Easy Bible Quiz about Bible History

Answer these Bible history questions in this easy Bible quiz.

OK, peek at the answers because we are not all seminary students.

Links to additional information are underlined.

Challenge yourself on this fairly easy history Bible quiz with answers.

What is the overall theme of the Christian Bible?

a. The Bible encompasses the entirety of Earth's history, from Adam's birth to 1611 AD.
b. It is about God’s love for his people and His instructions for humanity to live by.
c. The Bible is entirely about God's punishment for disobedience.

b. The Bible discusses God's love for His people.
The Bible contains God’s master plan of salvation from humanity's disobedience.
It assures of God’s forgiveness and salvation through the sacrifice of Jesus.
Jesus' crucifixion is a prominent theme of the Bible.
The Bible presents the promise of eternal life through Jesus Christ.
It explores themes of creation, redemption, and the relationship between God and humanity.
The Bible emphasizes love, grace, and the importance of faith in everyday life.
What is the estimated time frame that the Bible was written in?

a. 3500 BC-000 BC.
b. 2000 BC—1400 BC.
c. 1400 BC–100 AD

c. 1400 BC–100 AD.
The Bible was written over a period of 1,500 years.
It was written from around 1450 BC (the time of Moses) to about 100 AD (the time of John, the last apostle).
Moses is credited with writing the first five books of the Bible.
What writings or documents created the Bible?

a. The writings of Nostradamus.
b. Ancient Hebrew and Greek writings.
c. Aramaic writings that were discovered in the tombs beneath Jerusalem.

b. Ancient Hebrew and Greek writings.
The Bible was created from ancient Hebrew and ancient Koine Greek manuscripts.
A few writings in the original Biblical writings were also in Aramaic.
How did the early believers express their very first forms of scripture?

a. Written words on vellum and scrolls made from plant material using inks and stains.
b. Verbally (or orally) in songs, poems, stories, and other narratives.
c. Pictograms written on walls using chalk or kaolinite.

b. Verbally.
The written language of the Bible is believed to have come about in the 10th century BC.
Wikipedia has more information about early scripture.
What is another name for the ancient scriptural scrolls?

a. Codex or manuscript.
b. Anecdotes.
c. Pretext.

a. Codex or manuscripts.
What are the first and last books of the standard Bible?

a. Alpha and Beta.
b. Abraham and Moses.
c. Genesis and Revelation.

c. Genesis and Revelation.
Moses is credited with writing Genesis.
The book of Genesis tells the story of the Beginning of Earth's timeline.
John is credited with writing The Book of Revelation.
Revelation tells the story of the End of the Earth's timeline.
Why do some of the books of the Bible have red lettering in them?

a. The red lettering represents the words that Jesus spoke in the Gospels.
b. This is to emphasize significant biblical concepts.
c. Red letters show the words that Abraham, the patriarch, gave.

a. These are the words spoken by Jesus in the New Testament.
Bibles with red lettering are referred to as The Red Letter Edition.
When and where was the first Bible printed on a printing press?

a. 1454 in Germany.
b. 1611 in England.
c. 1663 in America.

a. 1454 AD in Germany.
Johannes Gutenberg invented the "movable type mold" printing press.
The first Bible printed using his printing press was in 1454 AD at Mainz, Germany.
Gutenberg printed 180 Bibles, of which 48 copies exist today.
The Bible was called the Gutenberg Bible because he was the one who printed it.
It was also known as the 42-line Bible, the Mazarin Bible, or the B42.
Did the scriptures always have sixty-six (66) books, as the Bible does today?

a. No
b. Yes, exactly as it was in the year 100 A.D.
c. Yes, but some religious denominations added the Apocrypha.

a. NO.
The early believers utilized numerous books not found in the Bible.
In 367 AD, Father Athanasius of the Catholic Church selected the books that the Catholic Church agreed upon to make the Bible.
During 382 AD, the Council of Rome under Pope Damasus formalized these as the Bible.
In 400 AD, St. Jerome placed them together as the first 66-book Bible.
It was handwritten and not bound as a single tome like we see today.
Which section of the Bible was primarily written in Hebrew?

a. Apocrypha.
b. Old Testament.
c. New Testament.
d. The Gospels of Jesus.

b. Old Testament.
Ancient Hebrew was the primary language of the Hebrew Bible, also known as the Old Testament.
Which section of the Bible was primarily written in Koine Greek?

a. Apocrypha.
b. Old Testament.
c. New Testament.
d. The Pentateuch.

c. New Testament.
Ancient Koine Greek was the primary language of the New Testament.
Which famous English Bible version was printed in the year 1611?

a. The Catholic canon as approved by Pope Damasus the First.
b. The King James Version as approved by the King of England.
c. The Vulgate as approved by Saint Jerome.

b. King James.
The first version of the King James Bible was published in 1611.
Several revisions have been made since then to correct some errors.
New King James Version (NKJV), published by Thomas Nelson in 1982, is the most recent and up-to-date, and accurate version of the Bible.
What is the Old Testament of the Bible all about?

a. The story of God and His people before the birth of Christ.
b. It explains what heaven is and what life is like there.
c. The Old Testament is the basic story of the birth of Jesus and his life.

a. This is the story of God and His people.
This portion of the Bible tells the story from the creation of the Earth up to 400 years before the birth of Jesus the Messiah.
The stories explain how God's chosen people were continually disobedient as a result of the punishments they received.
The books reveal to us events of the future, of which many have already taken place.
What is the basic theme of the Book of Revelation?

a. Revelation reveals everything we need to know about Heaven and Hell.
b. This is the book that tells stories about the lives and times of the twelve disciples.
c. The Book of Revelation describes apocalyptic visions and prophecies of the end of the world.

c. The Book of Revelation is about the end of the world, aka The End of Times.
Revelation describes the fight between good and evil and that good will win.
The judgment of man and the arrival of a New Jerusalem are revealed and explained.
Which section of the Christian Bible originated in ancient Judaism?

a. Apocrypha.
b. The Gospels.
c. Old Testament.
d. The New Testament.

c. Old Testament.
The codices and manuscripts making up the Old Testament originated in Judaism and have been used by Jews ever since.
Jewish people prefer to call the Old Testament the First Testament, because it came before the New Testament.
What happened to the first few authors who translated the Bible into English?

a. The church praised their efforts and made them saints.
b. They were hung upside down by the church on the cross for heresy against God.
c. The church burned these men's bodies for blasphemy against it.

c. These men were burned by the church for blasphemy against the church.
The church executed the first few scholars who translated the Bible into English for blasphemy and burned their bodies.
Leaders of the church did not like the idea of the common man being able to read the Bible and interpret it for themselves.
Bibles written in English took away some of the control that the church had over the congregation.
What was the first complete Bible written in English?

a. King James Version.
b. Vulgate Translation.
c. Tyndale Bible.

c. Tyndale Bible.
The Tyndale Bible was the first complete English-language version.
William Tyndale was literally and physically burned for this blasphemous deed by the leaders of the church.
The early Christian church utilized this Latin Bible.

a. The Hebrew Bible.
b. Septuagint.
c. Vulgate.

c. Vulgate.
The Latin Vulgate was the most popular Bible used by the early Christian churches.
Pope Damasus authorized Saint Jerome to translate the Bible in 382 AD.
Latin was the common language of the Catholic Church at that time.
This practice was one of the early steps the Catholic Church took to control the masses.
Greek was the common language spoken during the time of the Septuagint.
The Hebrew Bible was written in the ancient Hebrew language.
What significant find did researchers uncover in a cave near the sea?

a. Holy Aramaic scriptures found near the Red Sea.
b. Masoretic text found near the Sea of Galilee.
c. Dead Sea Scrolls.

c. The Dead Sea Scrolls.
These scrolls were found by Bedouin shepherds when they took refuge in a cave on the northwestern shore of the Dead Sea.
More than 25,000 pages and fragments written in ancient Hebrew and Aramaic were discovered.
The surviving pages contain most of the Hebrew Bible.
This monarch permitted the printing of Bibles in English for the first time.

a. Queen Elizabeth I (1558).
b. Queen Mary I (1553).
c. King James VI (1611), aka James VI (Scotland), a.k.a. James I (England).

c. King James.
King James was a Christian.
James authorized the English translation of the Bible.
He authorized and insisted on a new translation that would be small enough for an individual to carry.
King James insisted on having it written in a language the common person could understand.

Queen Mary was a holy terror.
She was known as Bloody Mary.
Queen Mary hated Christians and their beliefs, killing everyone who was a believer and destroying any religious artifacts and books they had.

Queen Elizabeth's story is sad.
Elizabeth was the only surviving child of Henry VIII
She was the last and longest-reigning monarch of the House of Tudor.
Elizabeth was two years old when her parents' marriage was annulled.
Her mother was executed, and Elizabeth was declared illegitimate.
She established the first official English Protestant church.
What story does the Book of Exodus tell?
a. Exodus is a prophecy about the end of the world.
b. It is the story of King Exodus and how he defeated the Philistines.
c. The Book of Exodus narrates how the Israelites, led by Moses, exited Egypt.

c. The story of how the Israelites left Egypt for the promised land with Moses.
Which Bible book is considered the oldest and the first to be written?

a. Genesis.
b. Exodus.
c. Job.

c. Job.
Job is believed to be the first and oldest book of the Bible.
Whether Moses or King Solomon wrote the book is a matter of debate.
People passed down many Bible verses verbally through the generations before they became written as manuscripts.
Job is believed to be such a book.
What is the first English Bible with chapter divisions and numbered verses?

a. Geneva.
b. Bishops.
c. King James.

a. The Geneva Bible.
This was the first Bible to have chapters and numbered verses.
Dissidents of the church wrote the Geneva Bible in 1560 at Geneva.
William Wittingham led several other scholars in translating the Bible after Queen "Bloody" Mary died.
The Geneva Bible was popular until the King James Version was printed in 1611.
Another name given to the Geneva Bible was "Breeches Bible",
This version of the King James Bible described Adam and Eve as wearing “breeches” to cover their nakedness instead of the traditional "fig leaves".
Genesis 3:7.
Who was the first person to begin writing the Bible in English?

a. Thomas Matthew in the year 1537 AD.
b. John Wycliffe in 1382 AD.
c. John Darby in 1872 AD.

b. John Wycliffe.
The first person to attempt to translate the books of the Bible into English was John Wycliffe.
Translating the Bible into English was considered heresy against the church.
The church killed Wycliffe and burned his body for writing an English translation of the Bible.
When did the Ten Commandments come into being?
a. 31st century BC (Adam).
b. 21st century BC (Noah).
c. 14th century BC (Moses).

c. 14th century BC.
The Ten Commandments were written in the 14th century BC on stone tablets by the finger of God.
God gave them to Moses on Mount Sinai.
A gold-lined rectangular chest called the Ark of the Covenant housed them.
God created two sets, as Moses destroyed the first set in his anger when he saw the multitude worshipping a golden calf.
Wow! That must have been a scene.

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"For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son,
that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life."
John 3:16.