Biblical Oddities #3 -- Have You Met Your Match? Quiz

Answer: Jacob

Jacob was involved in the first kiss in the Bible. However, it was not a romantic kiss between two lovers. The incident involved Jacob kissing his elderly father Isaac who was on his deathbed.

The kiss was all part of a deception Jacob was pulling off under the direction of his mother Rebekah. Jacob had disguised himself as his older brother Esau so he could obtain the blessing intended for his brother, according to Scripture.

Isaac's eyesight had been greatly diminished and he asked his son to kiss him so he could be sure it was Esau he was about to bless. Jacob and Rebekah were experts when it came to deception and he had covered his hands with the skins of baby goats to make it appear he was hairy like Esau.

After Jacob kissed him, Isaac fell for the ruse.

For details, see Genesis 27:1-29.

Answer: Miriam

Miriam, the sister of Moses and Aaron, was involved in the first incident of dancing in the Old Testament. The occasion was none other than when the Israelites arrived safely on the other side of the Red Sea during their exodus out of Egypt.

Scripture tells of God parting the Red Sea for the Israelites enabling them to safely make it to the other side. However, when the Egyptian army attempted to cross, the sea was no longer parted and the army was demolished.

Exodus 15:20 in the NKJV tells of Miriam, "the prophetess", taking a timbrel in her hand and "all the women went out after her with timbrels and with dances". In other words, the dancing was all part of a massive victory celebration.

Answer: Moses

Moses might have been slow of speech, but that certainly didn't stop him from being the first person in the Bible to sing.

According to Exodus 15:1, Moses led the Israelites in singing a tribute to God after the Red Sea had been parted and the people were able to make it safely to the other side during their mass exit from Egypt. However, when the Egyptian army attempted to cross, the sea no longer parted and they were wiped out.

The first two verses in the song Moses led in singing, go like this in the NKJV:

"I will sing to the LORD,
For He has triumphed gloriously!
The horse and its rider
He has thrown into the sea!
The LORD is my strength and song,
And He has become my salvation;
He is my God, and I will praise Him;
My father's God, and I will exalt Him."

For the entire song, see Exodus 15:1-18.

Answer: Bartimaeus

Reference is made to a number of blind people in the New Testament being miraculously able to see after they had an encounter with Jesus, however, Bartimaeus is the only one who is identified by name. According to Scripture, Bartimaeus was begging along the roadside near Jericho when Jesus was passing by.

Mark 10:46-52 tells of Jesus miraculously enabling Bartimaeus to see.

Answer: Lamech

According to Genesis 4:23, Lamech was the second murderer. He apparently killed an unnamed man who had attacked him. In Verse 23, Lamech states to his two wives: "Adah and Zillah, hear my voice; wives of Lamech, listen to my speech! For I have killed a man for wounding me, even a young man for hurting me."

Interestingly, Lamech's felony is reported in the same chapter that tells of Cain killing his brother Abel. Cain, of course, was the first murderer. He killed Abel out of a severe fit of jealousy.

Answer: Saul

Saul, the first king of Israel, is noted for a number of things, not the least of which is that he had a seance to communicate with a dead person. According to Scripture, Saul sought out the Witch of Endor so he could communicate with the deceased prophet Samuel. This even though Saul had banned mediums and spiritists from Israel.

Saul sought advice from Samuel as he was preparing for a key military battle against the Philistines. The message Saul received was blood curdling. Samuel told the king God had abandoned him because of all his ungodly actions over the years. What's more, Samuel told Saul that he and his three sons would die in the battle that was to take place against the Philistines.

Sure enough, that is what happened. His three sons were killed and Saul found himself mortally wounded so he committed suicide, true to Samuel's prediction.

Answer: Zimri

It's a bit of a lo-o-o-o-ong story, but in a nutshell Zimri set his palace on fire and died in the blaze after serving as king for a mere seven days.

According to Scripture, Zimri ascended to the throne after he assassinated Elah, king of Israel. However, members of Israel's army strongly disapproved of Zimri's actions and, under the leadership of Omri, soldiers surrounded his city of Tirzah.

Realizing defeat was imminent, Scripture tells of Zimri retreating into the royal palace and setting it on fire. He ended up dying in the blaze.

Omri ended up being crowned as the new king.

For further details, see 1 Kings 16:15-20.

Answer: Philip

I find it interesting that when Philip is mentioned in the New Testament in a list of names of the disciples, his name always appears fifth. (See Matthew 10:3, Mark 3:18, Luke 6:14 and Acts 1:13.)

The names of the twelve disciples are divided into three groups of four. The first name is always Peter's in the first group. In the second group, Philip's name always appears first while the third group is led by James, the son of Alphaeus.

Answer: Abraham

Going strictly by Scripture, the first person in the Bible to cry tears was Abraham. The occasion was the death of Abraham's wife Sarah. She was 127 years old.

Genesis 23:2 explains things this way: "So Sarah died in Kirjath Arba (that is, Hebron) in the land of Canaan, and Abraham came to mourn for Sarah and to weep for her."

Answer: Jairus' daughter

It's macabre, but laughter was heard at the funeral for Jairus' daughter.

According to Scripture, Jairus had requested Jesus to visit his house to heal his 12-year-old daughter who was seriously ill. However, when Jesus arrived at the house, people were outside "crying and wailing loudly" and they told him there was no need to go inside because the little girl was dead.

When Jesus told the mourners the girl was not dead and was only asleep they laughed at Him, as per Mark 5:40 in the NIV.

Scripture goes on to tell of Jesus entering the house with Peter, James and John and miraculously restoring the unnamed girl to life.

After crying and laughing, I suspect the mourners were speechless.