Unusual Biblical Deaths Trivia Quiz

Answer: Lot's Wife

"But Lot's wife looked back, and she became a pillar of salt."
Genesis 19:23-29 describes the total destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah with "sulfur and fire". Based on previous details earlier in Genesis, it is justified after two angels disguised as mortals visit Lot in Sodom, but the men of the city tried to rape the angels in Lot's home. The angels rescued Lot and his family and removed them from the city. The Lord's judgment (made previously, not after the attempted rape), destroyed the city, the surrounding valley, and all of its people and vegetation. God demonstrated that He judged people by their sinfulness, but He also demonstrated His grace and mercy by remembering His promise to Abraham to rescue his nephew, Lot.

After they left the city, one of the angels gave the family specific instructions: "Escape for your life. Do not look back or stop anywhere in the valley" (Genesis 19:17). Lot's wife disobeyed this order and looked back at the city on fire. ('Looked back' in this context is more than a 'quick look'. The Hebrew word for 'looked back' is more akin to a longing for something.) She was turned into a pillar of salt, as salt is a preservative, she became a memorial to the preservation of evil. God could see that her longing for the sinfulness of Sodom would travel with her to her new life and possibly start again in their new location.

Answer: King Herod Agrippa

There is a presumption that the Gospel writer Luke wrote the Book of Acts. Chapter 12 deals with several issues, but verses 20-24 deal with King Herod Agrippa, the grandson of King Herod the Great (the King who ordered the killing of all firstborn infants found in Bethlehem). This is a lesson in the dangers of self-exaltation.

Herod travelled to Caesarea as there was a dispute over food supply between his people and the people of Tyre and Sidon. He addressed the people from his throne, wearing his resplendent royal robes. When someone from the audience shouted, "This is the voice of a god, not of a man" (Verse 22), Agrippa did not correct them, and as he did not deflect the praise and subsequently did not praise God, "an angel of the Lord struck him down, and he was eaten by worms and died" (Verse 23).

"...eaten by worms" was a common ancient idiom for a horrible and cursed death. Interestingly, Flavius Josephus, a Roman historian, wrote "Antiquities of the Jews", and in 19.8.2, he describes a similar event with remarkable correlation with Luke's version. Both explicitly mention the fatal flaw of Agrippa accepting idolatrous flattery and failing to give glory to God, which caused his sudden, fatal illness. The latter account describes Agrippa's illness as "excruciating abdominal pains and cramps", indicating that his illness was some form of dysentery.

Answer: Uzzah

The Ark of the Covenant, also known as the Ark of God, was a religious storage chest. It is the most sacred object of the Israelites.

The Book of Exodus Chapter 25 gives the specifications on how the Ark was constructed. It was 2.5 cubits in length, 1.5 cubits breadth, and 1.5 cubits in height (approximately 131×79×79 cm or 52×31×31 in). It is made of acacia wood and decorated with gold. Four rings of gold were attached to its four corners, two on each side, and through these rings, staves (poles) of acacia wood overlaid with gold for carrying the Ark were inserted; these must never be removed. While the Ark of the Covenant was primarily a sacred chest, the lid was known as the "mercy seat" or atonement cover, and functioned symbolically as the earthly throne and/or footstool of God.

Moses built the Ark during his 40-day stay on Mount Sinai. The Ark contains the Tablets of the Law (Ten Commandments), Aaron's rod, and a pot of manna. The Ark was carried as a vanguard whenever the Israelites travelled. At one point, the Ark was stolen by the Philistines but was returned. It was sent to Kiriath-Jearim, specifically to the house of Abinadab, whose son Eleazar was sanctified to keep it. (Abinadab had two other sons: Uzzah and Ahio). The Ark stayed there for twenty years (1 Samuel 7)

When David became King of the United Monarchy, he wanted the Ark to be brought to Jerusalem. But instead of the Ark being carried on the shoulders of men using the long poles as God intended, the Ark was transported by ox cart. When the oxen stumbled, Uzzah reached out to steady the Ark, thereby directly violating the divine law against touching holy furnishings, a violation punishable by death. (Numbers 4:15 explicitly states that unauthorised people, which included the Levites (special Israelites) tasked with carrying the Ark, must never touch it directly, under penalty of death). As Uzzah touched the Ark, God immediately struck Uzzah dead.

The penalty might appear harsh, but there were several issues raised in its journey to Jerusalem, including improper transportation. Scholars argue that the holy object having stayed at Uzzah's family home for decades may have caused Uzzah and others to treat it with casual familiarity rather than holy fear. Also, when Uzzah reacted instinctively to stop the Ark from falling, his action treated the Ark as a human object that relied on unholy hands to steady it, rather than putting trust in the Lord to protect his own presence.

Answer: Abimelech

Abimelech (sometimes Ablimelek) was a nefarious fellow. When the king, his father Gideon, died, Abimelech desperately wanted to rule. However, he was illegitimate, as his mother was a concubine from Shechem. He sought financial backing from his mother's relatives in Shechem. He then hired "reckless scoundrels", and they murdered seventy of his half-brothers. Only one, Jotham, escaped. Jotham climbed Mount Gerizim and shouted a parable to the people of Shechem. He warned them that by choosing a useless bramble (Abimelech) over noble trees, a fire would destroy them all, but the people ignored the warning and made Abimelech King.

He ruled for three years. But God wanted justice for Abimelech's murders, so he sent a spirit to cause trouble between Abimelech and the people of Shechem. This caused a civil war, but Abimelech triumphed and marched on to the town of Thebez. Here he cornered the citizens in a large tower. When he neared the tower to burn it, an unnamed woman dropped a millstone from the tower roof, crushing his skull. He did not die but was mortally wounded. However he was humiliated that he was about to die at the hands of a woman, so Abimelech ordered his armor-bearer to draw his sword and kill him.

Answer: Sisera

In Judges Chapter 4, the king of Canaan, Jabin, had oppressed the Israelites for twenty years, causing them great suffering. Prophetess Deborah summoned the Israeli general Barak. She told him that God commanded him to gather 10,000 men to defeat the Canaanite army at the River Kishon. Jabin's military commander was Sisera, who had 900 iron chariots ready to crush the Israelites. However, this military might was no match for the Israelites, who routed Sisera's army. Sisera got "down from his chariot and fled on foot". (Verse 15).

"Barak pursued the chariots and army as far as Harosheth Haggoyim, and all Sisera's troops fell by the sword; not a man was left" (Verse 17), but Sisera escaped and found his way to the tent of Jael, who was the wife of Heber the Kenite. (The Kenites were related to Moses' father-in-law. They were not Israelites, and Heber's family had a peace treaty with the Canaanites).

Sisera was welcomed by Jael, who covered him with a blanket and gave him milk to drink. Sisera told Jael to guard the tent door, but the danger for Sisera was within the tent. While Sisera slept, Jael took a hammer and a tent peg and drove the peg through his head.

Later in Judges 5, Jael was praised as the "most blessed of women" by Deborah and Barak.

Answer: King Jehoram

When the righteous King of Judea, Jehoshaphat, died, his eldest son Jehoram became King. Unlike his father, who was a good man, Jehoram was nefarious. He murdered all six of his brothers to eliminate any possible competition, and he promoted idolatry by building unauthorised 'high places' in the hills of Judea. These were built for the worship of false idols. The prophet Elijah sent a warning letter to Jehoram, spelling out impending judgment due to his idolatry and the murder of his brothers. (Verses 12-15).

This judgment was in the form of the Arabians and Philistines invading his lands and raiding his property. They carried away all his possessions, his sons, and his wives, leaving behind only his youngest son, Jehoahaz. Additionally, he was afflicted with a terrible bowel disease for two years before he died from this disease. Scholarly articles debate that this was likely to have been rectal prolapse rather than colonic cancer.

Answer: Rechab A\nd Baanah

King Ish-Bosheth son of Saul, was King David's enemy. Rekab and Baanah, the sons of Rimmon the Beerothite, entered Ish-Bosheth's house and found him asleep. They stabbed him, cut off his head, and took it with them while they travelled through the night to present it to their king. However, David was angry. He labelled them as "wicked men" who killed "an innocent man in his own house and on his own bed." Consequently, he had them slain and "cut off their hands and feet and hung the bodies by the pool".

King David killed Rechab and Baanah because they murdered his rival king, Ish-bosheth, in cold blood while he slept. Rechab and Baanah expected David would reward them. However, David saw the act as murder rather than justice. He refused to honour or profit from political assassination. He wanted to prove he had the throne through God's timing, not through political crimes.

Answer: Absalom

There is more to this story than meets the eye. Several events led to the death of Absalom, King David's heir to the throne.

Many years before, Absalom's sister, Tamar, was sexually assaulted by their half-brother, Amnon, who was King David's oldest son and the crown prince. Absalom comforted his sister but hated that his father, who was furious, took no legal or disciplinary action against Amnon, nor did he comfort Tamar. Two years later, Absalom's servants, under his orders, assassinated Amnon. Absalom fled into exile. When David allowed him to return to Jerusalem, he refused to see Absalom for another two years, causing him to be embittered by such rejection and isolation by his father.

Absalom, as Amnon was dead, was the natural heir to the throne, but Absalom did not believe David would pass the kingdom to him. Absalom decided to claim the throne by force. He did this by undermining David's authority systematically over the next four years. David had to escape from Jerusalem for fear of his life. This caused a civil war. David sent out his army to defeat the rebel forces but told his troops, "Be gentle with the young man Absalom for my sake." (2 Samuel 18:5).

When Absalom was stuck in the tree, a soldier who witnessed this refused to kill Absalom because of David's order, but he reported it to Joab, one of David's three generals and also his nephew. Joab believed that as long as Absalom lived, he would always be a threat to the kingdom's stability and to David's life. Joab drove three javelins into Absalom's body while he was still stuck in the tree. Joab's soldiers then finished him with their swords.

Answer: Goliath

In 1 Samuel 17, we learn that the Philistines had gathered for war and were camped at Ephes Dammim, between Sokoh and Azekah. The Israelites were assembled and camped in the Valley of Elah. Instead of a traditional engagement of forces, each morning an enormous Philistine called Goliath, over six cubits tall (9 feet 9 inches / 3.0 metres), came forward and shouted at the Israelites, "Why do you come out and line up for battle? Am I not a Philistine, and are you not the servants of Saul? Choose a man and have him come down to me. If he is able to fight and kill me, we will become your subjects; but if I overcome him and kill him, you will become our subjects and serve us....This day I defy the armies of Israel! Give me a man and let us fight each other." (1 Samuel 17: 8-10). All the Israelites were terrified, and no one stepped forward for forty days.

David's three brothers had gone to war. Their father, Jesse, told David, a young shepherd, to take bread and food to his brothers in the war camp. When he arrived, he saw no one had met the Philistine's challenge. So he volunteered himself to King Saul, stating he had fought bears and lions from attacking his sheep. He said he would take on Goliath, as God would rescue him from the Philistine. He shrugged off the armour he was given, instead selected five smooth stones from a stream, and took only his sling. Goliath laughed. David said, "I come against you in the name of the Lord Almighty, the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have defied. This day the Lord will deliver you into my hands, and I'll strike you down and cut off your head. (1 Samual17: 45-46). As Goliath got closer, David loaded a stone into his sling and fired it at Goliath. It struck him in the forehead, and he fell face down. David then raced over and cut off the Philistine's head with his own sword. The rest of the Philistines fled.

This is a popular fable from the Bible. It is the story of the faith that David had - the total reliance on an unseen God against Goliath, who was the pinnacle of physical power and intimidation. Spiritual alignment and moral conviction will always defeat material physical force. In a secular setting, it shows how an underdog can overcome rigid power structures. It also shows, by David rejecting armour, the importance of authenticity - being true to yourself - and that to overcome problems, you need to rely on your own skills and strengths. Similarly, Goliath was symbolic of the obstacles and anxieties that people must face in life, and to overcome such massive challenges, the first step is refusing to be overwhelmed or intimidated by the problem.

Answer: Samson

The story of Samson is well known, but it is far more than a tale of a man with incredible strength who lost it all. In Judges 13:2, we learn that a Danite man, Manoah, and his wife (not named) were childless, but they were visited by an angel who promised they would have a son. He was to be a Nazirite, which meant he was to be dedicated to God but must follow some prescribed tasks, including that his head "is never to be touched by a razor".

Samson was destined to be a military leader and a judge for Israel. His purpose was to challenge the Philistines who oppressed his people. As he grew into a man, he had great strength, which was used successfully on his enemies. His immense strength was not merely physical but had deep spiritual significance: it was a divine gift from God, and it served to remind Samson that, as a Nazirite, he was dedicated from birth to serve the Lord.

However, Samson was mortal and he had a weakness, and here he made poor choices. In Judges 16:1, he visited a prostitute. He fell in love with Delilah, who did not profess to love him back. Delilah was beautiful. She wasn't a Philistine but lived in the Valley of Sorek, which was between the two states. The Philistine rulers went to her and said, "See if you can lure him into showing you the secret of his great strength and how we can overpower him so we may tie him up and subdue him. Each one of us will give you eleven hundred shekels of silver." Eventually Samson told her his strength was in his hair. She arranged for someone to shave off his hair while he was asleep on her lap. When he woke, he was powerless. The Philistines gouged out his eyes and took him away to grind grain in prison. At some point, they dragged Samson to the temple to display their superiority over the Israelites. However, Samson, whose hair had started to grow back, asked a servant to place him between two temple pillars. He then pushed "with all his might, and down came the temple on the rulers and all the people in it. "Thus he killed many more when he died than while he lived" (Judges 16:30)

Samson's story demonstrates the complex narrative between divine purpose and mortal weakness. Samson strayed from his divine purpose path showing how even the mighty can fall. However, there is a stronger theme of redemption. Despite his failures, Samson ultimately fulfilled his Nazirite promise to God through sacrifice.