Advanced Bible Quiz: Answer Key

This advanced Bible quiz answer key will help you measure your Bible knowledge.  Don’t be discouraged— many Christian leaders would struggle with some of the questions.

Basic Information

The Old Testament contains (1) 39 books. The New Testament contains   (2) 27 books. Together they form the entire canon of Christian scripture. The Old Testament was written mainly in the (3) Hebrew language; the New Testament was written in the common (4) Greek language of the First Century.

The Old Testament

Genesis begins with God creating the earth in a complete cycle of (5) seven days. The first man and woman (6) Adam and (7) Eve lived in the Garden of (8) ­­­­­Eden, but chose to turn away from trusting in God and embrace the wisdom of the (9) Serpent (or Devil). For this, they were banished from the garden and forbidden to eat from the (10) Tree of Life. Their first two sons, (11) Cain the firstborn and (12) Abel, quarreled and the elder murdered the younger. A third son, (13) Seth, was born afterward to continue the godly line.

The following generations saw humanity sink deeper into sin and degradation. God planned to send a (14) Flood to judge the human race. He chose a man described as “righteous in his generation” to survive this disaster by building an (15) ark and saving his family as well as pairs of all types of (16) animals. This man’s name was (17) Noah. His three sons, (18) Shem, (19) Ham and (20) Japheth are the ancestors of the current nations of the earth.

After the restored human race rebelled against God again by building the (21) tower of Babel, God chose (22) Abraham to begin a new line of faith. This man’s son (23) Isaac was born when his mother, (24) Sarah was too elderly to bear children naturally. God blessed this child of faith and his wife, (25) Rebecca with twins, Esau and (26) Jacob. This man later had his name changed to (27) Israel. He became the father of (28) 12 sons and a daughter, primarily through (29) Rachel his beloved and (30) Leah, her sister who were his wives. These sons were the founders of the tribes of Israel. Among these, the son with the greatest faith was named (31) Joseph. He was sold as a slave by his brothers and sent to the land of (32) Egypt but later saved them from a devastating (33) Famine, which afflicted the entire region.  The story of Israel’s escape from slavery is told in the book of (34) Exodus. After their escape, Israel crossed the Red Sea on dry ground. Their leader, (35) Moses, met with God on Mount (36) Sinai and received the law binding Israel in covenant with God.  (37) Joshua is the book which recounts Israel’s conquest of Canaan. To defeat foreign enemies and rescue his people, God later gave them a succession of leaders called (38) Judges. At the end of this period, in response to the people’s demands, God gave them kings through a man named (39) Samuel.

The three kings who ruled over all Israel were: (40) Saul, (41) David, and (42) Solomon. The second of these kings is famous for several events, which took place in his life. His killing of a mighty Philistine warrior named (43) Goliath earned him the reputation as a hero of faith. However, his affair with (44) Bathsheba, the wife of a trusted soldier, brought lasting shame and disgrace. The third king over a united Israel, was renowned for his great (45) wisdom: so much so that the Queen of (46) Sheba traveled a great distance to learn from him. During the reign of the fourth king, the kingdom split in two. The northern kingdom was known as Ephraim or (47) Israel, while the southern kingdom was called (48) Judah.

Ministering in the north were prophets whose role was to call the nation back to faith in God. One of these, a fiery prophet named (49) Elijah, met with the false prophets of Baal on Mount Carmel and demonstrated through his faith that the LORD was the true God. His successor, (50) Elisha, is sometimes called the helpful prophet. Due to their unfaithfulness to God, the northern kingdom was eventually conquered and scattered by the (51) Assyrian Empire.

A little more than a hundred years after this, the southern kingdom was exiled to the country of (52) Babylon.   The two prophets who ministered in this land were the priest, (53) Ezekiel and (54) Daniel, a member of the nobility. The fact that many of the Jews in exile were able to return to the Promised Land after (55) 70 years is recorded in the books of (56) Ezra in which proper worship was restored and (57) Nehemiah, in which the walls of Jerusalem were rebuilt.

(58) Psalms is the book that served as the hymnal of ancient Israel. It is followed by two books of wisdom: (59) Proverbs, a collection of practical truths for daily living and (60) Ecclesiastes, which explores the meaning of life. Included in this wisdom and poetic collection is a love song, entitled               (61) Song of Solomon. It expresses the devotion of a king for his lovely bride. Also in this collection, the book of (62) Job deals with the issue of suffering which seems to be undeserved.

The prophetic books of the Old Testament are divided into two groups: the (63) major prophets and the (64) minor prophets, which are distinguished purely on the basis of length, not importance. The prophet whose book contains the most messianic prophecy is (65) Isaiah. Jerusalem’s destruction was witnessed and described most fully by the prophet (66) Jeremiah. The prophet (67) Jonah attempted to run away from God’s calling, but repented after he was swallowed by a fish and ended up fulfilling his task. Another prophet, (68) Hosea was told to marry a wayward woman to demonstrate God’s commitment to his unfaithful people.

The group of books, not accepted in Protestant versions of the Bible, but which is included in Roman Catholic and Eastern Orthodox versions of the scripture is called the (69) Apocrypha.

 The New Testament

The period between Malachi in the Old Testament and the beginning of the New Testament era lasted roughly (70) four centuries. The New Testament begins with the record of Jesus’ life and ministry by the four gospel writers: (71) Matthew, (72) ­­­­­ Mark, (73) Luke and (74) John.  In the first verses of the fourth gospel, Jesus is described as the eternal (75) word (or logos) which was with God and was God and through whom all things were created. He was incarnated in the womb of a virgin named (76) Mary and born in the city of         (77) Bethlehem.  He was later raised to maturity in the northern region of (78) Galilee. Jesus taught truths about the Kingdom of God through a kind of story or illustration called (79) parables. He spent the approximately three years of his earthly ministry focusing on the training of his (80) 12 disciples. He also performed many (81) miracles to validate his claims of being the Messiah of Israel and the Son of God. Jesus was put to death by the Roman governor, (82) Pontius Pilate, during the Jewish festival of (83) Passover (technically during the Feast of Unleavened Bread), but afterward rose from the dead on the (84) third day.

The book of (85) Acts is the inspired history of the early church. The majority of the New Testament letters were written by one man: the Apostle (86) Paul. Next to him the most New Testament books were written by the Apostle (87) John, who wrote a total of (88) ­­­five.   Two short, but powerful letters, found near the end of the Bible were written by the disciple who once denied Christ. His name is (89) Peter. The theme of the letter to the (90) Romans is that, though everyone is guilty before God, anyone may be saved through faith in Jesus.   It is often thought to be the most systematic explanation of the gospel.

(91) Hebrews is the book which encourages Jewish followers of Jesus that, as the Son of God, Christ is greater than Moses or even angels. The letter whose key word, “joy” is found throughout its four chapters is (92) Philippians. Two letters were written to a church known for its immaturity and “fleshly” living. This church was located in the ancient city of (93) Corinth. (94).  Philemon is written to a man whose escaped slave had become a Christian and was now returning home.

The letter stating most fully that we are saved by faith apart from the Law is  (95) Galatians. However, the letter of (96) James makes it clear that faith without works is dead. Three books were directed to two young church leaders named (97) Timothy (98) and Titus. The pair of letters, which most emphasize the “man of sin” and Christ’s return were addressed to the church in (99) Thessalonica. The book of (100) Revelation fittingly climaxes the New Testament, closing with Christ’s second coming and kingdom.

How did you do? A good grasp of the main facts and themes of the Bible is a great foundation on which to build an unshakeable faith!