98 Fun Facts About Bible Stories

According to Genesis, what did God create on the first day?

Light came first, with the words 'Let there be light' (Genesis 1:3), yet the sun, moon and stars are not made until the fourth day.

What fruit is commonly depicted as Eden's forbidden fruit, though the Bible never specifies?

Apple imagery is often traced to a Latin pun, since malum can mean both 'evil' and 'apple', though some scholars doubt the link; Genesis 3 says only 'the fruit of the tree'.

Who was the first person the Bible records as committing murder?

Cain killed his brother Abel in anger after God accepted Abel's offering but not his own, then answered God's question with 'Am I my brother's keeper?' (Genesis 4:3-9).

Which bird did Noah release from the ark that, on its third flight, did not return?

Noah's dove went out three times: it first found no resting place, then returned with an olive leaf, and on the third flight did not come back (Genesis 8:8–12).

What sign did God place in the sky as a promise never to flood the entire earth again?

A rainbow in the clouds seals God's covenant with Noah, and Genesis says it is God who will look at it and remember the promise (Genesis 9:13-16).

What were the people building when God confused their languages in Genesis 11?

The people of Babel were building a tower "with its top in the heavens" to make a name for themselves. God confused their language and scattered them across the earth (Genesis 11:1-9).

In Genesis, which son does God tell Abraham to offer as a sacrifice in the land of Moriah?

God tested Abraham by asking him to sacrifice his son Isaac, but provided a ram as a substitute at the last moment (Genesis 22).

What did Esau sell to his brother Jacob in exchange for a bowl of stew?

His birthright went for bread and lentil stew: Esau came in famished and reasoned, 'I am about to die; what good is the birthright to me?' (Genesis 25:29-34).

Jacob worked seven years for Rachel, but whom did her father Laban trick him into marrying first?

Leah, the elder sister, was swapped in on the wedding night because local custom married the older daughter first; Jacob wed Rachel a week later and worked seven more years for her (Genesis 29:21-30).

What gift from his father Jacob made Joseph's brothers jealous?

Jacob gave Joseph a richly ornamented robe (often called a "coat of many colors"), which fueled his brothers' jealousy and led them to sell him into slavery (Genesis 37).

Which of Joseph's brothers, the eldest, talked the others out of killing him and suggested a cistern instead?

Reuben urged his brothers to throw Joseph into a cistern rather than kill him, planning to rescue him later; while he was away, Judah proposed selling Joseph to Ishmaelite traders (Genesis 37:21–28).

Who found the infant Moses in a basket among the Nile reeds and raised him as her son?

Pharaoh's daughter spotted the basket at the river, pitied the crying baby, and ended up paying his own mother to nurse him after his sister offered to find a Hebrew nurse (Exodus 2:5-10).

Through what unusual natural phenomenon did God first speak to Moses in the wilderness?

At Horeb a bush burned without being consumed, and from the burning bush God commissioned Moses to lead the Israelites out of Egypt (Exodus 3:2–10).

What was the tenth and final plague that God sent upon Egypt before Pharaoh released the Israelites?

Death of the firstborn struck every Egyptian household at midnight, while Israelite homes marked with lamb's blood on the doorposts were passed over, the origin of Passover (Exodus 12).

What body of water did Moses part so the Israelites could escape the Egyptian army?

Moses stretched out his hand and God parted the Red Sea (or Sea of Reeds), allowing the Israelites to cross on dry ground before the waters closed over the pursuing Egyptians (Exodus 14).

On which mountain did Moses receive the Ten Commandments?

Mount Sinai, which Deuteronomy calls Horeb, is where Moses received the Ten Commandments; he smashed the first tablets in anger and later chiseled a second set (Exodus 32-34).

What idol did the Israelites make while Moses was on the mountain receiving the commandments?

Fearing Moses would not return, the people had Aaron melt their gold earrings into a golden calf, which they worshipped with feasting (Exodus 32:1–6).

What did the Israelites gather from the ground each morning during their years in the wilderness?

Manna appeared with the morning dew six days a week; anything hoarded overnight bred worms, except the double portion gathered before the Sabbath (Exodus 16:13-26).

What happened when the Israelites, after marching around Jericho for a week, blew trumpets and shouted?

The walls fell down flat after the Israelites circled Jericho once a day for six days and seven times on the seventh; only Rahab's household was spared, because she had hidden Israel's spies (Joshua 6).

What was the source of Samson's extraordinary physical strength?

His uncut hair marked him as a Nazirite, set apart from before his birth (Judges 13:5); once his lover had it shaved while he slept, his strength left him and the Philistines seized him (Judges 16).

Who betrayed Samson by discovering and revealing the secret of his strength?

Delilah, bribed by the Philistine rulers, pressed Samson day after day until he told her everything; three times before that he had fooled her with false answers (Judges 16:4-17).

Which Moabite woman told her mother-in-law Naomi, "Where you go I will go"?

Ruth refused to turn back as her sister-in-law Orpah did, went with Naomi to Judah, and there married Boaz and became the great-grandmother of King David (Ruth 1:14-16; 4:13-17).

What weapon did the young shepherd David use to defeat the giant Goliath?

A sling and stone did it: David shed King Saul's armor, saying he had not tested it, and one smooth stone from a brook sank into Goliath's forehead (1 Samuel 17:38-50).

Which king settled two women's claim to one baby by ordering it cut in half?

Solomon's order was a test: the real mother begged him to give the baby to her rival rather than see it killed, and that plea told him whose child it was (1 Kings 3:16-28).

Which married woman did King David see from his palace roof and send for?

David saw Bathsheba bathing, committed adultery with her, and then arranged for her husband Uriah to be killed in battle to cover it up (2 Samuel 11).

Which prophet challenged the prophets of Baal to a contest of fire on Mount Carmel?

Elijah challenged 450 prophets of Baal to call down fire from heaven on an altar. When Baal's prophets failed and God consumed Elijah's drenched sacrifice with fire, the people turned back to God (1 Kings 18).

In 2 Kings, who sees his master taken to heaven in a whirlwind and takes up his fallen mantle?

Elisha watched his master carried up by a whirlwind amid a chariot and horses of fire, then picked up the fallen mantle and struck the river with it, parting the water (2 Kings 2:11-14).

What punishment did Daniel face for praying to God in defiance of King Darius's decree?

Being thrown to the lions was the penalty in a decree Daniel's rivals tricked Darius into signing; Daniel came out unharmed, and the king had his accusers thrown in instead (Daniel 6).

Which Babylonian king had Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego thrown into a fiery furnace?

Nebuchadnezzar had the three thrown into the furnace for refusing to worship his golden statue, then saw a fourth figure walking unharmed in the flames with them (Daniel 3:25).

What mysterious event occurred during King Belshazzar's feast that terrified him and his guests?

A hand wrote on the wall 'Mene, Mene, Tekel, Upharsin', which Daniel read as judgment that the kingdom would fall to the Medes and Persians; the idiom 'the writing on the wall' comes from this scene.

Where was Jonah when he prayed for deliverance after fleeing his mission to Nineveh?

Inside a great fish, Jonah prayed until it vomited him onto dry land; the Hebrew says only 'great fish', and 'whale' reached English Bibles through Matthew 12:40 (Jonah 1:17-2:10).

Which Jewish queen risked death by going uninvited to the Persian king Ahasuerus to save her people?

Esther went to King Ahasuerus unsummoned, a capital offense, and exposed Haman's plot against the Jews; Haman was hanged on the gallows he had built for her cousin Mordecai (Esther 4-7).

In which town was Jesus born, according to the Gospels of Matthew and Luke?

Bethlehem is where Matthew and Luke place the birth; Luke has the family travel there from Nazareth for a Roman census, and Matthew quotes Micah 5:2 as foretelling it (Luke 2:1-7; Matthew 2:5-6).

What gifts did the Magi bring to the young Jesus in Matthew's Gospel?

Gold, frankincense, and myrrh are the only gifts Matthew names, and the idea of three wise men comes from that count, since the Gospel never says how many Magi came (Matthew 2:1-11).

In which river did John the Baptist baptize Jesus?

The Jordan is where John was baptizing, and he at first tried to refuse Jesus, saying 'I need to be baptized by you' (Matthew 3:13-15).

How many days and nights did Jesus fast in the wilderness before being tempted by the devil?

Jesus fasted forty days and forty nights in the wilderness (Matthew 4:2); the tempter's first suggestion was to turn stones into bread, and Jesus answered each temptation with scripture.

What was the first miracle Jesus performed, according to the Gospel of John?

Turning water into wine at a wedding in Cana came at his mother's prompting, after she told him the wine had run out; John calls it the first of his signs (John 2:1-11).

In Jesus's parable, what does the Good Samaritan do that a priest and a Levite would not?

Help a wounded traveler: the Samaritan bandaged a man left half dead by robbers and paid an innkeeper to care for him, though Jews and Samaritans had 'no dealings' with each other (Luke 10:30-37; John 4:9).

In the Parable of the Prodigal Son, what does the younger son do with his inheritance?

He squanders it on wild living in a far country, ends up feeding pigs in a famine and envying their food, then heads home, where his father runs to meet him (Luke 15:11-24).

What food did Jesus multiply to feed a crowd of about 5,000 men?

Loaves and fish: a boy's five barley loaves and two fish, which Andrew doubted could matter 'among so many', fed about 5,000 men and left twelve baskets of scraps (John 6:8-13).

Which disciple briefly walked on water toward Jesus before becoming afraid and starting to sink?

Peter stepped out of the boat and walked on the water toward Jesus, but when he noticed the strong wind, he became afraid and began to sink. Jesus caught him and said, "You of little faith, why did you doubt?" (Matthew 14:28-31).

What did Jesus do at the grave of Lazarus, who had been dead four days?

Jesus called him out of the tomb with a shout of 'Lazarus, come out!', and the dead man emerged still wrapped in grave cloths; John says the miracle set the chief priests plotting Jesus's death (John 11:43-53).

Which commandment did Jesus name as the greatest?

Love the Lord your God with all your heart, Jesus answered, quoting Deuteronomy 6:5, then paired it with 'love your neighbor as yourself' and said all the Law and the Prophets hang on these two (Matthew 22:37-40).

How much money did Judas Iscariot receive for betraying Jesus to the chief priests?

Thirty pieces of silver was the price the chief priests weighed out; in Matthew, a remorseful Judas threw the coins back into the temple, and the priests spent them on a potter's field (Matthew 26:15; 27:3-7).

Which Roman governor washed his hands to show he took no blame for Jesus's death?

Pontius Pilate, seeing a riot starting, washed his hands before the crowd and declared 'I am innocent of this man's blood', a scene told in Matthew 27:24.

According to the Gospels, on which day after his crucifixion did Jesus rise from the dead?

The third day counts inclusively, with Friday's crucifixion as day one and Sunday's empty tomb as day three; Paul quotes 'raised on the third day' as a creed he had received (1 Corinthians 15:3-4).

Which disciple refused to believe Jesus had risen until he could see and touch the nail wounds himself?

Thomas (often called "Doubting Thomas") said he would not believe unless he put his finger in the nail marks. When Jesus appeared and invited him to do so, Thomas exclaimed, "My Lord and my God!" (John 20:24-29).

At Pentecost in Acts 2, what appeared over the apostles as they were filled with the Holy Spirit?

Acts 2:2–4: a sound like rushing wind filled the house, divided tongues as of fire rested on each of them, and they began to speak in other languages.

Toward which city did Daniel's open windows face when he prayed in defiance of King Darius's decree?

Jerusalem was the home Daniel had been taken from as a youth, and he prayed toward it at open windows just as before, so his rivals had no trouble catching him.

According to Daniel's own account to King Darius, whom did God send to shut the mouths of the lions?

An angel shut the lions' mouths, Daniel told the king, because he was innocent before God; when he was lifted out of the den, no injury of any kind was found on him.

How often did Daniel pray and give thanks at home, even after King Darius outlawed such prayers?

Three times a day was Daniel's habit, and he neither skipped a prayer nor hid it; his rivals quoted that exact detail when they reported him to the king.

Under the decree that sent Daniel to the lions' den, who was the only one people could petition?

The king himself was to receive every request, to any god or man, for a month; the officials who proposed it were flattering Darius in order to trap one colleague.

In what posture did Daniel pray at his open windows while the royal ban on prayer was in force?

Kneeling at his windows, Daniel was an old man: by the book's own timeline he was past eighty, though painters often show a youth among the lions.

When did King Darius hurry back to the lions' den to learn whether Daniel had survived?

Early in the morning the king went in haste and cried out in a troubled voice before he knew whether anyone was alive to reply; Daniel answered with a courteous greeting.

Who ended up in the lions' den after Daniel was lifted out without a scratch on him?

The men who accused him were cast in with their families, and the lions overpowered them before they even reached the floor of the den.

Daniel's enemies reminded King Darius that the laws of which two peoples could never be changed?

The Medes and Persians were said to have laws that even their own king could not revoke, so Darius worked until sunset looking for a way to save Daniel and found none.

What did King Darius plan for Daniel that set the other officials hunting for his faults?

Charge of the whole realm was the promotion Darius had in mind, because Daniel outshone every other official; his rivals searched his record and found no fault or corruption at all.

After the lions' den miracle, what did King Darius decree that everyone in his kingdom must do?

Fear the God of Daniel was the order Darius sent to every people and language in his empire, praising a God who saves and works wonders.

How did King Darius spend the night after Daniel was sealed inside the lions' den?

Fasting and sleepless, the king also had no music brought to him: the ruler who had signed the decree spent the night grieving over it.

What did King Darius use to seal the entrance of the lions' den once Daniel was inside?

His own signet was pressed into the seal along with those of his nobles, so that nobody, the king included, could quietly change Daniel's fate overnight.

Daniel 6 ends with Daniel prospering under which Persian king, the one who let Jewish exiles go home?

Cyrus is the last name in the chapter, and the Book of Ezra credits him with the proclamation that sent the captives home to rebuild their temple.

Daniel's rivals described him to King Darius as one of the exiles from which conquered kingdom?

Judah was the kingdom Daniel had left as a young captive, and decades later his rivals still pointed to his origins as an exile when they denounced him.

By what ancient title are the 120 provincial governors appointed by King Darius in Daniel 6 known?

Satraps were supervised by three chief ministers so that the king would suffer no loss, and Daniel was one of the three before the plot against him began.

Which Flemish master painted Daniel among life-size lions, a canvas once owned by King Charles I?

Rubens told a buyer the lions were done from life; he could study real ones because the archdukes he served in Brussels kept a menagerie.

The lions' den chapter of the Book of Daniel was written in which language rather than Hebrew?

Aramaic runs from chapter 2 through chapter 7 of Daniel, so the book's most famous court tales come down to us in that language; only the opening and the later visions are in Hebrew.

In Bel and the Dragon, which prophet is whisked from his homeland to feed Daniel in the lions' den?

Habakkuk had just made a stew when he was told to take it to Babylon; he protested that he knew neither the city nor the den, and was carried there anyway.

What hope did King Darius voice as the aged Daniel was put into the lions' den?

His God would rescue him, Darius said, and the king who had condemned Daniel was the first to celebrate when it proved true: the text says he was exceedingly glad.

Daniel's rivals decided they could trap him only through what, once his record proved spotless?

The law of his God was the one area where Daniel would never bend, so his rivals devised a rule that turned his daily prayers into a crime.

What did Jacob put under his head as a pillow on the night he dreamed of the stairway?

A stone from the ground served as Jacob's pillow, and on waking he stood the same one upright as a pillar to mark the place as holy.

What name did Jacob give the place where he dreamed of a stairway with its top in the sky?

Bethel means house of God in Hebrew; the town had been known as Luz, but Jacob renamed the spot after waking in awe of what he had seen.

Why did Jacob stop for the night at the spot where he went on to dream of the stairway?

The sun had set, so Jacob slept where he happened to be; the place seemed ordinary until he woke and said that God was there and he had not known it.

In Jacob's dream of the stairway, what did God promise to give Jacob and his offspring?

The land he lay on was promised to a fugitive sleeping in the open; God added that he would guard Jacob wherever he went and bring him back to it.

Which mother sent Jacob away to her brother's home, the journey on which he dreamed of the stairway?

Rebekah had learned that Esau planned to kill his brother once their father died, so she told her younger son to run to her own family until the fury passed.

What did Jacob pour on top of the pillar he raised after waking from his dream of the stairway?

Oil poured on the pillar marked it as holy, and Jacob vowed that the pillar itself would become God's house if he ever returned to his father's home in peace.

What did Jacob vow to give God if he came home safely after his dream of the stairway?

A tenth of his gains was Jacob's side of a bargain: God was to supply food, clothing and a safe return, and Jacob would give back a share of whatever he received.

God told Jacob at the stairway that his offspring would be as countless as what?

The dust of the earth was God's picture of Jacob's family, spreading west, east, north and south until every family in the world was blessed through it.

Jacob was heading for which city, home of his mother's family, when he dreamed of the stairway?

Haran was meant to be a short refuge: Jacob's mother told him to stay with her brother there for a short while, until his own brother's anger cooled.

Jesus alluded to Jacob's ladder while speaking to which new follower, first seen under a fig tree?

Nathanael had just scoffed that nothing good could come out of Nazareth; Jesus promised him a sight like Jacob's, with the Son of Man in the ladder's place.

Where did Jacob first meet Rachel, the woman he would work for years to marry?

At a well, Jacob rolled away its heavy cover, kissed her and only then explained that he was her relative; she ran home to tell her father.

What work was Rachel doing for her father Laban when Jacob first set eyes on her?

Tending his sheep was Rachel's regular job, which is how she came to be out with the flock at midday when a stranger from Canaan appeared.

What did Jacob do straight after kissing Rachel at their first meeting, before saying who he was?

Jacob wept aloud, overcome at finding his mother's family at the end of his journey; Laban ran out to embrace him and called him his own bone and flesh.

How was Rachel already related to Jacob before she became his second wife?

His cousin by blood, Rachel was the daughter of Laban, the brother of Jacob's mother; Jacob had been sent there precisely to marry within the family.

How did Laban cheat Jacob on the wedding night, after years of work to marry Rachel?

Laban sent her sister instead, so Jacob woke beside Leah; the excuse was that local custom forbade marrying off a younger daughter before the elder.

How did the years Jacob worked to win Rachel feel to him, as Genesis puts it?

Like a few days, Genesis says, because of the love he had for her; Laban then demanded the same term again, though the second wedding followed just a week after the first.

What did an envious Rachel demand that Jacob give her, saying she would die without it?

Children were what Rachel lacked while Leah had four sons, and Jacob snapped back that he was not God; a long wait followed before her own first son was born.

Which plants, found by Leah's eldest son at harvest, did Rachel trade a night with Jacob to get?

Mandrakes were believed to cure infertility, yet the trade backfired: it was Leah who conceived after the night she bought, while Rachel went on waiting.

What did Rachel secretly take from her father Laban when Jacob's family slipped away from his home?

His household idols ended up hidden in a camel saddle with Rachel sitting on top; she told her father she could not get up, and his search of the tent found nothing.

Which of Jacob's sons did Rachel die giving birth to on the road to Ephrath?

Benjamin was the name Jacob gave the boy in place of his dying mother's choice, which meant son of my trouble; he buried her by the road and marked the grave.

Before healing the lame beggar in Acts 3, the apostle who spoke to him said he had none of what?

Silver or gold was what the beggar expected, a coin at most; what he got was an order to stand up in the name of Jesus Christ and a firm grip to pull him upright.

How did the healed lame man go into the temple with the apostles, as Acts 3 describes it?

Walking and leaping and praising God, he drew a crowd that knew him as the gate's beggar, and he clung to the two apostles as people came running.

Since when had the beggar healed at the temple gate in Acts 3 been unable to walk?

From his birth the man had never walked, and he was carried to the gate daily, so everyone in the city recognized him and nobody could call the cure a trick.

At which named temple entrance was the lame beggar of Acts 3 laid daily to ask for alms?

The Beautiful Gate was where others set the man down, so worshippers who saw him standing in the courts knew at once who he was.

After the lame man's healing, what did the council in Acts 4 order the two apostles to stop doing?

Speaking in Jesus's name was banned because the council could not deny the miracle itself; the apostles answered that they could not help telling what they had seen and heard.

Which parts of the lame man's body does Acts 3 say were instantly made strong at the temple gate?

His feet and ankles took his weight at once; the anatomical detail suits Luke, the author traditionally credited with Acts, whom Colossians calls a physician.

Which sect joined the priests in arresting the apostles after the lame man was healed at the temple?

The Sadducees were upset that the apostles proclaimed resurrection in Jesus, so the pair spent the night in custody, and many who had heard them believed anyway.

Where in the temple did an amazed crowd run to gather around the healed lame man and the apostles?

Solomon's Porch became the pulpit for a sermon that refused the credit: the apostle said that faith in the name of Jesus, not his own power, had made the man strong.

After Paul healed a lame man at Lystra, the crowd took Paul, the main speaker, for which Greek god?

Hermes, called Mercury in older English Bibles, was the name given to Paul as the chief speaker, while his companion Barnabas was taken for Zeus himself.

How did Paul and Barnabas react when a crowd awed by a lame man's healing tried to worship them?

They tore their clothes in dismay and rushed into the crowd shouting that they were only human; even so, they barely stopped the oxen from being sacrificed.