50 Fun Facts About Fathers in the Bible

Which grandfather of Noah has the longest lifespan recorded in the Bible, at 969 years?

Methuselah became a father at 187 by the Genesis count, then lived another 782 years and had other sons and daughters.

Which son of Isaac traded away his birthright for a bowl of lentil stew?

Esau was born red and hairy, and Genesis links that redness to the red lentil dish he took in exchange. The trade gave English the saying about selling a birthright for a mess of pottage.

Which son of King David raised a revolt at Hebron and died after an oak tree caught his head?

Absalom was left hanging when his mule ran on, and Joab, David's nephew and army commander, killed him there against the king's orders. The king withdrew in mourning until Joab roused him to return to his duties.

In the parable of the Prodigal Son, which animal does the father have slaughtered for the homecoming feast?

A fatted calf was served, and the returning son was also given the finest robe, a ring and sandals. His older brother protests that he was never offered even a young goat.

Which priest was struck mute by the angel Gabriel until his son John the Baptist was born and named?

Zechariah got his speech back only when he wrote down that the boy's name was John. He had doubted the angel's news that his wife Elizabeth would bear a son.

Which priest of Midian became the father-in-law of Moses and urged him to share the work of judging?

Jethro gave his daughter Zipporah to Moses in marriage. Exodus first calls him Reuel, and the Druze identify him with their prophet Shuaib.

In Matthew's Gospel, the people of Jesus's hometown dismiss him as the son of a man of which trade?

Carpenter is the traditional English for the Greek word tekton, a general term that could also mean a craftsman in stone or iron. The townspeople never mention Joseph by name.

Which sheep owner of Bethlehem presented seven older sons before his youngest, David, was anointed king?

Jesse's eldest, Eliab, looked so kingly that the visiting prophet assumed he was the chosen one. God told the prophet not to consider appearance or height.

Which animal did Abraham offer on the altar in place of his bound son Isaac?

A ram appeared as the Angel of the Lord stopped Abraham, and it was slaughtered in the boy's stead. Jewish tradition knows the story simply as the Akedah, the Binding.

Which Aramaic word for father does Jesus use in Mark's Gospel when praying in Gethsemane?

Abba stands untranslated in Mark's Greek, followed at once by the Greek word for father. Paul repeats the same pairing in his letters to the Romans and the Galatians.

Which first son of Abraham was born to Hagar, the Egyptian handmaid of his wife Sarah?

Ishmael was born when his father was 86, and Genesis promises that he will father twelve princes. In Islam he is regarded as a prophet.

Which twelfth and youngest son of Jacob was born as his mother Rachel lay dying?

Benjamin was first called Benoni, meaning son of my pain, by his dying mother, and Jacob changed the name. He was the only full brother of Joseph.

Which firstborn of Jacob and Leah saw his birthright pass to Joseph after angering his father?

Reuben was the first of Leah's six sons, but he proved a disappointment to Jacob. A note in Chronicles confirms that the rights of the firstborn went to Joseph instead.

Which father tricked Jacob into marrying his elder daughter Leah before the promised bride, Rachel?

Laban agreed to seven years of labor as the price for Rachel, then demanded seven more once the switch was made. He was also Jacob's uncle.

Which priest of Shiloh was punished for failing to rein in his corrupt sons Hophni and Phinehas?

Eli fell from his seat and broke his neck on hearing that the Ark of the Covenant had been captured. Both of his sons died in the same battle.

Which synagogue ruler in Galilee begged Jesus to save his dying twelve-year-old daughter?

Jairus's daughter is raised with the Aramaic phrase Talitha koum, which Mark's Gospel keeps in the original language. Matthew tells the story without naming the father.

Which fisherman was left in the boat with the hired men when his sons James and John followed Jesus?

Zebedee's hired men suggest a family of some means. His wife is thought to be Salome, one of the women named at the crucifixion.

Which nephew of Abraham fled with his two daughters from Sodom, where his wife became a pillar of salt?

Lot feared the hills the angels sent him toward and asked to shelter in a nearby village instead. The village was known from then on as Zoar.

Which righteous man of Uz lost his seven sons and three daughters in a test of his faith?

Job ended with twice the wealth he had before and a new family of seven sons and three daughters. The daughters were said to be the most beautiful women in the land.

Which father of Abraham set out from Ur for Canaan but stopped and died in the city of Haran?

Terah made and sold idols in rabbinic tradition, and one story has the young Abram smashing the stock and chasing customers from the shop.

Which third son of Adam and Eve was born after Cain's murder of Abel, as a replacement?

Seth has a name meaning placed or appointed, because Eve believed God had appointed him in Abel's stead. The Hebrew text makes Adam 130 years old at the birth.

Which son of Noah saw his father lying drunk and uncovered in his tent after the flood?

Ham told his two brothers, who walked in backward with a garment so as not to look. Noah's curse then fell not on him but on his son Canaan.

Which father was told by Moses not to mourn when fire consumed his sons Nadab and Abihu?

Aaron's two eldest sons had offered what Leviticus calls foreign fire, against instructions. Both had earlier climbed Sinai with Moses and the seventy elders.

Which Levite married Jochebed and became the father of Moses and his sister Miriam?

Amram was already related to his wife before the marriage, and the Hebrew text makes her his own father's sister. His name means exalted people.

In the Book of Judges, who vowed to sacrifice whatever first left his house after victory over the Ammonites?

Jephthah was met at the door by his own daughter and regretted the vow at once. The text says only that he carried it out.

Which Old Testament judge refused to be made king, yet fathered seventy sons by his many wives?

Gideon told the people that only God was their ruler. He then had another son by a concubine from Shechem and named him Abimelech, meaning my father is king.

Which Danite from Zorah was the father of Samson, the son an angel promised to his barren wife?

Manoah heard the news second-hand, because the angel appeared first to his wife. The boy was to be a Nazirite from the womb, with a diet the angel spelled out.

Which eldest son of King Saul made a covenant of friendship with David, his father's rival?

Jonathan was said to love David as himself, yet he stayed at his father's side. He died with Saul and his brothers in the battle on the heights of Gilboa.

Which younger daughter of King Saul married David and lowered him from a window to save his life?

Michal then hid household idols in the bed as a decoy. She was the first wife of David, and his later rise to the throne made her a queen.

Which son and successor of Solomon saw the ten northern tribes break away under Jeroboam?

Rehoboam took the advice of the young men he had grown up with, who told him to show no weakness and tax the people even more. The rebellion followed.

Which Old Testament leader is repeatedly called the son of Nun?

Joshua was first named Hoshea, and it was Moses who renamed him. He and Caleb were the only two of the twelve spies to bring back an encouraging report.

Abraham was sent to offer Isaac in which land, a name Chronicles gives to the mount of Solomon's Temple?

Moriah in Genesis could be any mountainous region, but Chronicles sets Solomon's Temple on a mount of that name. Rabbinic tradition therefore placed the near-sacrifice in Jerusalem.

What did Rebekah lay on Jacob's arms and neck so that blind Isaac would take him for his hairy twin?

Goatskins passed the test when Isaac called his son close to feel him. Jacob, who had protested that he was smooth-skinned, left with the blessing meant for the firstborn.

Which gift from Jacob to his favorite son Joseph stirred the envy of the older brothers?

A many-colored coat is the traditional reading, though some modern translations make it a long robe with sleeves. The brothers later dipped it in goat blood to fake Joseph's death.

Which younger son of Joseph did the dying Jacob bless ahead of his elder brother Manasseh?

Ephraim was also adopted by Jacob as a son of his own, so he heads a tribe beside his uncles. When Joseph tried to move his father's right hand to the elder boy, the half-blind patriarch refused and said he knew.

Which seventh child of Leah is the only daughter of Jacob whom Genesis mentions by name?

Dinah has a name meaning judged or vindicated. When Shechem, a local prince's son, wronged her, her full brothers Simeon and Levi took a violent revenge.

Which son of Jacob and Leah urged his brothers to sell Joseph to passing traders rather than kill him?

Judah later pleaded with Joseph in Egypt to take him as a slave in his youngest brother's place. By extension, the word Jew goes back to his name.

Which Jew of Susa adopted his orphaned cousin Esther and brought her up as his own daughter?

Mordecai refused to bow to the vizier Haman, who then plotted to kill all of Persia's Jews. He persuaded Esther to use her place as queen to stop it.

Which wealthy landowner of Bethlehem married the Moabite widow Ruth and fathered Obed?

Boaz first noticed Ruth gleaning grain in his fields and learned of her loyalty to her mother-in-law Naomi. Their son became the grandfather of King David.

Which prophet, married to the unfaithful Gomer, gave his children names meaning not pitied and not my people?

Hosea named his daughter Lo-ruhamah and his son Lo-ammi as signs of God's displeasure with a people who were following false gods.

The commandment to honor father and mother carries which promise in the book of Exodus?

Long life in the land is the reward attached, and the letter to the Ephesians calls this the first commandment with a promise.

The Lord's Prayer, which opens by calling God Father, belongs to which long discourse in Matthew's Gospel?

Sermon on the Mount fills chapters 5 to 7 of Matthew and also holds the Beatitudes. Mark's Gospel has no version of the prayer at all.

After the return from Egypt, Joseph settled with Mary and the young Jesus in which town of Galilee?

Nazareth was the choice in Matthew because Joseph was afraid to live under Herod Archelaus. Both nativity accounts agree that Jesus was born in Bethlehem and moved later.

When God renamed Abram as Abraham, which meaning does the book of Genesis offer for the new name?

Father of a multitude is the meaning Genesis gives, but scholars call that a folk etymology. The name is very old and more likely meant that the father is exalted.

Which son of David proclaimed himself king as his father lay dying, before Solomon took the throne?

Adonijah held a sacrificial feast to announce his claim, but the priest Zadok and the court prophet Nathan would not side with him. He gave way to Solomon peacefully.

Which companion and co-worker of Paul had a Greek father and a Jewish mother named Eunice?

Timothy also had a believing grandmother, Lois, and came from Lystra or Derbe in Asia Minor. Tradition makes him the first bishop of Ephesus.

Which prophet appointed his sons Joel and Abijah as his successors, only for them to take bribes?

Samuel was then pressed by the tribal leaders to appoint a king, so that they could be like other nations. The crown went to Saul.

Which Gospel tells the parable of the Prodigal Son right after those of the Lost Sheep and the Lost Coin?

Luke sets it as the last of three parables about loss and redemption. Jesus tells them after religious leaders accuse him of welcoming sinners and eating with them.

After wrestling a mysterious man until dawn on a riverbank, the patriarch Jacob was given which new name?

Israel is explained in Genesis as one who contends with God. Jacob called the place Penuel, face of God, while his opponent refused to give any name of his own.

Which evangelist, one of the Seven, lived in Caesarea with four daughters who prophesied?

Philip had earlier baptized an Ethiopian traveler on the road from Jerusalem to Gaza. Paul came to visit him and his daughters at Caesarea.