Christ's Genealogy

1. Which two Gospels trace the genealogy of Christ? Matthew and Luke
Matthew and Luke both have genealogical lists, though Matthew's begins right away and Luke's is not introduced until just before Christ enters his public life.

2. Which Gospel arguably traces Christ's genealogy from Mary rather than from Joseph? Luke
Some have argued that the genealogy given in Luke is the genealogy of Mary, not of Joseph. For instance, "The Catholic Encyclopedia" says, "St. Luke's genealogy only seemingly includes the name of Joseph. It is based on the received Greek text, on (os enomizeto ouios Ioseph) tou Heli, 'being the son (as it was supposed, of Joseph, but really) of Heli'. This parenthesis really eliminates the name of Joseph from St. Luke's genealogy, and makes Christ, by means of the Blessed Virgin, directly a son of Heli." Mary was descended from David through his son Nathan, Joseph through his son Solomon. However, others have argued that both genealogies do belong to Joseph. St. Augustine, for instance, "suggested that Joseph, the son of Jacob and the descendant of David through Solomon, might have been adopted by Heli, thus becoming the adoptive descendant of David through Nathan." (Again, according to "The Catholic Encyclopedia")

3. Luke traces Christ's genealogy all the way back to which final progenitor? God
Luke 3:38: "the son of Adam, the son of God." Matthew's Gospel, however, goes back only to Abraham.

4. How many women are mentioned by name in Christ's genealogy? Four

Five are mentioned, but only four by name: Tamar, Rahab, Ruth, and Mary, the wife of Joseph. Bathsheba is alluded to as the wife of Uriah.

5. What woman mentioned in Christ's genealogy is traditionally thought to have been a prostitute? Rahab
Matthew 1:5 clearly states that Rahab was the mother of Boaz. This Rahab is traditionally associated with the harlot Rahab who hid the spies, but some commentators have pointed out that Joshua takes place too long before Judges and therefore a different Rahab must be meant. However, because all of the women mentioned in Christ's genealogy appear to have questionable backgrounds (Ruth, for instance, is a foriegner, a Moabite, and Tamar posed as a prostitute), it seems likely to other commentators that the Rahab of Joshua is indeed meant. Perhaps some generations were skipped in the genealogy and Rahab is therefore not the actual mother of Boaz but a further ancestor.

6. Ruth was David's great-grandmother, and therefore an ancestor of Christ. What was unusual about her? She was not Jewish by birth

Ruth was a Moabite, though she followed her Jewish mother-in-law, married Boaz, and gave birth to Obed, the grandfather of David.

7. What adulteress and mother of Solomon is alluded to in Christ's genealogy, though not mentioned explicitly by name? Bathsheba
Bathsheba is referred to as Uriah's wife, and she is mentioned in Matthew's genealogy, which traces the lineage through her son Solomon.

8. He was one of Christ's ancestors. His father was his mother's father-in-law. He got his name because he broke forth and exited the womb before his twin brother. Pharez
Zarah was Pharez's brother. Tamar posed as a prostitute and slept with her father-in-law Judah. As a consequence, she gave birth to Pharez: "And it came to pass in the time of her travail, that, behold, twins were in her womb. And it came to pass, when she travailed, that the one put out his hand: and the midwife took and bound upon his hand a scarlet thread, saying, This came out first. And it came to pass, as he drew back his hand, that, behold, his brother came out: and she said, How hast thou broken forth? this breach be upon thee: therefore his name was called Pharez." (Genesis 38:27-29)

9. Who married Rahab (Rachab) and fathered Boaz, the great-grandfather of David? Salmon
Solomon was David's son. Jesse was David's father. Obed was Jesse's father. Boaz was Obed's father. And finally, Rahab (Rachab) and Salmon were Boaz's parents.

10. From which son of Adam and Eve is Christ descended? Seth
Abel was murdered by his brother Cain, who was then banished for the act. Adam and Eve had a third son, Seth, from whom Christ is descended.

11. This member of Christ's genealogy was not, as far as we know, an active polygamist. Noah
Noah, as far as we know, had only one wife. Lamech was the first person in the Bible who is named as a multiple husband. David had several wives, including Michal, Abigail and Bathsheba. Solomon is renowned for his numerous wives and concubines, and the fact that he permitted most of them to continue with their own faiths.

12. From which son of Noah is Christ descended? Shem

Shem was the father of the Semites, and therefore an ancestor of Christ. Japheth is generally considered to be the father of the Indo-Europeans.

13. Christ was descended from this man, whose willingness to sacrifice his own son

serves as an example of God's sacrificial gift.

Your Answer: [No Answer]

Abraham
Abraham was willing to sacrifice Isaac, though he did not have to. He told his son that God would provide for the sacrifice. Christ is considered the Lamb of God, and this near-sacrifice thus prefigures Christ's crucifixion.

14. From which son of Israel (Jacob) is Christ descended? Judah

Judah was the father of Pharez, from whom was descended Salmon, husband of Rahab and father of Boaz. It was prophesied that the messiah would come from the tribe of Judah.

15. He was an ancestor of Christ's, but according to most Jewish and Christian traditions, he never died. Enoch
Enoch was the father of Methuselah, the father of Lamech, the father of Noah, the father of Shem, who was the father of the Semitic peoples. Enoch did not die but was translated to heaven. Elijah was also translated, but he is not in Christ's genealogy.

Biblical Heroes and Villains 1. Biblical heroes came in all shapes and sizes and levels of faith. These three friends literally went through the fire together and came out the other side intact, physically and spiritually. Who were the three friends that refused to bow down to King Nebuchadnezzar's gold statue? Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego
Nebuchadnezzar set up his gold statue and demanded that all bow down and worship it. Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego refused to bow down even when given a second chance. Daniel 3:17-18 says, "If we are thrown into the blazing furnace, the God whom we serve is able to save us. He will rescue us from your power, Your Majesty. But even if he doesn't, we want to make it clear to you, Your Majesty, that we will never serve your gods or worship the gold statue you have set up." The story continues with the three being tied up and placed in the furnace, but when the king saw the fourth person with them he screamed for them to come out of the fire. Nebuchadnezzar understood that God had sent an angel to protect the three and that they were willing to die rather than worship any god other than their own. The complete story of Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego and their overwhelming faith can be found in Daniel 3.

2. Biblical villains came from all walks of life and levels of greed. This king was so afraid of losing his throne, that he made Bethlehem the scene of murder and mayhem. Who was this king? Herod
The wise men came to town (Jerusalem) and asked about the "newborn" king, because they wanted to worship him. Herod, who was the current king, became paranoid and asked the wise men to report back to him when they found the messiah. Being "wise men", they were able to figure out Herod's plan and went home the opposite way. Matthew 2:16 says, "Herod was furious when he realized that the wise men had outwitted him. He sent soldiers to kill all the boys in and around Bethlehem who were two years old and under, based on the wise men's report of the star's first appearance."

3. After decades, this one-time assistant stepped into the leadership position and led the Israelites through additional hurdles. Who was this faithful servant of not only God, but also the Israelite nation? Joshua

4. To have been the first to accomplish a biblical task would seem to have been a difficult situation, especially without a blueprint of the

steps involved. This brother was not a keeper but a murderer, the "first" in kind. Who killed his brother? Cain
The first murder was the death of Abel, and his murderer was his brother Cain. Genesis 4:9-10 in the New King James Version recounts, "Then the Lord said to Cain, 'Where is Abel your brother?' He said, 'I do not know. Am I my brother's keeper?' And He said, 'What have you done? The voice of your brother's blood cries out to Me from the ground.'"

5. Sometimes heroes went nameless except for generalities, like a group name. This group of disciples were all team players. Whom did Jesus send out, two by two, to spread His word? the 70
Jesus sent out the 70, as He had previously sent out the 12. Luke 10:1-3 (New King James Version) says, "After these things the Lord appointed seventy others also, and sent them two by two before His face into every city and place where He Himself was about to go. He said to them, 'The harvest truly is great, but the laborers are few; therefore pray the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into His harvest. Go your way; behold, I send you out as lambs among wolves.'" Note: Some translations have 70, others have 72.

6. Did greed get the best of this next villain? His final act was not well received, even by himself. Who was involved with the kiss of betrayal, and was paid for his involvement? Judas Iscariot
Judas Iscariot conspired, with the high priest and others, for thirty pieces of silver to betray Jesus with a kiss. Matthew 27:3-5 says, "When Judas, who had betrayed him, realized that Jesus had been condemned to die, he was filled with remorse. So he took the thirty pieces of silver back to the leading priests and the elders. 'I have sinned,' he declared, 'for I have betrayed an innocent man.' 'What do we care?' they retorted. 'That's your problem.' Then Judas threw the silver coins down in the Temple and went out and hanged himself."

7. Most biblical heroes were challenged in some way, either by God or by their desire to remain faithful to God; this next hero was no different. One of

his biggest challenges from God was to reduce his army from 32,000 to 10,000, to only 300 soldiers. Who was instructed by God to take on the horde of Midianites that threatened Israel, with only 300 soldiers? Gideon
Gideon's story is included in Judges 6-8. Gideon, although not overly enthusiastic in the beginning, was a Judge in Israel for 40 years. God instructed Gideon to reduce the army, to ensure that the glory of victory went to God and not man (Judges 7:2).

8. The protagonist and antagonist; the hero and the villian; the prophet and the king, this story was about their duel. The contest was between the only remaining prophet of God and the king's 450 prophets of Baal and 400 prophets of Asherah. The challenge was to see whose god would first set fire to their separate sacrifices. Who were the prophet (winner) and king (loser) of the contest? Elijah and Ahab
Ahab went first: his prophets set up the altar, killed the bull and started praying to Baal to light the fire. Elijah finally said to them around noontime that maybe they should shout louder, because Baal their god may be asleep. Evening time came, and there was still no answer from Baal. Elijah took his turn: he set up the altar, and killed the bull. He added one more thing. He had the people pour water all over the wood and the offering. Not once but three times, the people drenched Elijah's altar. Elijah prayed to God and the fire came down. The story of Elijah and Ahab can be found in 1 Kings 16-20.

9. Biblical villains were sometimes handed the title through their genealogy. This villain had no intention of breaking the cycle. The Amalekites were the cursed enemies of God's people. In the Book of Esther, Mordecai refused to bow down to an Amalekite. This non-action put not only Mordecai's life in peril, but that of all the Jews. Who was this Amalekite who was defeated by Queen Esther? Haman
The cast of the Book of Esther includes King Xerxes, Queen Vashti, Esther, Mordecai and Haman. The Amalekite Haman plotted against the Jews and convinced the King that all the Jews needed to be destroyed. Haman intended to kill Mordecai himself, but Esther turned the tables and Haman was killed instead. The complete story is found in the Book of Esther.

Moses brought Israel to the bank of the river, but Joshua took them across to the other side and into the promised land. Joshua was a faithful servant of God even when others faltered. (Numbers 13,14) Throughout Joshua's life and that of the elders that outlived him, the Israelites remained steadfast and true to their God.

10. Biblical heroes sacrificed their work, property, family and sometimes their lives for the benefit of others. Who is credited with this quote from John 15:13? "There is no greater love than to lay down one's life for one's friends."
Jesus Christ This is the ultimate sacrifice of a true hero, and it is a sacrifice that Christians believe Jesus Christ made for humanity.