Bible Quiz I - Answers

So no-one tried to answer the Bible Quiz (#1) posted last week. Oh well. Winners get special mention and a link to their blog in the answer post.

On to the questions and answers:

Q1: Name 6 in Tanach who did not die.

A1:
a) None of the cattle of Israel. Shemot 9:6:

ו וַיַּעַשׂ ה אֶת-הַדָּבָר הַזֶּה, מִמָּחֳרָת, וַיָּמָת, כֹּל מִקְנֵה מִצְרָיִם; וּמִמִּקְנֵה בְנֵי-יִשְׂרָאֵל, לֹא-מֵת אֶחָד.

6 And the LORD did that thing on the morrow, and all the cattle of Egypt died; but of the cattle of the children of Israel died not one.

b) Chanoch, for while everyone else in the genealogical list is said to have died, there is no such statement by Chanoch. Bereishit 5:21:

כא וַיְחִי חֲנוֹךְ, חָמֵשׁ וְשִׁשִּׁים שָׁנָה; וַיּוֹלֶד, אֶת-מְתוּשָׁלַח.	21 And Enoch lived sixty and five years, and begot Methuselah.
כב וַיִּתְהַלֵּךְ חֲנוֹךְ אֶת-הָאֱלֹהִים, אַחֲרֵי הוֹלִידוֹ אֶת-מְתוּשֶׁלַח, שְׁלֹשׁ מֵאוֹת, שָׁנָה; וַיּוֹלֶד בָּנִים, וּבָנוֹת.	22 And Enoch walked with God after he begot Methuselah three hundred years, and begot sons and daughters.
כג וַיְהִי, כָּל-יְמֵי חֲנוֹךְ, חָמֵשׁ וְשִׁשִּׁים שָׁנָה, וּשְׁלֹשׁ מֵאוֹת שָׁנָה.	23 And all the days of Enoch were three hundred sixty and five years.
כד וַיִּתְהַלֵּךְ חֲנוֹךְ, אֶת-הָאֱלֹהִים; וְאֵינֶנּוּ, כִּי-לָקַח אֹתוֹ אֱלֹהִים. {ס}	24 And Enoch walked with God, and he was not; for God took him. {S}

Note that Bereishit Rabbati states that he became the head of the Decepticons. ;)

c) Yonatan. See I Shmuel 14:45:

מה וַיֹּאמֶר הָעָם אֶל-שָׁאוּל, הֲיוֹנָתָן יָמוּת אֲשֶׁר עָשָׂה הַיְשׁוּעָה הַגְּדוֹלָה הַזֹּאת בְּיִשְׂרָאֵל--חָלִילָה חַי-יְהוָה אִם-יִפֹּל מִשַּׂעֲרַת רֹאשׁוֹ אַרְצָה, כִּי-עִם-אֱלֹהִים עָשָׂה הַיּוֹם הַזֶּה; וַיִּפְדּוּ הָעָם אֶת-יוֹנָתָן, וְלֹא-מֵת. {ס}

45 And the people said unto Saul: 'Shall Jonathan die, who hath wrought this great salvation in Israel? Far from it; as the LORD liveth, there shall not one hair of his head fall to the ground; for he hath wrought with God this day.' So the people rescued Jonathan, that he died not.

d) Yaakov. This is a famous one. The text never says that he dies. Though he was embalmed, which must have hurt like crazy. Unless, as is likely, the intent was to cause a spit-take. See relevant gemara.

e) Eliyahu. He ascended in a chariot of fire. Perhaps this means death, but perhaps not. The end of Malachi (Malachi 3:23) certainly seems to read the story of Eliyahu's ascension as not being death.

כג הִנֵּה אָנֹכִי שֹׁלֵחַ לָכֶם, אֵת אֵלִיָּה הַנָּבִיא--לִפְנֵי, בּוֹא יוֹם יְהוָה, הַגָּדוֹל, וְהַנּוֹרָא.

23 Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and terrible day of the LORD.

f) Menachem ben Chizkiyah. He was just snatched up by wind and whirlwind. (see here).

g) King Chizkiyahu, even though Yeshaya told him he would. See Yeshaya 38.

{Update: Oops! Should have mentioned
h) Serach bat Asher, named in a late genealogy, and so taken to have lived a long time and entered into Gan Eden alive.}

Q2: Which pashtan disliked Ibn Ezra?
A2: Shadal

The question for next week - why did he dislike him?