A Common Link -- Old Testament Characters Quiz

Answer: Both were murderers.

Both Cain and Moses were murderers. Cain, of course, killed his brother Abel, making him the world's first murderer (Genesis 4:8). Meanwhile, Moses was guilty of killing an Egyptian and burying his body in the sand (Exodus 2:11-15). Scripture states after Moses killed the Egyptian the Pharaoh became aware of the crime and attempted to have him killed. Moses, however, fled to Midian.

Answer: Both were sisters and married to Jacob.

Leah and Rachel were both sisters and were both married to Jacob. Their father was Laban and he was extremely shrewd in getting 14 years of labor out of Jacob in exchange for the hands of his daughters. Scripture states Rachel was the one Jacob loved but he ended up being manipulated by Laban to marry Leah first. Rachel was the mother of Joseph and Benjamin. Leah, meanwhile, was the mother of Reuben, Jacob, Simeon, Levi, Judah, Issachar, Zebulun and Dinah.

Answer: Father and son who both served as kings.

David and Solomon were father and son and both served as kings. In fact, they were the second and third kings of Israel, ascending to the throne after Saul. (David's ascension is told of in 2 Samuel 5, and Solomon's in 1 Kings 1.) During the reigns of David and Solomon, Israel had some of its most successful years. David and Solomon are both credited with writing part of the Old Testament. David is credited with writing many of the Psalms while Solomon is credited with writing much of the book of Proverbs and the Song of Songs.

Many theologians believe Solomon also wrote Ecclesiastes, but there is no conclusive proof.

Answer: Two Moabite women who were both married to sons of Naomi.

Orpah and Ruth were both Moabite women and according to Scripture they were both married to Naomi's sons -- Mahlon and Kilion. However, after their husbands died, Orpah and Ruth went in different directions. Orpah opted to return to Moabite lands to be with her gods while Ruth decided to be faithful to her mother-in-law Naomi. Their story is told in the book of Ruth.

Answer: Both were queens.

Vashti and Esther were both queens during the reign of the man known as King Xerxes in the NIV Bible. Vashti, however, was deposed when she refused to follow the king's order to appear before a gathering of people to show her beauty. When she was deposed, Esther became queen and she played a pivotal role in thwarting Haman's diabolical plan to kill all the Jews in the vast area ruled by Xerxes.

Their stories are told in the Book of Esther.

Answer: Both were kings when the Israelites were in captivity.

Yes, both Nebuchadnezzar and Cyrus were kings when the Israelites had been taken into captivity. Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, is best known for the prophet Daniel predicting the king would be driven away from people and he would end up eating grass like an ox, and sure enough that was his fate, as per Daniel 4:33. Meanwhile, Cyrus was the king of Persia, when he allowed the Israelites to return to Jerusalem to build a wall around Jerusalem, as per the first chapter of Ezra. Both kings play a prominent role in the Old Testament.

Answer: Both were prostitutes.

Yes, both were prostitutes. Rahab, of course, is the best-known prostitute in the Old Testament as she hid two Israeli spies when they were assigned to check out the land in and around Jericho. Her story appears in the second and sixth chapters of Joshua.

Meanwhile, Gomer, according to the KJV, was a woman of "whoredom" who was married to the minor prophet Hosea. In Hosea, 1: 2-3, in the KJV Bible, God tells Hosea to marry a wife of "whoredom" as an illustration of Israel's infidelity to God. Hosea 1:2-3, in the NIV Bible, states: "When the LORD began to speak through Hosea, the LORD said to him, 'Go, take to yourself an adulterous wife and children of unfaithfulness, because the land is guilty of the vilest adultery in departing from the LORD.' So he married Gomer daughter of Diblaim, and she conceived and bore him a son."

Answer: A prophet of God and a king of Israel.

Elijah was a prophet of God and Ahab was a king. However, it appears one of the few things they had in common was a strong dislike of each other. Ahab is described in Scripture as one of the most wicked kings as he worshiped other gods and was bound and determined to eradicate God's prophets, including Elijah. Elijah, however, would prove triumphant.

He is perhaps best known for his showdown with 450 prophets of Baal on Mount Carmel in 1 Kings 18.

Answer: Both were judges before Israel had kings.

Othniel was the first judge of Israel and Deborah was the first female judge. Scripture has kind things to say about both of them.

Scripture states Othniel was the son of Kenaz, and was Caleb's younger brother. His story is told in Judges 3:7-11. His wife was Achsah. Judges 3:10-11, in the NIV Bible, states: "The Spirit of the LORD came on him, so that he became Israel's judge and went to war. The LORD gave Cushan-Rishathaim king of Aram into the hands of Othniel, who overpowered him. So the land had peace for forty years, until Othniel son of Kenaz died."

Notes in the NIV Study Bible indicate Deborah was the only judge referred to as a prophetess. And according to Wikipedia, she was the "fourth, and the only female, Judge of pre-monarchic Israel in the Old Testament (Tanakh)." Her husband's name was Lappidoth and he is mentioned in Scripture in only passing references. The story of Deborah is told in the fourth and fifth chapters of Judges. Deborah is perhaps best known for being the leader of Israel when a decisive victory was scored over Sisera, the army commander of Jabin, king of Canaan.

Answer: Brothers who were sons of Rachel.

Yes, Joseph and Benjamin were both brothers and the sons of Rachel. Their father was Jacob. Although Benjamin was the only full brother of Joseph, he joined his other half-brothers in selling Joseph into slavery. It's interesting to note that when Joseph became a prominent official in the Pharaoh's government and he was visited by his eleven brothers, Benjamin was the one he singles out for special treatment in more ways than one.

In Genesis 43:34, Benjamin was given five times more food than the other brothers by Joseph and in the 44th chapter he planted a silver cup in Benjamin's sack.

This resulted in a dramatic series of events and the revelation by Joseph that he was their long-lost brother.