“Make the tabernacle with ten curtains of finely twisted linen and blue, purple and scarlet yarn, with cherubim woven into them by a skilled worker.

• Exodus 26:1

The courtyard shall be a hundred cubits long and fifty cubits wide, with curtains of finely twisted linen five cubits high, and with bronze bases.

• Exodus 27:18

He made the curtain of blue, purple and crimson yarn and fine linen, with cherubim worked into it.

• 2 Chronicles 3:14

The garden had hangings of white and blue linen, fastened with cords of white linen and purple material to silver rings on marble pillars. There were couches of gold and silver on a mosaic pavement of porphyry, marble, mother-of-pearl and other costly stones.

• Esther 1:8

This quiz is about the word “linen.”  It is amazing how many times fine linen is mentioned in the Bible, mostly in the Old Testament.  Linen is mentioned 94 times in the NIV, only 16 times in the New Testament.  Finely twisted linen is mentioned 21 times, all in one book of the Bible.  Fine linen is mentioned 28 times.

The Questions:

	Question	Bible Reference	Answers
1	In the first reference to linen, who, after interpreting a dream, was give Pharoah’s signet ring and dressed in fine linen?
2	In the next mention of linen, Moses asked for an offering of precious metals, precious stones, acacia wood, goat hair, blue, purple and scarlet yarn, linen, etc.  What did Moses do with this offering?
3	Once we finish with the mentions of fine linen in the book of Exodus, we do not read about anyone dressing in fine linen until David did, along with the Levites when what event occurred?
4	In the book following the reference in question 3, there are three mentions of fine linen, only one as clothing.  What was built and then celebrated?
5	Who was dressed in a purple robe of fine linen after his niece saved him from being killed?
6	In a judgment in Isaiah, these people, in that day of the Lord, will have the Lord snatch away their finery of jewelry and clothing of linen.  What city is Isaiah speaking of? Note: The only other mention of linen in Isaiah is a curse on Egypt.
7	In the third year of Cyrus, king of Persia, Daniel saw a vision that scared everyone around him, so only Daniel saw a man dressed in linen.  What was the message that Daniel received?
8	What parable of Jesus features someone who wore fine linen, but died?
9	The two references to linen before the chapter containing the last three references, talks about purple and scarlet linen.  What city is the metaphorical woman dressed so richly?
10	The last three references to linen in the NIV are in the same chapter.  Who will be figuratively dressed in fine linen, awaiting the Lamb, and who will be dressed in fine linen riding white horses?

Finely twisted linen is mentioned 21 times in the NIV.  Every one of those times in only one book of the Bible.  It is basically what was done with the offered linen in question 2 above.

But what is finely twisted linen and why go to the trouble?

If you take linen and twist it into something similar to a rope and then weave that into a cloth, you get a very durable, thick cloth.  Think of handmade rugs.  This could be used as a robe, but it would be extremely heavy, thus more like a breastplate.  Otherwise, it could be used as curtains or a tent.

In fact, if the curtain that separated the temple of the time of Jesus’ crucifixion from the Holy of Holies was made of finely twisted linen, the curtain tearing when Jesus died on the cross is indeed a miracle.  Finely twisted linen was extremely durable, water-resistant (to a point), tougher than heavy canvas.  You might be talking about a curtain with cloth nearly an inch thick.  The curtain was not your ordinary bed sheet.

Bible References:

	Question	Bible Reference	Answers
1	In the first reference to linen, who, after interpreting a dream, was give Pharoah’s signet ring and dressed in fine linen?	Genesis 41:42
2	In the next mention of linen, Moses asked for an offering of precious metals, precious stones, acacia wood, goat hair, blue, purple and scarlet yarn, linen, etc.  What did Moses do with this offering?	Exodus 25:1-9
3	Once we finish with the mentions of fine linen in the book of Exodus, we do not read about anyone dressing in fine linen until David did, along with the Levites when what event occurred?	1 Chronicles 15:27
4	In the book following the reference in question 3, there are three mentions of fine linen, only one as clothing.  What was built and then celebrated?	2 Chronicles 2-5
5	Who was dressed in a purple robe of fine linen after his niece saved him from being killed?	Esther 8:15
6	In a judgment in Isaiah, these people, in that day of the Lord, will have the Lord snatch away their finery of jewelry and clothing of linen.  What city is Isaiah speaking of? Note: The only other mention of linen in Isaiah is a curse on Egypt.	Isaiah 3:23
7	In the third year of Cyrus, king of Persia, Daniel saw a vision that scared everyone around him, so only Daniel saw a man dressed in linen.  What was the message that Daniel received?	Daniel 10-11
8	What parable of Jesus features someone who wore fine linen, but died?	Luke 16:19
9	The two references to linen before the chapter containing the last three references, talks about purple and scarlet linen.  What city is the metaphorical woman dressed so richly?	Revelation 18:9-16
10	The last three references to linen in the NIV are in the same chapter.  Who will be figuratively dressed in fine linen, awaiting the Lamb, and who will be dressed in fine linen riding white horses?	Revelation 19:8-14

The vision of Daniel in Daniel 10-11 is so detailed and accurate, that non-believers were convinced that the book was written after the events took place.  Most visions and dreams use metaphors and ambiguous nouns.  But Daniel is very specific, in several cases mentioning the country.

In Daniel 11:17, the king to the North gives the king to the South his daughter as a bride to subjugate the southern kingdom, but this trick fails.

This daughter was Cleopatra, but not the Cleopatra of milk baths and such.  This Cleopatra sides with her husband instead of her father and the Ptolemaic dynasty in Egypt survives.  Then a couple of generations later, you get the young teenager with whom Marc Antony falls in love with, etc.

You will even find articles on the internet that the book of Daniel was written hundreds of years later than when Daniel was alive.  But the discovery of the Dead Sea Scrolls clearly show that Daniel was written far before these events occurred.  Those who grasp at straws to disbelieve the Bible seem to ignore the countless evidence that disproves their theories.

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The Answers:

	Question	Bible Reference	Answers
1	In the first reference to linen, who, after interpreting a dream, was give Pharoah’s signet ring and dressed in fine linen?	Genesis 41:42	Joseph
2	In the next mention of linen, Moses asked for an offering of precious metals, precious stones, acacia wood, goat hair, blue, purple and scarlet yarn, linen, etc.  What did Moses do with this offering?	Exodus 25:1-9	He gave it to the artisans to build the Tabernacle and everything contained within it and the priest’s garments.
3	Once we finish with the mentions of fine linen in the book of Exodus, we do not read about anyone dressing in fine linen until David did, along with the Levites when what event occurred?	1 Chronicles 15:27	The arrival of the Ark of the Covenant to Jerusalem
4	In the book following the reference in question 3, there are three mentions of fine linen, only one as clothing.  What was built and then celebrated?	2 Chronicles 2-5	The temple was built and the Ark of the Covenant was brought into the temple.
5	Who was dressed in a purple robe of fine linen after his niece saved him from being killed?	Esther 8:15	Mordecai, uncle of Esther
6	In a judgment in Isaiah, these people, in that day of the Lord, will have the Lord snatch away their finery of jewelry and clothing of linen.  What city is Isaiah speaking of? Note: The only other mention of linen in Isaiah is a curse on Egypt.	Isaiah 3:23	Jerusalem and the people of Judah
7	In the third year of Cyrus, king of Persia, Daniel saw a vision that scared everyone around him, so only Daniel saw a man dressed in linen.  What was the message that Daniel received?	Daniel 10-11	This vision talks of how many more kings of Persia there will be until a king of Greece conquers them, and then the Greek Empire divided into four kingdoms, etc.  But the man Daniel saw must have been Jesus, with a body like Topaz, a face like lightning, eyes like flaming torches, and arms and legs like gleaming burnished bronze.
8	What parable of Jesus features someone who wore fine linen, but died?	Luke 16:19	In the NIV, it is the only mention of fine linen in any parable of Jesus: The rich man and Lazarus
9	The two references to linen before the chapter containing the last three references, talks about purple and scarlet linen.  What city is the metaphorical woman dressed so richly?	Revelation 18:9-16	Babylon
10	The last three references to linen in the NIV are in the same chapter.  Who will be figuratively dressed in fine linen, awaiting the Lamb, and who will be dressed in fine linen riding white horses?	Revelation 19:8-14	The church, the bride of Christ is awaiting Jesus Christ, but the robe dipped in blood is not defined.  It is the army of heaven that accompanies Jesus who are dressed in fine white linen.  Note: the question says “white horses” (plural).

Whether you did well on this quiz or, ummm, not so well, … Here is Carolyn Hyde singing Fine Linen.  This song is about the first and second references to fine linen in question 10 above.  The fine linen represents the righteous acts of God’s people.

For a twist on the theme, here is Terry Linen with Goodness of God.

And here is Tabernacle sung by the Gaither Homecoming Crowd.  After all, the tabernacle was built of finely twisted linen, but not the tabernacle of which is mentioned in the song.  It features Marshall Hall, Sue Dodge, Kim Hopper, Amber Thompson, Karen Peck, the Thre Bridges, Woody Wright, and Sonya Isaacs.

And while we have diverged onto thinking of “tabernacle,” here is the Brooklyn Tabernacle Choir with Psalm 34.

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.