They Finished Second -- Can You Finish First? (#7) Quiz

Answer: Rebekah

Rebekah is the second woman specifically named in the Bible who is described as "beautiful".

Bear in mind Genesis 6:1-2 makes reference to beautiful women, but no one is specifically mentioned. The verses in question states: "When human beings began to increase in number on the earth and daughters were born to them, the sons of God saw that the daughters of humans were beautiful, and they married any of them they chose."

In Genesis 24:16, in both the NIV and the NKJV, Rebekah is described as "very beautiful." The same words are used in both the NIV and the NKJV to describe Sarai.

Answer: Unnamed woman from Tekoa

The woman is not identified and is described simply as a "wise woman" from Tekoa, as per 2 Samuel 14:2 in the KJV, NKJV and NIV. It's a long story, but in a nutshell the 14th chapter of 2 Samuel tells of Joab having the woman brought from Tekoa to issue an appeal before King David. It was all part of a plan by Joab to have a reconciliation between David and his son Absalom. Notes in the NKJV Study Bible state Tekoa was on the edge of the hill country, about six miles south of Bethlehem and was the the home of the prophet Amos.

Incidentally, Abigail is the only woman in the Old Testament and the New Testament who is specifically named and is described as being wise, intelligent or of good understanding. There is no doubt Esther in the Old Testament and Priscilla and Lydia in the New Testament were also wise, but Scripture does not describe them as such.

Answer: Naaman

The story of Naaman is found in the 5th chapter of 2 Kings. After coming down with leprosy, Naaman followed the advice of a Jewish slave girl who served his wife. In 2 Kings 5:23, she told him to see the "prophet in Samaria." The end result is this: Elisha the prophet told Naaman to bathe himself seven times in the Jordan River. Afterward, he was cleansed of the dread disease. 2 Kings 5:15, in the NIV Bible, states: "Then Naaman and all his attendants went back to the man of God. He stood before him and said, 'Now I know that there is no God in all the world except in Israel. So please accept a gift from your servant.'" Elisha, however, refused to accept any gift.

There is no doubt many people were afflicted with leprosy between the incidents involving Miriam and Naaman, but no one is specifically mentioned in Scripture.

Answer: Abraham

Abraham, who was originally married to Sarah, is the correct answer. Later his wife gave him permission to make Hagar his wife as well and she bore Ishmael, as per Genesis 16:3. After the departure of Hagar and Sarah's death, Abraham married Keturah, as per Genesis 25:1.

No doubt there were other men between the time of Lamech and Abraham who had more than one wife, but they are not mentioned in Scripture.

Answer: Ruth

Ruth is the correct answer. She was married to Mahlon, the son of Naomi and Elimelech. After Mahlon died, she married Boaz. The romance between Ruth and Boaz is recorded in the book of Ruth. Incidentally, the women in the three other clues also had more than one husband. Abigail and Bathsheba were both married to David. Previously, Abigail had been married to Nabal (1 Samuel 25:3) and Bathsheba had been married to Uriah (2 Samuel 11:3). According to John 4:18, the Samaritan woman at the well had been married five times and was living with a man when Jesus had a conversation with her.

Answer: Ephraim

Joseph's second son was called Ephraim. Genesis 41:51-53 in the NIV Bible states: "Joseph named his firstborn Manasseh and said, 'It is because God has made me forget all my trouble and all my father's household.' The second son he named Ephraim and said, 'It is because God has made me fruitful in the land of my suffering'." According to verse 45 in the same chapter, Joesph's wife was called Asenath and she was the daughter of Potiphera, priest of On.

Answer: An unnamed man overhead by Gideon

The correct answer is 'an unnamed man overheard by Gideon'. In the seventh chapter of Judges, Gideon received instruction from the LORD to visit the camp of Midian.

Judges 7:13, in the NIV Bible, states: "Gideon arrived just as a man was telling a friend his dream. 'I had a dream,' he was saying. 'A round loaf of barley bread came tumbling into the Midianite camp. It struck the tent with such force that the tent overturned and collapsed.' His friend responded, 'This can be nothing other than the sword of Gideon son of Joash, the Israelite. God has given the Midianites and the whole camp into his hands.' When Gideon heard the dream and its interpretation, he bowed down and worshiped. He returned to the camp of Israel and called out, 'Get up! The LORD has given the Midianite camp into your hands'."

The chapter concludes with Gideon scoring a decisive victory over the Midianites, even though he had only 300 soldiers who were greatly outnumbered.

Answer: Abraham

Abraham is the second person whose burial is described in detail in Scripture. Genesis 25:10 states he was buried with his wife, Sarah.

According to Genesis 23:16, Abraham had purchased the burial land from Ephron for 400 pieces of silver. Verse 17 states the land was in Machpelah near Mamre. Genesis 25:9 states Abraham was buried by his two sons, Isaac and Ishmael.

Answer: Kings

The correct answer is Kings. The Old Testament of the English Bible contains 1 Kings and 2 Kings and in the order the books appear, it's the second one to have two parts to it. Chronicles also has two parts to it. In other words, you will find 1 Chronicles and 2 Chronicles in the Old Testament. (As mentioned in the question, no book in the Hebrew Bible has two parts to it.)

Answer: Thessalonians

The correct answer is Thessalonians. In other words, the New Testament contains 1 Thessalonians and 2 Thessalonians. The two books appear after 1 Corinthians and 2 Corinthians, making them the second book in the New Testament with two parts.

Timothy and Peter also each have a second part. In other words, you will find 1 and 2 Timothy and 1 and 2 Peter in the New Testament. John has three parts.