Two-Letter Names & Places in the Bible Quiz

Answer: Ai

Ai is the correct answer. It was a city in the land of Canaan and it was here Joshua and the Israelites tasted defeat (Joshua 7:4-5) and spectacular victory (Joshua 8:26). Incidentally, the first mention of Ai in Scripture is Genesis 12:8. The passage states Abram, who would later become known as Abraham, pitched his tent between Bethel and Ai and there he built an altar to the LORD.

Answer: Er

The correct answer is Er, who was the first-born son of Judah and the husband of Tamar. According to Scripture, Er was struck down by the LORD because of his evil ways. Genesis 38:7, in the NKJV, states: "But Er, Judah's firstborn, was wicked in the sight of the LORD, and the LORD killed him." There are two other men named Er in the Bible. One is mentioned in 1 Chronicles 4:21 and the other is mentioned in Luke 3:28, the genealogy of Jesus.

Answer: Uz

Uz is the correct answer. Three different men shared the name in Scripture.
One was the son of Aram and the grandson of Shem, according to Genesis 10:23 and 1 Chronicles 1:17). The second man was the son of Dishon, as per Genesis 36:28. The third man was the oldest son of Nahor, Abraham's brother, as per Genesis 22:21. According to the Web site Christiananswers.net, the land of Uz may have been named after the man who was the son of Aram and grandson of Shem after he settled there.

Answer: Ar

The city mentioned in Isaiah 15:1 is Ar. Other Moabite communities are also doomed as per the 15th chapter. Isaiah 15:1-2, in the NIV Bible states: "A prophecy against Moab: Ar in Moab is ruined, destroyed in a night! Kir in Moab is ruined, destroyed in a night! Dibon goes up to its temple, to its high places to weep; Moab wails over Nebo and Medeba. Every head is shaved and every beard cut off."

According to the Web site Christiananswers.net, Ar was the capital city of ancient Moab. However, the exact location is still uncertain.

In addition to Isaiah 15:1, Ar is mentioned by name in Numbers 21:15, Numbers 21:28, Deuteronomy 2:9, Deuteronomy 2:18 and Deuteronomy 2:29.

Answer: No

Yes, no is the correct answer. No, it's not Be, Is or By. Jeremiah 46:25-26, in the KJV, states: "The LORD of hosts, the God of Israel, saith; Behold, I will punish the multitude of No, and Pharaoh, and Egypt, with their gods, and their kings; even Pharaoh, and all them that trust in him: And I will deliver them into the hand of those that seek their lives, and into the hand of Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon, and into the hand of his servants: and afterward it shall be inhabited, as in the days of old, saith the LORD."

According to the Web site Christiananswers.net, No was the name of Thebes, the ancient capital of what is called the Middle Empire, in Upper or Southern Egypt. The same Web site states No means the home of Amon.

"The multitude of No (Jeremiah 46:25) is more correctly rendered, as in the Revised Version, 'Amon of No'" Christiananswers.net reports.

Answer: Og

Og is the correct answer. Deuteronomy 3:3 in the NIV Bible states the Israelites scored a decisive victory over Og's army: "So the LORD our God also gave into our hands Og king of Bashan and all his army. We struck them down, leaving no survivors."

Then there's the fascinating information in Deuteronomy 3:11 in the NIV Bible about Og's massive bed. The passage states: "Only Og king of Bashan was left of the remnant of the Rephaites. His bed was made of iron and was more than thirteen feet long and six feet wide. It is still in Rabbah of the Ammonites."

Fittingly, the Web site Christiananswers.net states Og means 'gigantic'.

The Israelite victory over Og is also mentioned in Psalm 135:11 and 136:20.

Answer: Ur

Haran, the brother of Abraham and father of Lot was from Ur. According to Genesis 11:27, in the NIV Bible, Haran "died before his father Terah in the land of his nativity, in Ur of the Chaldees."

According to the Web site Christiananswers.net, Ur means 'light' or 'moon city'.

The Web site also reports Ur was "the largest city of Shinar or northern Chaldea, and the principal commercial center of the country as well as the center of political power."

Answer: So

So was the king of Ethiopia who is mentioned in 2 Kings 17:4. According to Scripture, he paid money to Hoshea to help him against the Assyrian monarch Shalmaneser.

2 Kings 17:1-4, in the NKJV, gives this account: "In the twelfth year of Ahaz king of Judah, Hoshea the son of Elah became king of Israel in Samaria, and he reigned nine years. And he did evil in the sight of the LORD, but not as the kings of Israel who were before him. Shalmaneser king of Assyria came up against him; and Hoshea became his vassal, and paid him tribute money. And the king of Assyria uncovered a conspiracy by Hoshea; for he had sent messengers to So, king of Egypt, and brought no tribute to the king of Assyria, as he had done year by year. Therefore the king of Assyria shut him up, and bound him in prison."

Notes in the NKJV Study Bible state: "Several elements of intrigue and international affairs may have entered into the picture here. Transitions in power were often occasions for rebellion or attempted overthrow. Further, a new strongman had appeared in Egypt -- Tefnekht, a pharaoh of the twenty-fourth dynasty. The time may have been right to enter into an anti-Assyrian coalition."

Answer: Ox

The animal is the ox, of course. The 13th and 14th chapters of Luke tell of the Pharisees assailing Jesus for healing on the Sabbath.

Luke 13:14-17, in the NKJV, states: "But the ruler of the synagogue answered with indignation, because Jesus had healed on the Sabbath; and he said to the crowd, 'There are six days on which men ought to work; therefore come and be healed on them, and not on the Sabbath day.' The Lord then answered him and said, 'Hypocrite! Does not each one of you on the Sabbath loose his ox or donkey from the stall, and lead it away to water it? So ought not this woman, being a daughter of Abraham, whom Satan has bound -- think of it -- for eighteen years, be loosed from this bond on the Sabbath?' And when He said these things, all His adversaries were put to shame; and all the multitude rejoiced for all the glorious things that were done by Him."

And in Luke 14:1-6, in the NKJV, Jesus also rebuked the Pharisees by using an ox as an example. Here's how the passage reads: "Now it happened, as He went into the house of one of the rulers of the Pharisees to eat bread on the Sabbath, that they watched Him closely. And behold, there was a certain man before Him who had dropsy. And Jesus, answering, spoke to the lawyers and Pharisees, saying, 'Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath?' But they kept silent. And He took him and healed him, and let him go. Then He answered them, saying, 'Which of you, having a donkey or an ox that has fallen into a pit, will not immediately pull him out on the Sabbath day?' And they could not answer Him regarding these things."

Answer: Go

Go is the correct answer with the two-letter word appearing in the KJV, the NKJV and the NIV. It's understandable Ananias was reluctant to go to meet Saul. After all, it would be akin today for someone being requested to meet privately with a mass murderer. Saul, who later became known as Paul, was a vehement opponent of the early church and did everything in his power to persecute Christians, according to Scripture. Acts 8:1, for example, states he oversaw the execution of Stephen, the first martyr in the early church.

After Ananias met with Saul, the former opponent of Christianity became almost unstoppable in his quest to preach the news of a resurrected Jesus Christ.