25 Men of the Old Testament -- From 'A' to 'Z' Quiz

Answer: Adam

Adam, of course, was the first man. The creation of mankind is told in Genesis 1:26. According to Genesis 2:7, God formed the first man "from the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living being." The name Adam first appears in Genesis 2:20.

Answer: Benjamin

Benjamin is the correct answer. However, the child was originally called Ben-Oni, according to Scripture. Genesis 35:18 in the NIV Bible states Rachel, "as she breathed her last -- for she was dying -- she named her son Ben-Oni. But his father named him Benjamin." Ben-Oni means 'son of my trouble' while Benjamin means 'son of my right hand'. Benjamin would become a founder of one of the twelve tribes of Israel.

Answer: Cyrus

Cyrus is the correct answer. His name appears a number of times in the Old Testament, but the account of his decision to liberate the Israelites is largely found in the book of Ezra. According to Scripture, Cyrus decided to grant permission to the Israelites to return to Jerusalem after his heart had been moved by the Lord. Cyrus was the head of the Persian empire and after he defeated the Babylonians, one of his first major decisions was to free the Israelites. According to Wikipedia, his empire extended from the Mediterranean sea and the Hellespont in the west to the Indus River in the east.

At that time, it was the largest empire the world had seen, Wikipedia reports.

Answer: David

David, of course, is the correct answer. His slaying of the Philistine giant Goliath is one of the best known stories of the Old Testament. David's triumph over Goliath appears in the 17th chapter of 1 Samuel. Prior to battle, Scripture states David chose five smooth stones for his slingshot, but it appears all he needed was one. 1 Samuel 17:49, in the NIV Bible states: "Reaching into his bag and taking out a stone, he slung it and struck the Philistine on the forehead. The stone sank into his forehead, and he fell face down on the ground."

More details are given in verses 50 and 51: "So David triumphed over the Philistine with a sling and a stone; without a sword in his hand he struck down the Philistine and killed him. David ran and stood over him. He took hold of the Philistine's sword and drew it from the scabbard. After he killed him, he cut off his head with the sword."

Answer: Elisha

Scripture is short on details about this miracle. 2 Kings 13:20-21, in the NIV Bible, states: "Elisha died and was buried. Now Moabite raiders used to enter the country every spring. Once while some Israelites were burying a man, suddenly they saw a band of raiders; so they threw the man's body into Elisha's tomb. When the body touched Elisha's bones, the man came to life and stood up on his feet."

No other details are given.

Answer: Foolish

Nabal, according to 1 Samuel 25:3, was "harsh and evil in his doings", the opposite of Abigail who is described as of "good understanding and beautiful appearance." Verse 25 quotes Abigail as telling David: "For as his name is, so is he: Nabal is his name, and folly is with him!"

Notes in the NKJV Study Bible states Nabal's name literally translates as "fool".

According to Wikipedia, no man in the Old Testament has a name that starts with the letter 'F'. There are three, however, in the New Testament. They are Festus, Felix and Fortunatus.

Answer: Gehazi

Yes, Gehazi is the correct answer. It's 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.

The account of Gehazi being afflicted with leprosy is found in 2 Kings 5:20-27.

Answer: Habakkuk

The correct answer is Habakkuk with his book of prophecy appearing eigth of the 12 minor prophets. According to the Web site Christiananswers.net, Habakkuk means 'embrace'. However, the Web site reports little is known about Habakkuk's personal history.

Here's the order the books appear in the Twelve Prophets, or the Minor Prophets: Hosea, Joel, Amos, Obadiah, Jonah, Micah, Nahum, Habakkuk, Zephaniah, Haggai, Zechariah and Malachi.

(According to Wikipedia, the Septuagint of the Eastern churches has this order: Hosea, Amos, Micah, Joel, Obadiah, Jonah, Micah, Nahum, Habakkuk, Zephaniah, Haggai, Zechariah and Malachi. Wikipedia goes on to state the Septuagint of the Eastern churches also puts the Minor Prophets before, instead of after, the 'Major Prophets'.)

Answer: Isaac

The story of Abraham preparing to sacrifice Isaac is one of the best known stories in the Old Testament. Scripture reports God commanded Abraham to take his son Isaac to a mountain in the region of Moriah and to sacrifice him as a burnt offering. Just as Abraham was preparing to sacrifice Isaac, Scripture reports an angel of the LORD called out and told him to spare his son because it was evident Abraham feared God.

After the angel called out, Abraham spotted a ram in the thicket and used it as his sacrificial offering.

The story is told in the 22nd chapter of Genesis. Many Christians compare this episode to God's sacrifice of His own Son, Jesus, in the New Testament.

Answer: Jedidiah

Jedidiah is the correct answer. 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." According to notes in the NKJV Study Bible, Jedidiah means "Beloved of the Lord."

Answer: Kish

Kish was the father of Saul. Scripture states Kish was a Benjamite and he was the son of Abiel, who was the son of Zeror, who was the son of Bekorath. Bekorath was the son of Aphiah and the grandson of Benjamin. 1 Samuel 9:2, in the NIV Bible, states: "Kish had a son named Saul, as handsome a young man as could be found anywhere in Israel, and he was a head taller than anyone else."

Answer: Laban

Laban is the correct answer. There's no disputing the fact he was shrewd and devious. 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." So, Jacob agreed to work an additional seven years for Rachel's hand.

It's a case of what goes around, comes around. After all, Jacob was a master deceiver as he had duped his elderly father Isaac into giving him his blessing over his twin brother Esau, as per Genesis 27: 1-40. After this incident, Jacob ended up fleeing as Esau plotted to kill him.

Answer: Mordecai

Mordecai figures prominently in the book of Esther. He teamed with Queen Esther to comprise a dynamic duo that saved the day for the Jewish people. In fact, had it not been for this duo, there's a very real possibility Haman would have had his way and arranged the execution of all the Jews in the region ruled over by the man known in the NIV Bible as King Xerxes.

After Haman was thwarted, he ended up being hanged on the gallows he had rigged for the intended execution of Mordecai. The story of Esther, Mordecai and Haman is told in the book of Esther.

Answer: Nathan

The account of Nathan confronting David is found in the 12th chapter of 2 Samuel. He used a parable to make David aware of the seriousness of his sinning when he had an adulterous affair with Bathsheba and than made arrangements for the murder of her husband. Nathan than made the pronouncement that the child who would be born as a result of the adulterous affair would die, and sure enough it came to pass.

Incidentally, it was Nathan who told an elderly and frail David of the plot of Adonijah to become king.

The end result is that Solomon became king, as per 1 Kings 1:8-45.

Answer: Othniel

Othniel was the first judge of Israel. He was the younger brother of Caleb and his father was Kenash. His wife was Achsah. Judges 3:10-11, in the NIV Bible, states: "The Spirit of the LORD came on him, so that he became Israel's judge and went to war.

The LORD gave Cushan-Rishathaim king of Aram into the hands of Othniel, who overpowered him. So the land had peace for forty years, until Othniel son of Kenaz died."

Answer: Potiphar

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.

Answer: True

True. No man in the Old Testament has a name that starts with the letter 'Q'. However, there is one in the New Testament. Quartus was a Corinthian Christian who is mentioned by the apostle Paul in Romans 16:23.

Answer: Rehoboam

Rehoboam replaced Solomon as king. Scripture reports he got off to a bad start when he ignored the advice of his father's advisers and followed the advice of young men he had grown up with, as per 1 Kings 12. And from there things got worse. The ten northern tribes broke away and before long Rehoboam was left ruling over a much smaller domain than his father Solomon and his grandfather David. According to 1 Kings 14:21, Rehoboam was 41 years old when he became king and he reigned for 17 turbulent years.

He was succeeded by his son Abijah.

Answer: Simeon

Simeon, a founder of the 12 tribes of Israel, is the correct answer. Simeon is perhaps best known for going on a killing spree with his brother Levi after their sister Dinah was defiled by Shechem, as per the 34th chapter of Genesis. The 49th chapter of Genesis tells of Jacob blessing his 12 sons.

In Genesis 49:5-7 in the NIV Bible, Jacob has some unkind things to say about Simeon and Levi: "Simeon and Levi are brothers -- their swords are weapons of violence. Let me not enter their council, let me not join their assembly, for they have killed men in their anger and hamstrung oxen as they pleased. Cursed be their anger, so fierce, and their fury, so cruel! I will scatter them in Jacob and disperse them in Israel."

Answer: Tola

Tola is the correct answer. According to Judges 10:1-2, Tola judged Israel for 23 years. Scripture states Tola was the son of Puah and the grandson of Dodo and he lived in Shamir in the hill-country of Ephraim. According to the two passages, Tola "rose to save Israel". After he died he was buried in Shamir, according to Scripture.

Answer: Uriah

Yes, Uriah was the first husband of Bathsheba, David's most famous wife. After David learned Bathsheba was pregnant through an adulterous affair he had with her, he ended up conspiring to have Uriah murdered. The adultery took place while Uriah, a soldier, was in battle.

After plotting and scheming, David eventually ordered Uriah to be placed in the front line where the fighting was fiercest and then had all the men withdraw, as per 2 Samuel 11:15. True to plan, Uriah was killed.

Answer: Vanquished

Sisera was the captain of an opposing army and after his troops were wiped out in a lop-sided battle with the Israelites, he had no choice but to flee. Scripture states he fled on foot to the tent of Jael, the wife of Heber the Kenite. Sisera was vanquished and he quickly accepted Jael's offer of hospitality to take refuge in her tent. However, it would prove to be a deadly mistake.

Judges 4:18-21, tells what happened: "Jael went out to meet Sisera and said to him, 'Come, my lord, come right in. Don't be afraid.' So he entered her tent, and she covered him with a blanket. 'I'm thirsty,' he said. 'Please give me some water.' She opened a skin of milk, gave him a drink, and covered him up. 'Stand in the doorway of the tent,' he told her. 'If someone comes by and asks you, 'Is anyone in there?' say 'No.' But Jael, Heber's wife, picked up a tent peg and a hammer and went quietly to him while he lay fast asleep, exhausted. She drove the peg through his temple into the ground, and he died."

Answer: Wonderstruck

Scripture doesn't provide any details about Balaam's emotions after he beat his helpless donkey. However, he must've been wonderstruck.

According to Numbers 22:21-41, the donkey started speaking to him after he beat it. 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.

Answer: Xerxes

In the NIV Bible, King Ahasuerus is known as Xerxes. According to Esther 1:1, Ahasuerus/Xerxes ruled over 127 provinces stretching from India to Cush. The book of Esther begins with the account of the king dumping Queen Vashti during the third year of his reign.

It would put things in motion for Esther to become queen and play a pivotal role in preventing the extermination of Jews in the immense area ruled by Ahasuerus/Xerxes. Of course, when the king appointed Esther queen, he did not know she was a Jew.

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. He certainly didn't receive any preferential treatment. Jeremiah 39:7 tells of Zedekiah's eyes being put out and being bound with bronze shackles and taken to Babylon.