Biblical Oddities #8 Have You Met Your Match? Quiz

Answer: Samson

According to Judges 16: 1-3, Samson, a noted judge of Israel, spent time with an unnamed prostitute in Gaza.

Scripture goes on to tell of an unspecified number of Philistine men waiting at the gate of the city to ambush Samson in the morning and kill him.

Verse 3 tells what happened next: "And Samson lay low till midnight; then he arose at midnight, took hold of the doors of the gate of the city and the two gateposts, pulled them up, bar and all, put them on his shoulders, and carried them to the top of the hill that faces Hebron."

Scriptures goes on to tell of Samson meeting up with Delilah in the Valley of Sorek. Delilah, of course, would betray Samson when she was bribed by five Philistine lords.

Answer: Eli

Eli, a descendent of Aaron , has the distinction of being the only person in the Old Testament who was a judge of Israel as well as the high priest.

According to 1 Samuel 4:15-22, he was a judge of Israel for 40 years and died at the age of 98. In 1 Samuel 1:9, Eli is also described as the high priest.

It should be pointed out Samuel, also served as a judge and a prophet and had priestly duties as a Levite. However, Samuel was not a high priest in the same formal lineage as Eli, as per information obtained from various Web sites.

Interestingly, Samuel was raised by Eli after Hannah was miraculously able to conceive.

Answer: Jericho

Jesus told a number of parables in the New Testament, but it is only in the Parable of the Good Samaritan He mentions two specific place names. They are Jericho and Jerusalem.

Out of all the parables Jesus told, the Parable of the Good Samaritan is one of the most popular. Even people who have never stepped inside a church or opened a Bible are familiar with it.

The parable tells of an unnamed man travelling on a road from Jerusalem to Jericho when he is attacked by robbers who severely beat him and leave him by the side of the road. Incredibly, a priest and a Levite pass by on the other side of the road, refusing to help.

Then the Good Samaritan comes along and tends to the man's needs.

In the NKJV, it states the Good Samaritan "...went to him and bandaged his wounds, pouring on oil and wine; and he set him on his own animal, brought him to an inn, and took care of him. On the next day, when he departed, he took out two denarii, gave them to the innkeeper, and said to him, 'Take care of him; and whatever more you spend, when I come again, I will repay you.'"

See Luke 10:30-36 for details.

Answer: Damascus

Paul was let down in a basket over the outer wall of Damascus, according to Acts 9:22-25.

It was decided to take such action after Paul received a number of death threats on account of his preaching of the Gospel message. His preaching came on the heels of his dramatic conversion to Christianity when he encountered the Lord Jesus Christ on the road to Damascus.

Acts 9:20-21 in the NKJV states: "Immediately he preached the Christ in the synagogues, that He is the Son of God. Then all who heard were amazed, and said, 'Is this not he who destroyed those who called on this name in Jerusalem, and has come here for that purpose, so that he might bring them bound to the chief priests?"

In 2 Corinthians 11:32-33, Paul recalls the event, noting he was about to be arrested and that he was lowered in a basket through a window in the wall to evade capture.

According to various Web sites, Paul's method of escape likely involved a house built into or upon the city wall.

Answer: Jael

Jael drove a tent peg through the head of Sisera, a Canaanite army commander who took refuge in her tent.

According to Scripture, the Israelites had scored a massive military victory over the Canaanites with Sisera running away in retreat. He made a major mistake when he sought refuge in the tent of Jael, the wife of Heber.

Jael made Sisera feel welcomed, even giving him milk to drink when he requested water. Sisera was exhausted and fell into a deep sleep, never to wake up again.

Scripture tells of Jael taking a tent peg and hammering it right through Sisera's skull and into the ground.

See Judges 4 and 5 for more details.

Answer: Rachel

Rachel was extremely depressed because she was barren and is quoted in Genesis 30:1 as saying "Give me children, or I'll die!".

She was the wife of Jacob who was also married to her sister Leah. While Rachel could not conceive, Scripture tells of Leah becoming the mother of a number of children. This apparently made Rachel jealous.

In desperation, Rachel offered her handmaiden Bilhah to sleep with Jacob to produce children.

Eventually, Rachel would be miraculously able to conceive, giving birth to two boys -- Joseph and Benjamin.

Ironically, she would die giving birth to Benjamin.

Answer: Luke

Luke is the correct answer. There is no way of knowing with absolute certainty, but Luke is widely considered to be a Gentile. With such a background, Luke would be the only non-Jewish writer of a book in the New Testament. He is credited with writing the Gospel of Luke and the Book of Acts.

Many people base their assumption on Luke being a Gentile on what is written in the Book of Colosians.

Paul, the writer of the book, lists his Jewish fellow workers in Chapter 4, Verses 10-11. However, in Verse 14, he mentions Luke separately. With such a categorization, many people, myself included, believe Luke was not part of the Jewish workers because he was a Gentile.

What's more, the name Luke is of Greek or Roman origin.

On top of all this, Luke's writings show a passionate interest in spreading the Gospel message to Gentiles.

Answer: Eglon

Eglon was the very fat king of Moab who suffered a very gruesome death when he was stabbed in the stomach by Ehud, a judge of Israel.

Scripture tells of Ehud being left handed and after meeting with Eglon in private, struck him in his massive stomach with a dagger.

Judges 3:21-22 provide graphic details about Eglon's demise: "Then Ehud reached with his left hand, took the dagger from his right thigh, and thrust it into his belly. Even the hilt went in after the blade, and the fat closed over the blade, for he did not draw the dagger out of his belly; and his entrails came out."

And people say the Bible is boring!

Answer: Mark

Out of the four Gospel books, Mark has the fewest chapters. In order, it is the second Gospel book, consisting of 16 chapters.

Matthew, Luke and John are all significantly longer.

The second longest is John with 21 chapters, followed by Luke with 24 chapters. The longest is Matthew with 28 chapters.

Answer: Sarah

Incredibly, Sarah, the wife of Abraham, lied to God, insisting she did not laugh at His statement she was to give birth to a child at the age of 90 years.

The highly unusual incident took place when Abraham and Sarah initially thought they were hosting three men who were strangers to them.

Scripture tells of Sarah standing by the door to her tent and overhearing the LORD informing Abraham she would give birth.

Upon hearing the conversation, Sarah started laughing. When the LORD asked her why she laughed, she was apparently frightened and denied she did such a thing.

Scripture goes on to tell of Sarah giving birth to a son who was called Isaac. Interestingly, Isaac means "he laughs."

For details, see Genesis 18:1-15.