Genesis, Part II: Chapters 26-50 Quiz

Answer: Abimelech

The big difference between Isaac's lie and Abraham's lie is that this time, Abimelech did not take Rebekah into his harem, as he did with Sarah. Instead, he caught the two making out, thought it was kind of disgusting, and figured it out.

Answer: Rebekah

Rebekah concocted the ruse because, while Isaac favored Esau, she favored Jacob. So she had Jacob bring her some goats and made a stew of that, then put their skins on Jacob because Esau was hairy. Isaac was fooled and blessed Jacob. When Esau returned, he found out what had happened and swore to kill Jacob after Isaac died.

Answer: "Cursed be everyone who curses you, and blessed be everyone who blesses you."

"Cursed" comes from Isaac's blessing of Jacob, back in 27:29. God promised Jacob land in 28:13, to make his offspring like the dust in 28:14, and to keep him in 28:15. Jacob woke and named the place Bethel and built an altar.

Answer: Leah

Laban tricked Jacob into marrying Leah. Jacob offered to serve Laban for seven years in exchange for the hand of Rachel. On the wedding night, Jacob somehow didn't notice that Laban had switched Leah for Rachel and accidentally married her. Laban explained that in his country, the oldest daughter was always married first, so Jacob had to serve Laban for another seven years in order to get Rachel.

Answer: Zilpah

Zilpah was Leah's maidservant and was given to him when Leah had stopped bearing children. She was also the mother of Asher. Leah had most of Jacob's children - Reuben, Simeon, Levi, Judah (all in Chapter 29), Issachar, Zebulun, and the one daughter mentioned, Dinah.

After the birth of Judah (the fourth son), Rachel's maidservant Bilhah bore Jacob Dan and Nephtali. Zilpah's children came seventh (Gad) and eighth (Asher). After the births of Issachar, Zebulun, and Dinah, Rachel finally had a son, named Joseph.

Her final son, Benjamin, isn't born until Chapter 35. This list can also be found in 35:22b-26.

Answer: Laban

After exploiting his father-in-law's wealth to make his own fortune, Jacob felt he needed to escape Laban's wrath. When Laban caught up to Jacob, the two made a covenant that they would keep a peace by staying away from each other.

Answer: God

Despite injuring his hip in such a way that he limped for the rest of his life, Jacob did not lose. Instead, he refused to let the man go until he was blessed. In 32:28, the man said, "Your name will no longer be Jacob, but Israel, because you have struggled with God and with men and have overcome".

In 32:30, Jacob called the place Peniel, saying, "For I have seen God face to face, and yet my life is preserved". This is how Jacob identified the man he wrestled as God.

Answer: 400

Fortunately, Esau was very happy to see his brother and the two embraced. They did separate again, with Esau going to the city of Seir, and Jacob going on the city of Shechem.

Answer: That every male in Hamor's house be circumcised

Hamor and Shechem readily agreed that everyone be circumcised. Three days after the operation, while everyone was still in pain, Dinah's brothers, Simeon and Levi, took their swords and killed every male in the city. This kind of sounds like the biblical version of the Trojan horse, doesn't it?

Answer: Rachel died in labor

Rachel died giving birth to the child she named Benoni with her last breath. Israel called him Benjamin, and that brought his son total up to twelve. They did reach Isaac who died at the ripe old age of 180, and he was buried by Jacob and Esau.

Answer: Oholibamah

Oholbamah bore Esau his sons Jeush, Jalam, and Korah (36:14). Adah was Eliphaz's mother, and Basemath's son was Reuel.

Answer: Reuben

The brothers were planning to kill Joseph, throw his body in a pit, and tell Jacob that wild animals killed him. Reuben convinces the rest just to throw him in a pit, in order that he might come back later and rescue him. However, while Reuben is away, the others sell Joseph into slavery. When Reuben returns, they determine to tell Jacob he was killed by wild animals anyway.

Answer: "Bring her out, and let her be burned."

Tamar proved that Judah was the father by showing the signet, cord, and staff Judah had given her as a deposit for the affair. She gave birth to twins, Perez and Zerah. Perez went on to father the line that includes David, Solomon, and Jesus.

Answer: His robe

Potiphar's wife had grabbed his robe and tried to force herself on him, but he ran away without his robe, and the wife turned the story around to make it seem that Joseph had tried to rape her. Joseph was thrown in jail.

Answer: Baker

The cupbearer dreamed of a vine with three branches that produced grapes the cupbearer used for Pharaoh's wine. Joseph correctly interpreted this to mean that the cupbearer would be restored to office in three days. The baker's dream had birds eating cakes out of three baskets. Joseph correctly interpreted this to mean the baker would be hanged and the birds would eat his flesh.

Answer: Signs of plenty and of famine

The seven fat cows and good ears of grain represented seven years of plenty, in which Egypt needed to store up all they could to prepare for the seven years of famine to follow, represented by the seven thin cows and the withered and blighted ears of grain. Pharaoh was so impressed that he promoted Joseph to the office of taking care of the preparations.

Answer: Spies

Back in Chapter 37, Joseph dreamed that his brothers would bow down to him. Here, they did, and Joseph remembered. He accused them of being spies in order to detain them and to eventually see the rest of his family. He kept Simeon while the others went back to Canaan to fetch Benjamin.

Answer: Seven fatted cows

The brothers had also found the money they had paid for the food they purchased on their last trip to Egypt in the food sacks. They tried to return this money, but Joseph insisted that God had provided it, and it was theirs.

Answer: A silver cup

Since Benjamin was found with the cup, Joseph determined that he should become a slave. Judah offered a passionate plea for his brother's freedom, since their father Israel had lost Joseph already, and couldn't lose another son, the only other child of his wife Rachel.

Answer: 2

Instead of being angry, Joseph forgave his brothers, saying that God preserved his life and put him through these trials in order to spare the earth from the famine, now two years old (45:6). Had his brothers not sold him into slavery, he wouldn't have been able to initate the program of storing food. He sends them home to fetch his father.

Answer: 66

This is in 46:26. In verse 27, you see that there are 70 people of the house of Jacob in Egypt, but that includes Jacob, Joseph, and Joseph's two Egyptian-born sons, who were already in Egypt and thus are not included in the above tally.

Answer: 130

In 47:9, after Pharaoh asked how old Jacob was, he replied that he was 130. The famine got worse soon after this, and Joseph was responsible for pulling Egypt through it.

Answer: Ephraim, the youngest son of Joseph

Traditionally, the blessing was supposed to go through the right hand to the firstborn, which would have been Manasseh. But Israel crossed his hands, and placed his right hand on Ephraim. This could be reminiscent of his relationship with his older brother, Esau. God tends to turn things around-about.

Answer: Judah

To Joseph, he said, "The blessings of your father are stronger than the blessings of the eternal mountains, the bounties of the everlasting hills; may they be on the head of Joseph, on the brow of him who was set apart from his brothers." (49:26) To Gad, he said, "Gad shall be raided by raiders, but he shall raid at their heels." (49:19) To Dan, he said, "Dan shall judge his people as one of the tribes of Israel. Dan shall be a snake by the roadside, a viper along the path, that bites the horse's heels so that its rider falls backward." (49:16-17) Judah, as mentioned in Chapter 38, is an ancestor of Jesus.

Answer: False

He was 110. In the end, he forgave his brothers, and was remembered by the people of Israel. But it wasn't long before a new Pharaoh arose in Egypt who didn't know Joseph, and a new era of hardship was upon them. Find out what happened in the second book of Moses, Exodus!