The Old Testament Quiz

Daniel is a servant in high office of Darius the Mede. He is hated by Darius' other advisors, who trick Darius into issuing a decree that says no one other than Darius may be worshipped. Daniel ignores this and, despite his reluctance, Darius must act. He elects to have Daniel thrown into a lion's den. The next day, he returns to see if Daniel lived. Daniel has survived, and he explains that he was blameless in God's eyes, therefore he bound the lion's mouths shut.

The First Book of Samuel tells of God's plan to establish a monarchy as ruler over the Israelites. That first king is to be Saul, but after a promising start, he is a failure. This paves the way for David to become king, which is described later in the Old Testament.

Joshua was the brother of Moses. Joshua played an important role in the Israelite nation. Not only was he one of the 12 spies that entered the promised land after they were sent by Moses, but he also took over the leadership of the Jewish nation, following the death of his brother.

Enoch is not a book of the Old Testament. The Bible makes references to two men named Enoch. One was the son of Cain. The other was the son of Jared and the father of Methuselah, the oldest man in the Bible. He lived for 969 years.

The story of Samson appears in the Book of Judges. Born with incredible strength, Samson is said to have killed a lion and many Philistines with his bare hands. The secret of his strength, however, was found out when he confided to Delilah, who in turn told the Philistines. They instructed her to cut off his hair. While chained in their temple, Samson showed one final display of strength. Praying to God to help him, he pushed over the supporting columns of the temple, killing himself and all in it.

The story of the prophet Elijah taken up into Heaven is told in 2 Kings 2:11. While he was talking to Elisha, a wind spirited him away into a chariot that was on fire, pulled by horses that were on fire. He was never seen again.

Malachi is the final book of the Old Testament. It consists of just four chapters. Most scholars are unsure of who actually wrote the book, but many believe it might have someone actually called Malachi.

Dinah is named in the Old Testament as a daughter of Jacob. Although he may have had others, she is the only one mentioned. Dinah's story is told in Genesis 34.

Indeed, David's father was named Jesse. Jesse had eight sons, of which David was the youngest. He was a sheep breeder, and that explains why David was a shepherd as well. Jesse's name is sometimes spelled Isai.

Once David joined Saul's household, he and Jonathan became firm friends. As Saul began to sour towards David, it was Jonathan who tried to turn his father's thought, but he was unsuccessful. Jonathan then warned David that Saul was jealous and wanted to kill him. Jonathan and Saul were eventually killed by the Philistines.

Interestingly, scholars believe that Abraham, with whom God made his covenant, foretelling his chosen people, the Israelites, was not Hebrew. Hebrew was the language of Canaan, where Abraham was told to go by God. Therefore he adopted it. And so, the writers of the Old Testament, such as Moses, wrote mostly in Hebrew.

Jacob fathered 12 sons. These men were to be the cornerstones of the new Israelite nation. Each son would lead a tribe as the Israelite nation grew. Their names are Reuben, Simeon, Levi, Judah, Dan, Naphtali, Gad, Asher, Issachar, Zebulun, Joseph and Benjamin.

Because they thought their father favored him, Joseph's brothers sold him into slavery. They told Jacob that Joseph was eaten by a wild animal. Joseph ended up in Egypt, where he eventually became a trusted advisor to the Pharaoh.

The Ark of the Covenant was where the Israelites kept the Ten Commandments. It also contained the rod of Moses' brother Aaron, as well as a jar of manna. Manna was the food that fed the Israelites while they wandered in the desert. It was given to them by God.

The twelve tribes of Israel were in conflict often. And this eventually caused a split. Judah in the south consisted of just two tribes - Benjamin and Judea. Israel in the north consisted of the ten other tribes under the rule of King Jeroboam.

The nation of Babylon exiled the people of Judah after invading the land and defeating them. They remained in exile for 49 years but returned to Jerusalem after they were freed by Cyrus the Great.

Absalom was the third son of David. He later declared himself king and revolted against his father. He was defeated in battle at Ephraim's Wood and was killed by the commander of David's army, Joab, against the king's instructions.

The account of God creating Eve from the rib of Adam is told in Genesis 2. Theologians have speculated about the rib bone over the years. Why the rib? Well, it actually is one of the only bones in the body that regenerates, so it might be that. All speculation, of course!

The ark had settled on Mount Ararat, and Noah wanted to know when it would be safe to leave. He first released a raven, which never returned. He then released a dove, which returned to the ark, meaning there was no place to settle. A week later, he sent the dove again. This time it returned with an olive leaf.

The author of the first five books of the Old Testament is Moses. Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy are known by the collective name of the Pentateuch. This comes from the Greek word meaning "five scrolls."

The name of Abraham's nephew is Lot. He had a pretty eventful life, including his capture by Chedorlaomer, the King of Elam. Abraham took an army of 318 strong and saved Lot.

God destroyed the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah with fire and brimstone. He did this as the people of both cities were leading detestable lives. According to Ezekiel 16:49-50, "She and her daughters were arrogant, overfed and unconcerned; they did not help the poor and needy. They were haughty and did detestable things before me."

After Moses' mother placed him in the bulrushes, Pharaoh's daughter discovered him. She took the baby in, raising him as her own son. Unbelievably, she called on an Israelite woman to help her - Jochebed, Moses' biological mother.

Solomon plays a very important part in the Old Testament. Not only did he build the first Temple for the Israelites, but he was also said to be incredibly wise. He was an author, responsible for three books in the Old Testament - Proverbs, Ecclesiastes and Song of Solomon.

Moses met God on top of Mount Sinai. The Israelites could not see the meeting, as the mountain was enveloped with clouds. It is said that when Moses returned from the mountain, the Israelites could not look at him, as his face glowed from being in the presence of God.

Yes, it is true. The first set was destroyed by Moses when he came down the mountain to find the Israelites worshipping a golden calf, a false god. He threw the stone tablets down and broke them.

After spying on the city, the Israelites marched their army to Jericho. As per instructions from God, they marched around the walls of Jericho once a day for six days, then on the seventh day they marched around the walls seven times. Then they blew their horns and shouted, and the walls of Jericho crumbled, allowing them to take the city.

The Book of Psalms contains 150 of these unique pieces of scripture. Many of them were written by David, and scholars believe that the selection of 150 might have come from a broader group.

Even though he had anointed Saul, God instructed Samuel to anoint David. This was while Saul was still in power. The anointing process saw the king's head covered with olive oil poured from a goat horn.

Psalm 23 is one of the most recognized of all Psalms. It was written by David while he was hiding from Saul, the King of Israel who wanted him dead. Essentially it is a Psalm about how God (the shepherd) protects and provides for his children (his flock).

Cain killed his brother, Abel, as told in Genesis 4. Why? Well, because he thought God had favored Abel's sacrifice more than his own. He took his brother's life with a stone. Cain was cursed to wander the Earth for the rest of his days. He was eventually killed when a house of stone he was living in collapsed on him.

God told Lot and his family to flee from Sodom and Gomorrah, as he planned to destroy the cities. He also warned them not to turn back and look at the destruction. Lot's wife didn't obey - when she turned back to look, she became a pillar of salt. She is never named in the Bible.

Moses sent spies forth into Canaan, with some going to the city of Jericho, the first the Israelites planned to attack. Here they were helped by Rahab, a prostitute. When the Israelites did attack and the walls of Jericho came down, they knew to spare Rahab's household as she had hung a red cord out of a window.

Jezebel was the queen of Ahab, ruler of Israel. She was a follower of Baal and ordered many priests killed. Elijah, however, escaped. He predicted to King Ahab that he would be killed and Jezebel would be torn apart by dogs. Both prophecies came true.