Love and Romance in the Old Testament Quiz

Answer: Rachel and Leah

Rachel and Leah were both sisters and the wives of Jacob. According to Scripture, Jacob loved Rachel and Leah was forced to endure a loveless marriage.

Leah was the mother of six sons and one daughter. Their names were Reuben, Simeon, Levi, Judah, Issachar, Zebulun and Dinah. Meanwhile, Rachel was the mother of Joseph and Benjamin.

Answer: Rebekah and Sarah

Rebekah was the young woman Isaac deeply loved and his mother was Sarah. Genesis 24:67 tells of Isaac seeing Rebekah for the first time and taking her into his mother Sarah's tent. According to the verse in the NKJV, "he took Rebekah and she became his wife, and he loved her." The verse also states Isaac was "comforted after his mother's death."

Answer: Shechem

In addition to the NKJV, a long list of other Bible versions (including the KJV and the NIV) state in Genesis 34:3 Shechem loved Dinah. However, his so-called love turned violent when he sexually assaulted Dinah, Jacob's only daughter.

Scripture goes on to tell of two of Dinah's brothers, Simeon and Levi, going on a vigilante killing spree to avenge Shechem's horrid treatment of their sister.

Answer: Samson

Judges 16 tells of Samson, a super strong judge of Israel, falling in love with Deliliah, a Philistine woman who lived in the Valley of Sorek. The love affair took place after Samson had been married to an unnamed Philistine woman, as per Judges 14. However, the marriage came to an abrupt end when the woman infuriated Samson by telling others the answer to a riddle he had posed. Judges 14:20 states that Samson ended up giving his wife to his companion, who had been his best man.

Judges 16 goes on to tell of Delilah being bribed by Philistine lords to betray Samson. As a result, Samson would end up dying as a prisoner of the Philistines.

Answer: Elkanah

Elkanah, the father of Samuel, had two wives, Hannah and Peninnah. However, Elkanah clearly loved Hannah, as 1 Samuel 1:4-5 states that whenever it came time to make an offering, he would give Hannah a double portion.

While Peninnah was the mother of an unstated number of children, Hannah was unable to conceive. Later, Hannah would miraculously give birth to Samuel after she fervently prayed to God for a child.

Answer: Saul

1 Samuel 18:20 states Michal, son of Saul, the first king of Israel, loved David. Scripture goes on to tell of the two becoming husband and wife, but not before David fulfilled a special request of Saul.

According to 1 Samuel 18:25-27, Saul requested David produce one hundred Philistine foreskins to win Michal's hand. In response, David presented two hundred Philistine foreskins to Saul.

Answer: Amnon

Amnon is the correct answer. According to 2 Samuel 13:1-22, he was hopelessly in love with his half sister Tamar. However, Amnon's so-called-love turned violent when he raped Tamar after he pretended to be in bed sick.

Later, Absalom, a full brother of Tamar, would end up killing Amnon to avenge his dastardly actions.

Answer: Maachah

Rehoboam was intimate with a large number of women but Maachah, the granddaughter of Absalom, was clearly his favorite, according to 2 Chronicles 11:21. The same verse states Rehoboam had eighteen wives and sixty concubines and was the father of twenty-eight sons and sixty daughters.

Rehoboam, the son of Solomon, was initially the king of Israel. However, the northern ten tribes broke away during his reign and Rehoboam ended up serving as king over Judah only.

Answer: Ahasuerus

Ahasuerus, also known as Xerxes in the NIV and some other Bible versions, is the correct answer. Esther 2:17 states Ahasuerus "loved Esther more than all the other women and she obtained grace and favor in his sight more than all the virgins." As a result, Esther was named queen of Persia, replacing Vashti who had been deposed by the king.

The Persian empire at the time stretched from India to Ethiopia, as per Esther 1:1.

Answer: Shulamite

The maiden is described as being a Shulamite in the KJV and the NKJV as well as in a long list of other versions. (The NIV, however, spells the word Shulamite as Shulammite, using the letter 'm' twice.)

According to Wikipedia, a Shulamite was a person from Shunem. Scholars don't have a consensus, but many of them believe Shunem was a village which was part of the tribe of Issachar. The village was north of Jezreel and south of Mount Gilboa.