Biblical Oddities #38 -- Have You Met Your Match? Quiz

Answer: Woman's son

The second person raised from the dead in the Old Testament was an unnamed son of a woman in Shunem. Performing the miracle of bringing the boy back to life was Elisha, a prophet of God who was at one time an assistant to Elijah.

Interestingly, the first person raised from the dead in the Old Testament was yet another unnamed son of a woman in Zarephath. Performing the miracle was Elijah. For details see 1 Kings 17:17-24.

Answer: Ahithophel

At one time Ahithophel was a trusted advisor to King David. However, when David's son Absalom staged a rebellion to become king, Ahithophel switched sides.

Scripture tells of Ahithophel committing suicide by hanging himself when his advice was ignored by Absalom and he realized the rebellion against David would fail. See 2 Samuel 17:23.

To be fair, prior to Ahithophel's suicide, the death of Abimelech is recorded in Judges 9:53-54. However, it should be pointed out Abimelech requested his assistant end his life to avoid the shame of him suffering fatal injuries at the hand of an unnamed woman.

Answer: Peninnah

Peninnah is the correct answer. She and Hannah were both married to Elkanah and while Peninnah had an unstated number of children, Hannah was unable to conceive.

In Biblical times, a woman suffered immense shame for being unable to conceive. And while Hannah endured the shame of being barren, Peninnah made her life even more miserable by cruelly teasing her and taking glee in Hannah's predicament.

Things changed dramatically however, when Hannah prayed fervently to God and miraculously gave birth to Samuel, a noted prophet and judge of Israel.

For details see 1 Samuel 1.

Answer: Jambres

Jambres is the correct answer. He is mentioned by Paul, the apostle to the Gentiles, in 2 Timothy 3:8-9.

In the verses in the NKJV, Paul states: "Now as Jannes and Jambres resisted Moses, so do these also resist the truth: men of corrupt minds, disapproved concerning the faith; but they will progress no further, for their folly will be manifest to all, as theirs also was."

There is no mention of Jambres and Jannes in the Old Testament.

However, Jewish tradition holds that Jambres and Jannes were the two chief magicians who opposed Moses and Aaron in Exodus 7.

Exodus 7:10-11 in the NKJV states: "And Aaron cast down his rod before Pharaoh and before his servants, and it became a serpent. But Pharaoh also called the wise men and the sorcerers; so the magicians of Egypt, they also did in like manner with their enchantments."

Answer: Samuel

Samuel, a noted judge and prophet, was conjured up in a seance conducted by an unnamed witch in Endor, at the request of King Saul.

According to Scripture, Saul was desperate for guidance before going into a key battle with the Philistines. Because of his wicked lifestyle, Saul; had received no answer from God.

In a nutshell, Samuel told the king he and his sons would die in battle as the kingdom was about to be turned over to David.

For details, see 1 Samuel 28.

Answer: Lazarus

Lazarus has the distinction of possibly being the only person in the New Testament to have the names of his sisters listed. His sisters were Mary and Martha and the three of them lived in Bethany, a village just outside Jerusalem.

According to John 11, Jesus raised Lazarus from the dead even though he had been dead for four days.

To be fair, Romans 16 contains a list of names of people who Paul extends greetings to in the church in Rome. Some of the names of couples in the chapter are male and female and it's possible they were brothers and sisters, but they are not identified as such. It's also possible they were husbands and wives.

Answer: No name given

No name given is given for the man who lived among the tombs, or the equivalent of a cemetery. Because the man lived in Gadarenes, he is sometimes known as the Gadarenic demoniac. Others refer to the man as Legion as he told Jesus he was possessed by a legion of unclean spirits.

Mark 5:1-20 tells of the man dwelling in the tombs, breaking chains, and cutting himself with stones until Jesus restored him.

Scripture states, "no one could bind him, not even with chains, because he had often been bound with shackles and chains. And the chains had been pulled apart by him, and the shackles broken in pieces; neither could anyone tame him. And always, night and day, he was in the mountains and in the tombs, crying out and cutting himself with stones."

Things changed dramatically, however, for the man when Jesus cast out the demons inside the man. Scripture tells of the legion of demons taking up residence in a herd of pigs with the animals going hog wild and drowning in the Sea of Galilee.

The passage goes on to tell of all the people being amazed when they saw the man living a normal life.

Answer: Mary of Bethany

Mary of Bethany washed Christ's feet with expensive oil of spikenard and then wiped His feet dry with her hair, according to Scripture.

The incident took place in Bethany just after Jesus had raised Mary's brother, Lazarus, from the dead. This even though Lazarus had been dead for four days.

For details about Mary's act of devotion to Jesus see John 12:1-8. For details about Lazurus being raised from the dead, see John 11.

Answer: Paul

When writing a letter to his understudy Titus, Paul included a quote from a Cretan philosopher stating, "Cretans are always liars, evil beasts, lazy gluttons."

According to various Websites, Paul was quoting Epimenides, an ancient poet.

At the time, Titus was serving as a worker in the early church in Crete, Greece's largest island.

Tradition holds the letter to Titus was written by Paul but some modern-day theologians have a different view.

Answer: Diotrephes

According to 3 John 1:9, Diotrephes loved to "have the preeminence."

Little is known about Diotrephes apart from the fact he was a leader in the early church who always wanted to be first. Tradition holds 3 John was written by John, one of the original twelve disciples.

In 3 John 1:9-10, John writes in the NKJV: "I wrote to the church, but Diotrephes, who loves to have the preeminence among them, does not receive us. Therefore, if I come, I will call to mind his deeds which he does, prating against us with malicious words. And not content with that, he himself does not receive the brethren, and forbids those who wish to, putting them out of the church."