Biblical Oddities #1 -- Have You Met Your Match? Quiz

Answer: Rachel

Going strictly by Scripture, Rachel was the first person to steal. Genesis 31:34 tells of Rachel taking the household idols of her father Laban and hiding them in a camel's saddle. A search by Laban to find the idols proved unsuccessful. There is no further mention in Scripture about what happened to Laban's idols after the theft.

Answer: Sarah

Sarah is the correct answer. According to Genesis 23:1, she was 127 years old at the time of her death. The ages of multiple men are recorded in Genesis 5 and elsewhere in the Old Testament, however Sarah is the only woman to have her age recorded.

To be fair, Luke 2:37 tells of Anna, a prophetess, being elderly and a widow for 84 years. However, her age is not revealed.

Answer: Ehud

Ehud is the only named person in the Bible who is described as being left handed. He was a judge of Israel and is known for stabbing to death Eglon the very obese king of Moab. See Judges 3:12-30 for details.

It must be pointed out the Old Testament makes mention of people who are left handed, but no names are given.

For example, Judges 20:16 tells of the Benjamites having 700 "select men who were left-handed; every one could sling a stone at a hair's breadth and not miss."

Answer: Lamech

Going strictly by what is printed in the Bible, Lamech was the first polygamist.
Genesis 4:19 states: "...Lamech took for himself two wives: the name of one was Adah, and the name of the second was Zillah."

Later in the fourth chapter there are details about Lamecch becoming the second murderer after Cain. Interestingly, the two murders are both reported in the same chapter.

Answer: Mary Magdalene

Mary Magdalene is the correct answer. Mary was also the first person to see Christ after His resurrection. Mark 16:9 in the NKJV states: "Now when He rose early on the first day of the week, He appeared first to Mary Magdalene, out of whom He had cast seven demons."

Only passing reference is made to the fact seven demons were driven out of Mary. For example, Luke 8:2 simply states Mary was called Magdalene, "out of whom had come seven demons."

Answer: Saul

Saul has the distinction of being the first king of Israel, but he didn't want to wear the crown. In fact, when the people declared he should be king, he was found hiding among equipment, as per 1 Samuel 10:22.

According to 1 Samuel 9:1-2, Saul was exceedingly handsome. The verses in the NKJV state: "There was a man of Benjamin whose name was Kish the son of Abiel, the son of Zeror, the son of Bechorath, the son of Aphiah, a Benjamite, a mighty man of [a]power. And he had a choice and handsome son whose name was Saul. There was not a more handsome person than he among the children of Israel. From his shoulders upward he was taller than any of the people."

Answer: Deborah

Deborah was the only female judge of Israel. According to Judges 4:4
she was a prophetess and the wife of Lapidoth.

Deborah is perhaps best known for being judge when the Israelites scored a miraculous military victory over the Canaanite army led by Siserea. The commander of Israel's army was Barak.

In total, there were 12 judges who led Israel.

Answer: Elisha

Elisha is the only person in the Old and New Testaments who is described as being bald. 2 Kings 2:23 tells of Elisha travelling to Bethel and a group of youths mocking him for being bald.

The verse states: "...and as he was going up the road, some youths came from the city and mocked him, and said to him, 'Go up, you baldhead! Go up, you baldhead!'"

Scripture goes on to tell of two female bears mauling 42 of the youths who had been mocking Elisha.

It must be pointed out there are numerous references in the Old Testament pertaining to people being bald, but no one is named.

For example, Jeremiah 47:5 states "Baldness has come upon Gaza..." and Ezekiel 29:18 states, "...Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon caused his army to labor strenuously against Tyre; every head was made bald."

It must be stressed that Ezekiel 29:18 does not state that Nebuchadnezzar was bald. It was his actions that caused members of his army to become bald. Daniel 4:33 tells of his hair growing "long and unkempt, like the feathers of an eagle."

Answer: Enoch

Enoch, according to Scripture, did not die. Genesis 5:24 in the NKJV states, "Enoch walked with God; and he was not, for God took him."

Enoch is also mentioned in Hebrews 11:5 where it states: "By faith Enoch was taken away so that he did not see death, 'and was not found, because God had taken him'; for before he was taken he had this testimony, that he pleased God."

Enoch was the son of Jared and father of Methuselah.

Meanwhile, Scripture also tells of Elijah being taken up to heaven in a whirlwind and not dying. See 2 Kings 2:1 for details.

Answer: Eutychus

Eutychus is the young man who fell asleep in a third storey window while Paul was giving a lengthy message in Troas. Out of the blue, Eutychus tumbled from the window and plunged to his death.

Scripture tells of Paul rushing down to street level and miraculously bringing Eutychus back to life. No sooner was this done, Paul went back upstairs, sat down and had a meal. And then he preached to the early morning hours.

Details appear in Acts 20:7-12.

After this miraculous event, Paul hopped on a ship and headed to Miletus, via Assos.