A Neophyte Looks at Eden Quiz | Old Testament / Tanakh

Quiz Answer Key and Fun Facts

1. It seems that on the sixth day of creation, or shortly after, God created a garden for the use of Adam, but whereabouts was it?

Answer: Eastward in Eden

Genesis chapter 1 verses 24 to 31 (KJV), tells us that on the sixth day of creation God created all living things (except the fishes and fowl which had arrived on the fifth day) including man.

Genesis 2:8 " And the Lord God planted a garden eastward in Eden; ..."

2. Which humans were born in the garden of Eden?

Answer: Nobody

Both Adam and Eve were made by God, apparently in adult form; Adam out of the dust and Eve from one of Adam's ribs.

Genesis 2:7 (KJV) "And the Lord God formed man of the dust of the ground..."
Genesis 2:22 (KJV) "And the rib, which the Lord God had taken from man, made he a woman, and brought her unto the man."

Their children, starting with their son Cain, were not born until after their expulsion from Eden.

3. The Garden of Eden was provided with many trees that were pleasant to the sight, and good for food. How many of the trees in Eden were Adam and Eve not permitted to eat from?

Answer: One

Genesis 2:9 (KJV) says that in addition to all those pleasant and fruitful trees, there was "the tree of life also in the midst of the garden and the tree of knowledge of good and evil."

It is in verse 17 that Adam is told "But of the tree of knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die."

I note that Eve had not yet been created, so perhaps she didn't get the message.
It is also not clear what the status of the tree of life was.

4. In Genesis 2:10 (KJV) we see that "a river went out of Eden to water the garden, and from thence it was parted, and became into four heads." What was this river in Eden called?

Answer: No name is given

In Genesis 2:10-14 (KJV) we are told that the river that waters the garden flowed out of Eden, whence it divided into four parts. These have names: Pison, Gihon, Hiddekel and Euphrates.

This division of a river into four parts seems a quite unusual phenomenon, and is probably allegorical, especially as one of the rivers (Gihon) is said to encompass the whole of Ethiopia.

5. A creature called a serpent appears at the start of Genesis Chapter 3 (KJV), but the only description at that point is that it "was more subtil than any beast of the field which the Lord God had made." Apparently it could also speak in order to tempt the woman, but how many limbs did it have at this time?

Answer: It is not stated

It was only after God found out that the woman and Adam had eaten fruit from "the tree of the knowledge of good and evil" that He cursed the serpent to go upon its belly and eat dust. Presumably before that it had legs, or the curse wouldn't have made much difference, but how many we can only guess at. (Genesis 3:14, KJV)

6. How many children did Adam have?

Answer: At least seven

This is how the answer was arrived at:
Genesis 4:1-2 (KJV) describe the births of Cain and Abel.
Genesis 5:3 (KJV) says that when Adam lived a hundred and thirty years he begat a son called Seth.
Genesis 5:4 (KJV) "And the days of Adam after he had begotten Seth were eight hundred years; and he begat sons and daughters:" Note the plurals.

Thus Adam had Cain, Abel, Seth, and at least two each of unnamed sons and daughters. He certainly had plenty of time to raise a big family.

7. Adam and his wife were driven out of Eden, after they had disobeyed God's instruction not to eat from the tree of knowledge of good and evil. But what did they have to wear at that time?

Answer: Coats of skins

When Adam and Eve realised they were naked (after eating the forbidden fruit) they made aprons of fig leaves. Genesis 3:7 (KJV)
Later when God had found them out, He made them coats of skins and clothed them. Genesis 3:21 (KJV). The type of skin, and what animal they were from, is not mentioned.

8. We always say "Adam and Eve" as though they had always had those names, but after she was made she was only referred to as "the woman". At what point did she get to be called Eve?

Answer: After being cursed by God

After the temptation God was displeased with the woman, and in Genesis 3:16 (KJV) he says "in sorrow thou shalt bring forth children". Later, in verse 20, we read: "And Adam called his wife's name Eve; because she was the mother of all living." This last comment is somewhat enigmatic as she had no children at the time.

9. By the time the Garden of Eden was made, several classes of living things had been created: fish, fowls, beasts of the earth, and trees. To which of these categories did God give Adam the privilege of naming?

Answer: Beasts and fowls

God created fowls of the air and beasts of the field, and brought them to Adam to see what he would call them. And whatever Adam called every living creature, that was the name thereof. This is described in Genesis 2:19-20 (KJV) where rather oddly, after naming all the animals, it says "but for Adam there was not found an help meet for him." There was apparently one animal missing, namely woman.

10. After the expulsion God placed a flaming sword at the east of the garden of Eden, and who or what else? This was presumably to prevent reentry.

Answer: Cherubims

The final verse of chapter 3 (KJV) says this: "So he drove out the man; and he placed at the east of the garden of Eden Cherubims, and a flaming sword which turned every way, to keep the way of the tree of life."

A cherub (plural cherubim, although my KJV Bible has Cherubims) is apparently a winged being, a type of angel. It is not clear whether they hold the sword. A later translation has this arrangement "guarding the way to the tree of life".

Source: Author davejacobs

This quiz was reviewed by FunTrivia editor looney_tunes before going online.
Any errors found in FunTrivia content are routinely corrected through our feedback system.

A Neophyte Looks at Eden Trivia Quiz

I write this as a layman reading as though for the first time the early chapters of Genesis in the King James version of the Bible (KJV). Be careful, the answers to these questions may not be what "everyone knows".

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