The first letter of the answers to the following questions forms the answer to this riddle: “If the tenth is chrysoprasus and the twelfth is amethyst, what is the eleventh?” [1] The number in the brackets indicates the number of words in each answer.
1. A word that is used to describe the city that was later to become a place where thorns and briers would come up, where the palaces would be forsaken and the forts and towers would become dens. [1]
2. The case of a bold prisoner was known throughout a palace and beyond. To what extent was the nature of his imprisonment known? [3]
3. When delivered from those who are characterized by vanity and falsehood, the result will be apparent in our children. To what could our daughters be compared? [2]
4. When a strong man is able to defend his palace, this phrase describes his goods. [2]
5. The name of a man who, though in a palace, was concerned for another palace and city, far away in his homeland. [1]
6. One half of Israel followed this man for a short time. His predecessor perished in a burning palace for his sins, after reigning for only one week. [1]
7. A word that describes how the costly stones Solomon used in several houses that he built were formed. [1]
Answers to these questions will be found, Lord willing, in the next issue of Christian Shepherd.
J. Short