Q 01/05

Which bird does Noah send out first after the flood in Genesis, before he tries a dove?

A) A swallow

B) A raven

C) An eagle

D) A sparrow

Answer · why

B) A raven

A raven goes out first and flies to and fro until the waters dry up. The dove sent after it comes back with an olive leaf, the sign that land has reap...

Q 02/05

What does Lot's wife turn into when she looks back at the burning city of Sodom?

A) A pillar of fire

B) A heap of ashes

C) A pillar of salt

D) A block of stone

Answer · why

C) A pillar of salt

A pillar of salt is her fate for ignoring the angels' warning not to look behind her. She is never named in the Bible, though some Jewish traditions c...

Q 03/05

Which grandfather of Noah is said in Genesis to have lived 969 years, the longest lifespan in the Bible?

A) Methuselah

B) Melchizedek

C) Mahalalel

D) Lamech

Answer · why

A) Methuselah

Methuselah dies in the very year of the flood, if the ages listed in Genesis are added up. His name has become a byword for extreme old age.

Q 04/05

In the dream Joseph interprets for Pharaoh in Genesis, which seven fat animals are eaten by seven thin ones?

A) Sheep

B) Goats

C) Camels

D) Cows

Answer · why

D) Cows

Cows stand for years in Joseph's reading: seven of abundance, then seven of famine. He advises Pharaoh to store the surplus grain and rises to second-...

Q 05/05

Which hairy elder twin sells his birthright to his brother Jacob for a bowl of red lentil stew?

A) Esau

B) Laban

C) Reuben

D) Ishmael

Answer · why

A) Esau

Esau comes home famished from the fields and trades away his rights as firstborn on the spot. The Hebrew Bible makes him the ancestor of the Edomites,...