They Finished Second -- Can You Finish First? (#4) Quiz

Answer: Donkey

The correct answer is donkey. According to Numbers 22:21-41, a donkey owned by Balaam started speaking to him when he was beating the helpless animal. Scripture states that after the donkey spoke, Balaam saw an angel of the Lord standing in the road with his sword drawn. Apparently the reason Balaam beat the donkey was the fact it saw the angel and refused to proceed. Balaam, at the time, did not see the angel and took his anger out on the helpless donkey.

Answer: Cain and his wife

The second couple, according to Scripture, was Cain and his wife, who is not named. Genesis 4:16 tells of Cain going to the land of Nod, east of Eden, after he murdered his brother Abel. Then verse 17, in the NIV Bible states: "Cain made love to his wife, and she became pregnant and gave birth to Enoch. Cain was then building a city, and he named it after his son Enoch." Prior to this point in Scripture, there is no mention of any other couple, apart from Adam and Eve.

Answer: Zilpah

The correct answer is Zilpah. According to Genesis 35:26, Zilpah bore two sons -- Gad and Asher. However, not much is known about Zilpah as she is mentioned in passing reference. In Genesis 29:34, it states Laban, the father of Leah, gave her Zilpah to serve as an attendant.

Answer: Phineas' wife

Yes, Phineas' wife is the correct answer. However, the woman's name is not given in Scripture. After the deaths of her husband Phineas, father-in-law Eli and brother-in-law Hophni as well as the capture of the Ark of God by the Philistines, the woman went into labor. Scripture states she died during childbirth. 1 Samuel 4:21-22, in the NIV Bible, states: "She named the boy Ichabod, saying, 'The Glory has departed from Israel' -- because of the capture of the ark of God and the deaths of her father-in-law and her husband.

She said, 'The Glory has departed from Israel, for the ark of God has been captured'."

Answer: Rebekah

The correct answer is Rebekah, who was barren for 20 years. According to Genesis 25:21 in the NKJV, Isaac "pleaded" with the LORD for Rebekah because she was barren. His plea was granted and his wife was able to conceive and gave birth to twins, as per Genesis 25:23-24. The twins, of course, were called Esau and Jacob.

There are other cases in Scripture about women being unable to conceive. For example, Rachel was barren for a number of years while her sister Leah, who was also married to Jacob was bearing children.

In Genesis 30:1, there is a suggestion Rachel was so distraught at being unable to conceive she was contemplating suicide. In the NIV Bible, it states: "When Rachel saw that she was not bearing Jacob any children, she became jealous of her sister. So she said to Jacob, 'Give me children, or I'll die'!" Genesis 30:22 states God remembered Rachel and He enabled her to conceive. She gave birth to a son who she named Joseph. Ironically, Rachel would give birth to another son, Benjamin, and die during childbirth making her statement 'give me children or I will die' extremely prophetic.

It should be pointed out Rachel's sister Leah was also able to conceive because of divine intervention. Genesis 29:31, in the NKJV Bible, states: "When the LORD saw that Leah was unloved, He opened her womb; but Rachel was barren."

And on this topic, other women were able to conceive after Rebekah and before Rachel because of divine intervention, according to Scripture. Genesis 20:17-18, in the NIV Bible states: "Then Abraham prayed to God, and God healed Abimelek, his wife and his female slaves so they could have children again, for the LORD had kept all the women in Abimelek's household from conceiving because of Abraham's wife Sarah."

Answer: The Israelites dancing to the image of a golden calf after Moses received the Ten Commandments.

Yes, the second incident involving people dancing is found in the 32nd chapter of Exodus. According to the chapter, Moses had just received the Ten Commandments from the LORD on Mount Sinai and when he returned with two tablets inscribed with the Ten Commandments he saw the Israelites dancing to the image of a golden calf. Exodus 32:19, in the NIV Bible, states: "When Moses approached the camp and saw the calf and the dancing, his anger burned and he threw the tablets out of his hands, breaking them to pieces at the foot of the mountain." Then, in a fit of burning rage, Scripture states Moses took the calf the people had made and burned it in the fire and "then he ground it to powder, scattered it on the water and made the Israelites drink it."

His rage could be perhaps best explained by taking a look at Scripture that reports about the Ten Commandments. Exodus 20:2-6, in the NKJV, states: "I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage. You shall have no other gods before Me. You shall not make for yourself a carved image -- any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth; you shall not bow down to them nor serve them. For I, the LORD your God, am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children to the third and fourth generations of those who hate Me, but showing mercy to thousands, to those who love Me and keep My commandments."

Answer: No other name with an age can be found

Sarah is the oldest woman to have her death recorded in Scripture, but there is no way of knowing who was the second oldest, because no other woman has her age listed at the time of death.

Given that Methuselah lived to be 969 years old (Genesis 5:27), Jared 962 years (Genesis 5:20) and Adam 930 (Genesis 5:5), it's obvious their wives likely died at a much older age than Sarah. However, no age is given and no details are reported about their deaths. As a result, the correct answer has to be 'no other name with an age can be found'.

And one more clarification. Luke 2:37 states the prophetess Anna was a widow of about 84 years old but no details are given about her age when she died.

Answer: Abraham's servant

Abraham's servant was the second person to pray to God. No name is given for the servant, but according to Genesis 24:2, he was the senior servant in his household. In the 24th chapter, the servant is requested by Abraham to go to the land of his relatives to get a wife for his son Isaac. Genesis 24:12-14 tells of the servant praying. The passage, in the NIV Bible, states: "Then he prayed, 'LORD, God of my master Abraham, make me successful today, and show kindness to my master Abraham. See, I am standing beside this spring, and the daughters of the townspeople are coming out to draw water. May it be that when I say to a young woman, 'Please let down your jar that I may have a drink', and she says, 'Drink, and I'll water your camels too' -- let her be the one you have chosen for your servant Isaac. By this I will know that you have shown kindness to my master'."

Verse 15 goes on to state that "Before he had finished praying, Rebekah came out with her jar on her shoulder." The rest, as they say, is history.

(In Genesis 15:2, when Abraham was known as Abram, his servant is identified as Eliezer of Damascus.)

Yes, it's a foregone conclusion many others had prayed to God before Abraham and the instance involving his servant. However, no specific individual is mentioned.

Answer: Elhanan

The correct answer is Elhanen. 2 Samuel 21:19, in the NIV Bible, states: "In another battle with the Philistines at Gob, Elhanan son of Jair the Bethlehemite killed the brother of Goliath the Gittite, who had a spear with a shaft like a weaver's rod." However, no further details are given.

2 Samuel 21:20-21 goes on to tell of the slaying of another gigantic man. The passage in the NIV Bible, states: "In still another battle, which took place at Gath, there was a huge man with six fingers on each hand and six toes on each foot -- twenty-four in all. He also was descended from Rapha. When he taunted Israel, Jonathan son of Shimeah, David's brother, killed him."

Answer: The Ethiopian eunuch

The Ethiopian Eunuch is the correct answer. The story of his conversion can be found in Acts 8:26-40. He was converted by Philip, one of the seven Grecian Jewish disciples, originally appointed to oversee the distribution of bread to widows in the community.

Some trivia about the eunuch. Acts 8:27 describes him as an "important official" as he was in charge of the treasury for Candace, queen of the Ethiopians. Philip encountered the Ethiopian while he was returning by chariot from Jerusalem where he had gone to worship. Immediately after the Ethiopian became a believer in Jesus Christ, Philip baptized him in water along the side of the road.