How Well Do You Know the Bible? Quiz

Answer: Ezekiel

According to Ezekiel 2:9 - 3:3, God called Ezekiel to be a prophet and commanded him to eat a book:

"2:9 And when I looked, behold, an hand was sent unto me; and, lo, a roll of a book was therein;
2:10 And he spread it before me; and it was written within and without: and there was written therein lamentations, and mourning, and woe.
3:1 Moreover he said unto me, Son of man, eat that thou findest; eat this roll, and go speak unto the house of Israel.
3:2 So I opened my mouth, and he caused me to eat that roll.
3:3 And he said unto me, Son of man, cause thy belly to eat, and fill thy bowels with this roll that I give thee. Then did I eat it; and it was in my mouth as honey for sweetness."

Books, in the bound format we are accustomed to, did not exist until the 6th century. Scrolls (or "a roll of a book") were the equivalent of books in Old Testament times. Typically they were made of papyrus (fibrous paper-like substance made from the papyrus plant) or parchment (made from animal skin).

John, Philip and Paul were prophets from the New Testament -- Ezekiel is the only Old Testament prophet listed here.

Answer: 7

Genesis 7:1-3:

"7:1 And the LORD said unto Noah, Come thou and all thy house into the ark; for thee have I seen righteous before me in this generation.
7:22 Of every clean beast thou shalt take to thee by sevens, the male and his female: and of beasts that are not clean by two, the male and his female.
7:3 Of fowls also of the air by sevens, the male and the female; to keep seed alive upon the face of all the earth."

Two of each animal, one male and one female, were required for repopulation after the flood. The additional five clean animals were likely required for food or religious sacrifice. However, only two of the unclean animals were required as they would not be suitable for food or sacrifice.

Answer: spikenard

According to John 12:3-8, Mary anointed Jesus' head with spikenard:

"12:3 Then took Mary a pound of ointment of spikenard, very costly, and anointed the feet of Jesus, and wiped his feet with her hair: and the house was filled with the odour of the ointment.
12:4 Then saith one of his disciples, Judas Iscariot, Simon's son, which should betray him,
12:5 Why was not this ointment sold for three hundred pence, and given to the poor?
12:6 This he said, not that he cared for the poor; but because he was a thief, and had the bag, and bare what was put therein.
12:7 Then said Jesus, Let her alone: against the day of my burying hath she kept this.
12:8 For the poor always ye have with you; but me ye have not always."

Which begs the question, what is spikenard? Spikenard (also known simply as nard) is an ointment derived from Nardostachys jatamansi, a flowering plant of the honeysuckle family. It was used in ancient times in perfume and in medicine and was very expensive.

Frankincense and myrrh are also expensive perfumed ointments that were given as gifts to Jesus at his birth. Olive oil is commonly used for anointing in churches today.

Answer: haemorrhoids

The Philistines took the Ark of the Covenant to Ashdod (one of their major cities located on the Mediterranean coast). 1 Samuel 5:6 tells us that the Lord "smote" them with "emerods in their secret parts". They also suffered a plague of mice. The plagues did not end until the Philistines returned the Ark to the Israelites, along with a "trespass offering" of five golden emerods and five golden mice.

Emerods is an ancient term for haemorrhoids. Haemorrhoids are swollen veins in and around the anal opening. Symptoms include swelling around the anus with pain, itching and/or burning, and often with bleeding. Making golden images of haemorrhoids certainly creates an interesting mental picture.

1 Samuel 5:6-9:
"5:6 But the hand of the LORD was heavy upon them of Ashdod, and he destroyed them, and smote them with emerods, even Ashdod and the coasts thereof.
5:9 And it was so, that, after they had carried it about, the hand of the LORD was against the city with a very great destruction: and he smote the men of the city, both small and great, and they had emerods in their secret parts."

1 Samuel 6:4-5:
"6:4 Then said they, What shall be the trespass offering which we shall return to him? They answered, Five golden emerods, and five golden mice, according to the number of the lords of the Philistines: for one plague was on you all, and on your lords.
6:5 Wherefore ye shall make images of your emerods, and images of your mice that mar the land; and ye shall give glory unto the God of Israel: peradventure he will lighten his hand from off you, and from off your gods, and from off your land."

Answer: James, Joses, Simon, and Judas

Matthew and Mark name four of Jesus's brothers as James, Joses (a form of Joseph), Simon and Juda (a form of Judas).

These siblings should not be confused with the apostles having the same names, i.e. the apostles James (son of Zebedee), Simon (also known as Peter), Judas (son of James) and Judas Iscariot.

Mark also makes reference to Jesus having sisters, but does not specify how many sisters or their names. It is also possible that Jesus had other brothers who were not named.

Matthew 13:55: "Is not this the carpenter's son? Is not his mother called Mary? And his brethren, James, and Joses, and Simon, and Judas?"

Mark 6:3: "Is not this the carpenter, the son of Mary, the brother of James, and Joses, and of Juda, and Simon? And are not his sisters here with us? And they were offended at him."

Answer: Isaiah

Hebrews and Jude are books of the New Testament, so hopefully that helped you narrow down the choices.

The expressions cited in the question can be found in the book of Isaiah as follows: "holier than thou" (65:5), "woe is me" (6:5), "drop in a bucket"(40:15) and "lamb to the slaughter" (53:7).

Many everyday expressions are derived from the Bible. Other examples include "skin of my teeth" (Job 19:20), "salt of the earth" (Matthew 5:13), "give up the ghost" (Job 14:10) and "the blind leading the blind" (Matthew 15:14).

Answer: The Bible does not say

Matthew is the only book in the Bible which refers to the visit of the wise men to the young Jesus (Matthew 2:7-12). The wise men are typically portrayed as a trio because there were three gifts -- gold, frankincense and myrrh. However, the Bible does not state how many wise men there were, nor are they identified by name. Western Christian tradition has assigned the names Melchior, Caspar and Balthazar to the wise men, also referred to as the three Magi or Kings.

"2:7 Then Herod, when he had privily called the wise men, enquired of them diligently what time the star appeared.
2:8 And he sent them to Bethlehem, and said, Go and search diligently for the young child; and when ye have found him, bring me word again, that I may come and worship him also.
2:9 When they had heard the king, they departed; and, lo, the star, which they saw in the east, went before them, till it came and stood over where the young child was.
2:10 When they saw the star, they rejoiced with exceeding great joy.
2:11 And when they were come into the house, they saw the young child with Mary his mother, and fell down, and worshipped him: and when they had opened their treasures, they presented unto him gifts; gold, and frankincense, and myrrh.
2:12 And being warned of God in a dream that they should not return to Herod, they departed into their own country another way."

Answer: Egypt

The book of Numbers tells the story of the Israelites over forty years, from the time they left Mount Sinai in Egypt until they reached the eastern border of the land God promised them.

In Numbers 11:5, the Israelites began to complain about the manna that God provided for food and reminisced about the food they used to eat in Egypt:

"11:4 And the mixt multitude that was among them fell a lusting: and the children of Israel also wept again, and said, Who shall give us flesh to eat?
11:5 We remember the fish, which we did eat in Egypt freely; the cucumbers, and the melons, and the leeks, and the onions, and the garlic.
11:6 But now our soul is dried away: there is nothing at all, beside this manna, before our eyes."

Manna was the food provided by God each morning (except the Sabbath). They were instructed to gather only what they needed for the day and not to store it up -- with the exception of the day before the Sabbath when they would gather enough for both that day and the Sabbath.

Answer: He fell, burst open and his "insides" spilled out

The death of Judas Iscariot is related in the books of Matthew and Acts but the accounts differ in their description of how this occurred.

According to Matthew 27:3-8, Judas regretted his betrayal of Jesus and threw the 30 pieces of silver back at the chief priests and elders, then hanged himself:

"27:3 Then Judas, which had betrayed him, when he saw that he was condemned, repented himself, and brought again the thirty pieces of silver to the chief priests and elders,
27:4 Saying, I have sinned in that I have betrayed the innocent blood. And they said, What is that to us? See thou to that.
27:5 And he cast down the pieces of silver in the temple, and departed, and went and hanged himself.
27:6 And the chief priests took the silver pieces, and said, It is not lawful for to put them into the treasury, because it is the price of blood.
27:7 And they took counsel, and bought with them the potter's field, to bury strangers in.
27:8 Wherefore that field was called, the Field of Blood, unto this day."

However, according to Acts 1:18, (believed to be written by Luke), Judas "purchased a field with the reward of iniquity; and falling headlong, he burst asunder in the midst, and all his bowels gushed out".

This discrepancy has been studied and argued by scholars for centuries. Saint Augustine of Hippo theorised that the two accounts were differing viewpoints of the same event - that is, that Judas hanged himself and then the rope snapped, resulting in a fall and the bursting forth of his internal organs. Other scholars claim that the accounts are not to be taken literally; that is, that the account of his bowels gushing out actually referred to the outpouring of extreme anguish.

Answer: Cain

Genesis 4: 15-16:

"4:15 ...And the LORD set a mark upon Cain, lest any finding him should kill him.
4:16 And Cain went out from the presence of the LORD, and dwelt in the land of Nod, on the east of Eden."

Cain was exiled for the crime of fratricide -- the murder of his brother, Abel. It is indeed strange that nowadays we use the expression "Land of Nod" to indicate a peaceful sleep, whereas in the Bible, it refers to a place of exile and punishment, so presumably not a restful or pleasant place.