Biblical Siblings Trivia Quiz

Answer:

Miriam is mentioned by name as the sister of Moses and Aaron. She is mentioned frequently in the Old Testament - in Exodus she watches over Moses in his basket in the Nile, although not named at that stage, but she is given a name later in the Book and when she is stricken with leprosy for speaking against Moses. Asher is one of the sons of Jacob and, as such, has numerous siblings, mostly brothers although one sister, Dinah, is named. Most, of course, are half-siblings with only Gad sharing the same mother in Zilpah.

The Book of Job, describing his sufferings and faith in God, does mention some people by name but these are described as 'friends' or 'comforters', not family. The epilogue, though, does make it clear that Job has a family, including brothers and sisters, who all come to rejoice with him when his fortunes are restored by the Lord. Leah is the first wife of Jacob and the older sister of Rachel, who Jacob thought he was marrying. The sisters' father, Laban, tricks Jacob into marrying Leah and Jacob has to serve for several years before marrying Rachel. She then dies, giving birth to Benjamin, Jacob's youngest son and full brother to Joseph.

Seth is named in Genesis as the third son of Adam and Eve - other children are mentioned as being fathered by Adam but are unnamed. The older brothers were Abel, who was murdered in a fit of jealousy by Cain, who was exiles, so Seth would not have met either. Eve believed that Seth was a replacement for Abel, and he is named in the genealogy of Jesus as a direct ancestor. Shem is named in Genesis as one of the three sons of Noah who were saved from the great flood. Shem, his brothers Ham and Japheth and their wives are all said to have been on the ark, along with the animals and Noah and his wife.

Martha is a character from the New Testament and is the sister of Mary and Lazarus. She is the one who was busy rushing around working, according to the Gospel of Luke. The story is also told in John's Gospel with Martha again being the more outgoing sister. Jesus arrives in Bethany when he hears of the death of Lazarus, and resurrects him. Andrew is also a New Testament character and is mentioned in three of the Gospels - Matthew, Mark and John. He is the brother of Simon Peter, later just known as Peter, and both brothers become disciples and apostles.

Jonathan is the oldest son of the first King of Israel, Saul, and appears in the Books of Samuel. He is best known for his enduring friendship with David, who is destined to take the throne which Jonathan might have expected to be his. The Bible mentions two full brothers and two sisters of Jonathan. Eshbaal and Malchishua are the brothers and Michal and Merab the sisters who are named (there are other half brothers). Michal became David's first wife.

Absalom is one of the sons of David. He has a full sister, named Tamar, and their story is covered in the Second Book of Samuel. Tamar is sexually assaulted by a half-brother, named Amnon and Absalom kills him when their father takes no action. Absalom himself is eventually killed when he rebels against his father. As with several of the people in this quiz, Absalom also had several half-siblings.

The characters listed who are not recorded as having a brother or sister are Judas Iscariot, the betrayer of Jesus, and Barnabas, a companion to Paul, neither of whom has named relatives. From the Old Testament there is Esther, who was orphaned as a child and adopted by Mordecai, while Daniel and Joshua are also prominent characters who have no named siblings. All three of these have Books of the Old Testament named for them.