Herod, Hebrews and Heaven Trivia Quiz

Answer: Hagar

Making plans outside of what God promised them led to difficulties. After conceiving, Hagar began to despise Sarai, and in turn, Sarai went to Abram to complain.

Genesis 16:5,6 - "Then Sarai said to Abram, "You are responsible for the wrong I am suffering. I put my slave in your arms, and now that she knows she is pregnant, she despises me. May the Lord judge between you and me."

"Your slave is in your hands," Abram said. "Do with her whatever you think best." Then Sarai mistreated Hagar; so she fled from her."

But the Lord looked after Hagar, in spite of everything:

Genesis 16:9,10 - "Then the angel of the Lord told her, "Go back to your mistress and submit to her." The angel added, "I will increase your descendants so much that they will be too numerous to count."

Answer: Hittites

The Hittites were first mentioned in the Bible in Genesis 10:15 in the genealogy of Noah, and it gives context to their being in land of Canaan (aka the promised land). By the time the Hebrew nation arrived at the Jordan River, over a thousand years* had passed from the time of Noah, and nations had arisen.

Genesis 10:1 - "This is the account of Shem, Ham and Japheth, Noah's sons, who themselves had sons after the flood."

Genesis 10:6 - "The sons of Ham: Cush, Egypt, Put and Canaan."

Genesis 10:15-18 - "Canaan was the father of Sidon his firstborn, and of the Hittites, Jebusites, Amorites, Girgashites, Hivites, Arkites, Sinites, Arvadites, Zemarites and Hamathites."

*Note: Biblehub.com timeline places Noah before 2500 BC, and dates the Israelites crossing of the Jordan at 1406 BC.

Answer: Hannah

Hannah was one of two wives (along with Peninnah) to a man named Elkanah. The problem for Hannah was that Peninnah had borne children, while Hannah had not. Peninnah made her life miserable because of it:

1 Samuel 1:6,7 - "Because the Lord had closed Hannah's womb, her rival kept provoking her in order to irritate her. This went on year after year. Whenever Hannah went up to the house of the Lord, her rival provoked her till she wept and would not eat."

Finally, Hannah cried out to the Lord in verse 11, "And she made a vow, saying, 'Lord Almighty, if you will only look on your servant's misery and remember me, and not forget your servant but give her a son, then I will give him to the Lord for all the days of his life, and no razor will ever be used on his head.'"

So, the Lord gave Samuel to Hannah (and Elkanah), and as she promised, Hannah dedicated Samuel to God's service in the temple when he was old enough.

Answer: Haman

In Esther 3, King Xerxes honors Haman by making him the most powerful noble in the kingdom (aside from himself, of course), then decreed that everyone should bow to him. But because of his beliefs, "...Mordecai would not kneel down or pay him honor." (v. 2b)

So, Haman went to the king and described a segment of the population that kept their own culture and would not obey the king's laws. He said, "If it pleases the king, let a decree be issued to destroy them, and I will give ten thousand talents of silver to the king's administrators for the royal treasury." (v. 9)

Xerxes gave Haman permission to do as he wished, and a date was set for the edict to go into effect - to annihilate all the Jews in the kingdom.

In the end, things didn't go as Haman had planned, and the tables were turned quite around on him.

Answer: Hosea

Hosea 1:2,3 - "When the Lord began to speak through Hosea, the Lord said to him, "Go, marry a promiscuous woman and have children with her, for like an adulterous wife this land is guilty of unfaithfulness to the Lord." So he married Gomer daughter of Diblaim, and she conceived and bore him a son."

Hosea's marriage to Gomer was a reflection of God's relationship with Israel. Despite her unfaithfulness, Hosea remained true to Gomer, just as God did with the nation of Israel, even when they turned to false gods.

Answer: False

Herod the Great was (under the Romans) the ruler of Judea from 37-4 BC, and was named in the Gospel of Matthew as being the ruler at the time of Jesus' birth. When he learned (from the Magi) that the 'King of the Jews' had been born in Bethlehem, he was disturbed. He sent the Magi to find the boy and report back, but a dream warned them not to return to Herod.

Matthew 2:16 - "When Herod realized that he had been outwitted by the Magi, he was furious, and he gave orders to kill all the boys in Bethlehem and its vicinity who were two years old and under, in accordance with the time he had learned from the Magi."

After fleeing to Egypt, Joseph and Mary (and Jesus) did not return until they learned of Herod's death. (v. 19-20)

It was Herod the Great's son who had John the Baptist beheaded. Herod Antipas was the Tetrarch of Galilee and Peraea from 4 BC until AD 39.

Answer: False

Jesus said in John 14:26 - "But the Advocate, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you."

Then...

Acts 2:1-4 - "When the day of Pentecost came, they were all together in one place. Suddenly a sound like the blowing of a violent wind came from heaven and filled the whole house where they were sitting. They saw what seemed to be tongues of fire that separated and came to rest on each of them. All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit enabled them."

This is considered the moment when Christians believe that God sent the Holy Spirit to dwell among them - a gift that followed that of Christ's dying on the cross for the expiation of sin and reconciliation with God. But it was definitely not the first time in the bible that the Holy Spirit was mentioned.

The first instance of 'Holy Spirit' in the (NIV) Bible is found in Psalms 51:11 - "Do not cast me from your presence or take your Holy Spirit from me."

It is referred to again in the book of Isaiah. But perhaps most famously, the Holy Spirit is described as the means by which Mary conceived Jesus:

Matthew 1:18 - "This is how the birth of Jesus the Messiah came about: His mother Mary was pledged to be married to Joseph, but before they came together, she was found to be pregnant through the Holy Spirit."

Answer: It is a shout of praise and adoration

In the NIV Bible, the only uses of the word 'Hosanna' comes with the story of Jesus' entry into Jerusalem (the week before his crucifixion). In the Hebrew language, it is 'hosia na', which best translates as 'please save', and was used in Psalm 118:25,26 by King David - "Lord, save us! Lord, grant us success! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord. From the house of the Lord we bless you."

With shouts of 'Hosanna!' as Jesus entered Jerusalem, this was a direct reference to David's cry for a savior, but now a savior delivered in Jesus Christ. The population of the day largely believed that Jesus would deliver them from Roman oppression, but He came to bring spiritual deliverance.

Answer: Abram

After a battle between nine kings (four versus five) in the Valley of Siddim, the victorious kings took Abram's nephew (Lot) and all his possessions as part of their victory spoils.

Genesis 14:13-16 - "A man who had escaped came and reported this to Abram the Hebrew. Now Abram was living near the great trees of Mamre the Amorite, a brother of Eshkol and Aner, all of whom were allied with Abram. When Abram heard that his relative had been taken captive, he called out the 318 trained men born in his household and went in pursuit as far as Dan. During the night Abram divided his men to attack them and he routed them, pursuing them as far as Hobah, north of Damascus. He recovered all the goods and brought back his relative Lot and his possessions, together with the women and the other people."

Why the term 'Hebrew'? There are a couple of possible explanations. The first is that Abram was of the family descended from Heber (see Genesis 10:24), hence the name Hebrews. Another is based on the term 'Eber', which means 'beyond, on the other side', and referred to having come from the other side of the Euphrates River.

Amongst themselves (after the twelve tribes of Israel were established), they named each other Israelites, while the gentiles called them Hebrews.

Answer: John

While exiled to the island of Patmos, John had a vision of the end times:

Revelation 1:1,2 - "The revelation from Jesus Christ, which God gave him to show his servants what must soon take place. He made it known by sending his angel to his servant John, who testifies to everything he saw - that is, the word of God and the testimony of Jesus Christ."

The book of Revelation covers a lot of ground, describing the throne room of God and various judgments and tribulations that finally lead to the restoration of fellowship with God and the quote from the question:

Revelation 21:1-4 - "Then I saw "a new heaven and a new earth," for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and there was no longer any sea. I saw the Holy City, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride beautifully dressed for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, "Look! God's dwelling place is now among the people, and he will dwell with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God. 'He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death' or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away."