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Difficult Bible Quiz about Bible History

Test your knowledge of Bible history in this difficult Bible quiz.

Learn and educate yourself on this difficult Bible quiz about Bible history.

Difficult Bible History Questions

What was the first English Bible "authorized" for use in the church?

a. The Bishop's Bible of 1568.
b. The Geneva Bible of 1560.
c. The Great Bible of 1539.

Answer C: The Great Bible.

The Great Bible of 1539 was the first "authorized" Bible used by the church.
It was authorized by King Henry VIII and prepared by Miles Coverdale.
What is the Great Bible of 1539?
Which Bible version underwent translation from the Hebrew language into Greek?

a. Gnostic Gospels.
b. Septuagint.
c. Vulgate.

Answer B: The Septuagint.

The Bible translated from Hebrew into Greek was the Septuagint.
It was translated during the third century by 72 Jewish scholars in Alexandria, Egypt.
What is the Septuagint?
What led to the designation of a Bible revision as the "She Bible"?

a. In the book of Ruth, a verse states "she" instead of "he."
b. All the words spoken by women were printed in pink.
c. This Bible version was translated by Mother Teresa.

Answer A: The word "she" was mistranslated instead of the word "he."

This mistranslation can be found in the book of Ruth.
A misprint occurred regarding the gender of a character in the text of Ruth.
The misprint occurs in Ruth at verse 3:15, where "she" was printed instead of "he."
This particular version of the Bible became known as the She Bible.
Why were one hundred Bibles referred to as the "sinner's Bible"?

a. The confusion was due to a printing error that stated, "Thou shalt commit adultery."
b. The Gideons placed these Bibles in prison libraries.
c. A priest in 1611 placed the Bibles in brothels.

Answer A: Thou shalt commit adultery.

The "Sinners Bible" had a printing error that said, "Thou shalt commit adultery."
This Bible was also known as the Wicked Bible and the Adulterous Bible.
"Thou shalt commit adultery" was a misprinted Bible verse in a reprint of the King James Bible.
The Bible was published by the authorized royal printers in London, Robert Barker and Martin Lucas.
What is the Sinners' Bible?
Which Bible version is considered the most popular version of all time?

a. New International Version.
b. King James Version.
c. Vulgate.

Answer B: The King James Version.

Recently, the New International Version has become popular.
However, it's not as popular over time as the King James version.
What do John Rogers, William Tyndale, and John Wycliffe have in common?

a. Because they translated the Bible into English, the church burned their bodies.
b. They were priests who preserved the Latin Bible during the Reformation.
c: These individuals initiated and promoted the Protestant religion.

Answer A: Their bodies were burned.

The faithful Christians of the church burned the bodies of these men for translating the Bible into English.
The church hunted them down, imprisoned them, killed them, and then burned their works and bodies.
Early Bible translators were considered heretics and enemies of the church.
In earlier times, burning bodies of church enemies was considered the "Christian" way of doing things.
Which writer wrote most of the books in the New Testament?

a. Simon Peter, also known as Cephas, was a disciple of Jesus.
b. John, the fisherman, was one of the first disciples of Jesus.
c. Paul, who was previously called Saul of Tarsus.

Answer C: Paul.

The Apostle Paul wrote 14 books (over half) of the New Testament.
He was from Tarsus and was originally named Saul.
Saul persecuted the Jews before he was converted.
When Saul was traveling to Damascus, Jesus stopped him on the road and blinded him.
Ananias later healed Saul's eyes.
Because of this, Saul became an important apostle of Jesus, and his name was changed to Paul.
Who wrote the most books in the New Testament?
How are the four horses described in the Book of Revelation?

a. Beginning, sin, forgiveness, and a new world.
b. Birth, Sin, Death, and Resurrection.
c. White, Red, Black, and Pale.

Answer C: White, Red, Black, and Pale.

The white horse is believed to carry Christ.
The red horse brings the implements of war.
The black horse carries the one who brings famine.
Finally, the pale horse carries death on its back.
Revelation 6.
What was the crown made of that Jesus wore after his trial?

a. Jesus wore a simple headpiece of cloth known as the kippah skullcap, as all Jews did.
b. It was a gold band that was adorned with embedded jewels and pearls.
c. The crown was composed of branches adorned with thorns.

Answer C: Branches with thorns.

Scholars believe the crown was made from the thorny branches of the Ziziphus spina-christi plant, which was popular in Jerusalem at the time.
The Roman soldiers mocked Jesus and put the thorny crown on his head right after they scourged him.
The soldiers also mocked him by bowing and saying, "Hail to the Jewish King."
Matthew 27.
How many sons did Jacob have?

a. One.
b. Ten.
c. Twelve.

Answer C: Twelve sons.

Jacob had twelve sons, and each one was the foundation of a Jewish tribe.
The nation of Israel comes from the descendants of Jacob.
Jacob had twelve sons and one daughter from four different women.
God changed Jacob's name to Israel; hence, God's people became known as Israelites
Jacob's family was large.
What language was the Vulgate version written in?

a. Latin.
b. Greek.
c. Hebrew.

Answer A: Latin.

The Vulgate was the standardized Bible for the Roman Catholic Church for over 1,000 years.
It is a Latin version of the Bible written by St. Jerome in 382 AD.
What is the Vulgate?
Which Bible was in popular use when Jesus lived?

a. The Hebrew Scriptures.
b. King James Version.
c. Vulgate.

Answer A: The Hebrew scriptures, aka the Septuagint.

The Scriptures were not yet bound into a single book called the Bible; they were separate scrolls.
During the time of Jesus, the Hebrew Scriptures were written on individual scrolls, and not every church had a complete set of all the scrolls.
The Greek Septuagint, written 300 years before Jesus, was in common use as the Jewish Tanakh.
What Bible did Jesus use?
What do we refer to as the "biblical silent years"?

a. This era was the 40 years that the Israelites spent in the desert during the Exodus.
b. The silent years were the years that the Israelites spent captive in Egypt.
c. These were the years that passed between the Old and New Testaments.

Answer C: Years between the Old and New Testaments.

The 400 years between the writings of the Old and New Testaments are known as the silent years.
Nothing scriptural was written during the silent period.
Furthermore, no new scripture revealed by God was written after the book of Revelation was written.
What day of the week did Jesus rise from the dead after his crucifixion?

a. He rose seven days later on Saturday, the Sabbath.
b. He rose Saturday, the day following the crucifixion.
c. Jesus rose on Sunday, the third day.

The day of Jesus' resurrection is celebrated as Easter.
Friday, the first day: Jesus was crucified and died on the cross.
Saturday, the second day: Jesus lay in the tomb.
Sunday, the third day: Jesus rose from the dead and left his tomb.
Matthew 27.

Many try to reason that the three days had to be 24 hours each for a 72-hour period.
They are making an assumption that is not true.
Which Bible was so big that it had to be chained to the pulpit?

a. The original 1611 King James Bible was tightly secured to the pulpit.
b. The Great Bible of 1539 had to be chained to the pulpit.
c. Chained to the pulpit was the Geneva Bible of 1560.

Answer B: The Great Bible.

The Great Bible was the first authorized English Bible in England.
Chains were used to secure it to the pulpit and keep it from being stolen.
It was often referred to as the chained Bible.
The Great Bible contains 80 books.
It has 39 books in the Old Testament, 27 in the New Testament, and 14 books in the Apocrypha.
The Great Bible was historically important.
Which Bible version underwent William Whittingham's supervision?

a. The Great Bible.
b. Geneva.
c. Bishops.

Answer B: The Geneva Bible.

William Whittingham led the translation of the Geneva Bible.
Several other scholars were also involved in the translation.
It was the first Bible version to be translated entirely from the original transcripts of Hebrew, Greek, and Aramaic.
The Geneva Bible was the primary Bible of the 16th century, used by English Protestants.
Before it became an "authorized" Bible, Christian dissenters who separated from the church used it.
What was the first "complete" Bible written in English?

a. King James.
b. Tyndale.
c. Bishops.

Answer B: The Tyndale Bible.

The Tyndale Bible was the first complete English Bible.
What was the first complete Bible in any language that was a "bound book"?

a. Septuagint.
b. Coverdale.
c. Vulgate.

Answer C: The Vulgate.

The first bound set of books, called a Bible, was the Greek Vulgate.
This set was the first "unbound" collection of manuscripts made into a complete Bible set.

a. Dead Sea Scrolls.
b. Masoretic Text.
c. Vetus Latina.

Answer C: The Vetus Latina.

The first collection of separate manuscripts into one collection as a Bible was the Vetus Latina.
What was the first "loosely bound" Bible that held all the scriptures together in one book?

a. The Codex Sinaiticus.
b. The Gutenberg Bible.
c. The Geneva Bible.

Answer A: The Codex Sinaiticus.

Before the Codex Sinaiticus, the scriptures were on separate scrolls or other forms.
Around 360 AD, Emperor Constantine authorized the writing of fifty copies of the scriptures.
The Codex Sinaiticus also contained the Epistle of Barnabas and the Shepherd of Hermas.
Scholars consider the Codex Sinaiticus to be the first "official" Bible written with scrolls kept together.
What is the Masoretic Text?

a. It is a scroll that contains stories about the ancient stone building masons who built the temples.
b. The Masoretic Text is the authorized Hebrew Bible.
c. It is the Greek version of the Vulgate Bible.

Answer B: What is the authorized Hebrew Bible?

The Masoretic Text was the authorized Hebrew Bible (the Old Testament), which is a collection of sacred scriptures in Judaism.
Ancient Judaism and modern Jews have been using it since the 6th century, when Christians used it as the source for translating most of the Old Testament.
Jewish scholars, known as the Masoretes, wrote it between the 6th and 10th centuries.
Why is Martin Luther important in history?

a. He founded the original American Protestant Lutheran Church.
b. Luther was a Southern Baptist who challenged the U.S. government.
c. Martin Luther challenged the Catholic Church and nailed 95 complaints to the church's door.

Answer C: Luther challenged the Catholic Church.

Martin Luther was a very historic German priest in the 1500s.
Luther criticized the church and posted 95 complaints on the church door, highlighting how the church deviated from scripture.
What does canonizing the Bible mean?

a. This is the process of binding all the books into one volume.
b. Canonizing involves receiving a blessing from the pope.
c. The church accepts the Bible as the divine authority.

Answer C: Accepting it as divine authority.

The church accepts the Bible as the divine authority.
"Canon" is a word derived from the Greek word "kanon."
The term "canon" refers to a standard or measuring rod.
A canonized Bible means that it has been measured as the standard or tested as being of divine inspiration and authority from God.
It is the collection of writings accepted by the leaders of the early Christian church as God's word and the basis of the Christian faith.
What unusual thing did King Herod Antipas promise his stepdaughter at his birthday party?

a. King Herod decreed that she could have any man in the kingdom she wanted as her husband.
b. He assured her that he would deliver the head of John the Baptist to her.
c. Herod promised that she would become the queen.

Answer B: The head of John the Baptist.

Salome, Herod's stepdaughter, visually seduced King Herod when she danced in front of him.
Herod responded by promising her anything she desired.
Salome asked for the head of John the Baptist because John criticized the marriage of her mother to Herod.
Matthew 14:6-11.
Which Bible did the Pilgrims use when they first arrived in America?

a. Vulgate.
b. Bishops.
c. Geneva.

Answer C: The Geneva Bible.

The Pilgrims brought the Geneva Bible, the most popular Bible of the time, to America when they sailed on the Mayflower from Europe.
It was also a popular Bible among many European greats, including Shakespeare.
What is the Tel Dan Inscription?

a. The Tel Dan inscription is written in Aramaic and tells of the House of David.
b. It is the story of Daniel in the lion's den discovered on an Aramaic scroll.
c. A stone tower with inscriptions describing the tribe of Dan.

Answer A: Ancient Aramaic writing about King David.

The Tel Dan inscription is a basalt fragment written in Aramaic telling the story of King David.
The inscription was found in fragments in Northern Galilee.
They were recovered in 1993 and 1994 by Gila Cook, an archaeology surveyor.
It provides more archaeological evidence that the people in the Bible were real.
Who are Aristotle, Flavius, Herodotus, Josephus, Pliny, and Tacitus?

a. They were high priests during the 1500 years it took to write the Bible.
b. These influential priests and biblical writers contributed to several books of the Bible.
c. They are well-known and respected historians who, in some manner, corroborated parts of the Bible.

Answer C: Historians who corroborated the Bible.

Aristotle, Pliny, Herodotus, Josephus, Flavius, and Tacitus were respected historians who wrote passages that corroborate the Bible.
In what year do scholars believe the Torah was completed?

a. 1100 BC.
b. 400 BC.
c. 120 BC.

Answer B: 400 BC.

Scholars believe the Torah to have been written in 400 BC.
Near what sea was the location of many scrolls found in a cave?

a. Mediterranean.
b. Dead Sea.
c. Red Sea.

Answer B: Near the Dead Sea.

The scrolls were discovered in caves near Qumran, on the northwestern shore of the sea.
Bedouin sheep herders found the first scrolls in a cave that they sought shelter in.
Approximately 900 scrolls were found between 1947 and 1956 in a series of 11 caves.
The Dead Sea is the lowest point on earth at 1300 feet below sea level.
How can one avoid entering the furnace known as Hell?

a. Pray for forgiveness, repent of your sins, and accept that "Jesus is Lord."
b. One can avoid Hell by faithfully keeping the Ten Commandments.
c. Engage in daily prayer, including reciting "The Lord's Prayer."

d. Attend church every week and keep the Sabbath.

Answer A: Pray, repent, and accept.

Accepting Jesus and praying for forgiveness is the initial step to avoid eternal damnation in hell.

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Humorous words and phrases from the 1950s:

Why do we call children kids?

a. The term originated with the Pennsylvania Dutch, who brought it over from Germany.
b. The word came from the Western Plains Indian tribes of the Americas.
c. Kids refer to young goats and have become humorous slang for young children.

Answer C: Because kids are youngsters, just like our children.

The word "kid" comes from the reference that young goats are called kids.
It originated from the Old Norse and Middle English term for a "young goat."
The term "kid" was used in Europe as early as the 16th century and became standard English slang in the 19th century.

If you declare with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and if you firmly believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will find salvation.
Romans 10:8