a weaver's beam."

In the Easy to Read Version, it states: "Lahmi's spear was very big and heavy. It was like the large pole on a loom."

Answer: Jonathan

The unnamed Philistine giant with twenty-four fingers and toes was killed by Joanathan, according to 1 Chronicles 20:6. The slaying of the giant is mentioned in only two verses with Scripture stating Jonathan was the son of Shimea, David's brother. In other words, Jonathan was David's nephew.

No details are given as to the height of the giant killed by Jonathan.

Answer: Benaiah

The correct answer is Benaiah. According to 1 Chronicles 11:23 in the NKJV, he killed an Egyptian, "a man of great height, five cubits tall." (Five cubits equals 7.5 feet, or 2.286 metres.) The verse also states the Egyptian held "a spear like a weaver's beam" and Benaiah "wrested the spear out of the Egyptian's hand, and killed him with his own spear."

Benaiah, the son of Jehoiada, came from Kabzee. Scripture also states he killed a lion in a pit on a snowy day. He was part of a group of men known as David's Mighty Warriors.

Answer: True

True. Paul, the apostle to the Gentiles is BELIEVED by many Bible scholars to be short in stature. A number of different Websites speculate, for example, Paul was short, maybe standing less than five feet. However, it's all speculation as no one knows for certain.

2 Corinthians 10:10 is often cited as the reason as to why people believe Paul was diminutive. In the verse, Paul tells of others having the view his "letters... are weighty and powerful" while his "bodily presence is weak, and his speech contemptible."

Answer: Zacchaeus

Zacchaeus was so short he apparently had to climb a sycamore tree to be able to see Jesus as He passed through town, as per Luke 19:1-4 in the NKJV. (In the NIV, it says he climbed a sycamore-fig tree.) No information is given in Scripture about Zacchaeus' height. However, he must've been less than five feet tall if others standing in front of him were blocking his view.

A couple things are certain, however. Zacchaeus was the chief tax collector of Jericho and Jesus ended up spending the night at his house.

While tax collectors in Biblical times were widely perceived to be unabashed crooks, Zacchaeus was determined to set things right. In Luke 19:8, he tells Jesus: "Look, Lord, I give half of my goods to the poor; and if I have taken anything from anyone by false accusation, I restore fourfold."

Answer: Isaiah

The statements Christians view as prophetic about Jesus and His appearance are found in the 53rd chapter of Isaiah. In a nutshell, Verse 2 tells of Jesus having no beauty or majesty and nothing in His appearance that we should desire Him.

As a result, some scholars have come to the conclusion Jesus was neither tall or short. In other words, Jesus looked like an average person.

To put Verse 2 in context, here's how Isaiah 53:1-3 reads in the NKJV:

"Who has believed our report?
And to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed?
For He shall grow up before Him as a tender plant,
And as a root out of dry ground.
He has no form or comeliness;
And when we see Him,
There is no beauty that we should desire Him.
He is despised and rejected by men,
A Man of sorrows and acquainted with grief.
And we hid, as it were, our faces from Him;
He was despised, and we did not esteem Him."

As Bibleinfo.com points out, Jesus was followed by a large number of people not because He looked like a rock star or a model. Instead, they followed Him because of His words, teachings and doctrine. As Matthew 7:28-29 states, when Jesus taught it was nothing like the leaders of the day, as He spoke with "authority".