The Stories and the Books Trivia Quiz

Answer: Exodus

The Book of Shemot, or Exodus, is the second book of the Pentateuch, or Torah. In it you can find the story of Moses and how he freed the Jews from slavery under the yoke of Pharaoh. Moses also receives the Ten Commandments as well as the tabernacle. Rules governing the priesthood are also laid out.

Answer: I Samuel

In I Samuel you have the story of Samuel and how he became the High Priest, and how (due to immense public pressure) he found the first King of Israel, Saul. When Saul turned out to be a little less enthusiastic or balanced than was expected of him, a successor not of his lineage was found.

The eighth son of Jesse, a good-looking redhead with a charismatic twinkle in his eye and a penchant for killing both bears and lions is chosen and anointed.

Answer: Ezekiel

Ezekiel was an exile in Babylon when God appeared to him in a vision as a valiant charioteer. Ezekiel received very powerful visions, for example: The destruction of Gog and Magog, an Armageddon that established a long peace for Israel; the vision of the resurrection of the dead from their dry bones; a vision of a Third Temple that would reunite all of the Jews.

Answer: I Kings

The first book of Kings (originally, the two were one book) chronicles the history of the Jewish kingdom from the death of King David. Solomon, his son, cannot stop the kingdom from being torn in two, and the dynasty of King David rules over the South Kingdom whereas several corrupt dynasties take over in the north.

The book concludes with the North Kingdom being dispersed by the Assyrians and the South Kingdom being exiled to Babylon and then eventually being granted leave to return to the land of Israel.

Answer: Job

Job is a good man who falls on the wrong side of a wager between Satan and God, that Job only is a righteous man because he has God's blessing. God gives Satan permission to take it all away, which he does. Nevertheless, Job remains true to God. In his suffering, Job's three friends, Eliphaz, Bildad and Zophar, come to visit him and have philosophical discourses with him.

In the end, Job regains what he had previously, and then some, and Satan loses his wager.

Answer: Numbers

In the Book of Numbers, or B'Midbar, the freed Israelites wander in the desert for forty years and encounter many punishments. Both Aaron and Miryam, Moses' siblings, pass away during these wanderings, as do many of the generation that knew the yoke of slavery. When the Israelites reach Canaan, the land is divided by lot and Joshua is appointed by Moses as his successor.

Answer: Joshua

In the Book of Joshua, the Israelites have to conquer Canaan before they can actually settle in the Promised Land (hey, nobody promised them that it would be easy...). Jericho falls, then Ai, and soon thereafter, lands on both sides of the Jordan River. The land is divided amongst the tribes and Joshua, knowing he's done some good work, is able to depart.

Answer: Isaiah

The Book of Isaiah is said to have been written by three Isaiahs from three different periods. The chapters attributed to the original Isaiah talk of a lot of destruction to many nations and cities, for example: Cush, Egypt, Damascus, Babylon, and, even Jerusalem itself.

In Judaism, Isaiah is one of the more revered prophets. In the holiday of Passover, Isaiah visits each household during the Seder, or, ritual meal. Isaiah is also venerated by both Christians and Muslims.

Answer: I Chronicles

I Chronicles tells the story of the taking of the city of Jebus and its renaming as Jerusalem. This story is also told in II Samuel, however, there the city is not named Jebus at all, only Jerusalem. The books of Chronicles are a summary of all of the preceding books and focuses on the Kingdoms of Israel and Judah in their glory days as well as when they were exiled, and reaches in its history up to the decree of Cyrus, the King of Persia, who allows the Jews to return to their homeland and rebuild the Temple.

Answer: II Samuel

Both Hushai and Ahithophel became advisors to Absalom, King David's son. Absalom, at the time, was busy rebelling against his father because Absalom wanted to become king (he probably knew that Solomon was the favoured son). Hushai, turns out, was still loyal to King David, and the advice given was not as good as it seemed. Still, Absalom went with Hushai's suggestion and lost the battle, the war, and eventually his life.

The book of II Samuel starts with the death of King Saul, his son Jonathan, and the rise of the Davidian dynasty. The story ends with the naming of David's elite guard and David taking a census of his kingdoms, though, in doing so, sinning against God.