The Lord God took the man and put him in the Garden of Eden to work it and take care of it.  And the Lord God commanded the man, “You are free to eat from any tree in the garden; but you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for when you eat from it you will certainly die.”

• Genesis 2:15-17

“How familiar are you with places in the Bible? …  All the answers begin with “E”.

• J. Stephen Lang, The Whimsical Quizzical Bible Trivia Book

Disclaimer:  Whenever I quote something from this book, I will include this disclaimer.  The Apostle Paul told Timothy in 2 Timothy 3:16 that all Scripture is useful for instruction.  Thus, none of Scripture could be considered “Trivia.”  And if this quiz causes people to look up the answers, that is not trivial at all.

The Scripture above contains an “E” place name, but the Garden of Eden is not an answer below, although the Garden of Eden is mentioned in the first question.

The questions are copied from the aforementioned “trivia” book.  Slight modifications were required, as noted.

The Questions:

1. What famous river of the Middle East is mentioned in connection with the Garden of Eden? Not like we are keeping score, but can you mention any of the other rivers mentioned in that same paragraph, rivers starting with “P”, “G”, and “T”?
2. What neighbor nation of Israel was … descended from Jacob’s twin brother, Esau?
3. What is the most-mentioned pagan nation in the Bible?
4. In what village did the risen Jesus reveal himself?
5. Where did the Philistines move the ark of the covenant after the captured ark had been placed next to the idol of Dagon in the city of Ashdod, leading to “Dagon’s” destruction?  NOTE: It is hard for a man-made idol to bow before God.  It kind of falls apart in the process.
6. What tribe (and region) of Israel included the worship centers of Shiloh and Bethel?
7. Where did David, weary from fleeing from Saul, camp out?
8. Where did Saul command a sorceress to call up the ghost of the dead Samuel?
9. What pagan city was the site of a riot by the followers of the goddess Artemis?
10. Where did Samuel set up a stone to commemorate God’s help in a victory over the Philistines?
11. In what Persian capital did they find the decree from Darius requiring the Jewish temple to be rebuilt for the purpose of offering sacrifices which led to the Jews’ return to Israel?

Some may object to the term “pagan nation” for question 3.  You may substitute “nation that is not governed by God’s chosen people.”

Question 5 was drastically rewritten due to multiple errors in the book.  Note, the Ark of the Covenant did not remain in this “E” city for long.  The people were afraid that they might die, so the Philistines eventually gave the Ark of the Covenant back to the Israelites.

Questions 2 and 11 were also modified for accuracy.

The Bible References:

I will now give the Bible references for each of these questions, at least one for each question, if you needed to look them up, but also to provide a break between the questions and the answers.

1. Genesis 2:14, but Genesis 2:10-14 mentions all four rivers.
2. Genesis 25:30, Genesis 32:3
3. Genesis 10:6, then a lot more until, Revelation 11:8
4. Luke 24:13-35
5. 1 Samuel 5
6. Joshua 16; 18:1-10, Note that the photo above is of a family picnic at Shiloh National Battlefield Site in Tennessee.
7. 1 Samuel 23:7-29, place mentioned in 1 Samuel 23:29.
8. 1 Samuel 28:3-25
9. Acts 19:23-41
10. 1 Samuel 7:12
11. Ezra 6:2

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The Answers:

1. Euphrates.  For the bonus, the other rivers were the Pishon, Gihon, and Tigris
2. Edom
3. Egypt
4. Emmaus
5. Ekron
6. Ephraim
7. En Gedi
8. Endor
9. Ephesus
10. Ebenezer
11. Ecbatana

Treat yourself to a bit of music from the Paul Robeson, from the 1936 movie, Showboat.  The song is about the Mississippi River, but when you consider the first question, a river that has been around since the Garden of Eden is indeed an “Ol’ Man River.”

At the beginning of the second verse of Come Thou Fount of Every Blessing, the lyrics talk of raising an Ebenezer, a stone pillar in remembrance.  Buddy Green sings this hymn, accompanied by Jeff Taylor on the accordion and tin flute.

And for those who did not do so well, be sure, if you are on a quest in the forest, to have a shrubbery.  Otherwise, you may have trouble with the Knights who say “Eee.”  Oh, drat!  It was the Knights who say “Ni.”  Close enough.

But then they changed their names to the Knights who say, “Ekke, Ekke, Ekke, Ekke, P’tang Zoo Boing.”  Some of that starts with “E”.

Soli Deo Gloria.  Only to God be the Glory.