Biblical Oddities #36 -- Have You Met Your Match? Quiz

Answer: Lot

Going strictly by Scripture, the first nephew mentioned by name in the Bible is Lot. According to information contained in Genesis 11:27 and 31 and Genesis 12:4, Abram was his uncle. (Later, Abram would undergo a name change and become known as Abraham.)

(Grateful to FunTrivia quiz creator Reedy who posted information along this line in a recent quiz.)

Answer: Nahum

Jonah is perhaps the best known prophet connected with Nineveh. Although Nahum is believed to have never visited Nineveh, he had a major concern for the ancient city in what is now modern day Iraq. This concern is documented in the Book of Nahum, written by the prophet.

One of the main themes of the Book of Nahum is God's impending judgment against Nineveh.

Answer: Diblaim

Diblaim has the distinction of being the only man in the Bible who was the father of a prostitute.

According to Hosea 1:3, he was the father of Gomer, a harlot who ended up marrying the prophet Hosea.

However, there is no information about Diblaim in Scripture, apart from the fact he was the father of a notorious daughter. No information is given about the identity of Diblaim's wife.

Answer: Widow's son

The first person raised from the dead in the Bible is the unnamed son of the widow who lived in Zarephath.

According to Scripture, the boy was brought back to life by Elijah, a noted prophet of God, as per 1 Kings 17:17-24.

Interestingly, the second person raised from the dead was another son of a widow. According to Kings 4:18-37, the unnamed boy was raised from the dead by Elisha, an understudy of Elijah.

Answer: Achan

Going strictly by Scripture, the first named person to be stoned to death was Achan.

Details about Achan's stoning are recorded in Joshua 7:10-26.

In a nutshell, Achan was stoned to death because he had taken forbidden items from Jericho when the Israelites conquered the city. Scripture states the Israelites suffered a stinging defeat when they attempted to conquer the city of Ai because of Achan's refusal to follow God's commands.

Answer: Eli

Eli, a judge and high priest of Israel, is the correct answer. According to Scripture, Eli was 98 years old and obese, and while sitting in a chair he fell backwards, broke his neck and died.

Eli had been sitting in the chair by the city gate awaiting news of a major battle between the Israelites and the Philistines. When Eli received news Israel had suffered a major defeat with his two sons killed in battle and the Ark of God had been captured, he fell backwards and died.

The gruesome death fulfilled prophecy that Eli and his family would face judgment.

For details, see 1 Samuel 4:12-18.

Answer: Paul

Paul, who was known as Saul at the time, made a daring escape from Damascus by being placed in a large basket and lowered through a window in the city's outer wall.

After converting to Christianity, Paul began boldly preaching the Gospel message in the synagogues in Damascus and the Jewish leaders of the day decided to kill him for being a traitor.

Adversaries of the early church were watching the city gates day and night to catch Paul so followers of Christ had to come up with a plan to enable him to escape. Scripture tells of Paul being placed in a large basket and during the cover of night, the basket was lowered through an opening in the city's outer wall.

For details, see Acts 9:23-25.

Answer: Peter

Cornelius, a Roman centurion, as well as his family were baptized by Peter, one of the original twelve disciples.

Details can be found in Acts 10:24-48.

The baptisms marked a major turning point in the early church with Cornelius and his family being among the first, if not the very first, Gentiles to be baptized.

At the time, Cornelius lived in Caesarea, a community on the coast of modern-day Israel.

Answer: Julius

Centurions were part of a ruthless Roman killing machine, however, according to Scripture some of them had a compassionate side. A case in point is Julius, a centurion who was assigned to escort Paul to Rome to appeal to Caesar.

Although Paul was technically a prisoner, Scripture tells of Julius showing kindness, even allowing the apostle to the Gentiles to visit his friends in Sidon.

Scripture goes on to tell of Julius protecting Paul from being killed by the soldiers after a shipwreck off the coast of Malta.

For details see Acts 27.

Answer: Jesus

According to Revelation 1:15, Jesus has a voice "as the sound of many waters".

John, the writer of the final book of the New Testament explains things this way in Revelation 1:15-19: "His feet were like fine brass, as if refined in a furnace, and His voice as the sound of many waters; He had in His right hand seven stars, out of His mouth went a sharp two-edged sword, and His countenance was like the sun shining in its strength. And when I saw Him, I fell at His feet as dead. But He laid His right hand on me, saying to me, 'Do not be afraid; I am the First and the Last.I am He who lives, and was dead, and behold, I am alive forevermore. Amen. And I have the keys of Hades and of Death.'"

Many believe John, the writer of Revelation, was one of the original twelve disciples and wrote the book while in exile on the island of Patmos in the Aegean Sea. However, some modern day historians believe the writer was a different man who was also known as John.