Biblical Literacy Quiz

[Michelle]

I enjoyed taking this quiz, but was surprised by the low threshold for competency. Take the quiz and see how biblically literate you are.

Biola Magazine's Biblical Literacy Quiz

[jarrod]

That was fun, 19 out of 20. I am horrible at recalling where specific verses are, but can typically recall the content and/or my current view on the verses.

[mattrose]

With the little church where I preach each Sunday, we do a bi-weekly Bible study. We started with Genesis and are now in 1st Samuel. At the end of each book, I give a quiz. They are harder than this quiz, but I fear a lot of people who have been Christians for a long time would even struggle with this one.

[mattrose]

Here is an example of the quiz's I've been giving...

GENESIS QUIZ (each correct answer worth 4 points each.. score out of 100)

MULTIPLE CHOICE

The first character mentioned is…
1) Adam
2) Eve
3) Serpent
4) God

Humanity was made on day…
1) 1
2) 4
3) 6
4) 7

‘The Fall’ is recorded in…
1) Genesis 1
2) Genesis 2
3) Genesis 3
4) Genesis 4

How many people were on the ark?
1) 1
2) 2
3) 5
4) 8

Put in order (Grandfather, Father, Son)
1) Jacob, Abraham, Isaac
2) Abraham, Jacob, Isaac
3) Abraham, Isaac, Jacob
4) Jacob, Isaac, Abraham

What did Abraham end up sacrificing on Mount Moriah?
1) Ishmael
2) Isaac
3) A ram
4) An unblemished goat

Jacob’s wives gave birth in this order:
1) Leah, Bilhah, Zilpah, Rachel
2) Leah, Zilpah, Bilhah, Rachel
3) Rachel, Leah, Bilhah, Zilpah
4) Rachel, Bilhah, Zilpah, Leah

Who was Jacob’s favorite son?
1) Reuben
2) Judah
3) Joseph
4) Benjamin

How did Joseph get out of prison?
1) An earthquake opened the door
2) His brothers rescued him
3) He served his time and was released
4) Pharaoh sent for him

About how many Israelites went to Egypt to live
1) 20
2) 50
3) 70
4) 12,000

FILL IN THE BLANKS

The first person to die was ________
At the tower of ________, God confused human language and scattered humanity
Abraham’s wife was named ________
Abraham’s first son was named ________
Isaac’s wife was named ________
Jacob and Leah had a daughter named ________
Judah’s daughter-in-law was named ________
Joseph identified himself when _______ was giving an impassioned speech
In chapter 49, the sons are ‘blessed’ in order of their ________
Joseph died at the age of ________

MEMORY VERSES

“In the __________ God created the heavens and the earth” (1:1)

“So God created man in his own ________” (1:27)

“Every inclination of the thoughts of his heart were only ________ all the time” (6:5)

“I will make you into a great nation and I will bless you; I will make your name great, and you will be a ________” (12:2)

“The scepter will not depart from ________, nor the ruler’s staff from between his feet, until he comes to whom it belongs and the obedience of the nations is his” (49:10)

[Paidion]

You did better than I, Jarrod. I scored a mere 17.

[Michelle]

Thanks for posting your Genesis test, Matt. I think I scored an 88%, but I could be overconfident -- I only looked up the three answers I knew I didn't know. Would you mind posting an answer key? (Or are you intending for takers to re-read Genesis? Hmm...that's not a bad idea...)

Jarrod and Paidion, you are very biblically literate!

[TheEditor]

17 here as well. I missed the geneaology question; the "kinsman" question and the "ashamed of the Gospel" question. I think at least one was because of the NWT being the translation I was reared with.

Regards, Brenden

PS. I did better on Matt's actually...

[mattrose]

Thanks for posting your Genesis test, Matt. I think I scored an 88%, but I could be overconfident -- I only looked up the three answers I knew I didn't know. Would you mind posting an answer key? (Or are you intending for takers to re-read Genesis? Hmm...that's not a bad idea...)

Answer key for Genesis Quiz
4) God
3) 6
3) Genesis 3
4) 8
3) Abraham, Isaac, Jacob
3) A ram
1) Leah, Bilhah, Zilpah, Rachel
3) Joseph
4) Pharaoh sent for him
3) 70

Abel
Babel
Sarah
Ishmael
Rebekah
Dinah
Tamar
Judah
Age/birth
110

Beginning
Image
Evil
Blessing
Judah

[Michelle]

Good job, Brenden. On the Genesis test, I got tripped up on Zilpah and Bilhah, who gave the impassioned speech, and Joseph's age when he died.

So... the five of us who have posted so far are considered to have high biblical literacy and are in the minority. I'm amazed that this is true (the minority status, not that frequent posters on this forum would be highly biblically literate.) I find this so sad. I love reading the bible.

[steve]

I got 100% on the Biola test, but there is one I missed on Matt's test—the one about Bilhah and Zilpah. I always get those two mixed up.