Let's Travel South in the Bible Quiz

Answer: Rebekah

Rebekah is the correct answer. Genesis 24:61-64 tells of a group of people riding on camels with one of them being Isaac's future wife, Rebekah. Scripture goes on to tell of Isaac taking Rebekah to his mother Sarah's tent and the two becoming husband and wife.

Later, they would become parents of the first set of documented twins -- Esau and Jacob.

Answer: Canaan

Moses selected twelve men, one from each tribe, to spy out the land of Canaan, known as the Promised Land. Ten of the spies returned with negative reports while two spies, Joshua and Caleb, were impressed with what they saw.

Scripture goes on to tell of the ten spies with negative reports dying in a case of divine retribution and the Israelites following the advice of Joshua and Caleb and crossing the Jordan River to occupy Canaan. Prior to moving into Canaan, Joshua would become leader of the Israelites, replacing Moses upon his death.

Answer: Achsah

It's a bit of a long story, but Joshua 15:16-19 in the NKJV tells of Caleb offering his daughter Achash to the man "who attacks Kirjath Sepher and takes it." In turn, Othniel, the son of Kenaz, the brother of Caleb, captured the town and Achsah became his wife.

However, the passage also tells of Achsah being given land in the South. After her marriage to Othniel, Achsah then asked Caleb for "springs of water." Verse 19 in the passage states Caleb "gave her the upper springs and the lower springs."

No further details are given.

Answer: Jonathan

Much of 1 Samuel 20 is devoted to details about David and his best friend, Jonathan. At the time, Jonathan's father was committed to killing David and Jonathan was working feverishly behind the scenes to save the life of his best friend.

Verse 41 in the chapter tells of a clandestine meeting between David and Jonathan with David arising "from a place toward the south". After falling on his face to the ground and bowing down three times, the verse states David and Jonathan kissed one another and then wept.

The friendship between David and Jonathan was incredibly deep. In fact, Verse 17 in the chapter states David loved Jonathan as he loved his own soul.

Answer: Bildad

Bildad was one of three friends of Job who visited him during his time of need. However, Job's friends did little in the way of comforting him. In fact, they only added to Job's woes. Job 8, for example, tells of Bildad informing Job he should repent, even though he had not done anything wrong. Job 9 contains Job's response to Bildad's claim.

To put Job 9:9 in perspective, here's how it reads with Verses 7-10 in the NKJV: "He [God] commands the sun, and it does not rise; He seals off the stars; He alone spreads out the heavens and treads on the waves of the sea; He made the Bear, Orion, and the Pleiades and the chambers of the south; He does great things past finding out, yes, wonders without number."

Answer: Isaiah

Isaiah is the correct answer. In Isaiah 30:6 in the NKJV, Isaiah, the son of Amoz, writes about "the burden against the beasts of the South." (In the NIV, the verse states, "a prophecy concerning the animals of the Negev.")

To put the verse in context, here's how Isaiah 30:6-7 reads in the NKJV: "The burden against the beasts of the South. Through a land of trouble and anguish,
from which came the lioness and lion, the viper and fiery flying serpent,
they will carry their riches on the backs of young donkeys, and their treasures on the humps of camels, to a people who shall not profit; for the Egyptians shall help in vain and to no purpose. Therefore I have called her
Rahab-Hem-Shebeth."

Notes in the NKJV Study Bible state Rahab-Hem-Shebethiot translates as 'Rahab Sits Idle'.

Out of the four possible answers, Isaiah is the only one to have a Bible book named after him so this question should not have been difficult when it was thought through.

Answer: Jeremiah

Jeremiah is the correct answer. He repeatedly warned the people there would be a horrible price to pay for turning their backs to God but few listened to him. Sure enough, the cities of the South would be shut up and the people of Judah carried away captive to Babylon.

Out of the four possible answers, Jeremiah is the only one who is a major prophet who has a book named after him.

Answer: Jesus

The pronouncement about the queen of the South rising up in the judgement and condemning "this generation", was made by Jesus. The quote is part of a passage running from Matthew 12:38-42 in which Jesus addresses the Pharisees over the fact they wanted to see a sign from Him.

In a nutshell, he told them no sign would be given except the sign of the prophet Jonah. Jesus then went on to tell the Pharisees as "Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of the great fish, so will the Son of Man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth."

Then in Verse 42, Jesus states: "The queen of the South will rise up in the judgment with this generation and condemn it, for she came from the ends of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon; and indeed a greater than Solomon is here."

Answer: The multitudes

The statement made by Jesus in Luke 12:55 was addressed to the multitudes. It is part of a passage that runs from Verse 54 to 56. In the passage, Jesus told the people they were quite good at predicting the weather but it was an entirely different matter when it came to discerning the time.

Here's how the passage reads in the NKJV: "Then He also said to the multitudes, 'Whenever you see a cloud rising out of the west, immediately you say, 'A shower is coming'; and so it is. And when you see the south wind blow, you say, 'There will be hot weather'; and there is. Hypocrites! You can discern the face of the sky and of the earth, but how is it you do not discern this time?"

Answer: Philip

Philip is the correct answer. After receiving divine instructions to head "south along the road which goes down from Jerusalem to Gaza," Philip encountered an unnamed Ethiopian eunuch who was riding in a chariot. The passage goes on to tell of the eunuch accepting the Gospel message and being baptized by Philip. For details, see Acts 8:26-40.