Biblical Oddities #2 -- Have You Met Your Match? Quiz

Answer: Nebuchadnezzar

Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, was filled with extreme arrogance and pride and had absolutely no regard for God. Things changed dramatically, however, when he was punished for his actions and ended up eating grass like an ox.

In a case of divine retribution, Daniel 4:33 in the NKJV explains what happened: "...he was driven from men and ate grass like oxen; his body was wet with the dew of heaven till his hair had grown like eagles' feathers and his nails like birds' claws."

According to Scripture he lived like an animal for seven years and then was restored when he acknowledged God and started worshipping Him.

Verse 37 tells of a happy ending in the king's life: "Now I, Nebuchadnezzar, praise and extol and honor the King of heaven, all of whose works are truth, and His ways justice. And those who walk in pride He is able to put down."

Answer: Belshazzar

The king who saw a disembodied hand write a message on a wall was Belshazzar.

The miraculous event is reported in the fifth chapter of Daniel. According to Scripture, Belshazzar, king of the Chaldeans, was hosting a spectacular feast with drinks served in gold vessels that had been stolen from the temple of God in Jerusalem when amazingly a hand started writing a message on the wall.

No one could interpret the wiring on the wall until Daniel was summoned for assistance. Daniel proclaimed the king's reign was about to come to a sudden end because he had lifted himself up against the Lord of heaven.

Daniel 5:30-31 explains what happened next: "That very night Belshazzar, king of the Chaldeans, was slain. And Darius the Mede received the kingdom, being about sixty-two years old."

The hand-writing incident has given birth to the common expression "to see the writing on the wall".

Answer: Adah and Zillah

Adah and Zillah were both married to the same man -- Lamech.

According to Scripture, Adah was the mother of Jabal and Jubal. Jabal is described as "the father of those who dwell in tents and have livestock" while Jubal is described as "the father of all those who play the harp and flute."

Meanwhile, Zillah was she the mother of a son and a daughter. The son's name was Tubal-Cain who was "an instructor of every craftsman in bronze and iron." The daughter's name was Naamah.

Interestingly, Adah is the first female mentioned in Scripture after Eve.

Answer: Leah and Rachel

The first sisters explicitly named in the Bible are Leah and Rachel, the daughters of Laban who lived in Haran. Both women were part of a polygamous marriage, with Jacob being their husband.

According to Scripture, Jacob loved Rachel with Leah ending up in a loveless marriage.

Leah was the mother of six boys and one girl. The sons were Reuben, Simeon, Levi, Judah, Issachar and Zebulun. The daughter was Dinah.

Meanwhile, Rachel was the mother of two sons -- Joseph and Benjamin.

Answer: Jacob

I'm the type who likes a big fluffy pillow for sleeping, but for Jacob a stone was sufficient according to Genesis 28:11 and 18.

To put things in perspective, Jacob was alone in the outdoors and apparently without a tent at the time.

So to get by, he used a stone to serve as his pillow for the evening. He must've had a good night's sleep because Scripture tells of him having a dream in which he saw angels descending and ascending a ladder to Heaven.

According to Verse 18, the following morning Jacob consecrated the stone as a memorial. He called the place Bethel, which means 'House of God'.

Answer: Noah

The first person to become drunk in the Bible was Noah.

Noah is best known, of course, for building a gigantic ark in which he and his wife and their three sons and their wives took refuge in when a massive flood engulfed the world.

After the flood, Noah planted a vineyard and ended up becoming drunk. In fact, he was so drunk he ended up lying naked in his tent, exposing himself.

Details can be found in Genesis 9:18-29.

There's much more to the story but I'll save those savoury details for a future quiz with FunTrivia.

Answer: Abraham

The first person recorded as laughing in the Bible is Abraham, as per Genesis 17:17.

Scripture tells of God speaking to Abraham and informing him his wife Sarah would give birth to a son -- even though she was 90 years old at the time.

Verse 17 in the NKJV goes on to tell of Abraham falling on his face and laughing after hearing the news.

Meanwhile, Genesis 18:12 tells of Sarah also laughing as she was listening in on the conversation. As a result, it's quite possible Abraham and Sarah burst out laughing at the same time. But bear in mind the question is based on "the first person recorded as laughing" in the Bible and with this being the case the answer has to be Abraham.

It's interesting to note that when Sarah gave birth to a son he was called Isaac, which means 'he laughs'.

Answer: Tamar

Tamar has the distinction of being the first woman in the Bible to be twice married. According to (Genesis 38:6-10), she was married to two sons of Judah who were both struck dead in cases of divine retribution.

Originally, Tamar was married to Er, the oldest son of Judah. However, Genesis 38:7 states Er "was wicked in the sight of the LORD, and the LORD killed him." No further details are given.

After Er's death, Tamar ended up becoming the wife of Onan, Judah's second oldest son. However, he too ended up being struck dead by God. According to Scripture, he was struck dead because he refused to impregnate Tamar.

Verses 9 and 10 explain things this way: "But Onan knew that the heir would not be his; and it came to pass, when he went in to his brother's wife, that he emitted on the ground, lest he should give an heir to his brother. And the thing which he did displeased the LORD; therefore He killed him also."

There's so much more to the story about Tamar, but I'll save those details for another FunTrivia quiz. I suspect one could easily do a 15-question quiz on Tamar alone.

Answer: Balaam

It was a case of Balaam not believing his eyes, but also not believing his ears. According to Numbers 22:22-35, Balaam was spoken to by his donkey as he was travelling along a road.

The passage states the donkey refused to proceed down the road as it saw and Angel of the LORD standing in the way with His sword in His hand. However, Balaam could not see the Angel and when the donkey veered off the road into a field he was infuriated.

In fact, he was so livid he started beating the helpless animal. It was at this time the donkey became miraculously able to speak to Balaam.

Only after the donkey spoke was Balaam able to see the Angel of the LORD blocking the roadway.

Scripture says: "Then the LORD opened Balaam's eyes, and he saw the Angel of the LORD standing in the way with His drawn sword in His hand; and he bowed his head and fell flat on his face."

Balaam was a Moabite prophet who was bound and determined to put a curse on Israel.

Answer: Dinah

Dinah has the unfortunate distinction of being the first woman in the Bible who was sexually assaulted. Her heart breaking story is told in Genesis 34:1-31. She was the daughter of Jacob and Leah.

According to Scripture she was violated by Shechem, the son Hamor, a Canaanite prince. Later, Dinah's two brothers (Simeon and Levi) would take revenge by killing all the males in Shechem's city and taking the females and children as captives.