The Promise Trivia Quiz

Answer: Mosaic

The covenant is more often called the Mosaic covenant as it relates to the various promises made to Moses, as leader of the Israelites, by God. The alternative name refers to the site of the covenant - Mount Sinai. The covenant is described in Exodus and covers several chapters - from 19-24. The events described include Moses' receipt of the Ten Commandments, but the covenant was wider than just handing down the laws.

Described as a 'conditional' covenant, God's promise to His people depended upon them keeping their side of the bargain too. God promised that He would make Israel 'a holy nation' and in return the people must obey his law.

Answer: Isaac

Genesis, chapter 17, has great significance. Firstly, God changes Abram's name to Abraham, telling him he will be the 'father of many nations', and that his wife is now to be called Sarah, not Sarai. Since Abraham was nearly a hundred years old and Sarah aged ninety, this was hard for Abraham to believe, but God promised it would happen and that the boy was to be name Isaac. (Genesis 17:19). Sarah found that she was pregnant and gave birth to the promised male child.

God later further tested Abraham's faith by commanding him to sacrifice Isaac (Genesis 22), with the child spared when God provided a ram at the last minute. Isaac went on to father Esau and Jacob with Jacob's twelve sons being the founders of the tribes of Israel.

Answer: Rahab

Rahab was a Canaanite, an ancestress of Boaz and, through him, of Jesus. Joshua and his army were camped outside Jericho and the two spies were sent into the city to check its defences. Rahab, whose home is described as being in the wall of the city, hid Joshua's spies in her home when they were at risk of discovery.

When Joshua claimed Jericho, he destroyed the city but Rahab and her whole family were spared - 'And Joshua saved Rahab the harlot alive, and her father's household, and all that she had; and she dwelleth in Israel even unto this day; because she hid the messengers, which Joshua sent to spy out Jericho' from Joshua chapter six, verse 25.

Answer: Samuel

The story appears in 1 Samuel, chapter 1, verse 11: 'And she vowed a vow, and said, O Lord of hosts...give unto thine handmaid a man child, then I will give him unto the Lord all the days of his life, and there shall no razor come upon his head'. God answers her prayer, and Hannah kept her promise, taking Samuel to the temple to live with the priest, Eli, once the child was weaned.

Samuel plays an important role as Israel changes from being ruled by judges to being a kingdom, and is pivotal in first appointing Saul as king and then replacing him with David. Samuel is acknowledged as a prophet in both Christianity and Islam.

Answer: Simeon

Simeon is mentioned only in Luke's gospel, in chapter 2, verses 25 to 35. He is described as 'just and devout' and a visitation by the Holy Spirit promises him that he will see the Messiah before his death. Simeon is present at the temple, at the prompting of the Holy Spirit, when Jesus is brought there on the fortieth day after his birth, in accordance with the Law of Moses. Both he and Anna, a prophetess at the temple, recognise that Jesus is the Messiah for whom they have been waiting.

Simeon also speaks about a sword piercing Jesus, taken as a prediction of the crucifixion. Simeon's words - ' Lord, now lettest thou thy servant depart in peace, according to thy word: For mine eyes have seen thy salvation' form the basis of the prayer and musical works called 'Nunc dimittis'.

Answer: Jephthah

Jephthah has two whole chapters devoted to him in Judges, where chapters 11 and 12 give his whole story. Having been cast out from his home, since he had been born to a prostitute, not his father's wife, Jephthah was called back to his homeland when it was under threat from the Ammonites. He called on God for help in the battles ahead, promising the sacrifice. God duly provided the help needed for victory, but sadly for Jephthah his only child, a daughter, was so overjoyed to see him return home that she was the first to greet him.

Jephthah kept his vow but in doing so ended his line. He remained as a judge of Israel for six years, fighting off another threat, this time from the Ephraimites, during this period in power. (Judges, chapter 12).

Answer: Orpah

Ruth's story is told in the book of the Bible bearing her name. Naomi and her two daughters-in-law had all been widowed, and Naomi wished to return to her original home in Bethlehem from Moab where they had all been living. Naomi wanted her sons' widows to return to their native land of Moab which Orpah, with some reluctance, agreed to do. Ruth, though refused to go, with her words to Naomi being among the most touching in the Bible - 'whither thou goest, I will go; and where thou lodgest, I will lodge: thy people shall be my people, and thy God my God'.

Of course, Ruth ends up married to Boaz, securing a future for both herself and Naomi. She is also the great-grandmother of King David, making her an ancestress of Jesus.

Answer: Jonah

Jonah's story appears as the fifth of the twelve books devoted to the minor prophets, and his story is probably the best known of all of them. Having refused to follow God's bidding to go to Nineveh and prophesy its destruction, Jonah's attempt to flee in the opposite direction is foiled when God sends a great storm which threatens to sink the ship Jonah is on. Cast overboard, Jonah is swallowed by a great fish where he spends three days and nights before God answers his prayer.

Jonah fulfils his mission and the Ninevites are spared when they turn back to God. The time Jonah spent inside the sea creature is equated to the time Jesus spent in the grave in the New Testament Gospels of Matthew and Luke.

Answer: Crucifixion

Although the gospels of Matthew and Mark describe both thieves as berating Jesus, Luke's gospel gives a different version - the one which has become more accepted since Luke researched his by interviewing those present. In Luke chapter 23, the impenitent thief asks Jesus to save them all - 'If thou be Christ, save thyself and us' in verse 39. The other one, who does repent his sins, admonishes his fellow, pointing out that their punishment is deserved, while Jesus is innocent.

He then asks Jesus to 'remember me when thou comest into thy kingdom' and receives words of comfort from the saviour - 'Verily I say unto thee, Today shalt thou be with me in paradise'. Although not named in the Bible, the names of the two thieves are often quoted as Gestas and Dismas, with the latter (the penitent) being canonised in the Catholic church as Saint Dismas.

Answer: Rainbow

Noah is mentioned several times in the Bible, but the story of the flood appears in Genesis, chapters 6-9. God has become exasperated with man's inability to obey His laws and intends to return the earth to water and rebuild. Noah is chosen as the only righteous man and is given instructions on how to build a vessel, the ark, which will allow him and his family to survive. Noah also has to take pairs of animals with him. Having survived the forty days and nights of rain, Noah and his family give a sacrifice to God.

The Noahic covenant is the name given to the promise from God that the whole world will never again be flooded, with the rainbow a symbol of this. Doves appear in various places in the Bible, including in Noah's story, as do lambs, while the burning bush is associated with Moses.