Book of Numbers Quiz: Balaam, Baal Peor and the Plains of Moab

1. When Balaam could not curse Israel, what did his oracles actually say instead?

1. Balaam blessed Israel in four oracles — including 'How beautiful are your tents, Jacob; your dwelling places, Israel' and a messianic prophecy: 'A star will come out of Jacob'
2. Balaam cursed Israel's enemies instead — pronouncing doom on Moab, Edom and Amalek
3. Balaam refused to speak at all and returned Balak's money
4. That Israel was a mediocre nation — neither blessed nor cursed — and Balak had wasted his money

2. What was the sin at Baal Peor, and what was its consequence?

1. Israel built a golden statue of Baal and worshipped it — God sent locusts that destroyed their crops
2. Israel made a treaty with the Moabites against God's command — the treaty led to corruption of their worship
3. Israel neglected the tabernacle service to trade with Moabites — God withdrew the cloud and pillar for thirty days
4. Israel's men engaged in sexual immorality with Moabite women and began worshipping Baal — God sent a plague that killed 24,000 people

3. How did Phinehas stop the plague at Baal Peor, and what reward did he receive?

1. Phinehas drove a spear through an Israelite man and a Midianite woman who were openly sinning together — God gave him 'a covenant of lasting priesthood'
2. Phinehas killed the Midianite woman alone — as the foreign instigator — and this ended the plague
3. Phinehas led the people in a great prayer of repentance and God was satisfied
4. Phinehas made a sin offering for the whole community that turned away God's wrath

4. Why was a second census taken in Numbers 26?

1. God commanded a census every twenty years — this was the regularly scheduled count
2. Moses needed to redistribute the tribes' territorial allotments based on current population
3. The forty years were nearly over — a new count was needed to plan the military campaign to take Canaan
4. The plague at Baal Peor had killed many people — the census updated the records for the new generation

5. What was the case of Zelophehad's daughters, and what was the ruling?

1. Their father had died leaving no sons — they asked to inherit his land; God ruled in their favour, establishing that daughters could inherit when there were no sons
2. They asked to be counted in the census as warriors — Moses consulted God who ruled that only men could serve in the army
3. They asked to enter the Most Holy Place as an act of worship — God ruled this was reserved for the high priest alone
4. They asked to marry outside their tribe — Moses ruled that women could marry whoever they chose

6. How was Joshua appointed as Moses's successor?

1. God spoke to Joshua directly from the tabernacle and appointed him — Moses was not involved in the ceremony
2. God told Moses to take Joshua and have him stand before Eleazar the priest and the whole assembly — Moses laid his hands on him and commissioned him
3. Joshua was elected by the tribal elders as the one who had proved himself in battle and as a faithful spy
4. Moses chose Joshua privately and announced it to the people — God later confirmed the choice

7. What were the offerings prescribed for the regular (tamid) daily worship at the tabernacle?

1. One bull each morning and one lamb each evening — with oil and wine
2. One lamb each morning and one each evening — plus a grain offering, burned as a regular burnt offering to the LORD
3. Three lambs per day — one at dawn, one at noon and one at dusk
4. Two lambs on weekdays, a young bull on the Sabbath, and a ram at each new moon

8. What rule in Numbers 30 governed a woman's vow?

1. A woman's vow required two male witnesses to be binding — otherwise it had no legal force
2. If a woman made a vow while unmarried and her father heard but said nothing, the vow stood; if a husband heard his wife's vow and said nothing, it stood; if either nullified it the same day they heard, she was released
3. Women could never make vows — all religious obligations had to be made by the head of household
4. Women's vows were only valid if made at the tabernacle before a priest

9. Which tribes asked to settle east of the Jordan rather than in Canaan, and what agreement did they reach?

1. Asher and Zebulun — they settled the coastal plains while other tribes crossed the Jordan
2. Dan and Naphtali — they preferred the northern climate and fertile valleys of Bashan
3. Reuben, Gad and half the tribe of Manasseh — they would still cross the Jordan and fight until all Canaan was taken, then return to their lands
4. Simeon and Levi — they were given cities scattered throughout both Transjordan and Canaan as a result of the Dinah incident

10. What were cities of refuge established for, according to Numbers 35?

1. They provided asylum for anyone who killed a person accidentally — protecting them from the 'avenger of blood' until a trial could determine if the killing was intentional
2. They were military strongholds garrisoned by the Levites — providing a defensive network across the land
3. They were places where foreign refugees could settle safely within Israel's borders
4. They were sanctuaries for priests who became unclean — allowing them to recover outside regular society

11. What principle did Numbers 35 establish about murder and blood guilt in the land?

1. 'A murderer must be banished from Israel forever — no amount of sacrifice can cleanse the guilt of deliberate killing'
2. 'Bloodshed in the land can only be atoned for through financial restitution — the family of the victim must receive fair compensation'
3. 'Do not pollute the land where you live, for bloodshed pollutes the land... Atonement cannot be made for the land on which blood has been shed, except by the blood of the one who shed it'
4. 'The avenger of blood has the right to pursue the killer — this is the justice God has ordained'

12. What additional ruling was made about Zelophehad's daughters in Numbers 36 regarding marriage?

1. They could marry any Israelite man, but their inherited land would revert to the tribe at Jubilee
2. They must marry within their own tribe of Manasseh to prevent their inheritance from passing to another tribe
3. They were allowed to sell their land at market value before marrying outside the tribe
4. They were given to the priests as servants since women could not own land independently in Israelite law

13. What was the 'war against Midian' in Numbers 31 fighting to avenge, and what was unusual about the spoils?

1. They avenged the attack on Israel at Kadesh — the spoils were divided equally between the warriors and the rest of the community
2. They avenged the Baal Peor incident which Midianite women had instigated — the spoils (people, livestock) were divided between warriors and congregation, with a portion to the Levites and priests
3. They were avenging the death of Phinehas's father — all the spoils were given to the family of Phinehas as compensation
4. They were fighting to secure the eastern trade route — the spoils were used to fund the conquest of Canaan

14. What happened to Balaam after his failed attempt to curse Israel?

1. He made another attempt to curse Israel and was struck down by God directly
2. He repented and joined the Israelite community as a prophet of God
3. He returned to his home country a wealthy man — Balak paid him regardless since he had tried
4. He was killed in the war against Midian — he is listed among those who fell by the sword

15. Numbers 33 records the Israelites' entire wilderness itinerary. What does this chapter suggest about God's guidance?

1. That every stage of the forty-year journey was remembered and recorded — God's detailed providential care over each camp is emphasised
2. That Moses was an excellent administrator who documented every movement for military purposes
3. That the itinerary was used as evidence against Israel — each place a sin was committed was recorded
4. That the wilderness years were chaotic and unplanned — the itinerary shows Israel moving at random

16. What command did God give Israel regarding the Canaanites before they entered the land?

1. 'Drive out all the inhabitants of the land before you. Destroy all their carved images and cast idols, and demolish all their high places'
2. Live alongside them peacefully — God would gradually convert the Canaanites to worship of YHWH
3. Make treaties of peace with them first — if they refuse, then drive them out
4. Take only the fighting men captive — let the women, children and elderly remain to assimilate into Israel

17. How was the land of Canaan to be allocated among the tribes according to Numbers 26 and 33-34?

1. By lot — each tribe drew lots to determine its territory, with larger tribes receiving larger portions
2. By military service — tribes that fought hardest received the choicest territories as a reward
3. By population — larger tribes received more land; smaller tribes received less; the allocation was determined by lot within these population parameters
4. Moses himself assigned the territories based on each tribe's suitability for farming or herding

18. What boundary markers defined the land of Canaan that God promised to give Israel (Numbers 34)?

1. From Dan to Beersheba — these traditional city markers defined the full extent of the promised land
2. The coastal plain from Sidon to Gaza; the hill country to the east; the Negev to the south; and the Sea of Galilee to the north
3. The Euphrates to the north, the Nile to the south, the Mediterranean to the west, and the Arabian desert to the east
4. The southern boundary from the Desert of Zin; the western boundary as the Mediterranean; the northern boundary to Mount Hor and Lebo Hamath; the eastern boundary as the Jordan River

19. What was the role of the Levitical cities described in Numbers 35?

1. Since the Levites received no territorial allotment, they were given 48 cities with surrounding pasturelands spread throughout all the other tribes' territories
2. They were agricultural centres where the Levites trained Israelites in proper farming according to God's laws
3. They were cities of worship where the tabernacle would rotate every ten years
4. They were fortified cities controlled by the Levites as a religious police force throughout the land

20. Numbers ends with Israel on the plains of Moab. What is the spiritual significance of this location?

1. Moab was conquered first as a demonstration that God could give the land — it was an appetiser before the main conquest
2. Moab was the homeland of Ruth — God positioned Israel there as a preparation for the future inclusion of Gentiles
3. The plains of Moab were the highest elevation in the region — from there Moses could see all of Canaan before his death
4. They were poised at the edge of the Promised Land — the new generation stood where their parents had refused to go, ready for what the previous generation had forfeited through unbelief