Word Association -- Old Testament Characters #12 Quiz

Answer: Mordecai

The correct answer is Mordecai. According to the eighth chapter of Esther, Mordecai was promoted by the king known as Ahasuerus in the NKJV Bible and Xerxes in the NIV. At the same time, Haman was executed on the very gallows he had constructed to hang Mordecai.

Esther 8:15-16 in the NKJV states: "So Mordecai went out from the presence of the king in royal apparel of blue and white, with a great crown of gold and a garment of fine linen and purple."

Esther 10:3 goes on to explain Mordecai became the second most powerful man in the land ruled by Ahasuerus/Xerxes.

Haman, of course, had a diabolical plan to exterminate all the Jews in Persia. He was thwarted, however, by Esther and her cousin Mordecai.

Answer: Eliezer

Eliezer came from Damascus, as per Genesis 15:2. Many theologians believe Eliezer was the unnamed senior servant who found a wife for Isaac. In Genesis 24, the unnamed servant is requested by Abraham to go to the land of his relatives to get a wife for his son. Genesis 24:12-14 tells of the servant praying in this matter. The passage, in the NKJV Bible, states: "Then he said, 'O LORD God of my master Abraham, please give me success this day, and show kindness to my master Abraham. Behold, here I stand by the well of water, and the daughters of the men of the city are coming out to draw water. Now let it be that the young woman to whom I say, 'Please let down your pitcher that I may drink,' and she says, 'Drink, and I will also give your camels a drink' -- let her be the one You have appointed for Your servant Isaac. And by this I will know that You have shown kindness to my master."

Verse 15 goes on to state that before he had finished praying, Rebekah came out with her jar on her shoulder. The rest, as they say, is history.

Answer: Sodom

Sodom, of course, is the correct answer. It was a city on the plain of Sidon which was destroyed by brimstone and fire, as per Genesis 19:24. Whenever the place name Sodom appears in Scripture, it is always mentioned before Gomorrah, which was destroyed by brimstone and fire at the same time.

The destruction of the two cities is also mentioned in the New Testament -- 2 Peter 2:6 and Jude 1:4-7.

Answer: Aaron

Aaron, of course, is the correct answer. Although Exodus 14 tells of the parting of the Red Sea allowing the Israelites to escape, followed by the subsequent drowning of the Egyptian army, nowhere does it identify the body of water in the KJV, the NKJV or the NIV. Only in Exodus 15:4, words from the song of celebration by Moses and Miriam, does it identify the body of water as the Red Sea.

The exodus of the Israelites out of Egypt was led by Moses who was assisted by his brother Aaron and sister Miriam.

Answer: Hagar

The sixteenth chapter of Genesis tells of Hagar fleeing after her mistress Sarai dealt harshly with her. Scripture also tells of an Angel of the LORD finding Hagar by a "spring of water in the wilderness," as per verse seven of the NKJV. (In the NIV, it states she was found near "a spring in the desert.")

Genesis 16:9-10, in the NKJV, states: "The Angel of the Lord said to her, 'Return to your mistress, and submit yourself under her hand.' Then the Angel of the Lord said to her, 'I will multiply your descendants exceedingly, so that they shall not be counted for multitude.'"

The chapter goes on to tell of Hagar returning to Sarai and her husband Abram. (They would later be names Sarah and Abraham.) Genesis 16:15 states Hagar bore Abram a son who was called Ishmael.

Answer: Achan

Perhaps the most famous thief in the Hebrew Bible, or the Old Testament of the English Bible, is Achan, who stole a number of valuable items in Canaan while the Israelites were preparing to drive out the inhabitants of Ai and assume possession of the Promised Land.

According to the seventh chapter of Joshua, after Achan stole a large amount of booty in the capture of Jericho, the LORD turned against the Israelites and they were defeated in battle at Ai. It's one of those long stories, but the Israelites invaded Jericho and were attempting to conquer Ai as it had been allocated to them as 'The Promised Land.'

Joshua 7:21, in the NIV, tells of Achan making his confession of guilt to Joshua: "When I saw in the plunder a beautiful robe from Babylonia, two hundred shekels of silver and a bar of gold weighing fifty shekels, I coveted them and took them. They are hidden in the ground inside my tent, with the silver underneath."

After Achan made his confession, his fate was sealed.

Joshua 7:22-26, in the NKJV, states: "So Joshua sent messengers, and they ran to the tent; and there it was, hidden in his tent, with the silver under it. And they took them from the midst of the tent, brought them to Joshua and to all the children of Israel, and laid them out before the LORD. Then Joshua, and all Israel with him, took Achan the son of Zerah, the silver, the garment, the wedge of gold, his sons, his daughters, his oxen, his donkeys, his sheep, his tent, and all that he had, and they brought them to the Valley of Achor. And Joshua said, 'Why have you troubled us? The LORD will trouble you this day.' So all Israel stoned him with stones; and they burned them with fire after they had stoned them with stones. Then they raised over him a great heap of stones, still there to this day. So the LORD turned from the fierceness of His anger. Therefore the name of that place has been called the Valley of Achor to this day."

The Web site Christiananswers.net reports Achan means "one who troubles."

Answer: Job

According to Job 1:18-19, a "great wind came from across the wilderness" and destroyed a house in which Job's children were eating and drinking. Scripture states all the children were killed.

According to verses 18-19, his children were eating and drinking at their oldest brother's house when "suddenly a great wind came from across the wilderness and struck the four corners of the house, and it fell on the young people" killing all of them. No names are given for the children.

In addition to losing his children and a number of servants, Scripture states Job lost his immense wealth which was the result of ownership in large herds of livestock.

The book ends with Job's fortunes changing dramatically for the better. Job 42:12-13, in the NKJV, states: "Now the Lord blessed the latter days of Job more than his beginning; for he had fourteen thousand sheep, six thousand camels, one thousand yoke of oxen, and one thousand female donkeys. He also had seven sons and three daughters."

Answer: Bethel

Bethel is mentioned a number of times in the Old Testament. The first reference is Genesis 12:8 telling of Abram building an altar to call upon the name of the LORD. It was here Jacob had a vision of angels of God ascending and descending on a ladder from heaven, as per Genesis 28:10-19. According to Scripture, he was on his way from Beersheba to Haran. Bethel was west of Ai.

Answer: Zedekiah

Zedekiah was the last king of Judah. According to 2 Kings 24:19-20 and Jeremiah 52:2-3, Zedekiah did "evil in the sight of the LORD". He was a son of Josiah, and his mother's name was Hamutal. The 39th chapter of Jeremiah tells of Zedekiah's capture by the Babylonian army. Jeremiah 39:7 tells of Zedekiah's eyes being put out and his being bound with bronze shackles and taken to Babylon.

Answer: Gehazi

According to 2 Kings 5:20-27, Gehazi, the servant of the prophet Elisha, was struck by leprosy after he fraudulently obtained money and clothes from Naaman.

It's bit of a long story, but after Naaman was cured of leprosy he offered Elisha a reward which the prophet declined. Scripture reports Gehazi caught up with Naaman after his departure and asked to receive a talent of silver and two sets of clothing. Naaman promptly responded to Gehazi's request, giving him two talents of silver and two sets of clothing. Later, Gehazi would deny his actions to Elisha and after he left the prophet's presence, Scripture reports he was leprous, as white as snow.

Miriam was also afflicted with leporsy, as per Numbers 2:5. However, according to Scripture, she was afflicted with leprosy because of her grumbling about the Ethiopian wife of her brother Moses. (In the NIV she is described as a Cushite wife.) With the question based on who is associated with 'lying and leprosy', Gehazi has to be the correct answer.

After Moses pleaded to God to cure Miriam of her leprosy, she was healed and reinstated into the Israelite camp after a seven-day absence.

Incidentally, this is the first mention in Scripture of someone being afflicted with leprosy.