Let's Take a Look at Goats in the Bible Quiz

Answer: Rebekah

Rebekah put skins of goats on the hands of her son Jacob to trick Isaac into blessing him over his slightly older twin brother Esau. According to Scripture, Isaac was elderly and frail and his eyes "were so dim that he could not see." The ruse is recounted in Genesis 27:1-40.

Rebekah favored Jacob while Isaac favored Esau and this is where things fall apart. Scripture states Rebekah convinced Jacob to disguise himself as Esau to obtain his brother's blessing. Isaac had requested Esau to hunt game for him and make some "savory food' and when he returned he would bless his son. Rebekah overheard the conversation and swung into action.

Genesis 27:15-17, in the NKJV, states: "Then Rebekah took the choice clothes of her elder son Esau, which were with her in the house, and put them on Jacob her younger son. And she put the skins of the kids of the goats on his hands and on the smooth part of his neck. Then she gave the savory food and the bread, which she had prepared, into the hand of her son Jacob."

Jacob in turn went to his father and impersonated Esau. He was so effective at his impersonation he was able to deceive Isaac and receive Esau's blessing. (The goat skins also created the impression he was a hairy man like his brother Esau.)

Answer: Jacob

As part of an agreement between the two men, Jacob got to keep goats, as well as sheep, born speckled and spotted as well as brown while Laban got to keep animals born all white. Details are from Genesis 30:32 in the NKJV Bible. (Rather than brown, the NIV uses the word 'colored' and the Easy to Read Version uses the word 'black'.)

However, when a large number of sheep were born speckled and spotted, Laban became infuriated.

According to Scripture, Jacob cut "rods of green poplar and of the almond and chestnut trees, peeled white strips in them, and exposed the white which was in the rods." Jacob then put the branches in front of the flocks at the watering places. When the animals came to drink, they would also mate. Scripture states that when the animals mated in front of the rods, the young that were born were streaked, speckled, and spotted. As a result, the animals became property of Jacob.

Genesis 30:43 reports Jacob "became exceedingly prosperous, and had large flocks, female and male servants, and camels and donkeys."

Answer: Joseph

After Joseph's brothers sold him for twenty pieces of silver to Midianite traders, they took his tunic and smeared some blood from a goat on it. The brothers then took the blood-smeared tunic and showed it to their father Jacob, stating Joseph had been slain by a wild beast.

Scripture goes on to tell of Joseph being taken to Egypt and sold into slavery and later tossed into prison on false charges of attempted rape. Despite all of his setbacks, Joseph miraculously arose to become the second most powerful man in Egypt.

Answer: True

True. The term scapegoat is found in the 16th chapter of Leviticus. Verse 7 to 10 tell of two goats being presented before the LORD at the door of the tabernacle of meeting. Instructions call upon Aaron to then cast lots for the two goats: one lot for the LORD and the other lot for the scapegoat. The verses go on to state Aaron was to bring the goat on which the LORD's lot fell, and offer it as a sin offering. However, the goat which was to serve as the scapegoat would be presented alive before the LORD "to make atonement upon it, and to let it go as the scapegoat into the wilderness."

The releasing of the scapegoat into the wilderness was symbolic of the removal of sin from the Israeli community.

Answer: Daniel

Daniel is the prophet of God who had a vision involving a ram and a goat. According to Daniel 8:1, Daniel had the vision in the third year of the reign of King Belshazzar. Chapter 8 goes on to give details of the vision.

For complete details about the vision, see Daniel 8:1-27.

Answer: Proverbs

The statement is found in Proverbs 27:27. It is part of a passage pertaining to the merits of hard work and diligence. To put the verse in context, here's how Proverbs 27:23-27 reads in the NKJV:
"Be diligent to know the state of your flocks,
And attend to your herds;
For riches are not forever,
Nor does a crown endure to all generations.
When the hay is removed, and the tender grass shows itself,
And the herbs of the mountains are gathered in,
The lambs will provide your clothing,
And the goats the price of a field;
You shall have enough goats' milk for your food,
For the food of your household,
And the nourishment of your maidservants."

Solomon, king of Israel during its golden era, is credited with writing much of Proverbs. The book is popular with Jews and Christians around the world.

Answer: Song of Solomon

The correct answer is the Song of Solomon. The statement "your hair is like a flock of goats" was made by the bridegroom to his bride and appears in Song of Solomon 4:1. A similar statement is also made in Song of Solomon 6:5.

Song of Solomon was written by Solomon, king of Israel during its golden period. He was the son of David and Bathsheba.

Answer: Sheep on His right hand, goats on the left

According to Matthew 25:33, at the judgment, the sheep will be separated on His right hand and the goats on the left. Scripture goes on to explain the sheep on the right hand of the Son of Man are favored while the goats on the left are doomed at the time of judgment.

Matthew 25:31-46 gives a detailed account by Jesus about what will take place at the judgment when "all the nations will be gathered before Him."

Answer: The Prodigal Son

The verse is from Luke 15:29, part of the passage known as the Parable of The Prodigal Son. Out of the thirty-nine parables told by Jesus, the Parable of the Prodigal Son is one of the most popular.

The parable tells the story of a wayward son who moved to a foreign land and squandered his money on a prodigal lifestyle. When a famine struck, the young man became so destitute he got a job feeding pigs and longed to eat the pods the swine ate. For a Jew to even feed pigs would be sinking to an unimaginable low.

So the man opted to return home to his father, thinking he would be better off working for his father as a hired hand than living in destitution. To the young man's pleasant surprise, his father welcomed him home with open arms. The man's father slaughtered a fatted calf and threw a lavish feast to welcome home his son.

However, the older brother of the young man expressed annoyance at the warm reception his brother received on his return home, pointing out he (the older son) had served his father faithfully and he never received as much as a goat so that he could celebrate with his friends.

His father pacified him by saying, "Son, you are always with me, and all that I have is yours. It was right that we should make merry and be glad, for your brother was dead and is alive again, and was lost and is found."

Answer: No one knows for certain

Although Hebrews is a popular book in the New Testament, no one knows for certain who wrote it. Some theologians believe Paul was the author but many others strongly dispute the belief. According to notes in the NKJV Study Bible, strong cases have been made over the centuries for the likes of Apollos and Barnabas to be authors of Hebrews. Notes in the NKJV Study Bible also state scholar Adolf Harnack has suggested Priscilla is the author.

On top of uncertainty about the identity of the book's author, it is unknown when it was written. However, the general assumption is it was written prior to AD64, before Nero's persecution of Christians.

The only certainty is the verse in the question is found in Hebrews 9:12.