On the walls all around the temple, in both the inner and outer rooms, he carved cherubim, palm trees and open flowers.

• 1 Kings 6:29

The righteous will flourish like a palm tree, they will grow like a cedar of Lebanon;

• Psalm 92:12

After this I looked, and there before me was a great multitude that no one could count, from every nation, tribe, people and language, standing before the throne and before the Lamb. They were wearing white robes and were holding palm branches in their hands.

• Revelation 7:9

If you haven’t guessed, the questions in this quiz have something to do with palm trees or parts of the trees.  The word “palm” is in each of the verses, and none refer to the palm of the hand, just trees.

The Questions:

#	Question	Bible Reference	Answer(s)
1	In the first reference to palm trees, the Israelites stop at Elim.  Elim has 70 palm trees and twelve of something very important.  What?
2	In Levitical Law, what are the suggested building materials (at least three types of trees) for the booths or tabernacles at the Feast of Tabernacles?
3	When the book of Numbers refers to Elim, did they wander back there?
4	What city is called the “City of Palms?”  Only the first reference is given.
5	Nehemiah, after Ezra reads the Law of Moses to the people, modifies the building materials for the Feast of Tabernacles.  What is his suggestion to the people?
6	In the intimate conversation of the Song of Solomon (Songs), who is speaking and about whom when they describe stature like that of the palm?
7	Isaiah says that God will cut off the palm branch and the reed in two different places.  What two words are these plants coupled with in each of these verses?
8	When Ezekiel has a vision where palm trees are carved on facing walls, what is he describing?
9	When Joel talks of pomegranates, palm and apple trees drying up, what is that chapter’s main theme?
10	All the Gospels talk of the Triumphal Entry, but only one mentions palm branches.  Which one?

When we lived in South Carolina, we visited Charleston, SC often.  Charleston became one of our favorite destinations for a weekend trip or day trip.  One of the favorite locations to visit was Fort Moultrie on Sullivan’s Island.  In early 1776, Col. William Moultrie was given orders to keep the British Fleet out of Charleston Harbor.  He built a fort out of palmetto logs, starting with two rows of logs parallel to each other and sand between them.  As they built up the fort’s wall in this fashion, it might seem rather crude, but the palmetto log absorbed the onslaught of British shells and Col. Moultrie, later promoted to general, held his ground in battle, roughly one week before the Declaration of Independence was signed.  It is interesting to me as a former Corps of Engineers officer that for its time, Fort Moultrie in the Charleston area with palmetto logs and Castillo de San Marcos in St. Augustine, Florida with coquina stones were designed with softer materials that absorbed the shock of bombardment rather than the rigid concrete of today.  Then again, the armament is different also.

South Carolina is known as the Palmetto State due to Col. Moultrie’s success.

Bible References:

#	Question	Bible Reference	Answer(s)
1	In the first reference to palm trees, the Israelites stop at Elim.  Elim has 70 palm trees and twelve of something very important.  What?	Exodus 15:27
2	In Levitical Law, what are the suggested building materials (at least three types of trees) for the booths or tabernacles at the Feast of Tabernacles?	Leviticus 23:40
3	When the book of Numbers refers to Elim, did they wander back there?	Numbers 33:9
4	What city is called the “City of Palms?”  Only the first reference is given.	Deuteronomy 34:3
5	Nehemiah, after Ezra reads the Law of Moses to the people, modifies the building materials for the Feast of Tabernacles.  What is his suggestion to the people?	Nehemiah 8:15
6	In the intimate conversation of the Song of Solomon (Songs), who is speaking and about whom when they describe stature like that of the palm?	Song of Solomon 7:7
7	Isaiah says that God will cut off the palm branch and the reed in two different places.  What two words are these plants coupled with in each of these verses?	Isaiah 9:14 and 19:15
8	When Ezekiel has a vision where palm trees are carved on facing walls, what is he describing?	Ezekiel 40:16
9	When Joel talks of pomegranates, palm and apple trees drying up, what is that chapter’s main theme?	Joel 1
10	All the Gospels talk of the Triumphal Entry, but only one mentions palm branches.  Which one?	N/A

The last question is rather curious when the church calendar calls it Palm Sunday.  One Gospel out of four Gospels?  Here is a hint.  The only two references to palm anything in the New Testament comes from the same author.  Forty references to palm, albeit about half refer to the palm of the hand, are in the Old Testament.  According to John MacArthur, the waving of palm branches, plentiful in the area around Jerusalem (date palms), was started as a tradition to signify the expected arrival of the Messiah.  The tradition is not Biblically based, only started about 200 years before Jesus arrived.

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The Answers:

#	Question	Bible Reference	Answer(s)
1	In the first reference to palm trees, the Israelites stop at Elim.  Elim has 70 palm trees and twelve of something very important.  What?	Exodus 15:27	12 springs
2	In Levitical Law, what are the suggested building materials (at least three types of trees) for the booths or tabernacles at the Feast of Tabernacles?	Leviticus 23:40	Palms, willows, and leafy trees
3	When the book of Numbers refers to Elim, did they wander back there?	Numbers 33:9	No, in Numbers 33 they give a travelogue or recap of the journey thus far.
4	What city is called the “City of Palms?”  Only the first reference is given.	Deuteronomy 34:3	Jericho
5	Nehemiah, after Ezra reads the Law of Moses to the people, modifies the building materials for the Feast of Tabernacles.  What is his suggestion to the people?	Nehemiah 8:15	Olives, wild olives, myrtles, palms, and shade tree branches.  Basically, dropping the willows and adding olives and myrtle.
6	In the intimate conversation of the Song of Solomon (Songs), who is speaking and about whom when they describe stature like that of the palm?	Song of Solomon 7:7	He speaking to She, the rest of the verse about breasts like clusters of grapes …
7	Isaiah says that God will cut off the palm branch and the reed in two different places.  What two words are these plants coupled with in each of these verses?	Isaiah 9:14 and 19:15	The head and tail
8	When Ezekiel has a vision where palm trees are carved on facing walls, what is he describing?	Ezekiel 40:16	The New Temple
9	When Joel talks of pomegranates, palm and apple trees drying up, what is that chapter’s main theme?	Joel 1	An invasion of locusts
10	All the Gospels talk of the Triumphal Entry, but only one mentions palm branches.  Which one?	John 12:13	John

Whether you did well on this quiz or, ummm, not so well, for the first video.  Here is the Maranatha Singers, singing Hosanna!

And here is Hosanna, Hosanna in the Highest, with a youth dance from a protestant church in Iliolo City, Philippines.

And here is the Saddleback Church singing, Heal Our Land.

And here is a good short message to get us into the mood of Palm Sunday.

If you like these Saturday morning Bible quizzes, but you think you missed a few, you can use this LINK. I have set up a page off the home page for links to these Saturday morning posts. I will continue to modify the page as I add more.

Soli Deo Gloria.  Only to God be the Glory.