“‘Your southern side will include some of the Desert of Zin along the border of Edom. Your southern boundary will start in the east from the southern end of the Dead Sea,

• Numbers 34:3

Its western border was the Jordan in the Arabah, from Kinnereth to the Sea of the Arabah (that is, the Dead Sea), below the slopes of Pisgah.

• Deuteronomy 3:17

He made the Sea of cast metal, circular in shape, measuring ten cubits from rim to rim and five cubits high. It took a line of thirty cubits to measure around it. Below the rim, gourds encircled it—ten to a cubit. The gourds were cast in two rows in one piece with the Sea.

• 1 Kings 7:23-24

The seas have lifted up, Lord, the seas have lifted up their voice; the seas have lifted up their pounding waves.

• Psalm 93:3

Let the sea resound, and everything in it, the world, and all who live in it.

• Psalm 98:7

This quiz has nothing to do with seashells, but plenty to do with the sea.  When you use certain search engines, you get a lot of words when you look up “sea.”  But we are not searching for the seashore in good season.  All these question pertain to the word “sea.”

The questions are in biblical order with Genesis and Revelation having three questions each.

The Questions:

	Question	Bible References	Answers
1	What is the first use of the word “sea” in the NIV and who “uses” the word? Bonus if you can state “when.”
2	Who does God tell, in a covenant, that fear of this person and his offspring will fall on land animals, birds of the air, and the fish of the sea?
3	There was a war.  The city states near this sea (the first mentioned by name in the NIV) banded together.  The cities were: Sodom, Gomorrah, Admah, Zeboyim, and Bela (that is, Zoar).  What Valley, also known as the Valley of Siddim, were these cities in?
4	What plagued the Egyptians, but God created a wind that carried them into the Red Sea (the first mention of Red Sea in the NIV)?
5	God promised the Chosen People that their land would stretch between the desert and the Euphrates and the Red Sea and this sea (the first mention of this sea in the NIV, a sea where you could find Cyprus and Malta)?
6	What is being described when we first read the “Sea of Galilee” in the NIV?  HINT: It is given as a border.
7	There are four references to Galilee in the book of Acts, but the last mention of the Sea of Galilee was when several of the disciples went fishing, eventually catching 153 large fish, but who did they see there, having a meal with this person?
8	The Apostle John saw an angel place one foot on the sea, and the other foot on the land.  What did this angel hand to John, requiring him to eat it? It would taste sweet like honey but turn sour in his stomach.
9	The Apostle John saw a mighty angel pick up a stone as big as a millstone, tossing it into the sea.  The angel said that with such violence as that what city will be destroyed, never to be seen again?
10	What is shown to the Apostle John when he remarks that there is no longer any sea (the last reference to “sea” in the NIV)?

Jesus did much of his ministry around the Sea of Galilee.  It kind of creates the bookends of His earthly ministry, but if I said more, it might give an answer away.

Of the cities around the Sea of Galilee that are named in the Gospels are Tiberias (boats from Tiberias, at least), Gennesaret, Capernaum, and Bethsaida.  Other locations are estimated like the healing of the demoniac (the pigs going into the Sea).

Then one town in the midst of a couple of the others is never mentioned precisely.  But the name is very recognizable.  It is the town of Tarichaea.  You may recognize it by its other name Magdala, as in Mary Magdalene.

Bible References:

	Question	Bible References	Answers
1	What is the first use of the word “sea” in the NIV and who “uses” the word? Bonus if you can state “when.”	Genesis 1:10
2	Who does God tell, in a covenant, that fear of this person and his offspring will fall on land animals, birds of the air, and the fish of the sea?	Genesis 9:1-2
3	There was a war.  The city states near this sea (the first mentioned by name in the NIV) banded together.  The cities were: Sodom, Gomorrah, Admah, Zeboyim, and Bela (that is, Zoar).  What Valley, also known as the Valley of Siddim, were these cities in?	Genesis 14:3
4	What plagued the Egyptians, but God created a wind that carried them into the Red Sea (the first mention of Red Sea in the NIV)?	Exodus 10:19
5	God promised the Chosen People that their land would stretch between the desert and the Euphrates and the Red Sea and this sea (the first mention of this sea in the NIV, a sea where you could find Cyprus and Malta)?	Exodus 23:31
6	What is being described when we first read the “Sea of Galilee” in the NIV?  HINT: It is given as a border.	Numbers 34:11
7	There are four references to Galilee in the book of Acts, but the last mention of the Sea of Galilee was when several of the disciples went fishing, eventually catching 153 large fish, but who did they see there, having a meal with this person?	John 21
8	The Apostle John saw an angel place one foot on the sea, and the other foot on the land.  What did this angel hand to John, requiring him to eat it? It would taste sweet like honey but turn sour in his stomach.	Revelation 10:1-10
9	The Apostle John saw a mighty angel pick up a stone as big as a millstone, tossing it into the sea.  The angel said that with such violence as that what city will be destroyed, never to be seen again?	Revelation 18:21
10	What is shown to the Apostle John when he remarks that there is no longer any sea (the last reference to “sea” in the NIV)?	Revelation 21:1

My mind has been at sea lately, in a figurative sense.  My wife, as of this writing, is still dealing with shingles, now for over a month, but it is beyond the “oozing” phase.  The doctor does not think that she is contagious anymore.  It is just dealing with the pain while it heals.  She is on pins and needles about her latest diverticulitis issue, or so we are guessing since all the tests were “negative.”  And now that I monitor Pulse Oxygen, she has not dipped low enough for concern there.  She has been tracking at 97% or higher, for the most part.  So, her blood is properly oxygenated and pneumonia is not a problem anymore.

When you are distracted like that, you tend to have a scrambled attention span.  I have jumped up and run toward the bedroom just to find that something fell in the kitchen and she was perfectly fine.  But she has fallen a few times, never hitting her head.

But I remembered my quiz on rivers and “seas” came to mind.

And as a bonus question that I will immediately answer, I show proof that my attention span is poor.  In researching the “sea”, I read that Israel blessed one of his sons, saying he would have port cities on the sea and deal with foreign lands in that manner, but when Joshua apportioned the land, this tribe had a portion that was land locked.

Which tribe?

Zebulun.  I am sure this blessing came true or will come true, but knowing that blessing, the map of the apportionments is confusing.

   …

   …

   …

The Answers:

	Question	Bible References	Answers
1	What is the first use of the word “sea” in the NIV and who “uses” the word? Bonus if you can state “when.”	Genesis 1:10	In one place, God gathered dry ground; in another, the collected waters God called “seas.”  Bonus: This happened on the third day of creation.
2	Who does God tell, in a covenant, that fear of this person and his offspring will fall on land animals, birds of the air, and the fish of the sea?	Genesis 9:1-2	Noah
3	There was a war.  The city states near this sea (the first mentioned by name in the NIV) banded together.  The cities were: Sodom, Gomorrah, Admah, Zeboyim, and Bela (that is, Zoar).  What Valley, also known as the Valley of Siddim, were these cities in?	Genesis 14:3	The Dead Sea (Valley) The story is when Abram had to rescue Lot.
4	What plagued the Egyptians, but God created a wind that carried them into the Red Sea (the first mention of Red Sea in the NIV)?	Exodus 10:19	Locusts
5	God promised the Chosen People that their land would stretch between the desert and the Euphrates and the Red Sea and this sea (the first mention of this sea in the NIV, a sea where you could find Cyprus and Malta)?	Exodus 23:31	The Mediterranean Sea.  In this same paragraph, God warns about treaties with the local people for they will become ensnared.  Since the nation of Israel is to expand its borders in the millennial reign, God will make this promise come true then.
6	What is being described when we first read the “Sea of Galilee” in the NIV?  HINT: It is given as a border.	Numbers 34:11	It is technically the border of the people of Canaan, but it is promised as part of the Promised Land.  So, either answer fits.
7	There are four references to Galilee in the book of Acts, but the last mention of the Sea of Galilee was when several of the disciples went fishing, eventually catching 153 large fish, but who did they see there, having a meal with this person?	John 21	Jesus.  Oddly the last use of Galilee as a region is the Apostle Paul stating that Jesus was seen from Galilee to Jerusalem.
8	The Apostle John saw an angel place one foot on the sea, and the other foot on the land.  What did this angel hand to John, requiring him to eat it? It would taste sweet like honey but turn sour in his stomach.	Revelation 10:1-10	The little scroll
9	The Apostle John saw a mighty angel pick up a stone as big as a millstone, tossing it into the sea.  The angel said that with such violence as that what city will be destroyed, never to be seen again?	Revelation 18:21	Babylon
10	What is shown to the Apostle John when he remarks that there is no longer any sea (the last reference to “sea” in the NIV)?	Revelation 21:1	The appearance of the new heaven and new earth.

Whether you did well on this quiz or, ummm, not so well, for the first video.  Here is a group singing a Sea Shanty, featuring the song, Oh Praise the Name.

And if you liked that one, here is another Sea Shanty, featuring Amazing Grace, sung by Josh Svendsen.

And here is Enni Francis featuring Kanaan Francis singing a cover of Oceans. With or without even singing a beautiful song, this video is priceless.

And here is the Navy Hymn, Eternal Father, Strong to Save.  It is sung by the Navy at each sea burial, and we have a promise from God (Revelation 20:13).  The sea will give up its dead.

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.