Names & Meanings
Genology 101
Culture & Practice
Women in the Bible
Where in the world is...
100
Joseph’s name in Hebrew (Yosef) is traditionally interpreted as meaning this?
What is “He will add” or “May He add”? (Genesis 30:24)
100
Joseph was the eleventh son of this patriarch?
Who is Jacob? (Genesis 35:22-26)
100
Joseph’s interpretation of dreams in prison reflected this ancient Near Eastern belief about dreams.
What is that dreams were messages from the divine? (Genesis 40)
100
This woman, mentioned briefly in Judges, was the only female judge of Israel.
Who is Deborah? (Judges 4–5)
100
This river, one of the four mentioned in the Garden of Eden narrative, is associated with the ancient kingdom of Cush and may correspond to the modern Blue Nile.
What is the Gihon? (Genesis 2:13)
200
Pharaoh gives Joseph the Egyptian name Zaphenath-paneah, which is thought to mean this.
What is “God speaks and lives” or “Revealer of secrets”? (Genesis 41:45)
200
Joseph’s mother, who died giving birth to Benjamin, who was this woman?
Who is Rachel? (Genesis 35:16-19)
200
This cultural practice is shown when Joseph shaves and changes clothes before appearing before Pharaoh.
What is ritual purification/custom of appearance before royalty? (Genesis 41:14)
200
This woman, wife of Heber the Kenite, killed a general after offering him hospitality and a place to rest.
Who is Jael? (Judges 4:17–22)
200
This empire dominated the Ancient Near East in the 6th century BCE and is credited with the destruction of the First Temple in 586 BCE.
What is the Babylonian Empire? (2 Kings 25:8–10)
300
Joseph names his first son Manasseh, meaning this, because God made him forget all his troubles.
What is “causing to forget”? (Genesis 41:51)
300
These two grandsons of Jacob recieved full tribal status in Isreal? Who where they?
Who are Ephraim and Manasseh? (Genesis 48:5)
300
This item, given by Jacob, symbolized favoritism and may have reflected elite or priestly status.
What is the coat of many colors (or richly ornamented robe)? (Genesis 37:3)
300
She was struck dead for conspiring with her husband Ananias to lie to the apostles, about money.
Who is Sapphira? (Acts 5:1–11)
300
This highland city, later conquered by David, was originally a Jebusite stronghold and became the political and religious capital of Israel.
What is Jerusalem? (2 Samuel 5:6–9)
400
Joseph names his second son Ephraim, meaning this, reflecting his fruitful life in Egypt.
What is “fruitful”? (Genesis 41:52)
400
Jacob and Rachel were Joseph's parents, but they were also 1st cousins, how were their families related?
Laban Rachel's father, was Rebekah, Jacob's mothers sibling. Both Rebekah and Laban were children of Bethuel.
400
Joseph's integration into Egyptian society is formalized when he marries this woman?
Who is Asanath daughter of Priest of On.
400
This woman hid David from King Saul by placing an idol in his bed to trick the soldiers.
Who is Michal? (1 Samuel 19:11–17)
400
This vast empire permitted the Jews to return from exile and rebuild the Temple under Cyrus the Great’s decree.
What is the Persian Empire? (Ezra 1:1–4)
500
Rachel names Joseph with hope that God would do this for her.
What is “add another son”? (Genesis 30:24)
500
Which one of Joseph's two sons, had a decendant that would lead the children of Isreal to capture and secure Cannan, including Jericho, and many other cities, long after Joseph and his story were forgotten in Egypt.
Name which of Joseph's Sons. Name the leader of Isreal.
Who is Ephrahim
Who is Joshua
500
What cultural rule or law also known as "yibbum" in Hebrew was central to Judah, Joseph's brother, his sons Er & Onan, and Tamar the daughter-in-law?
What is the Leverite Law
Gen 38
In the story of Judah and Tamar, levirate marriage, also known as yibbum, plays a central role. If a man dies without an heir, his brother is obligated to marry his widow and produce an heir in the deceased brother's name. This practice is illustrated by the deaths of Judah's sons, Er and Onan
500
This woman is credited with saving her city by appealing to King David after Joab planned to destroy it.
Who is the wise woman of Tekoa? (2 Samuel 14:1–20)
500
In Acts, this Roman province in Asia Minor was home to cities like Iconium, Lystra, and Derbe, visited by Paul during his missionary journeys.
What is Galatia? (Acts 13–14)
600
This woman’s name means “princess,” and God reaffirmed her identity by renaming her to emphasize royalty.
Who is Sarai (to Sarah)? (Genesis 17:15 — Sarai = my princess; Sarah = princess)
600
What were the 3 female companions (wives) of Abraham? What famous offspring did their descendants develope into?
Who are Sarah, Hagar, and Keturah.
Sarah: 12 tribes of Isreal
Hagar: Ishmealits that became the religion of Islam through Muhammad
Keturah: Midianities (Moses wife was a Midianite)
600
Joseph is promoted to this high-ranking Egyptian administrative position, responsible for the granaries and national economy.
What is Vizier (second-in-command to Pharaoh)? (Genesis 41:40–41)
600
This wise woman of Abel of Beth-maacah helped negotiate peace with Joab.
Who is the wise woman of Abel? (2 Samuel 20:16–22)
600
This northern kingdom, often in conflict with Israel, worshipped Hadad and had Damascus as its capital.
What is Aram (or Syria)? (1 Kings 20:1–34)
700
The meaning of this name reflects the laughter and astonishment of both his parents upon learning of his miraculous birth.
What is Isaac? (Genesis 17:17, 18:12–15, 21:3 — Yitzhak = he laughs)
700
In the Bible Esau married 2 Hittite women that did not believe in God, but to appease his parents he ended up marrying his cousin, the daughter of Ishmeal. What was his third wife's name?
How were the Hittite women related to Abrahams Descendants?
In the Bible, Esau, son of Isaac, married Mahalath, the daughter of Ishmael, in addition to his previous wives. This is mentioned in Genesis 28:6-9.
It goes back to Noah who had 3 sons:
Ham, Shem, Japeth.
Shem's descendants became the children of isreal, and ishmealities/
Ham's descendants became Hivities, Hittities, Jebusites, Sidonians, etc.
700
The abundance of grain stored during Egypt’s years of plenty may reflect knowledge of this natural cyclical phenomenon along the Nile.
What are the annual Nile floods (Inundation)? (Genesis 41:47–49 — Egypt’s agricultural calendar was tied to the Nile's cycles)
700
This woman, wife of Shallum, was a prophetess consulted by King Josiah about the Book of the Law.
Who is Huldah? (2 Kings 22:14–20)
700
This ancient city, situated between the Tigris and Euphrates, is portrayed in Genesis as the seat of the Tower of Babel.
What is Babylon? (Genesis 11:1–9)
800
This grandson of Abraham was born grasping his brother’s heel and was named for that act, a name also interpreted as “supplanter.”
What is Jacob? (Genesis 25:26 — Ya‘aqov = heel-grabber or supplanter)
800
This son of Leah’s maid Bilhah, Joseph's 1/2 brother, was named because Rachel claimed God had "judged" her and heard her voice.
Who is Dan? (Genesis 30:6 — Dan = judge)
800
Egyptian funerary customs are evident when Joseph oversees this specific process upon Jacob’s death.
What is embalming (mummification)? (Genesis 50:2–3 — physicians embalmed Jacob, mourning lasted 70 days)
800
This daughter of Zelophehad, along with her sisters, successfully petitioned Moses for inheritance rights.
Who is Mahlah (or any of the five: Mahlah, Noah, Hoglah, Milcah, and Tirzah)? (Numbers 27:1–11)
800
After the Exodus, the Israelites avoid this Philistine-controlled coastal route, though it was the shortest path to Canaan.
What is the Way of the Philistines (or the Via Maris)? (Exodus 13:17)
900
This tribe's progenitor was named for Rachel's last words, meaning “son of my sorrow,” but was renamed to mean “son of my right hand.”
Who is Benjamin (originally Ben-Oni)? (Genesis 35:18 — Ben-Oni = son of my sorrow; Binyamin = son of my right hand)
900
When you discuss religion, Christianity, Jews and Muslims are all called Abrahamic religions. How are the Jewish People (Children of Isreal) and Muslims related?
Abraham has Ishmael and Issac
Issac married Rebekah and had Jacob and Esau which lead to the 12 tribes of Isreal through Jacob's descendants.
Ishmeal also had 12 sons and one of them was named Hadar, with a descendant name Muhammad, who developed the religion of Islam.
900
Joseph's brothers, identified as Hebrews, are settled in Goshen partly due to this Egyptian cultural view of shepherds.
What is that shepherds were detestable to Egyptians? (Genesis 46:34)
900
This woman built a room for the prophet Elisha, to use when he was traveling through her area and was later rewarded with a son.
Who is the Shunammite woman? (2 Kings 4:8–17)
900
This city, located in the fertile crescent of Mesopotamia, is named in Genesis as the origin of Abraham’s family and was a major urban center of moon worship in ancient Sumer.
What is Ur of the Chaldees? (Genesis 11:28, 15:7 — Ur Kasdim, linked to southern Mesopotamia, possibly modern Tell el-Muqayyar)
1000
This name was given because God heard a slave woman’s distress; it also means “God hears.”
What is Ishmael? (Genesis 16:11 — Yishma‘el = God hears)
1000
Deuteronomy 20:16–17, God commanded the Israelites, “In the cities of the nations the Lord your God is giving you as an inheritance, do not leave alive anything that breathes. Completely destroy them—the Hittites, Amorites, Canaanites, Perizzites, Hivites and Jebusites—as the Lord your God has commanded you.” A similar command is given concerning the Amalekites in 1 Samuel 15:2–3.
How are these groups related to Isrealities?
Hittites : descendants of Ham, Isrealities descendants of Shem, lived in hill county
Amorites: lived in hill county, descendants of Ham
Canaanites: lived by the sea and Jordan River, descendants of Ham
Hivites & Jebusites: descendants of Ham, Isrealities descendants of Shem
Amalekites: Descendants Esau and Hittite woman Adah. Gave birth to Eliphaz who had Amalek with his concubine Timnah. Amelek became ancestor of Amalekites.
1000
Pharaoh’s signet ring, linen garments, and gold chain given to Joseph signify his elevation and reflect this social concept deeply embedded in Egyptian royal symbolism.
What is ma'at (order, authority, divine justice) and royal favor? (Genesis 41:42 — these items symbolize trust, office, and integration into the ruling order)
1000
Though she only appears in one verse, this woman is said to have married Isaiah.
Who is the prophetess, wife of Isaiah? (Isaiah 8:3)
1000
This empire, known for deporting the northern tribes of Israel in 722 BCE, had its capital in a city that appears in Jonah's story and was infamous for its cruelty and military innovation.
What is the Assyrian Empire (capital: Nineveh)?
(2 Kings 17:6; Jonah 1:2 — Assyria is associated with the fall of Samaria and Nineveh with prophetic judgment)