About This Quiz
The spirit of God moved over the waters, as you will doubtless remember, but do you remember exactly when God's spirit did that, and over which waters?
The Bible mentions many bodies of water, from lakes to rivers to seas to amorphous "waters" that seem to just exist in ether. These watery bodies are key elements to how many of these stories turn out, from the role of the River Nile and the Red Sea in all the tales set in Egypt to the role of the Sea of Galilee in the New Testament, to the special place afforded to the River Jordan. Indeed, the Garden of Eden itself is identified as being in the Land of the Four Rivers, which are commonly held to be the Tigris, the Euphrates, the Gihon and the Pison. Two of these are easier to remember, as they are still around, but the latter two may now go by other names or may have dried up. Other notable bodies of water include those as large as the Mediterranean Sea, and as small as pools at Samaria, Siloam, Shelah, and Gibeon.Â
If you know where all of these are mentioned, then you are truly a Bible expert. Let's find out!
This is during the flight from Egypt when the Hebrews are trapped beside the Red Sea, which God then parts so they can cross.
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God makes some promises about the borders of a future promised land! "I will set your borders from the Red Sea to the Mediterranean Sea, and from the wilderness to the Euphrates River. For I will place the inhabitants of the land under your control, and you will drive them out ahead of you."
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The verse is all about Johanan saving captives, which requires quite a lot of fighting! "They took all their men and went to fight with Ishmael son of Nethaniah and found him by the great pool that is in Gibeon."
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This verse discusses the inheritance of Judah. "And their south boundary was from the end of the Salt [Dead] Sea, from the bay that faces southward."
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This verse discusses the tale of Noah's ark and the flood. "And Noah went in, and his sons, and his wife, and his sons' wives with him, into the ark, because of the waters of the flood."
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This verse discusses the inheritance of Manasseh. "And the coast descended unto the river Kanah, southward of the river: these cities of Ephraim are among the cities of Manasseh: the coast of Manasseh also was on the north side of the river, and the outgoings of it were at the sea."
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This verse describes the exile of the people of Israel into Babylon. "By the rivers of Babylon we sat and wept when we remembered Zion."
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This verse discusses the inheritance of Ephraim. "The border went out from Tappuah westward unto the river Kanah; and the goings out thereof were at the sea. This is the inheritance of the tribe of the children of Ephraim by their families."
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This verse describes the garden of Eden - the river Hiddekel is also known as the Tigris. "And the name of the third river is Hiddekel: that is it which goeth toward the east of Assyria. And the fourth river is Euphrates."
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This verse describes the beginning of Creation - no bodies of water yet exist. "In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth."
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This verse describes the defeat of the kings east of the Jordan. "...And the Arabah east of the Sea of Chinnereth to the Sea of the Arabah (that is, the Salt Sea), eastward through Beth-jeshimoth and southward below the slopes of Pisgah."
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Amos here urges the people of Israel to be honest and decent in their morality. "But let justice roll on like a river, and righteousness like an ever-flowing stream."
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This verse describes the feeding of the five thousand by Jesus. "After this, Jesus crossed to the other side of the Sea of Galilee (that is, the Sea of Tiberias)."
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This verse describes the miracle of Jesus walking on water. "...Got into a boat, and started across the sea to Capernaum. It was already dark, and Jesus had not yet gone out to them."
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This verse describes the first disciples to come to Jesus. "On one occasion, while Jesus was standing by the Lake of Gennesaret with the crowd pressing in on Him to hear the word of God..."
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This is the promise of God to Israel. "I will open rivers on the barren heights, and fountains in the middle of the valleys. I will turn the desert into a pool of water, and the dry land into flowing springs."
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This verse talks about how righteous people shall joyously draw from the springs of salvation. "With joy you will draw water from the springs of salvation."
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This verse describes the War of the Kings. "The latter five came as allies to the Valley of Siddim (that is, the Salt Sea)."
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This verse describes the beginning of the ministry of Jesus. “Land of Zebulun and land of Naphtali, the way to the sea, beyond the Jordan, Galilee of the Gentiles."
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This verse describes Jacob wrestling with God. "During the night Jacob got up and took his two wives, his two maidservants, and his eleven sons, and crossed the ford of Jabbok."
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This verse describes the Ten Plagues during the story of the slaves trying to leave Egypt. "The fish in the Nile will die, the river will stink, and the Egyptians will be unable to drink its water."
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This is the song of Deborah and Barak, a pair of prophets, describing a mighty battle. "The River Kishon swept them away, the ancient river, the River Kishon. March on, O my soul, in strength!"
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This verse describes the building of some very elaborate city walls! "The Fountain Gate was repaired by Shallun son of Col-hozeh, ruler of the district of Mizpah. He rebuilt it, roofed it, and installed its doors, bolts, and bars. He also repaired the wall of the Pool of Shelah near the king’s garden, as far as the stairs that descend from the City of David."
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The River Pison is described here in the Garden of Eden. "The name of the first river is Pison; it flows through the whole land of Havilah, where there is gold."
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This verse describes the boundaries of the Garden of Eden. "The name of the second river is Gihon; it winds throughout the land of Cush."
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This verse describes the deliverance of Israel by Jephthah. "...Seizing all the land from the Arnon to the Jabbok and from the wilderness to the Jordan."
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This verse describes Ezekiel's vision by the River Chebar. "In the thirtieth year, in the fourth month, on the fifth day, while I was among the exiles by the River Chebar, the heavens opened and I saw visions of God."
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This is about David fetching the Ark. "So David assembled all the Israelites, from the River Shihor in Egypt to Lebo-hamath, to bring the ark of God from Kiriath-jearim."
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God confirms his promise to Abraham. "In the same day the LORD made a covenant with Abram, saying, Unto thy seed have I given this land, from the river of Egypt unto the great river, the river Euphrates."
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This verse is about the boundaries of the land of Canaan. "The border will turn from Azmon to the Brook of Egypt, where it will end at the Mediterranean Sea."
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This is during the Exodus, when there is no drinkable water in the desert. "And when they came to Marah, they could not drink of the waters of Marah, for they were bitter: therefore the name of it was called Marah."
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This verse is about the mission of John the Baptist. "And they were baptized of him in the river Jordan, confessing their sins."
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This is about the ravens feeding Elijah the prophet in the book of Kings. "So Elijah left and did exactly what the LORD had told him to do he went to live near the brook Cherith, where it enters the Jordan River."
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This is in the midst of a story about the curing of Naaman the leper. "Are not Abana and Pharpar, rivers of Damascus, better than all the waters of Israel? May I not wash in them, and be clean? So he turned and went away in a rage."
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This verse is about the division of land to the east of the River Jordan. "As well as the Arabah, with the river Jordan as their limit, from Chinnereth to the Salt Sea, under the slopes of Pisgah to the east."
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