Word Association -- Old Testament Characters Quiz

Answer: Laban

There's no disputing the fact Laban was shrewd and devious. In the Book of Genesis, Laban got fourteen years of labor out of Jacob, largely by tricking him. Jacob agreed to work for seven years for Laban if he could marry his younger daughter Rachel. However, at the end of seven years, Laban gave Jacob his older daughter Leah in marriage, saying "it is not our custom here to give the younger daughter in marriage before the older one" (Genesis 29:26). So, Jacob agreed to work an additional seven years for Rachel's hand.

Answer: Esther

According to Esther 2:7, Esther was blessed with a lovely figure and was beautiful. The passage in the NIV Bible states: "Mordecai had a cousin named Hadassah, whom he had brought up because she had neither father nor mother. This young woman, who was also known as Esther, had a lovely figure and was beautiful. Mordecai had taken her as his own daughter when her father and mother died."

Esther, of course, would go on to play a key role in preventing the extermination of the Jews in the vast area ruled by the king known as Xerxes in the NIV Bible. The annual Jewish festival of Purim recalls the deliverance.

No details are contained in Scripture about the appearances of Peninnah and Orpah.

However, there is a suggestion in Scripture that Leah was not attractive. At least she didn't seem to measure up against her sister Rachel. Genesis 29:17 in the NIV Bible states, "Leah had weak eyes, but Rachel had a lovely figure and was beautiful." The suggestion, of course, is that Leah did not have a lovely figure and was unattractive.

Answer: Elijah

Elijah is the correct answer. According to 1 Kings 18, Elijah and the prophets of Baal had a showdown to see who could call upon a higher power to ignite a sacrificial offering on Mount Carmel. The 450 prophets called on Baal and Elijah called on the LORD with Elijah being the clear winner, according to Scripture.

Elijah is well known for many things, but perhaps the best known story involving him is his duel with the prophets of Baal on Mount Carmel.

Answer: Solomon

According to Scripture, Solomon was to be known as Jedidiah but the name never stuck. 2 Samuel 12:24-25, in the NKJV Bible, states: "Then David comforted Bathsheba his wife, and went in to her and lay with her. So she bore a son, and he called his name Solomon. Now the LORD loved him, and He sent word by the hand of Nathan the prophet: So he called his name Jedidiah, because of the LORD."

Notes in the NKJV Study Bible state Jedidiah means "Beloved of the Lord."

Answer: Joseph

Joseph, of course, was sold into slavery by his eleven brothers, as reported in the 37th chapter of Genesis. According to Genesis 37:36, Joseph was sold as a slave to Potiphar, one of the Pharaoh's officials and captain of the guard. Genesis 39:4 reports Potiphar liked Joseph and put him in charge of his household, entrusting "his care to everything he owned." Things would change dramatically, however, when Potiphar's wife falsely accused Joseph of attempted rape and he was tossed into prison. Joseph, however, would rise to become the second most powerful man in Egypt, surpassed by only the Pharaoh.

Answer: Abishag

Abishag, for all intents and purposes, served as a nurse. In 1 Kings 1:3, she is described as "young" and "beautiful" and was found after an extensive search was conducted for a woman to care for King David who was elderly and frail at the time. According to 1 Kings 1:1, David was "very old" and he "could not keep warm even when they put covers over him."

1 Kings 1:2, in the NIV, states: "So his attendants said to him, 'Let us look for a young virgin to serve the king and take care of him. She can lie beside him so that our lord the king may keep warm.'"

According to 1 King 1:4, Abishag "took care of the king and waited on him, but the king had no sexual relations with her."

Answer: Eve

As documented in Genesis 2:16, Adam and Eve were told they were free to eat from any tree in the Garden of Eden -- with the exception of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. In the third chapter of Genesis, the serpent convinced Eve to eat from the tree and Adam did likewise. The rest, as they say, is history.

Answer: Lamech

The account of Lamech confessing he murdered a man appears in the fourth chapter of Genesis, the same chapter in which the report about Cain killing Abel appears. In Geneses 4:23, Lamech tells his wives Adah and Zillah he killed a young man for injuring him.

The name of the victim is not disclosed and there are no other details. However, he states in the verse "if Cain is avenged seven times, then Lamech seventy-seven times."

Answer: Saul

Saul was the first king of Israel and although his reign started smoothly, it ended in chaos with much time devoted to trying to kill David. This, even though David basically wanted to live in peace with Saul! According to the 31st chapter of 1 Samuel, Saul was critically injured in battle with the Philistines and pleaded with his armor bearer to kill him with a sword. 1 Samuel 31:4, in the NIV Bible, states: "But his armor-bearer was terrified and would not do it; so Saul took his own sword and fell on it." Just prior to this incident, Saul's three sons -- Jonathan, Abinadab and Malki-Shua -- were killed in battle.

Answer: Balaam

According to Numbers 22:21-4, Balaam's donkey spoke to him after he beat the helpless animal. Scripture states that after the donkey spoke, Balaam saw an angel of the Lord standing in the road with his sword drawn. Apparently the reason Balaam beat the donkey was the fact it saw the angel and refused to proceed. Balaam, at the time, did not see the angel and took his anger out on the helpless donkey.