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Medium Difficult Bible Quiz about Bible History
Test your knowledge of Bible history in this difficult Bible Quiz.
It is OK to peek. We are not all Bible experts.
More information is available with the underlined links.
Work on this medium difficulty Bible quiz with answers on Bible history.
Bible History Questions:
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What was the crown made of that Jesus wore after his trial?
a. Branches with Thorns.
b. Gold band with jewels embedded.
c. Jesus wore a simple headpiece of cloth known as the kippah skullcap.
a. 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
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Which Bible version underwent translation from the Hebrew language into Greek?
a. Gnostic Gospels.
b. Septuagint.
c. Vulgate.
b. Septuagint.
It was a translation made from Hebrew into Greek.
The Septuagint was translated during the third century by 72 scholars.
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What was the first English Bible "authorized" for use in the church?
a. The Great Bible of 1539.
b. Geneva Bible of 1560.
c. Bishop's Bible of 1568.
a. Great Bible of 1539.
The first authorized English Bible used by the church was the Great Bible.
It was authorized by King Henry VIII and prepared by Miles Coverdale.
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Who wrote most of the books in the New Testament?
a. Simon Peter, who is also known as Cephas.
b. Paul (also known as Saul of Tarsus).
c. John the Fisherman (one of the first disciples).
b. Paul.
The Apostle Paul wrote 14 books (over half) of the New Testament.
He was from Tarsus and was originally named Saul.
Paul persecuted the Jews before he was converted.
Saul was traveling to Damascus when Jesus stopped him on the road and blinded him.
Ananias later healed Saul's eyes.
Saul became a disciple of Jesus, and his name was changed to Paul.
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Why were one hundred Bibles referred to as the "sinner's Bible"?
a. This 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 Bibles in brothels.
a. A printing error occurred.
"Thou shalt commit adultery" is in a Bible version that is called the Sinners' Bible.
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How many sons did Jacob have?
a. Eight.
b. Ten.
c. Twelve.
c. Jacob had twelve sons.
Every son was the foundation of a Jewish tribe.
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.
The nation of Israel comes from the descendants of Jacob.
Jacob's family was large.
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Which Bible version is considered the most popular Bible ever?
a. New International Version.
b. King James Version.
c. Vulgate.
b. The King James Version.
Recently, the New International Version became more popular.
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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 red.
c. Mother Teresa translated this Bible.
a. This information can be found in the book of Ruth.
A misprint occurred regarding the gender of a character in the text of Ruth.
This particular version of the Bible is known as the She Bible.
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What do John Rogers, William Tyndale, and John Wycliffe have in common?
a. They were priests who conserved the Latin Bible during the religious reformation.
b. Their bodies were all burned by the "church" for translating the Bible into English.
c. These individuals initiated the movement that has evolved into the Protestant religion.
b. Their bodies were all burned.
The church burned them at the stake for translating the Bible into English.
Early Bible translators were considered heretics and enemies of the church.
The church hunted them down, killed them, imprisoned them, and burned their works.
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How are the four horses described in the Book of Revelation?
a. Birth, Sin, Death, and Resurrection.
b. Red, White, Brown, and Roan.
c. White, Red, Black, and Pale.
c. The horses were 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
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What language was the Vulgate version written in?
a. Latin.
b. Greek.
c. Hebrew.
a. Latin.
The Vulgate is a Latin version of the Bible written by St. Jerome in 382 AD.
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Which Bible was in use when Jesus lived?
a. The Hebrew Scriptures.
b. Septuagint.
c. Vulgate.
a. The Hebrew Scriptures.
During the time of Jesus, the Hebrew Scriptures were in use.
It was the Old Testament.
The Scriptures were not yet bound into a single book called the Bible.
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What was the first bound Bible that held all the scriptures together in one book?
a. The Codex Sinaiticus.
b. The Geneva Bible.
c. The Gutenberg Bible.
a. The Codex Sinaiticus was the first bound copy of the scriptures.
Before the Codex Sinaiticus, the scriptures were on separate scrolls.
Around 360 AD, Emperor Constantine authorized the writing of fifty copies of the scriptures.
The book also contained the Epistle of Barnabas and the Shepherd of Hermas.
Scholars consider this book to be the first "official" Bible written.
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What do we refer to as the "biblical silent years"?
a. These were the years that the Israelites spent captive in Egypt.
b. This was the 40 years that the Israelites spent in the desert during the Exodus.
c. These were the years between the last book of the Old Testament and the first book of the New Testament.
c. These were the years that spanned the period 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 was written during the silent period.
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What day did Jesus rise from the dead after his crucifixion?
a. He rose seven days later on the Sabbath.
b. On Sunday, the third day.
b. The next day.
b. 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.
Many try to reason that the three days had to be 24 hours each.
They are making an assumption that is not true.
Listen to my adventure of where I went shopping in the big city over three days.
I left home at 4 PM on Friday and arrived at the motel in the city at 8 PM.
All day Saturday, I spent shopping at the mall.
On Sunday, the third day, I left the motel at 8 AM and arrived home at noon.
My shopping spree lasted three separate days.
I spent 8 hours on Friday, 24 hours on Saturday, and 12 hours on Sunday.
I departed on the first day, spent the second day inside stores, and returned home on the third day, mirroring the timeline of Jesus.
Matthew 27
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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.
b. The Great Bible of 1539 was chained to the pulpit.
It 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.
There are 39 in the Old Testament, 27 in the New Testament, and 14 books in the Apocrypha.
The Great Bible was historically important.
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Which Bible version underwent William Whittingham's supervision?
a. The Great Bible.
b. Geneva.
c. Bishops.
b. Geneva.
William Whittingham led the translation of the Geneva Bible.
Several other scholars were involved in the translation.
It was the first Bible version to be translated entirely from the original transcripts of Hebrew, Greek, and Aramaic.
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What was the first complete Bible written in English?
a. King James.
b. Tyndale.
c. Bishops.
b. Tyndale.
The Tyndale Bible was the first complete English Bible.
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What was the first "bound book," a complete Bible written in any language?
a. Septuagint.
b. Coverdale.
c. Vulgate.
c. The Vulgate.
The first bound set of books, called the Bible, was the Vulgate.
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This set was the first "unbound" collection of manuscripts made into a complete Bible.
a. Dead Sea Scrolls.
b. Masoretic Text.
c. Vetus Latina.
c. The Vetus Latina.
The first collection of manuscripts that was called a Bible was the Vetus Latina.
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What is the Masoretic Text?
a. It is a scroll that has stories about the ancient stone building masons.
b. The Masoretic Text is the authorized Hebrew Bible.
c. It is the Greek version of the Vulgate Bible.
b. The Masoretic Text was the authorized Hebrew Bible (the Old Testament).
It has been used in ancient Judaism since the 6th century and by modern Jews.
Christians have used it to translate most of the Old Testament.
Jewish scholars, known as the Masoretes, wrote it between the 6th and 10th centuries.
They added notations such as vowel markings and accents to preserve the text's pronunciation and meaning.
The name "masoretic" is from "mesorah," Hebrew for "tradition."
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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 the 95 theses to the church's door.
c. Martin Luther challenged the Catholic Church.
He was a German priest in the 1500s.
Luther found fault with the church and nailed 95 complaints about how it strayed from scripture to the church door.
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What does canonizing the Bible mean?
a. Being blessed by the Pope.
b. Binding all the books into one volume.
c. The church accepts the Bible as the divine authority.
c. Being accepted by the church.
"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.
The Canon is the standard that all Christians use to guide their lives.
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What unusual thing did King Herod 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. He promised that she would become the queen.
Salome, his 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 Antipas.
Matthew 14:6-11
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Which Bible did the Pilgrims use when they first arrived in America?
a. Vulgate.
b. Bishops.
c. Geneva.
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.
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What is the Tel Dan Inscription?
a. The Tel Dan is an inscription written in Aramaic that tells of the House of David.
b. It is the story of Daniel in the Lion's den found on an Aramaic scroll.
c. A statue that was found and believed to be that of King David.
a. It is a basalt fragment written in Aramaic that tells of King David.
The inscription was found in fragments in Northern Galilee.
They were recovered in 1993 and 1994 by Gila Cook, an archeology surveyor.
It provides more archaeological evidence that the people in the Bible were real.
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Who are Aristotle, Flavius, Herodotus, Josephus, Pliny, and Tacitus?
a. They were high priests during the 1500 years of writing 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.
c. They were well-known and respected writers.
Aristotle, Pliny, Herodotus, Josephus, Flavius, and Tacitus were respected historians who wrote passages that corroborated the Bible.
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In what year do scholars believe the Torah was completed?
a. 1100 BC.
b. 400 BC.
c. 120 BC.
b. 400 BC.
The Torah was believed to have been written in 400 BC.
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What sea was the location of many scrolls found in a cave?
a. Mediterranean.
b. Dead Sea.
c. Red Sea.
b. The Dead Sea is the location where the famous Dead Sea Scrolls were found.
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.
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How can one avoid entering the furnace known as Hell?
a. Faithfully keeping the Ten Commandments.
b. Praying daily, including reciting "The Lord's Prayer."
c. Going to church every week and keeping the Sabbath.
d. Praying for forgiveness and accepting that "Jesus is Lord."
d. Praying for forgiveness is the initial step to avoid eternal damnation in hell.
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.
c. 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