Women in the Old Testament Trivia Quiz

Answer: David

Bathsheba was married to Uriah. She was very beautiful and when King David saw her he was determined to have her for himself. He sent for her and she went to him and they became lovers. King David arranged for Uriah to be sent to the front line in battle and he was killed. David and Bathsheba had a son whom they named Solomon, who became the king of Israel renowned for his wisdom.
(2 Samuel Chapter 11).

Answer: Holofernes

Judith was a widow who lived in the hilltop town of Bethulia. When her town was threatened by the Assyrians, Judith made herself look her most beautiful and went out into the town where she met the leader of the Assyrians' campaign, Holofernes. He was entranced by her, and Judith took him home where she seduced and then murdered him by cutting off his head. Judith and her maid took the head and fixed it to the outer walls of the city, and when the enemy saw it they ran away. (Judith 13:14).

Answer: A baby

Hannah had been barren for many years. Her husband's other wife bore many children and taunted Hannah with this. Hannah continued to have faith and pray. One day the priest Eli spoke to her and she told him of her sorrow. Eli said "Go in peace, and may the God of Israel grant you what you have asked of him." (1 Samuel 1:17). Soon after she bore a son and, as she had vowed to do so, she gave him back to Eli to train as a priest.

After this Hannah had three more sons and two daughters.

Answer: She won a beauty contest

Esther was a young Jewish woman who lived in Persia during the Babylonian captivity. Both her parents had died and she lived with her cousin Mordecai. One day the king was holding a great banquet and he sent for his wife Vashti to come to the banqueting chamber so that he could show off her beauty.

She refused to come and the king, Xerxes I, was so angry that he divorced her. He then held a beauty pageant so that he could chose his next bride. Esther was the winner, but on the advice of Mordecai did not disclose that she was Jewish.

The king's highest official was a man called Haman who hated the Jews and planned to exterminate them. Esther found out about this and she invited both the king and Haman to a banquet, where she disclosed the fact that she was Jewish and that Haman was planning to kill her and all the others of her race.

The king was very angry and ordered Haman to be hung and that the Jews should be protected. (Esther 5-10)

Answer: Aaron

Miriam watched over her younger brother Moses in his cradle amongst the bulrushes where his mother had hidden him because of the pharaoh's decree that all Hebrew boys should be thrown into the river. Pharaoh's daughter saw Moses and pitied him, and Miriam offered to find a Hebrew woman to raise the child for her.

The princess agreed and Moses' mother was brought and told to care for the child and bring him back when he was older. (Exodus 2:5-10). When Moses grew to be a man he, Miriam and Aaron together led the Hebrews out of Egypt. (Micah 6:4)

Answer: A judge

Deborah was a wise woman and a judge in pre-monarchic times. Originally Moses had appointed judges to help him with settling disputes among the people. Deborah was also a prophetess and she told Barak, the king of the Hebrews, that God commanded him to lead an attack against the forces of Canaan led by Sisera. Barak defeated the Canaanites and united the tribes of Israel for greater strength. (Judges chaps 4 and 5)

Answer: Jezebel

Jezebel, the daughter of Ithobaal I of Sidon, was married to King Ahab and persuaded him to stop worshipping Yahweh and to kill all of the prophets of Yahweh. (1 Kings 16:31) She herself organised the murder of Naboth, who was an honest man who had lands which were coveted by Ahab. She was eventually thrown out of a window by members of her own court, and dogs ate her corpse.

Answer: Ruth

Naomi was a Hebrew woman who had moved to Moab with her husband due to a famine. Both her sons married local girls. When all their husbands were dead, Naomi decided to move back to her native land, and told her daughters-in-law to return to their mothers. Orpah did so, but Ruth begged Naomi not to send her away and accompanied her to her native land.

Here she met Boaz, a relative of Naomi's, and was married to him. It is a very sweet story, all told in the four chapters of the book of Ruth, which is the shortest book in the Bible.

Answer: He was tricked

Isaac, the father of Jacob, sent him to seek a wife amongst his kinsman's family because he wanted a daughter-in-law who was of the same religion as his own family. When Jacob first saw Rachel he immediately fell in love with her, and he worked for Laban her father for seven years to earn the right to marry her.

At the ceremony Laban switched his daughter Leah, who was older and less attractive, and Jacob had to work a further seven years to gain Rachel's hand. (Genesis 29:18).

Answer: God made childbirth very painful

God made Eve as a companion for Adam. They lived in the garden of Eden and were given only one rule that they must NOT eat the fruit from one particular tree. However, Eve was tempted by the devil and ate some of the fruit and gave some to Adam to eat. For this they were thrown out of the garden. According to the Bible, Eve was the very first woman, first wife and first mother in the world.

She bore Cain and Abel, Seth and other sons who have not been named in the Bible. (Genesis 4:1-2, 25; 5:4)