The Precious Bible Trivia Quiz

Answer: Swine

The 'Sermon on the Mount' appears in the Gospel according to St. Matthew and covers chapters five, six and seven. It begins with the Beatitudes and includes 'The Lord's Prayer'. Chapter seven deals with hyprocrisy and begins with 'judge not that ye be not judged'. Verse six includes 'neither cast ye your pearls before swine, lest they trample them under their feet' and is teaching the listener not to waste valuable items on those who cannot appreciate them.

Answer: Daniel

This story appears in Daniel, chapter two. The image had a head of gold, arms and breast of silver, belly and thighs of brass, legs of iron and feet made partly from iron and partly from clay. Because the clay is weak, the whole image is vulnerable and is broken from the feet upwards. Daniel tells Nebuchadnezzar that the image foretells the breaking apart of his kingdom.

The expression 'feet of clay' has passed into common usage to describe a flaw or fundamental weakness in a person.

Answer: Ruby

In this chapter, fear of or reverence for the Lord is put forward as giving the woman the strength to look after her family. She spins wool, makes tapestry, rises early to feed her household and 'eateth not the bread of idleness'. The general interpretation of 'virtuous' in the context of this chapter is not of chastity but of strength and efficiency.

The book ends with the words 'let her own works praise her' - her reward is in the knowledge that she has carried out her duties in the best way possible.

Answer: Benjamin

Joseph had been sold into slavery by his older half-brothers, who were jealous of the favouritism shown to him by their father, Jacob. Years later, the brothers came to Egypt to plead for grain from Joseph, whom they did not recognise, due to famine in their homeland. Joseph placed the cup in Benjamin's sack, accused him of stealing it and insisted that Benjamin must become his slave.

This was a test of the brothers' characters and when Judah pleaded to be allowed to take Benjamin's place, as losing his youngest son would break their father's heart, Joseph relented and revealed himself. Judah, Simeon and Reuben were all sons of Jacob and Leah with Joseph and Benjamin's mother being Rachel.

Answer: Tyrus

The chapter begins by rebuking the prince of Tyrus, which was in Phoenicia. The city still exists, now called Tyre, and is situated in Lebanon. Ezekiel was a prophet called by God to speak his judgement against those who had offended him. The prince of Tyrus is rebuked for believing himself to be a God. Ezekiel is then called upon to speak to the king of Tyrus to warn him that he will be cast to the ground and devoured by fire.

Answer: Beryl

All these stones are mentioned in the Bible, but beryl is part of this description. The beloved is also described as having a head of finest gold, locks as black as a raven and eyes like those of a dove. His belly is as bright ivory overlaid with sapphires and his legs as pillars of marble.

The love affair is mutual, with his descriptions of her being equally flattering. The words in this book are among the most beautiful in the Bible and excerpts are often used in marriage ceremonies.

Answer: Names of the Apostles

There are twelve foundations with the stones being jasper, sapphire, chalcedony, emerald, sardonyx, sardius, chrysolite, beryl, topaz, chrysoprasus, jacinth and amethyst. The walls of the city are also made of jasper, with twelve gates each set with twelve pearls.

The streets are described as being made of gold. The number twelve is repeated frequently in the description of new Jerusalem, with twelve angels appearing at each gate. The names of the tribes of Israel do appear, written on the gates, and the prophets are not mentioned.

Answer: Wisdom

Job's sufferings have caused him many problems, but he has maintained his righteousness. He does not know that God is testing him by allowing the devil to bring all these afflictions upon him. Chapter 28 describes how silver can be found in veins, gold and iron can be mined and sapphires and other precious stones can be found in the earth by man's ingenuity. Wisdom can only be found through God, who 'understandeth the way thereof and he knoweth the place thereof'.

Answer: Aaron

At the time, Moses had been called to Mount Sinai where he received the Ten Commandments from God. He had been gone for forty days and nights, and during his absence the Israelites persuaded Aaron to make a golden idol. God told Moses of these actions, and Moses was so angered to find this was true that he destroyed the tablets on which the Commandments were written and the idol. Joshua had accompanied Moses to Sinai, and became leader of the Israelites when Moses died - his story is told in the book of Joshua. Jethro, also referred to as Reuel, was the father of Zipporah, who was married to Moses.

The story of the golden calf can be found in Exodus, chapter 32.

Answer: Breastplate of Judgement

The first High Priest of the Israelites was Aaron, the brother of Moses, and Exodus 28 gives God's instructions for his holy garments. The breastplate was to be adorned with four rows of stones - sardius, topaz and carbuncle in the first row, emerald, sapphire and diamond in the second, ligure, agate and amethyst in the third and a final row of beryl, onyx and jasper.

The stones represented the twelve tribes of Israel and were engraved with their names. The Ark of the Covenant was made of wood, plated with gold, as described in Exodus 25. Noah's ark was made of gopher wood, covered with pitch (Genesis 6) and the Tower of Babel was built of bricks made from stone (Genesis 11).