An 'Alex Trebek' Old Testament Quiz -- #9

Answer: Who is Abraham?

Genesis 25:9-11 in the NKJV tells of Isaac and his half-brother Ishmael burying their father Abraham "in the cave of Machpelah, which is before Mamre, in the field of Ephron the son of Zohar the Hittite." Abraham had bought the field at Machpelah to bury his wife Sarah. He was 175 years old when he died, according to Genesis 25:7.

Isaac's mother was Sarah and Ishmael's mother was Hagar, a handmaiden to Sarah.

Answer: Who is Elijah?

Elijah was taken to heaven in "a chariot of fire", as per 2 Kings 2:11-12 in the NKJV. According to the verses, the incident occurred when Elijah and Elisha were walking along near the Jordan River. The verses explain things this way: "Then it happened, as they continued on and talked, that suddenly a chariot of fire appeared with horses of fire, and separated the two of them; and Elijah went up by a whirlwind into heaven. And Elisha saw it, and he cried out, 'My father, my father, the chariot of Israel and its horsemen!' So he saw him no more."

Scripture goes on to tell of Elisha becoming Elijah's replacement as a prophet of God.

Answer: Who is Joshua?

The 10th chapter of Joshua tells of Joshua in the middle of a battle with the Amorites praying to God for the sun and moon to stand still. Scripture doesn't expressly say so, but it is believed Joshua asked for the extra daylight so the enemies would not overpower his forces at night.

Sure enough, Joshua's prayers were answered and the Israelite army routed the Amorites.

Answer: Who is Hosea?

Hosea 1:2-3 in the NKJV tells of Hosea receiving divine instructions to "take yourself a wife of harlotry". To this end, Scripture tells of Hosea marrying Gomer, the daughter of Diblaim. Hosea and Gomer had two sons and one daughter. Their names were Jezreel, Lo-Ammi and Lo-Ruhamah, as per Hosea 1:3-9.

Hosea was the son of Beeri and he prophesied in the days of Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah, kings of Judah, and Jeroboam, king of Israel, as per Hosea 1:1.

Answer: Who is Belshazzar?

Belshazzar was the king who saw the fingers of a disembodied hand write a message on a wall while he was hosting a lavish banquet, as per Daniel 5. Scripture tells of the king and those gathered at the banquet drinking wine from sacred goblets and praising "gods of gold and silver," as per the NKJV.

No one could interpret the writing on the wall until Belshazzar brought in Daniel to investigate. In a nutshell, Daniel told the king his reign was coming to an abrupt end.

Daniel 5 concludes by telling of Belshazzar being slain and Darius ruling over the kingdom.

Answer: Who is Mordecai?

Mordecai, the cousin of Queen Esther, ended up being honored by King Ahasuerus, known as Xerxes in the NIV. Esther 8:15 in the NKJV tells of Mordecai leaving the king "in royal apparel of blue and white, and with a great crown of gold, and with a garment of fine linen and purple."

Scripture goes on to tell of the Jews having "light and gladness, joy and honor." The reason for the celebratory mood was that Mordecai had teamed with Esther to prevent Haman for carrying out a plan to exterminate all the Jews in the Persian empire.

Answer: Who is Mahlon?

Mahlon, the son of Elimelech and Naomi, was the first husband of Ruth, as per Ruth 4:10. Mahlon's brother Chilion was married to Orpah. Scripture tells of Elimelech, Mahlon and Chilion dying and their wives being left as widows. Later, Ruth would marry Boaz and they would become parents of Obed, the father of Jesse and the grandfather of David.

Answer: Who is Bathsheba?

It sounds like the setting from a steamy Hollywood movie, but according to 2 Samuel 11:2 Bathsheba was bathing when David first saw her from the roof of his palace in Jerusalem. It wouldn't be much longer until David would be in hot water as he would have an adulterous affair with Bathsheba and she would become pregnant.

Answer: What is Leviticus?

The third book in the Pentateuch is Leviticus. It follows Genesis and Exodus and precedes Numbers and Deuteronomy. Tradition holds all books of the Pentateuch -- the first five books of the Hebrew Bible and the Christian Bible -- were written by Moses. However, some modern day theologians dispute this belief.

Answer: Who is Jacob?

Just before he died, Jacob blessed his twelve sons while he was in bed. The twelves sons were Reuben, Simeon, Levi, Judah, Zebulun, Issachar, Dan, Gad, Asher, Naphtali, Joseph and Benjamin. See Genesis 49:1-29 for details.

Genesis 49:33 in the NKJV Bible states: "And when Jacob had finished commanding his sons, he drew his feet up into the bed and breathed his last, and was gathered to his people."