Treacherous, Terrible Traitors Quiz

Answer: Philistinian

Delilah was from the Valley of Sorek, in Philistine, as per Judges 16:4-5. The story of Samson and Delilah is one of the most colorful ones in the Old Testament. According to Scripture, Samson's long hair was the secret to his super strength and when his locks were cut by Delilah, he lost his power.

Greed was the simple reason Delilah betrayed her lover, with Scripture stating she was offered a large amount of silver to enable the Philistines to capture Samson who was judge of Israel.

Samson, however, would have his final hurrah. With his hair partially grown back, the 16th chapter of Judges states he used his remaining strength to get revenge against the Philistines who had taken him captive. While the Philistine rulers were offering "a great sacrifice" to Dagon their god, it was decided to bring out Samson for "entertainment" purposes. A crucial mistake was made when Samson was placed by the pillars that supported the temple.

Judges 16:30 states: "Samson said, 'Let me die with the Philistines!' Then he pushed with all his might, and down came the temple on the rulers and all the people in it. Thus he killed many more when he died than while he lived."

According to Wikipedia, Delilah means "One who weakened or uprooted or impoverished."

Answer: Rahab

The story of Rahab the prostitute can be found in the second and sixth chapters of Joshua. Because she harbored two spies from the Israelite camp, Rahab and her family were spared when Joshua and his armed men succeeded in making the walls of Jericho fall down, just as the LORD told them in Joshua 6:2-5.

In the eyes of Israelites, Rahab was seen as a heroine. Much the same sentiment is expressed in the New Testament, as Rahab's name appears in Matthew 1:5 as part of the genealogy of Jesus and she is also saluted in Hebrews 11:31 for her "faith". However, in the eyes of the Canaanites, who were betrayed by Rahab, she must've been seen as vilest of the vile.

Answer: Absalom

Absalom, the son of David and Maacah, led a bloody coup attempt against his father. According to Scripture, no less than twenty thousand men died in a battle fought in the forest of Ephraim as part of the revolt.

The civil war came to an end, however, with the gruesome death of Absalom. According to 2 Samuel 18, Absalom had beautiful long hair and his tresses got caught in the branches of a terebinth tree branch while he was riding on a donkey. The donkey kept traveling forward and, when he was left suspended, Joab plunged three javelins into his heart.

Even though Absalom was attempting to overthrow David and kill him in the process, Scripture reports David was deeply shaken by the death.

Answer: Rechab and Baanah

Rechab and Baanah are the two men who were traitors in the death of Ishbosheth. According to 2 Samuel 4:2 they were brothers, the son of Rimmon, and captains of troops for Ishbosheth. The two men, however, couldn't be trusted as far as you could throw them.

It's a bit of a long story, but Ishbosheth was the son of Saul, and after his father died he became king of Israel. However, the people of Judah enthroned David as their king and the Israelites were involved in a bloody civil as a result. The war came to an end with Ishbosheth's death.

2 Samuel 4:4-8 tells of Ishbosheth's gruesome death. According to the passage, Rechab and Baanah "came at about the heat of the day to the house of Ishbosheth, who was lying on his bed." While the king was sleeping, the two culprits stabbed him in the stomach and then beheaded him, taking his head as a trophy to David. The two brothers thought they would be heroes in David's eyes.

However, Scripture goes on to state the assassination angered David, and he reacted by ordering the execution of the killers. The chapter concludes by stating David's "young men" executed the assassins, cut off their hands and feet, and hanged them by the pool in Hebron. Then they took the head of Ishbosheth and buried it in the tomb of Abner in Hebron.

Answer: Zimri

According to 1 Kings 16:15, Zimri reigned for seven turbulent days. In his quest for power, he killed Elah, the reigning king, as well as his entire family and his friends. Scripture doesn't state how many people Zimri killed, but the implication is the number was substantial. 1 Kings 16:11 states that he killed "all the household of Baasha; he did not leave him one male, neither of his relatives nor of his friends." Verse 8 states he killed Elah in Tirzah while he was "drinking himself drunk in the house of Arza".

Zimri was commander of one half of Elah's chariots. His reign as king would be extremely short. 1 Kings 16:16-18 tells of a despondent Zimri setting the king's house on fire and dying in the flames after learning rival forces had him encircled.

Answer: True

True. Hazael was an official in the court of Ben-Hadad and became king by means of murder. According to Scripture, Hazael took a "thick cloth" dipped in water and spread it over the face of Ben-Hadad and smothered the reigning king of Syria who was sick in bed. (See 2 Kings 6:7-15)

The ascension of Hazael to the throne caused Elisha, a prophet of God, to weep because he knew Hazael would be a cruel and ruthless adversary of the Israelites.

Answer: Menahem

According to 2 Kings 15:14, Menahem, the son of Gidi, struck "Shallum the son of Jabesh in Samaria and killed him" reigning in his place. Scripture goes on to tell of Menahem attacking Tiphsah with citizens being brutally oppressed. Scripture states when the people of Tiphsah did not surrender, Menahem, attacked it and "all the women there who were with child he ripped open".

There is no clear consensus in Scripture as to exactly where Tiphsah was.
See 2 Kings 15:13-16 for details.

Answer: Hoshea

For Pekah, it was a case of what goes around comes around. He was the son of Remaliah and a captain for Pekaiah, king of Israel. However, Scripture states he assassinated Pekahniah and became king.

The story doesn't end here, however. After Pekah had done evil in the sight of the LORD, Scripture tells of Hoshea, the son of Elah, leading a conspiracy against the king and killing him. With Pekah out of the way, Hoshea became king.

See 2 Kings 15:23-31 for details.

Answer: Demas

Demas was a worker in the early church, serving alongside Luke, Mark and Aristarchus, as per Colossians 4:14 and Philemon 1:24. However, when Paul was near the end of his fight, with execution looming, he writes in 2 Timothy 4:10 he had been "forsaken" by Demas. According to the verse, Demas loved the worldly ways of non-Christians and apparently found the cost of being a Christian too high. The verse in question states, "Demas has forsaken me, having loved this present world, and has departed for Thessalonica, Crescens for Galatia, Titus for Dalmatia."

According to the website gotquestions.org, "the Greek verb used in the original verse implies that Demas had not merely left Paul but had left him 'in the lurch'; that is, Demas had abandoned Paul in a time of need."

Answer: True

True. When ever there is a list of names of the Twelve Disciples in the Bible, Judas Iscariot is the last one. He, of course, agreed to betray Christ for thirty piece of silver, according to Matthew 26:15. The Gospel of John points out Judas had a number of flaws such as stealing money from the money bag used for Christ's ministry and putting on false fronts. A classic case of Judas putting on a false front is found in John 12. According to the chapter, Judas became upset when he saw Mary, the sister of Martha and Lazarus, anointing Jesus with the perfume, or costly oil. The passage goes on to state that Judas claimed the perfume should have been sold and given to the poor. However, John, the writer of the Gospel, states in Verse 6 that Judas didn't care about the poor and was putting on a false front.

On top of all his flaws, Judas betrayed Christ by leading a major delegation to where Christ was in the Garden of Gethsemane. Judas kissed Him, indicating He was the One who was to be arrested. It was the most infamous kiss in history.

Details of Judas Iscariot agreeing to betray Christ are documented in Matthew 26:14-16, Mark 14:10-11 and Luke 22:3-6. The actual betrayal is reported in Matthew 26:47-56, Mark 14:43-51, Luke 22:47-53 and John 18:1-11.

Matthew 27:5 tells of Judas committing suicide by hanging himself.