Book of Job Quiz: God Speaks from the Whirlwind

1. Elihu introduces a new angle to the debate — he argues that God speaks through suffering for a purpose other than punishment. What does Elihu say God uses suffering to do?

1. To expose the hidden sins that a person has accumulated over time
2. To separate the truly faithful from those who follow God only for his blessings
3. To teach the nation as a whole what individual suffering looks like
4. To warn a person away from pride and keep them back from the pit

2. Elihu says that God is greater than man and therefore does not have to explain himself. What phrase does he use in chapter 33 to summarise God's position?

1. 'God is greater than any mortal — why do you take him to court? He does not respond to any of man's complaints'
2. 'He owes no accounting to any mortal who has ever lived'
3. 'The King does not answer to his subjects — it is the subjects who answer to their King'
4. 'Will the pot demand answers from the potter? Shall the clay question the hands that shaped it?'

3. When God finally speaks, the manner of his arrival is dramatic. How does God appear to Job?

1. In a blinding light like that which later appeared to Paul on the Damascus road
2. In a dream, just as he had appeared to many of the patriarchs
3. In a still, small voice after wind, earthquake and fire — as he appeared to Elijah
4. Out of the whirlwind (storm)

4. God's first question to Job is foundational and immediately establishes the vast gap between Creator and creature. What does God ask?

1. 'Did you see me when I breathed life into the first man and placed him in the garden?'
2. 'Have you ever commanded the morning to appear or caused the dawn to know its place?'
3. 'Where were you when I created the heavens and set the stars in their places?'
4. 'Where were you when I laid the earth's foundation? Tell me, if you understand'

5. God's speech in chapter 38 covers the cosmos with a series of rhetorical questions. Which of these questions does God ask Job?

1. 'Can you bind the chains of the Pleiades? Can you loosen Orion's belt?'
2. 'Have you entered the storehouses of snow or seen the storehouses of hail?'
3. 'Who cut a channel for the torrents of rain, and a path for the thunderstorm?'
4. All of the above appear in God's first speech from the whirlwind

6. God asks Job about two animals in the final section of his speeches (chapters 40-41). What are these two creatures?

1. Behemoth and Leviathan — powerful land and sea creatures beyond human control
2. The hippopotamus and the shark — the fiercest creatures of land and water
3. The lion and the eagle — symbols of royal power and divine freedom
4. The wild ox and the crocodile — animals that cannot be tamed or domesticated

7. What does God say about Behemoth in chapter 40 that sets it apart as his supreme creation?

1. It was created before all other animals as the foundation of all living things
2. It was formed by God's own hands and no weapon forged by man can harm it
3. Its power is such that no trap can hold it and no snare can catch it
4. No creature on earth is its equal — it is chief of the works of God

8. God challenges Job in chapter 40:8 with a penetrating question before describing the great creatures. What does he ask?

1. 'Do you have an arm like God's, and can your voice thunder like his?'
2. 'Will you question the God who made you and laid the foundations of the earth?'
3. 'Would you discredit my justice? Would you condemn me to justify yourself?'
4. Both B and C — God asks both questions in chapter 40

9. After God's first speech, Job gives a brief response. What does he say?

1. 'I am silenced — let me hear more before I dare to speak again'
2. 'I am unworthy — how can I reply to you? I put my hand over my mouth'
3. 'Lord, forgive me — I see now that I was wrong in everything I said'
4. 'My God, you are greater than I imagined — I worship you in my suffering'

10. God's description of Leviathan in chapter 41 includes a famous image. What does God say Leviathan breathes?

1. A mist of deadly poison that kills all living things nearby
2. A rushing wind that flattens everything around it
3. Firebrands and flames of fire — smoke pours from its nostrils
4. Water heated to boiling that it shoots from its sides

11. God concludes his speech about Leviathan with a statement that connects it to his overall argument to Job. What does he say?

1. 'I made it as a demonstration of my power — it is a lesson written in flesh and scale'
2. 'If this creature is beyond your power, how much more is the God who made it beyond your understanding?'
3. 'Nothing on earth is its equal — a creature without fear. It looks down on all that are haughty; it is king over all that are proud'
4. 'The one who can face Leviathan has nothing to fear — but no human being has ever done so'

12. After God's second speech, Job gives his full and final response. What does he say that shows his transformation?

1. 'I see now that suffering is a gift — it has shown me who you truly are.'
2. 'I surrender my case. You have answered me more fully than I deserved.'
3. 'I was wrong in everything — you are just and I was proud. I accept my suffering.'
4. 'My ears had heard of you but now my eyes have seen you. Therefore I despise myself and repent in dust and ashes'

13. After Job's repentance, God speaks to the three friends. What does he say to Eliphaz as the spokesperson?

1. 'I am angry with you and your two friends, because you have not spoken the truth about me, as my servant Job has'
2. 'Leave now and bring your sacrifices — I will overlook your error for Job's sake'
3. 'You are not to be blamed — you spoke what you understood and I accept your intention'
4. 'You have rebuked Job well, for he spoke presumptuously and I was displeased with him'

14. What did God require of the three friends before he would forgive their wrong speaking?

1. They must fast for seven days, then present themselves at the temple in Jerusalem
2. They must offer seven bulls and seven rams as burnt offerings, and Job must pray for them
3. They must publicly apologise to Job before all the people of the East
4. They must sit in sackcloth and ashes for as long as they had spoken wrongly against Job

15. When did God restore Job's fortunes, and what had triggered the timing of that restoration?

1. After his three friends had apologised to Job and he had forgiven them
2. After Job had prayed for his friends — it was when he prayed for them that God restored him
3. After Job had rebuilt his altar and offered a sacrifice of thanksgiving
4. After Job had repented and confessed all his sins to God

16. How did God restore Job's material wealth — did he give him the same as before, more or less?

1. Ten times as much, matching the number of his children lost
2. The same as before, as a sign of exact restoration
3. Three times as much, to compensate for the added suffering of the third cycle
4. Twice as much as he had before

17. After his restoration, Job again had ten children — seven sons and three daughters. His daughters were notable for two reasons. What were they?

1. They became prophetesses and their words were written in a scroll
2. They were famous for their wisdom, and their names are recorded but his sons' are not
3. They were given names and were described as the most beautiful women in all the land, and Job gave them an inheritance alongside their brothers
4. They were the only daughters in the region allowed to study with the wise men

18. What were the names of Job's three daughters in the restored portion of his life?

1. Abigail, Rachel and Miriam
2. Jemimah, Keziah and Keren-Happuch
3. Leah, Dinah and Tamar
4. Naomi, Ruth and Esther

19. Notably, Elihu — the fourth speaker in the book — is never mentioned in the epilogue. God does not rebuke him as he does the three friends. What do scholars make of this?

1. Elihu left before God spoke and was never told about the outcome
2. Elihu was a fictional framing device, inserted later, and the epilogue reflects the original ending before his speeches were added
3. God accepted Elihu's repentance privately and did not need to address him in the public epilogue
4. Scholars generally see his absence from the epilogue as significant — perhaps his speeches were considered more correct than the three friends', needing neither rebuke nor vindication

20. How long did Job live after his restoration, and what did he see before he died?

1. 140 years more, seeing four generations of his children and their descendants
2. 70 years more, and he saw the rebuilding of the temple in Jerusalem
3. He lived long enough to see all his children and grandchildren settled, then died in peace
4. He lived to be 200 years old and saw his people flourish for many generations