Bible Quiz: Mothers in the Bible
Mothers, the fierce, the waiting and the worn out — a baby hidden for three months and then floated down a river, a little coat sewn fresh every year, a woman who gave up her own child in front of a king to keep him alive, a boy who sneezed seven times, a grandmother named Lois, and a mother standing at the foot of a cross. 51 questions sit in the bank and you get twelve at random, so every round is different. Every answer shows the verse it came from.
That round was about mothers — Jochebed and her basket in the reeds, Hannah and the little coat, the mother who gave up her claim in front of Solomon, Elisabeth, Mary, and a grandmother named Lois.
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Common Questions About Mothers in the Bible
Who are the most famous mothers in the Bible?
The list starts with Eve, whose name was given because she was the mother of all living. Sarah became a mother at ninety, long after she had stopped hoping, and her son Isaac carried the family promise forward. Rebekah raised the twins Esau and Jacob, and Leah and Rachel between them were mothers to most of the twelve tribes of Israel. Jochebed hid the baby Moses for three months and then set him on the river in a basket. Hannah prayed for years for a child and then gave her son Samuel to serve God. Naomi lost two sons and ended up nursing the grandson who became King David’s grandfather. In the New Testament, Elisabeth is the mother of John the Baptist and Mary is the mother of Jesus, present from the manger to the cross. Then come Lois and Eunice, the grandmother and mother who passed their faith on to a young man named Timothy.
Who was the first mother in the Bible?
Eve. Genesis 3:20 says Adam called his wife’s name Eve because she was the mother of all living, and the name itself sounds like the Hebrew word for life. Her first child was Cain, and when he was born she said, I have gotten a man from the LORD, which makes her the first person in the Bible to hold a newborn and thank God for it. Abel came next. Eve is also the first mother to lose a child, and to violence inside her own family, when Cain killed his brother. The story does not end there. Genesis 4:25 says she had another son and named him Seth, saying God had appointed her another seed instead of Abel. So the Bible’s very first picture of motherhood holds joy, grief and a new start all in one life, which is probably why so many readers still see themselves in her.
What does the Bible say about mothers?
More than most people expect, and nearly all of it is respectful. The fifth of the Ten Commandments says to honour thy father and thy mother, and it puts the two side by side. Proverbs 1:8 tells a son not to forsake the law of his mother, giving her teaching the same weight as a father’s. Proverbs 31, the famous chapter about a capable woman, opens by saying a king learned it from his mother, and near its end her children arise up and call her blessed. The Bible also uses a mother as a picture of God’s own care. In Isaiah 66:13 God says, As one whom his mother comforteth, so will I comfort you. Jesus compares himself to a hen gathering her chickens under her wings. Taken together, a mother in the Bible is a teacher, a protector and a comforter, and her work is treated as something that shapes whole nations.
Which mothers in the Bible waited a long time for a child?
Quite a few, and their stories are some of the most loved in the Bible. Sarah was ninety when Isaac was promised, and she laughed at the idea. Rebekah waited twenty years before her twins arrived. Rachel watched her sister have son after son before Joseph was born. Samson’s mother, whose name is never given, had no children until an angel came to her. Hannah wept and prayed at Shiloh year after year before Samuel came. The Shunammite woman had given up on the idea altogether when Elisha told her she would hold a son. In the New Testament, Elisabeth was well on in years when she became the mother of John the Baptist. The Bible never treats these women as failures while they wait. It lingers on their prayers, their tears and their honesty, and it shows God meeting them there. That is a comfort to anyone who is waiting for something today.
How many questions are in this mothers in the Bible quiz, and can I play again?
The bank holds 51 questions, and each one was written for this quiz alone, so you will not find a general Bible quiz hiding behind a Mother’s Day title. A round is twelve questions pulled at random, with the four answers shuffled each time, which means a second or third round feels new. After every answer you see the verse it comes from and a line about the story, so a wrong guess still leaves you knowing something you did not know a minute ago. People use it at Mother’s Day lunches, baby showers, women’s groups and Sunday school, and it reads aloud well if one person plays quizmaster. Nothing is saved, there is no sign-up, and your score stays with you unless you share it. Scroll up, start a round of the mothers in the Bible quiz, and see how many of these women you already know.