Old Testament in Photos Trivia Quiz

The story of the fall of Jericho appears in Joshua, Chapter 6. The Israelites, led by Joshua, follow God's instructions to march around the city while carrying the Ark of the Covenant and blowing on their horns (shofars). On the seventh day, the walls collapse and the Israelites are able to take possession of the city.

They are described as killing many of the inhabitants and destroying property, apart from items of value such as gold and other metals. The story includes the sparing of Rahab, who gave aid and shelter to the spies sent to Jericho.

Your pictorial clue is a horn, although not a traditional shofar which is made from the horns of a ram.

Solomon was renowned for his wisdom and this story from I Kings, Chapter 3, shows him exercising his judgement. Two women, who had given birth at much the same time, come before him claiming to be the mother of a baby - the other baby had died accidentally. With no way of proving which woman is telling the truth, Solomon calls for a sword to divide the baby in half, so each could have a part of him. The real mother cannot bear the idea of the baby dying, and renounces her claim while the other agrees to the king's suggestion. From this, Solomon is able to decide the rightful mother as the one willing to sacrifice her claim and return her baby to her.

I hope you knew the story of Solomon's judgement, a popular topic for artists, well enough to pick the baby as the photo to go with this story.

The expulsion from the Garden of Eden comes about when Adam and Eve discover their nakedness and cover themselves with fig leaves. As described in Genesis, Chapter 3, this reveals to God that they have eaten the fruit from the tree they were expressly forbidden to touch. This leads to their expulsion from their Paradise.

The pictorial clue is of a fig leaf, the use of which to cover up misdemeanours is still used, albeit metaphorically, in modern times.

The story of the prophet Elijah's final day on Earth appears in 2 Kings, Chapter 2. Elijah is walking with his successor, Elisha, when he is taken to heaven by a whirlwind, thus not experiencing physical death. Elijah is an important prophet in the Old Testament, standing firm against King Ahab and Queen Jezebel and their worship of Baal, battling the prophets of Baal and being the upholder of the moral laws of God. He is the second man in the Bible described as being taken directly to heaven, with Enoch being the first, in Genesis.

The photo shows a dramatic storm, the closest to a whirlwind that I could find.

Chapter 2 of Exodus tells the story of how Moses was abandoned as a baby in the bulrushes of the River Nile to save him from being killed by order of the Pharaoh. Fortunately for Moses, he was discovered by the daughter of the Pharaoh, who decided to save his life. Miriam, the sister of Moses, who had been watching over the baby, was able to arrange for him to be nursed by his own mother before being returned to the Pharaoh's daughter when he had grown. Moses became the prophet who led the Israelis from captivity in Egypt.

The photo of bulrushes was your clue for this Biblical story.

The story of Jacob's first meeting with Rachel appears in Genesis, Chapter 29. Jacob has just tricked Esau out of his inheritance and has fled to avoid the risk of retribution. He meets a group of shepherds near a well and discovers that his mother's (Rebekah) brother Laban sends his daughter Rachel to the well to water their sheep. Jacob is immediately smitten by Rachel.

The story continues with Jacob agreeing to work for Laban for seven years to earn the right to marry Rachel before being tricked into marrying her older sister, Leah, instead. Jacob eventually marries Rachel too, and fathers Joseph and Benjamin with her to add to his numerous other children.

The photo of a well, which the Bible describes as covered by a stone, seems likely to be similar to that described.

Samson's story is told in the Book of Judges, Chapter 16. As a Nazarite, Samson was not allowed to cut or shave his hair and, through God, this was the source of his strength. When he falls in love with Delilah, she eventually manages to persuade him to reveal this detail, and arranges for him to be shorn while he is sleeping. Samson's captors, the Philistines, blind and enslave him, but overlook the fact that his hair is growing again. They bring him to a feast in a temple, where he reveals that he has regained his strength by destroying the pillars supporting the temple, killing himself and many of the Philistines with him.

The photo clue of hairdressing equipment should have brought this story to mind.

Joseph, one of the sons of Jacob, has his story told in Genesis. Having been sold into slavery by his brothers, Joseph gains favour with the Pharaoh by being able to interpret dreams - the skill which had caused problems with his brothers, along with being Jacob's favoured son. Pharaoh has two dreams, featuring seven fats cows being eaten by seven skinny cows and seven sheaves of corn being devoured by seven diseased ears of corn. Joseph is summoned as the only man able to interpret the dreams (seven years of plenty followed by seven years of famine) and is promoted to a high position as a result. This part of the story appears in Genesis Chapter 41, with later chapters telling how Joseph is eventually reunited with his family.

I could only find five cows coming out of water, which could be the River Nile, but it should have been enough to remind you of the story.

Another Biblical tale from Genesis, the story of Noah, the flood and the ark appears early on, in Chapters 6-9. Mankind has failed to live up to the expectations of God, who has decided to return the Earth to water before starting again. Noah and his family are the only righteous people He wishes to save and Noah is tasked with collecting the animals and birds so they are saved to repopulate the world. When the waters start to subside, Noah sends out a raven but it can find nowhere to perch. The second bird, a dove, fails too the first time but, seven days later, returns with an olive branch in its beak. The final time, it does not return at all, convincing Noah that the flood has finally cleared.

The photo shows a dove with an olive branch to point you in the right direction.

The Book of Daniel, Chapter 5, contains the story of Belshazzar and the 'writing on the wall' which disturbed his great feast. Belshazzar was the king of the Neo-Babylonian Empire and was possibly a descendant of Nebuchadnezzar II. During a feast the king is holding, a mysterious series of words appears of the wall saying 'Mene, Mene, Tekel, Upharsin'. When his own wise men are unable to interpret them, Belshazzar sends for Daniel, who tells him that words are a warning from God that his days are numbered and his kingdom with be given to others. Tekel is interpreted as 'weighed and found wanting', another expression still used in the twenty-first century to describe someone who has fallen short of expectations.

The picture just shows a wall with some writing to point you to this answer.