He was also angry with the … friends, because they had found no way to refute Job, and yet had condemned him.

• Job 32:3

“I would like to reply to you and to your friends with you.

• Job 35:4

My friends and companions avoid me because of my wounds; my neighbors stay far away.

• Psalm 38:11

You have taken from me my closest friends and have made me repulsive to them. I am confined and cannot escape;

• Psalm 88:8

For the sake of my family and friends, I will say, “Peace be within you.”

• Psalm 122:8

This is a quiz about verses containing the word “friends.”

The questions are in biblical order.  And all but the last of the questions are from the Old Testament.

The Questions:

	Question	Bible References	Answers
1	Who admonishes his ‘friends’ to not do what they wanted to do – that is the men of the city wanted to have sex with the two angels that visited this man in question? The first mention of ‘friends’ in the NIV.	Genesis 19:7	Lot
2	Who was the father of the girl who asked to have two months to weep with her friends for she would never marry?	Judges 11:34-39	Jephthah
3	Eerily like question one, in what tribal area was the Levite propositioned, leading to his concubine being killed?	Judges 19:16, 23-24	Benjamin
4	When David reached Ziklag after defeating the Amalekites, he shared his plunder with the elders of what tribe, since they were friends?	1 Samuel 30:26	Judah, since David was hiding in Judah to avoid Saul and he was of the tribe of Judah.
5	David had Joab.  Saul had Abner.  Abner was Saul’s general, loyal to Saul and his friends, until Ish-Bosheth accused him of what?	2 Samuel 3:6-8	Sleeping with Saul’s concubine, Rizpah
6	Who was anointed in his task to kill everyone connected with what evil king of the northern tribes, Israel?  He even killed the king’s friends.	2 Kings 10:11	Jehu, anointed by Elijah (1 Kings 19:16-17) to kill Ahab
7	Who gave Haman the idea on how to kill Mordecai?	Esther 5:10-14	His friends and Zeresh, his wife
8	Someone came late, but how many friends visited Job first?	Job 2:11	Three, Eliphaz, Bildad, and Zophar.  Elihu does not arrive until Job 32.
9	Did the friends speak the truth about God to Job?	Job 42:7	No, specifically the first three.
10	Who thought their son was in the crowd going from Jerusalem to Galilee, and when he could not be found they asked their family and friends, but their son was still at the temple in Jerusalem?  This is the first reference to ‘friends’ in the NT.	Luke 2:44	Joseph and Mary asked their friends if they had seen Jesus.

Two of these questions use the word ‘friends’ loosely, questions 1 and 3.  The person who is the owner of the house is addressing a mob outside his door who want to have people inside the house to come out to rape them.  In the first case, those that were the intended victims of the rape were angels.  The angels caused the people to go blind and they were unable to find the door in which to break it down.

In the second case, the virgin daughter and the Levite’s concubine are offered, but then the text only talks of the concubine being raped all night long.  She comes to the door, and the owner and the Levite find that she is dead by morning.

Each of these stories have many layers in the moral issues at stake, but on the surface, it is easy to see how history repeats itself.

The tribe, which is the answer to the third question was nearly totally destroyed, only Judah developed a plan to maintain a remnant of that tribe.  It should be noted that the first king of Israel was Saul, a member of this tribe rescued from oblivion by Judah, the tribe of King David who would replace Saul as king.

Bible References:

	Question	Bible References	Answers
1	Who laughed when she was told that she would give birth at her advanced age?	Genesis 19:13-15
2	What book in the Bible has more references to “laugh” than any other book?	N/A
3	What in Psalm 2 does God find laughable?	Psalm 2:1-4
4	Why in Psalm 37 does God laugh at the wicked?	Psalm 37:13
5	Who is the writer of Proverbs speaking about when he says that she is clothed in strength and dignity and will laugh at the days to come?	Proverbs 31:25
6	What is the reason for the author of Ecclesiastes to say Laughter is madness?	Ecclesiastes 2:2
7	In all the “time to …” couplets, what is compared to laugh?	Ecclesiastes 3:4
8	Near the beginning of Lamentations, what is being laughed at by her enemies?	Lamentations 1:7
9	Half of the six references to “laugh” in the NT speak of Jesus being laughed at, because the girl was dead.  Who was the girl?	Matthew 9:24; Mark 5:40; Luke 8:53
10	Why does James say we should turn our laughter into mourning?	James 4:7-10

And some of these give us the idea that we might be wise in carefully choosing who our friends are.  Latching on to the king might be a fatal move.  Trusting the advice of friends might be fatal also.

Confucius said something along the lines of “You become who you surround yourself with.”  That quote has then been misquoted and translated by a variety of people ever since.  Tony Robbins, Keshia Chante, and Dan Buettner have all made paraphrased quotes like this.

But the thought for this quiz came to mind while I was waiting for friends at a local restaurant.  As usual, I was early, and I spent time doing the research for this quiz.  My visit with my friends was a wonderful hour and a half.  It is good to have friends.  For the most part, I live a hermit’s life now that my wife has passed, but the Sunday school class and a few scattered friends keep me connected and recharge my batteries at times.

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The Answers:

	Question	Bible References	Answers
1	Who laughed when she was told that she would give birth at her advanced age?	Genesis 19:13-15	Sarah
2	What book in the Bible has more references to “laugh” than any other book?	N/A	Job (7), six in Genesis, and five each in Psalms and Ecclesiastes.
3	What in Psalm 2 does God find laughable?	Psalm 2:1-4	The schemes of the nations who plot against God’s anointed.
4	Why in Psalm 37 does God laugh at the wicked?	Psalm 37:13	For he knows their day is coming.
5	Who is the writer of Proverbs speaking about when he says that she is clothed in strength and dignity and will laugh at the days to come?	Proverbs 31:25	The woman of noble character
6	What is the reason for the author of Ecclesiastes to say Laughter is madness?	Ecclesiastes 2:2	What does pleasure accomplish?
7	In all the “time to …” couplets, what is compared to laugh?	Ecclesiastes 3:4	A time to weep and a time to laugh
8	Near the beginning of Lamentations, what is being laughed at by her enemies?	Lamentations 1:7	The destruction of “the city”, Jerusalem
9	Half of the six references to “laugh” in the NT speak of Jesus being laughed at, because the girl was dead.  Who was the girl?	Matthew 9:24; Mark 5:40; Luke 8:53	All the same person but: synagogue leader (Matthew); adding Jairus (Mark and Luke))
10	Why does James say we should turn our laughter into mourning?	James 4:7-10	If we humble ourselves before God, He will lift us up.

Whether you did well on this quiz or, ummm, not so well, for the first video.  Here is the theme song for the television show Friends.  Oddly, I have only seen snippets from a few episodes, never an entire episode of this popular show.

And here is Joel Vaughn singing Friend.

And here is Michael W. Smith singing Friend and Friends Forever.

And here is Twila Paris featuring Steven Chapman performing Faithful Friend.

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.