Easy to Difficult Bible Quiz

​​​Start with these straightforward Bible questions about biblical history.
 

Review your knowledge of these easier questions concerning biblical history.
 

1. What is the overall theme of the Christian Bible?
   
   a. Earth's history, from Adam's birth to 1611.
   b. God's punishment for the disobedient.
   c. It is about God’s love for humanity.
   
   Answer C: God's love.
   
   God's love is shown throughout the Bible for his people, but so is his discipline for their wrongdoings.
   The Bible contains God’s master plan of salvation from humanity's disobedience.

   God’s forgiveness and salvation through the sacrifice of Jesus are the theme of the Bible.

   The Bible emphasizes the importance of love and faith in everyday life, as well as His grace.
   
    

2. Why should the Bible be believed?
   
   a. The discovery of artifacts that support the Bible's validity.
   b. Preachers say we should. believe the Bible.
   c. Nostradamus authenticated it.
   
   Answer A: Discovery of artifacts.
   
   Archaeologists are constantly uncovering and discovering biblical evidence.
   Many scientists are now challenging their original creation hypothesis and discovering, through scientific research, that the biblical account may be accurate.
   Archaeologists are constantly uncovering and discovering evidence that corresponds to the stories in the Bible and provides historical accuracy and validity.
   Several renowned and respected historical writers have written about and support facts in the Bible.
   Many websites describe the facts that support the Bible's authenticity.
   
    

3. What day of the week did God designate as the Sabbath in the Book of Genesis?
   
   a. Friday.
   b. Saturday.
   c. Sunday.
   
   Answer B: Saturday.
   
   The modern calendar shows Saturday as the seventh day, which has been a continuance since the time of Adam and Eve.
   Sunday is the first day of the week.
   Genesis 2:1-2
   
    

4. How did the early believers express their very first forms of scripture?
   
   a. Verbally (or orally) in songs, poems, stories, and other narratives.
   b. Soft white minerals used to write on slabs of slate.
   c. Writing with dyes on linen cloth.
   
   Answer A: Verbally.
   
   Before the invention of written language, people passed down the biblical stories verbally.
   The written language of the Bible came about in the 10th century BC.
   Wikipedia offers additional information about early scripture.
   
    

5. Which of the following statements are true concerning the Bible?
   
   a. A Bible that has been blessed cannot be destroyed by fire.
   b. The Bible is one of the most shoplifted books in history.
   c. It is believed by all religions of the modern world.
   
   Answer B: The most shoplifted book.
   
   The internet has many sites that claim the Bible is the most stolen or shoplifted book of all time.
   This assertion is difficult to prove, but some bookstores admit it is so, and establishments where the Gideons provide Bibles for the reading pleasure of guests admit that the Bibles regularly disappear.
   
    

6. If a town did not accept the disciples when preaching, what did Jesus tell them to do?
   
   a. Search for a believer's home and seek shelter there.
   b. The disciples were to fast and pray for them.
   c. Leave and shake the dust off their sandals.
   
   Answer C: Leave and shake the dust off their sandals.
   
   Jesus instructed the disciples to leave a place where they were not welcome and shake the dust off their feet.
   This was a symbolic way of separating themselves from the nonbelievers who are accountable for their actions.
   The disciples were to go out and preach the gospel of "good works" and repentance, knowing that all they met were going to accept their message.
   Mark 6:11
   
    

7. What writings and documents are the source of the original Bible?
   
   a. Judaic manuscripts found in the tombs beneath the Jerusalem temple.
   b. Greek and Hebrew writings recorded on scrolls and codices.
   c. The writings of Nostradamus.
   
   Answer B: Ancient Hebrew and Greek writings.
   
   The Bible came from ancient Hebrew and Koine Greek scrolls.
   A few of the original biblical texts were also written in Aramaic.
   
    

8. What does God tell us to seek first?
   
   a. We are to seek a church with a loyal preacher.
   b. Seek first God's kingdom and his righteousness.
   c. A true believer wife as a life partner.
   
   Answer B: To seek God's kingdom.
   
   First, we are instructed to seek God's kingdom and his righteousness.
   We all seek our basic needs of food, shelter, and clothes, but we are to seek God first, and all the rest will be provided.
   Matthew 6:31-34
   
    

9. Why did God cause it to rain for 40 days and nights, creating the massive flood?
   
   a. The Hebrews were being led away from God's ways because of Abraham's sins.
   b. God wanted to destroy humanity because he regretted creating them.
   c. The people had turned into a gay society.
   
   Answer B: To destroy humanity.
   
   God said that he regretted making them and decided to destroy humanity.
   The Lord saw how extreme the wickedness of the human race had become on the earth.
   Their hearts were full of evil, and that laid heavy on God's heart.
   Genesis 6:5-8
   
    

10. Between what years were the biblical manuscripts written?
    
    a. 2000 BC - 1400 BC.
    b. 3500 BC—1000 BC.
    c. 1400 BC—100 AD.
    
    Answer C: 1400 BC and 100 AD.
    
    The scrolls were written from the time of Moses, 1450 BC, to about 100 AD, the time of the Book of Revelation.
    It took over 1,500 years to write the biblical manuscripts.
    Moses is accepted as the one who wrote the first five books of the Bible.
    John of Patmos is the one accepted as having written the last book of the Bible.
    
     

11. What is another name for the ancient scriptural scrolls?
    
    a. Codex or manuscript.
    b. Anecdotes.
    c. Pretext.
    
    Answer A: Codices and manuscripts.
    
    The ancient scriptural scrolls were codices and manuscripts.
    They were written on parchment called "vellum" and plant-based material called "papyrus."
    Codices were individual pages that were loosely bound together like a spiral notebook.
    Manuscripts were written on a long single page as a scroll that was rolled up.
    
     

12. What are the first and last books of the standard Bible?
    
    a. Leviticus and Acts.
    b. Alpha and Omega.
    c. Genesis and Revelation.
    
    Answer C:  Genesis and Revelation.
    
    The book of Genesis tells the story of the beginning of Earth's timeline.
    The Book of Revelation tells the story of Earth's end times.
    
     

13. Why do some of the books of the Bible have red lettering in them?
    
    a. Emphasizes significant biblical concepts
    b. These are the words that Jesus spoke.
    c. The words of Abraham, the patriarch.
    
    Answer B: Words spoken by Jesus.
    
    Red lettering reflects the words that Jesus spoke.
    Bibles with red lettering are called "Red Letter Editions."
    
     

14. When and where was the first Bible printed on a printing press?
    
    a. 1454 in Germany.
    b. 1611 in England.
    c. 1663 in America.
    
    Answer A: 1454 AD in Germany.
    
    The first Bible printed was on Gutenberg's printing press in 1454 AD at Mainz, Germany.
    Johannes Gutenberg invented the "movable type mold" printing press for mass production.
    He was an inventor, and he adapted the principle of the wine press into a printing press.
    Gutenberg printed 180 Bibles in Latin, of which 48 copies exist today.
    
     

15. What is the paraphrase of the first of the Ten Commandments?
    
    a. Love yourself as you would love your neighbor.
    b. Keep the Sabbath holy and go to church.
    c. I am your only God.
    
    Answer C: Have no other gods but me.
    
    God is the supreme being, and there is no other God than Him.
    We should believe in one God and not worship idols.
    This is the first of the Ten Commandments that God gave Moses on Mount Sinai.
    Exodus 20:1–17.
    
     

16. Did the original scriptures always have sixty-six (66) books, as the Bible does today?
    
    a. No, they did not have sixty-six (66) books.
    b. Yes, exactly as it was in the year 100 A.D.
    c. Yes, but some religious denominations added the Apocrypha, which refers to a collection of ancient texts that are not considered canonical by all Christian traditions. 
    
    Answer A: NO.
    
    NO. There are over 150 total biblical scriptures. 
    The early believers had and utilized numerous books not found in the modern Bible.
    The Bible itself mentions several books that are not present in the current version.
    In 367 AD, Father Athanasius of the Catholic Church in Alexandria selected 66 books from all those available that the Catholic Church agreed upon to make the original authorized Bible.
    Later, some Bibles included the Apocrypha, making a total of 80 books in the Bible.
    
     

17. Which section of the original Bible manuscripts was mainly in Hebrew?
    
    a. Apocrypha.
    b. Old Testament.
    c. New Testament.
    d. The Gospels of Jesus.
    
    Answer B: Old Testament.
    
    Ancient Hebrew was the primary language of the Hebrew Bible, also known as the Old Testament.
    However, some of the books (scrolls and manuscripts) of the Apocrypha were written in Hebrew.
    
     

18. Which section of the original Bible manuscripts was written in Koine Greek?
    
    a. Apocrypha.
    b. Old Testament.
    c. New Testament.
    d. The Pentateuch.
    
    Answer C: New Testament.
    
    Ancient Koine Greek was the primary language of the New Testament.
    However, some of the books (scrolls and manuscripts) of the Apocrypha were written in Greek.
    
     

19. Which statement below is true about the original Koine Greek language?
    
    a. Koine Greek has 24 letters, all capital, and has no spaces between words and no punctuation marks.
    b. It is similar to Chinese in that it has over 2,000 symbols, some of which translate to a complete word. 
    c. Koine Greek has the same syntax and grammatical aspects as English, with about 1000 words.
    
    Answer A: There are 24 letters, all of which are capital letters, and there are no spaces.
    
    Koine Greek is written in scriptio continua, meaning without spaces or punctuation, with an alphabet of 24 capital letters. 
    The word "Koine" is translated as meaning "common," as in the common language of the people.
    It was spread worldwide thanks to Alexander the Great.
    
     

20. Which famous English Bible version was printed in the year 1611?
    
    a. The King James Version, which was approved by the King of England.
    b. The Vulgate, translated by Saint Jerome in the 4th century.
    c. The Catholic canon, approved by Pope Damasus.
    
    Answer A: The King James version.
    
    The most famous English Bible version was the King James Bible published in 1611.
    Several revisions have been made to correct some errors, with the 1982 version being the most accurate.
    The King James Bible (1611) was the third authorized version after King Henry's Great Bible (1539) and the Church of England's Bishops' Bible (1568).
    More popular at the time was the Swedish Geneva Bible, but it was not an authorized version.
    
     

21. What is the Old Testament of the Bible about?
    
    a. It tells the story of God and His people before Christ was born.
    b. The basic story of Abraham and his Jesuit family lineage.
    c. It explains what heaven is and what life is like there.
    
    Answer A: Story of God's people before Jesus.
    
    The Old Testament tells the story from the creation of the Earth up to 400 years before the birth of Jesus the Messiah.
    These are stories explaining how God's chosen people were continually disobedient and what punishments they received.
    It reveals to us through prophets the events of the future, many of which have already taken place.
    The Old Testament contains God's laws, commandments, rules, guidelines, etc.
    
     

22. In the Old Testament, why did God evict Adam and Eve from the Garden of Eden?
    
    a. Eve persuaded Adam to eat an apple.
    b. Adam and Eve were disobedient to God.
    c. They were convinced by the serpent that he was the Lord in disguise.
    
    Answer B: Disobeyed God.
    
    Adam and Eve were expelled from the Garden of Eden because they disobeyed God.
    God banished Adam and Eve because they disobeyed Him by eating the forbidden fruit from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.
    Genesis 3
    
     

23. What is significant about Bethlehem?
    
    a. Jesus was baptized there.
    b. Jesus was born there.
    c. Jesus died there.
    
    Answer B: Jesus was born there.
    
    Jesus was born in Bethlehem, in an animal stable a couple of miles outside the city.
    Mary and Joseph traveled to Jerusalem for the Roman census; they could not locate a room in any inns.
    They had to stay in an animal shelter outside Bethlehem, as it was the only place available.
    Matthew 2:1-12
    
     

24. What is the basic theme of the Book of Revelation?
    
    a. Everything we need to know about Heaven and Hell.
    b. Stories about the lives and times of the twelve disciples.
    c. Apocalyptic visions and prophecies of the end of the world.
    
    Answer C: The end of the world.
    
    The Book of Revelation is about the end of the world, aka the End of Times.
    Revelation describes the fight between good and evil. Good will win.
    The judgment of man and the arrival of a New Jerusalem are revealed and explained.
    The details of the second coming of Jesus are revealed.
    
     

25. Which Hebrew section of the Bible originated entirely in ancient Judaism?
    
    a. Gospels.
    b. Beatitudes.
    c. Apocrypha.
    d. Pentateuch.
    
    Answer D: The Pentateuch.
    
    The Pentateuch is the Hebrew section of the Bible that originated entirely in ancient Judaism.
    Jews have been using the manuscripts that form the Old Testament since their origin in Judaism.
    The Pentateuch includes the first five books of the Old Testament, written in Hebrew, and originated in early Judaism as written under the supervision of Moses.
    
     

26. What do many scholars recognize as the first miracle recorded in the Bible that Jesus performed?
    
    a. He healed a leper.
    b. Jesus made wine out of water.
    c. He raised Lazarus from the dead.
    
    Answer B: Jesus made wine.
    
    The first accepted miracle of Jesus is when He made wine.
    Jesus, his family, and the disciples attended a wedding in Cana.
    When the host ran out of wine, Mary, the mother of Jesus, insisted that Jesus turn water into wine.
    John 2:1-11.
    
     

27. What happened to the first few authors who translated the Bible into English?
    
    a. The church praised their efforts and made them into saints.
    b. The church burned the bodies of these men for blasphemy against it.
    c. They were hung upside down by the church on the cross for heresy against God.
    
    Answer B: The church burned the bodies.
    
    The church executed these men and burned their bodies, ignoring God's instruction to love thy neighbor.
    The church charged these authors with blasphemy for translating God's word into English.
    
     

28. What was significant about the Tyndale Bible?
    
    a. The first complete English-language version of the Bible.
    b. It was the first Bible with numbered verses.
    c. First Bible with the Apocrypha.
    
    Answer A: First complete English Bible.
    
    The Tyndale Bible was the first complete English-language version.
    King James had his Bible published about 65 years after the Tyndale Bible.
    There were several writings in English before Tyndale, but they were incomplete.
    
     

29. The early Roman Christian church utilized this Latin Bible.
    
    a. Septuagint.
    b. Vulgate.
    c. Torah.
    
    Answer B: The Vulgate.
    
    The Latin Vulgate was the most popular Bible used by the early Christian churches.
    Pope Damasus authorized Saint Jerome to translate the Bible into Latin in 382 AD.
    Latin was the common language of the Catholic Church at that time.
    The Septuagint was written in Greek.
    The Torah was written in the ancient Hebrew language.
    
     

30. What significant biblical discovery did researchers uncover in a cave near a sea?
    
    a. Hebrew scrolls.
    b. Masoretic codices.
    c. Holy pre-Aramaic scriptures.
    
    Answer A: Hebrew scrolls.
    
    A Bedouin shepherd named Muhammad edh-Dhib found Hebrew scrolls in a cave.
    He sought shelter in a cave and found the ancient scrolls of the Old Testament scriptures in jars.
    Eventually, archaeologists found 11 caves near Qumran close to the northwest shore of the Dead Sea that contained additional jars with the ancient scriptures.
    Archaeologists have discovered more than 25,000 pages and fragments written in ancient Hebrew and Aramaic in the cave.
    Radiologists have dated the scrolls to the time of Jesus.
    
     

31. For the first time, this monarch permitted the printing of Bibles in English.
    
    a. Queen Elizabeth in 1558.
    b. Queen Mary in 1553.
    c. King James in 1611.
    
    Answer C: King James.
    
    King James was a Christian and authorized the first English translation of the Bible.
    He was the monarch of England, Ireland, and Scotland.
    James's actual name was James Charles Stuart (19 June 1566–27 March 1625).
    
    Queen Mary was described as a holy terror and known as Bloody Mary.
    She hated Christians and their beliefs, killing everyone who was a believer and destroying any religious artifacts and books they had.
    
    Queen Elizabeth's is a sad story. 
    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.
    
     

32. What story does the Book of Exodus tell?
    
    a. It narrates how the Israelites traveled from Egypt to the promised land, led by Moses.
    b. It's a prophecy about Christians leaving Earth for heaven at the end times.
    c. The story of King Exodus and how he defeated the Philistines.
    
    Answer A:  Israelites' journey  from Egypt.
    
    The story of Exodus recounts the Israelites' journey from Egypt to the promised land in Canaan, led by Moses.
    Exodus shows the confrontation between Moses and his stepbrother, the pharaoh, when God sent Moses to Egypt to ask the pharaoh to let the slaves go.
    It contains stories of the dividing of the Red Sea, water streaming from a rock, food showing up on the ground every morning, God providing the Ten Commandments on stone tablets, and the establishment of the priesthoods. 
    
     

33. Which Bible book is believed to be the oldest and the first one written?
    
    a. Genesis.
    b. Exodus.
    c. Job.
    
    Answer C: The book of Job.
    
    The Book of Job is accepted as the first written and oldest book of the Bible.
    Whether Moses or King Solomon wrote the book is a matter of debate.
    
     

34. What is the first English Bible with chapter divisions and numbered verses?
    
    a. Geneva.
    b. Bishops.
    c. King James.
    
    Answer A: The Geneva Bible.
    
    The Geneva Bible was the first Bible to have chapters and numbered verses.
    William Wittingham led several other scholars in translating the Bible after Queen "Bloody Mary" died.
    The Geneva Bible of 1560 was the most popular Bible until the 1611 King James Version.
    Genesis 3:7.
    .
     

35. What is another name for the Geneva Bible that was once popular but is now considered lost?
    
    a. Breeches' Bible.
    b. Colonialists' Bible.
    c. The Preacher's Bible.
    
    Answer A: The Breeches' Bible.
    
    Another name given to the Geneva Bible was "Breeches Bible."
    The King James Bible described Adam and Eve as wearing “fig leaves” to cover their nakedness. 
    The Geneva translation described them as wearing "breeches."
    
     

36. Who was the first person to begin writing the Bible in English?
    
    a. Thomas Matthew in 1537 AD.
    b. John Wycliffe in 1382 AD.
    c. John Darby in 1872 AD.
    
    Answer 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.
    
     

37. How many ancient manuscripts are missing from the modern Protestant Bible?
    
    a. Fourteen.
    b. Twenty-seven.
    c. Seventy-five (75).
    
    Answer C: Seventy-five.
    
    Scholars contend that approximately seventy-five scriptures are missing from the Bible.
    Many biblical scriptures have been discovered, but only sixty-six have been selected as authorized to be included in the Protestant Christian Bible.
    Are there missing books from the Bible?
    
     

38. What was the occupation of Rahab, who helped two Israelite spies in Jericho?
    
    a. Rahab was a prostitute.
    b. She was a servant.
    c. Rahab was a maid.
    
    Answer A:  Rahab  was a prostitute.
    
    Rahab, a prostitute, sheltered and hid two Israeli spies. 
    Joshua sent two spies to Jericho under cover to scope out the enemy forces there.
    The king found out about their presence and had his men search for the spies.
    To seek shelter, the spies went to Rahab, who hid them in the reeds of the roof.
    The reason for going to her is not totally clear; several reasons are given.
    Some believe she had a brothel disguised as an eatery where aristocrats visited, making her a particularly valuable source of information.
    Others think that, because she was well known as a prostitute, two men from out of town would not be suspicious about going there.
    Joshua 2:1-7
    
     

39. What body of water did the Israelites cross after leaving Egypt during the exodus?
    
    a. River Jordan.
    b. Nile River.
    c. Red Sea.
    
    Answer: C. The Red Sea.
    
    During the exodus from Egypt, the Israelites arrived at the Red Sea, which they had to cross.
    After the Israelites left Egypt, the pharaoh sent his army after them.
    The army caught up to the Israelites at the Red Sea.
    Moses used his staff and divided the sea so that the Israelites could pass through to the other side.
    When Pharaoh's army tried to pass through, the water collapsed and killed them all.
    Exodus 14:15-22
    
     

40. When were the original Ten Commandments created?
    
    a. 31st century BC (Adam).
    b. 21st century BC (Noah).
    c. 14th century BC (Moses).
    
    Answer C: 14th Century BC
    
    God wrote the Ten Commandments on stone tablets with his finger in the 14th century BC.
    The tablets were given to Moses on Mount Sinai during one of several visits he made.
    A gold-lined rectangular chest called the Ark of the Covenant housed them.

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