Twelve -- A Common Number in the Bible Quiz

Answer: Reuben was the oldest, Benjamin the youngest

Reuben was Jacob's first born son and Benjamin was his youngest. Scripture states he was the father of twelve sons -- Reuben, Simeon, Levi, Judah, Issachar, Zebulun, Dan, Naphtali, Gad, Asher, Joseph and Benjamin. Scripture also states Jacob had one daughter, Dinah.

Jacob fathered the thirteen children with his two wives and two concubines. According to Scripture, Leah, his first wife, was the mother of Reuben, Simeon, Levi, Judah, Issachar, Zebulun and Dinah. Rachel, his second wife, was the mother of Joseph and Benjamin. Scripture states that Rachel died giving birth to Benjamin.

Zilpah, Leah's handmaiden and a concubine of Jacob, was the mother of Gad and Asher. Bilhah, Rachel's handmaiden and a concubine of Jacob, was the mother of Dan and Naphtali.

Meanwhile, Genesis 48:5 tells of Jacob elevating the descendants of Ephraim and Manasseh to the status of full tribes in their own right, replacing the tribe of Joseph. Ephraim and Manasseh were the sons of Joseph and Asenath.

Answer: True

True. Esau, like to Jacob, was the father of twelve sons. While Jacob's sons were the backbone of Israel, Ishmael's sons were the backbone of the Arab nation. Details about Ishmael's twelve sons can be found in Genesis 17:20 and Genesis 25:12-18.

The names of Ishmael's twelve sons were Nebajoth, Kedar, Adbeel, Mibsam, Mishma, Dumah, Massa, Hadar, Tema, Jetur, Naphish, and Kedemah.

In Genesis 17:20, God is quoted as telling Abraham that Esau "will beget twelve princes and I will make him a great nation."

Answer: Joshua

According to Joshua 4:1-24, God instructed Joshua and the Israelites to take twelve stones from the bed of the Jordan River to be used as a memorial to commemorate their miraculous crossing of the river. According to Scripture, the LORD parted the water of the river, enabling the Israelites to cross over into Canaaan, known as the Promised Land.

Joshua 4:7 quotes Joshua as telling the Israelites what to reply when their children ask about the significance of the twelve stones. The verse states, "Then you shall answer them that the waters of the Jordan were cut off before the ark of the covenant of the LORD; when it crossed over the Jordan, the waters of the Jordan were cut off. And these stones shall be for a memorial to the children of Israel forever."

Answer: Numbers

Details about the offering consisting, in part, of twelve silver platters, twelve silver bowls and twelve gold pans are found in Numbers 7:84. In fact, all of Numbers 7 is devoted to providing lengthy and precise details about the offerings of the Israelite leaders after Moses had finished setting up the tabernacle.

Many of the articles for the tabernacle were made of gold and silver. Using the NKJV, the number twelve is featured no less than nine times in Chapter 7 of Numbers. The number twelve, of course, is in direct reference to the twelve tribes of Israel.

Answer: No name is given

No name is given for the Levite man or his concubine. According to Judges 19, the Levite man and his concubine were in Gibeah in Benjamin when the savage sexual assault took place. Judges 19:25 states the poor woman was abused "all night until morning" by an unspecified number of men. When the Levite man found the body of his concubine in the morning, he cut her into twelve pieces and sent the body parts "throughout all the territory of Israel."

Scripture goes on to tell of the eleven other tribes of Israel being enraged against the Benjamites over the dastardly treatment of the woman and a bloody civil war ensued, with the Benjamites suffering enormous losses. According to Judges 20, tens of thousands of Benjamite soldiers were slaughtered, with only six hundred surviving.

Answer: Solomon

Solomon is the correct answer. According to Scripture, each governor was responsible for providing food for the king and his household for one month each year. The names of the governors were Ben-Hur, Benm-Deker, Ben-Hesed, Ben-Abinadab, Baana, Ben-Geber, Ahinadab, Ahimaaz, Baanah, Jehoshaphat, Shimei and Geber.

See 1 Kings 4:7-19 for more details.

Answer: Judas Iscariot

With Matthew being a former tax collector, one would think this would be a natural job for him. However, according to John 12:6 and 13:29, the treasurer, or the one who had "the money box", for Christ's ministry was none other than Judas Iscariot.

However, he wasn't good at his job. According to John 12:6, Judas "was a thief" and he used to take what was put in the treasury.

Answer: No name is given

No name is given for the woman who had a bleeding problem for twelve years but was instantly healed when she touched Jesus. The account of the woman can be found in Matthew 9:20-22, Mark 5:28-34 and Luke 8:43-48.

No one, it seems, could heal her. The Bible isn't precise, but it's abundantly apparent the woman had seen a number of doctors. Mark 5:26 states she had spent all her money on "many" doctors, but the condition continued to worsen, instead of improving. Things changed, however, when the woman secretly touched Jesus and, as Scripture states, was "immediately" healed.

According to Scripture there were numerous occasions when people were healed by simply touching Jesus. In the NKJV Bible, Mark 6:56 puts it this way: "Wherever He entered, into villages, cities, or the country, they laid the sick in the marketplaces, and begged Him that they might just touch the hem of His garment. And as many as touched Him were made well." There is a similar account in Matthew 14:34-36.

Answer: Matthew

The statement by Jesus that He could call on "more than twelve legions of angels" to prevent His arrest is found in Matthew 26:53. According to Scripture, Jesus made the statement after Judas Iscariot kissed Him, signaling to a large armed group of men the One they should arrest. As they prepared to arrest Jesus, Scripture states Peter took his sword and cut off the ear of Malchus, a member of the party making the arrest. It was at this point that Jesus told Peter to put away his sword, and then made the statement about the vast number of angels He could call on for protection.

According to notes in the NKJV Study Bible, a legion in the Roman army was about 6,000 thousand men. In other words, Jesus was saying He could call upon more than 72,000 angels for protection. It boggles the mind how much power was at Christ's command. 2 Kings 19:35, for example, tells of one angel of the LORD killing 185,000 people in the Assyrian camp in one night. Yet Christ did not call for help, nor did He resist arrest.

Scripture goes on to tell of Him being humiliated, tortured, ruthlessly beaten and crucified, only to rise victorious from the grave three days later.

Answer: New Jerusalem

The correct answer is New Jerusalem. The 21st chapter of Revelation tells of the city and its spectacular wealth and heavenly setting. The city's glorious future is in stark contrast to Babylon, another city featured in Revelation, the final book of the New Testament.

The book was written by John while in exile on the island of Patmos in the Aegean Sea. Tradition holds it was the same John who was one of the Twelve Disciples, but some modern day theologians dispute this belief.

Incidentally, the number twelve appears ten times in Revelation, using the NKJV.