Genesis, John or Psalms? Trivia Quiz

Answer: Genesis

Genesis 1:2

Genesis means 'beginning' and it is the first book of the bible. This is the second verse of it following "In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth." The entire first chapter deals with the creation of the earth and its inhabitants. The rest of the description is of the physical but this verse demonstrates the Spirit's dynamic presence in it all.

The entire book is only 50 chapters long but it gives a brief history of the nation of Israel through its great patriarchs particularly Abraham, Isaac, Jacob and finally to Joseph in Egypt.

Bible scholars often disagree on the how and when this occurred and whether it is a literal or symbolic description but they all agree that God created it.

Answer: Psalms

Psalms 136:1

Israel was well known for its ancient lyrical poetry which were recorded in the 'Psalter' which derived its name from the salterion, the stringed instrument that was used to set them to music. These has been recorded in the Old Testament as the Book of Psalms.

There are 150 psalms of which 73 are attributed to King David, 12 are from Asaph, 11 by the sons of Korah, 2 from Solomon and 1 each to Moses, Ethan the Ezrahite, Heman the Ezrahite, Haggai, Zechariah, Ezekiel and Jeremiah.

The early psalm writers are all descendants of the Levites and the male descendants of Asaph and Heman in particular were tasked by King David to worship God in song and music.

This psalm was one of David's, presumably after he became king, giving thanks for all that he had been given. It is a litany that lists all that God had done for him in the past and faith for what he will be provided in the future.

Answer: John

John 1:1

The Gospels, the first four books of the New Testament, tell the story of the life of Jesus. The Gospel of John is the only one that claims to be an eyewitness account of the events. He describes himself throughout as the "disciple whom Jesus loved."

This quote is the opening lines of John and contain the crux of his whole Gospel, which was to prove that Jesus Christ was God's incarnate son and that the two were and are one being.

He begins this by mirroring the exact words from the start of Geneses "In the beginning". 'The Word' he refers to is the divine Word being Jesus himself, so he is literally saying that Jesus was with God in the Beginning and that he was God.

This is the beginning of the description of the Holy Trinity, a complex idea which scholars have spent hundreds of years trying to explain yet John does it in one perfect, simple statement.

Answer: Psalms

Psalm 19:14

The original psalms were all about their history or composed to honor the king before they became more about praise and thanksgiving to God.

The numbering of the psalms is a bit confusing as there are two different systems that differ by one number. This is because of psalms 9 and 10. Looking back the Septuagint (Greek) texts believed that these two were the same psalm and are thus numbered at 9. The Masoretic (Hebrew) texts continue to have them separated as it was in the original texts.

Protestant texts use the Hebrew numbering while Eastern Orthodox churches use the Greek. Catholic official texts use the Greek, while modern translations use the Hebrew but make note of the Greek numbering. This psalm would therefore be notated Psalm 19 (18).

Some psalms have 'titles', authors or notations made above them. This particular psalm is "To the Chief Musician. A Psalm of David."

Opinions divide as to whether this notation is just a message addressed to his choir leader or musicians such as Heman or Asaph, or whether it is actually part of the title and that the Chief Musician is God himself.

The phrase also appears in the 1970 song "Rivers of Babylon" about the Jewish people in exile following the Babylonian conquest of Jerusalem in 586 BC.

"Let the words of our mouth and the meditation of our heart
Be acceptable in thy sight here tonight"

Answer: Genesis

Cain, the firstborn son of Adam and Eve, was a farmer while his younger brother Abel was a shepherd. They both made a sacrifice of their labours to God but only Abel's was considered acceptable. The reason for this is not actually given but it is generally accepted that Cain kept the best of the harvest for himself. St Augustine disagreed with this theory, believing that he gave God the gifts but not his heart.

Whatever the reason, Cain killed Abel in a fit of jealousy and the verse prior to this gives us his famous quote:

"Then the Lord said to Cain, 'Where is your brother Abel?' 'I don't know,' he replied. 'Am I my brother's keeper?'" (Genesis 4:9)

God banishes Cain to wander the world unable to farm the land and to be estranged from him forever.

Answer: John

John 3:16

John 3:16 is possibly the most well-known verse in the entire Bible and, in all probability, of any Holy Text. One sentence basically sums up the meaning of all the Gospels. God's love for us was so great that he sacrificed His only son for us so that we would be saved.

Original verses use the term 'His only begotten Son' which is the more accurate description. Begotten does not refer to biology but the essence or spirit. John is again stressing that the two are one in Spirit or with the Spirit.

Johns is the only Gospel that begins before the arrest of John the Baptist and he describes the first meeting between the two men when John proclaims, "Behold the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world" (1:29). He is aware even then that Jesus was to be sacrificed for the sake of mankind.

John's gospel was written last, circa 95 AD, so he would have been aware of the other Gospels and known that the historical events were all well covered and so decided to write a spiritual account instead. This makes his Gospel very different from Matthew, Mark and Luke, which are referred to as the Synoptic Gospels, meaning 'seen together."

Answer: Genesis

Genesis 9:11

This refers to the story of Noah's ark. Prior to the great flood God promises to enter into a covenant with Noah that, if he builds the ark to his instructions and saves the animals, then his family will survive the catastrophe.

A covenant is a special contract between two parties, but God makes this one to all of humanity and every living creature for all generations to come. Many covenants of this era required some sort of sign or proof that it was real. In this case God designed the rainbow so that when it rains there will be a permanent reminder of His promise.

There is very little in Genesis after the story of Noah, prior to 3000BC, until the appearance of Abraham about 1000 years later. After Abraham is the story of his son Isaac and then his son Jacob, also known as Israel.

Answer: Psalms

Psalm 23:2

Another psalm by David, "The Lord is My Shepherd" is undoubtedly the most famous of them all. The personification of God as a shepherd was quite common at the time of David who was a shepherd himself in his youth.

The psalm refers to the shepherd making sure his flock is fed, watered, rested, led down the right paths, protected from all its enemies and eventually given eternal life with God.

The psalm links not just to David but also to Jesus in the New Testament:

"I am the good shepherd; I know my sheep and my sheep know me - just as the Father knows me and I know the Father - and I lay down my life for the sheep. I have other sheep that are not of this sheep pen. I must bring them also. They too will listen to my voice, and there shall be one flock and one shepherd." (John 10:14-16)

The psalm has been turned into many hymns, the most popular being written in 1640 and set to music known as the Crimond.

Apart from being a well-loved analogy with Christians it also gains its popularity from many non-religious people who have been to funerals where it is one of the readings or songs. Verse 4 makes it particularly appropriate.

"Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, For Thou art with me; Thy rod and Thy staff, they comfort me." (KJV Psalm 23:4)

Answer: Genesis

Genesis 37:3

Jacob had 12 sons, the first 10 born to his first wife Leah or the handmaidens Bilhah and Zilpah. His second wife Rachel finally had the last two, the oldest of whom was Joseph. Although this verse states it was because he was old at the time of his birth it is also accepted that he was Jacobs's favorite because he was the son of Rachel, who was his true love.

Jacob blatantly favoured Joseph over all his brothers, which is surprising considering that his father, Isaac, had shown favoritism to his brother Esau, and he was aware of what it felt like to be overlooked.

The multicoloured coat he gave Joseph was the final straw for the brothers and their hate grew to the stage that they decided to kill him. Reuben, the eldest, talked them into throwing him into a pit instead, but then they sold him to some slave traders that were passing. 17 year old Joseph was taken to Egypt, and Genesis ends with his death at 110.

Answer: Psalms

Psalm 46:1

This psalm is labelled: For the director of music. Of the Sons of Korah. According to alamoth. A song.

An alamoth was a musical term meaning it was to be sung by a soprano.

The sons of Korah were Assir, Elkanah and Abiasaph, and eleven of the psalms are attributed to them. They all express gratitude and humility before God and a deep longing to serve Him.

Their history descends from Levi, one of Jacob's sons, who had three sons: Gershon, Merari, and Kohath. Kohath had four; the eldest was Amram, who was the father of Moses. The second was Izhar whose eldest was Korah.

Korah is infamous for raising a rebellion against his cousin Moses, for which God killed all of them and then a further 14, 700 who objected to their punishment.

Although God had the earth swallow everything and everyone known to Korah, he left his sons alive. These Korahites and their descendants became the custodians of the tabernacle, some became expert warriors under King David and others continued leading the choral music in praise of God.

Answer: John

John 14:6

This Bible verse is from the night before the betrayal of Jesus. He is trying to prepare his disciples for the days ahead. He tells them He is going to lay down His life for them and then take it back. He reiterates his original invitation to the disciples to 'follow Me'.

Thomas asks how they can follow Him if they don't know where He is going and this verse is His reply. Salvation cannot be found in rituals or human accomplishments; it is only by following Jesus who is 'the Way' that they will achieve eternal life.

Of the Synoptic Gospels, Mark was written first, circa 70 AD, then Matthew about 5 years later and Luke's is the last, written anywhere between 80 - 90 AD.

Marks starts immediately at the beginning of His ministry, there is no mention of his first 30 years of life, Matthew has a long list of His genealogy from Abraham at the beginning, but it is only Luke who dedicates himself to an orderly history from before His birth, the Nativity and childhood. He is also the author of the Acts of the Apostles which continues the narrative.

Answer: John

John 20:29

Another famous quote from John, even those who do not know the Bible are often aware of 'Doubting Thomas', who would not believe in the resurrected Christ unless he could see him for himself; once he did, he immediately proclaimed, "My lord and my God" (20:28)

Jesus is trying to warn them that the people they are going to be preaching to will never have met Him personally or experienced His miracles or Resurrection for themselves and will only have their faith to lead them.

Poor Thomas has gone down in history for one action and is not remembered for other deeds. He was the only one of the apostles willing to travel to Bethany with Jesus when Lazarus died and he urged the others "Let us also go, that we may die with him." (John 11:16)

After the Ascension he traveled and preached the gospel in India and was martyred there in 72AD.

Interestingly John's is the only Gospel that mentions Thomas beyond listing him as a disciple as the other three do.