Last update - 00:00 24/04/2007
World Bible Quiz champ laments incorrect Assyrian king reference
By Nadav Shragai, Haaretz Correspondent and Haaretz Service
The winner of the annual World Bible Quiz on Tuesday asked to share his prize with the runner up after he discovered one of his answers was partially incorrect.
Yishai Gaspan, 17, a yeshiva student from Jerusalem and Israel's National Bible Quiz champion, quoted a passage which refers to the Assyrian king Shalmaneser V, mistakenly naming his succsessor Sennacherib instead.
After being announced the competition winner, Channel 2 cameras captured Gaspan arguing passionately with celebrity linguist and event host Avshalom Kor, asking him to interevene on his behalf and take points off his score.
Despite his protests, Israel's fifth president and World Bible Quiz judge Yitzhak Navon rejected Gaspan's request and said he displayed exceptional knowledge of the Bible during the quiz.
Some 64 youths from 35 countries participated in the World Bible Quiz traditionally held on Independence Day.
For the first time in the quiz's 44-year history, representatives of Colombia, Macedonia and Peru took part.