Answers to Summer 2011 Newsletter Riddles

Amer visited the Judean desert looking for wildlife. All he could find were camels and ravens. He began counting them, but for some reason he did this by counting the number of legs and heads of these animals. When he got back to the hotel the pilgrims asked what he found, he said, ” 35 heads and 78 legs.”  Do you know how many ravens and how many camels he saw?

There are 4 camels and 31 ravens. Here’s how to figure it out: Since he counted 35 heads, there had to be a minimum of 70 legs. However, his total count of legs was 78, or eight more legs than the minimum. These eight extra legs must, therefore, belong to the camels. Dividing these eight extra legs by two, we get the number of four-legged animals…the total number of camels has to be four.

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Three times I have been divided
doing what God had decided.
Twice a garment was the tool
that led me to obey God’s rule.
I was the threshold of new things
and the limit of many kings.
Once God’s son I did embrace.
Once the ark stood in my place.
Never have I walked the ground,
nor in the heavens was I found.

What am I?

it is indeed the Jordan River. The 3 times it was divided were:
1) After the death of Moses when Joshua led the Israelites over to the Promised Land.
2) When Elijah & Elisha crossed over together.
3) When Elisha crossed back after Elijah was taken up in the chariot of fire.

The garment used twice to part the water was Elijah’s mantle.

Jesus was embraced by the waters of the Jordan when he was baptized by John the Baptist & it was the Ark of the Covenant not Noah’s Ark that stood in the Jordan (when the Israelites crossed)