99 Fun Facts About Bible Trivia for Teens

When David went out to face Goliath, what did he pick up from the brook to use with his sling?

Five smooth stones went into his shepherd's bag after he turned down Saul's armor as untested. He needed only one, which sank into Goliath's forehead.

Moses smashed the first stone tablets after seeing the Israelites worshipping what?

A golden calf was cast from the people's own gold earrings while Moses spent forty days on the mountain. He ground it to powder, scattered it on water and made them drink it.

Genesis gives the measurements of Noah's ark in which ancient unit?

Cubits ran from elbow to fingertip, about 18 inches, which makes the ark well over 400 feet long. Later Noah sent out a raven, then a dove, to see whether the water had gone down.

Jonah tried to run from God rather than preach to which city?

Nineveh heard Jonah's forty-day warning, and the whole city fasted until God relented. Jonah, far from pleased, was angry that it had been spared.

Which king reluctantly had Daniel thrown into the lions' den after Daniel kept praying to God?

Darius the Mede had been tricked by his own officials into signing the decree. He spent the night fasting and sleepless, then hurried to the den at dawn calling for Daniel.

During whose extravagant feast, with the temple's holy vessels used as cups, did a hand write on the wall?

Belshazzar learned from Daniel, the only one who could read it, that he had been weighed and found wanting. He was killed that very night.

Which Jewish holiday celebrates Queen Esther foiling Haman's plot to destroy the Jews of Persia?

Purim recalls a plot that began when Mordecai, Esther's cousin, refused to bow to Haman. Haman ended up hanged on the very gallows he had built for Mordecai.

Who arranged for Samson's hair to be cut while he slept, costing him his strength?

Delilah was bribed by the Philistine rulers and failed three times before Samson told her the truth. Blinded and jailed, he pulled down the temple of Dagon once his hair grew back.

Whose dreams about seven fat cows and seven thin cows did Joseph interpret?

Pharaoh's dreams foretold seven years of plenty and seven of famine, so he put Joseph in charge of Egypt's grain. That famine later sent Joseph's brothers to Egypt to buy food from him.

Which man in Genesis lived 969 years, longer than anyone else in the Bible?

Methuselah was Noah's grandfather, and by the numbers in the Hebrew text he died in the very year of the Flood.

Which chapter is the longest in the entire Bible?

Psalm 119 is an acrostic: each of the 22 Hebrew letters gets a stanza of eight verses, every one starting with that letter. That is how it reaches 176 verses.

What is the shortest verse in the King James Bible?

Jesus wept is John 11:35, just two words in English. In the original Greek it takes three, and 'Rejoice always' in 1 Thessalonians is shorter there.

The tax collector Zacchaeus was too short to see Jesus in the crowd, so what did he do?

He climbed a sycamore tree, and Jesus called him down by name and invited himself to stay. Zacchaeus then promised half of what he owned to the poor.

In John's Gospel, Jesus's first miracle, water into wine, was at a wedding in which town?

Cana's hosts had run out of wine, and Jesus first told his mother his hour had not yet come. He then turned six stone jars of water into wine so good the steward remarked that the best had been kept for last.

What was the name of Ruth's mother-in-law, whom she refused to leave after both were widowed?

Naomi told Ruth to go home to Moab, but Ruth vowed, 'Where you go, I will go.' Ruth later married Boaz and became the great-grandmother of King David.

After God whittled down his army, how many men did Gideon lead against the Midianites?

300 men were all that remained of 32,000 after God sent home the fearful and everyone who knelt to drink. They routed the Midianite camp by night with trumpets, torches and smashed jars.

How much was Judas paid to betray Jesus, according to Matthew?

Thirty pieces of silver came back when a remorseful Judas threw the money down in the temple. The priests would not keep blood money, so they bought a potter's field to bury strangers in.

Saul was struck blind by a light from heaven while travelling to which city to arrest Christians?

Damascus is where the blinded Saul was led by the hand, and where he was soon preaching himself. Later he had to flee the city by night, lowered from its wall in a basket.

Before disowning Jesus three times, Peter had declared he would sooner do what?

Die with him, Peter declared, yet that same night he disowned Jesus three times. When the rooster crowed, he remembered Jesus's warning and broke down in tears.

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

His nickname stuck so hard that any skeptic today can be called a doubting Thomas.

Who is traditionally regarded as the first Christian martyr, stoned after addressing the Jewish council?

Stephen died asking God to forgive his killers, who had left their coats at the feet of a young man named Saul. That Saul later became the apostle Paul.

Jesus fed the crowd of 5,000 people starting with what food?

Five loaves and two fish came from a boy in the crowd, John says, and Andrew doubted they could go far among so many. After everyone had eaten, the leftovers filled twelve baskets.

Which friend of Jesus had been in the tomb four days when Jesus called him out alive?

Lazarus had been dead so long that his sister Martha warned there would be a smell when Jesus ordered the stone moved. Jesus had stayed where he was for two days after hearing he was ill.

In the parable of the Good Samaritan, which two people walked past the beaten traveller?

A priest and a Levite each crossed to the other side of the road. Jews and Samaritans were generally hostile to each other, which is exactly why Jesus made the Samaritan the hero.

After wasting his inheritance, what lowly job did the Prodigal Son take?

Feeding pigs meant tending animals that Jewish law called unclean. He grew so hungry that he envied the pigs their food, which is when he decided to go home.

The walls of which city fell after the Israelites marched around it for seven days and blew their horns?

Jericho was circled once a day for six days and seven times on the seventh, then everyone shouted. Only Rahab and her family were spared, because she had hidden Israel's spies.

The story of the Tower of Babel explains the origin of what?

Different languages arise when God confuses the builders' speech, so they abandon the tower and scatter. Genesis puns on the name: Babel sounds like the Hebrew balal, to confuse.

In Genesis, what did Abel's older brother Cain do for a living?

Farmer Cain offered crops, while his shepherd brother Abel offered the firstborn of his flock. God favored Abel's gift, and Cain's anger ended in murder.

Which king threw Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego into a fiery furnace for not bowing to his statue?

Nebuchadnezzar had the furnace heated seven times hotter than usual, then saw four figures walking unharmed in the flames. The fourth, he said, looked like a son of the gods.

Which prophet challenged the prophets of Baal to see whose god would send fire?

Elijah mocked Baal's prophets, suggesting their god was asleep or away on a trip. He then had his own altar drenched with water three times before fire fell and burned it all up.

King Solomon settled a dispute between two women who each claimed the same baby by suggesting what?

Cutting the child in two was a bluff: the real mother at once gave up her claim to save the baby, which told Solomon who she was.

What does Hebrews say the Ark of the Covenant held besides stone tablets?

Aaron's rod and a pot of manna sat beside the tablets, Hebrews says. Yet Kings reports that only the two stone tablets were inside when Solomon moved the Ark into the Temple.

At Pentecost, what appeared over the disciples as they were filled with the Holy Spirit?

Tongues of fire came with a sound like a rushing wind, and Jews from many nations each heard the disciples in their own native tongue. Some onlookers just assumed they were drunk.

The Book of Revelation opens with John receiving his visions on which island?

Patmos is a small Aegean island where, by tradition, the Romans had exiled John. From there he addresses letters to seven churches on the nearby mainland of Asia Minor.

What did Abraham sacrifice on the mountain in place of his son Isaac?

A ram caught by its horns in a thicket took Isaac's place. An angel had called out to stop Abraham just as he raised the knife.

Job, the man who lost everything and stayed faithful, lived in which land?

Uz was Job's home. Satan wagered that his faith would break once his blessings were gone, and God allowed the test but ordered that Job's life be spared.

What was the second of the ten plagues on Egypt?

The Egyptian magicians managed to conjure even more frogs, which did not exactly help.

What did Moses hold out over the sea so that God parted the waters for the Israelites?

Moses held out his staff and a strong east wind blew all night, drying a path through the sea. At dawn he stretched out his hand again and the water closed over the pursuing Egyptian army.

What did John the Baptist eat while preaching in the Judean desert?

Locusts and wild honey were his food, with a camel-hair coat to match. He was beheaded after telling the ruler Herod Antipas that marrying his brother's wife was unlawful.

What did Lot's wife become when she looked back at Sodom as it was destroyed?

A pillar of salt was the price of ignoring the angels' order not to look behind her. Jesus later turned her into a three-word warning: 'Remember Lot's wife.'

Esau sold his birthright to his twin Jacob in exchange for what?

A bowl of lentil stew was the whole price: Esau came in famished and swore his birthright away before he ate. The trade gave English 'a mess of pottage', a trifle taken in exchange for something valuable.

Which disciple stepped out of the boat and briefly walked on the water toward Jesus?

Peter managed a few steps, then saw the wind, took fright and began to sink until Jesus caught his hand. Of the three Gospels that tell of Jesus walking on the sea, only Matthew's adds this part.

What was twelve-year-old Jesus doing when his parents found him?

Questioning the teachers is how Mary and Joseph found him after three days, and everyone listening was amazed at his answers. He asked why they had searched at all, since he had to be in his Father's house.

Whose donkey spoke after being beaten for refusing to pass an angel in the road?

Balaam beat his donkey three times for swerving before it spoke up and asked why. Only then were his own eyes opened to the angel blocking the road with a drawn sword.

Who was chosen by casting lots to replace Judas Iscariot as the twelfth apostle?

Matthias and Joseph called Barsabbas had both followed Jesus from the start, as the apostles required, so lots decided between them. The New Testament never mentions Matthias again.

Praying for a son at Shiloh, which woman was mistaken for a drunk by the priest Eli?

Hannah prayed so quietly that only her lips moved, at a time when prayer was said aloud, so Eli took her for a drunk. She promised the boy to God's service, and he grew up to be the prophet Samuel.

Which couple dropped dead after lying to Peter about money from a land sale?

Ananias and Sapphira secretly kept back part of the price. He fell dead first, and about three hours later she walked in unaware, repeated the lie and met the same fate.

Who dozed off during one of Paul's long sermons and fell from a third-storey window?

Eutychus was picked up dead, but Paul went down, embraced him and said he was alive. Paul then went back upstairs, ate, and kept talking until dawn.

Which left-handed judge killed the Moabite king Eglon with a hidden short sword?

Ehud, being left-handed, could hide the blade on his right thigh, where nobody expected one. He told the king he had a secret message, waited until the attendants were sent out, and struck.

Genesis never names the forbidden fruit of Eden, but which fruit became its usual image in Western art?

An apple is the usual picture, a choice often put down to a Latin pun: the words for 'evil' and 'apple' look almost the same. Other traditions have suggested a fig, grapes or even wheat.

Which bird flew back to Noah's ark carrying a freshly plucked olive leaf as the floodwaters went down?

A dove with an olive branch went on to become a lasting symbol of peace. Noah also released a raven, which flew to and fro until the waters dried up.

God first spoke to Moses, then working as a shepherd, from which strange sight that drew him closer?

A burning bush that blazed without being consumed caught his eye while he grazed his father-in-law's flock. Moses was told to take off his sandals because the ground was holy.

Which gift from his father Jacob made Joseph's brothers envy him before they sold him into slavery?

A colourful coat is the traditional picture, though some translations make it a long robe with sleeves. The brothers later dipped it in goat's blood so that Jacob would think a beast had killed his son.

On which mountain does the Book of Exodus say God gave Moses the Ten Commandments amid thunder and lightning?

Mount Sinai is also called Horeb in the Bible, and scholars generally treat the two names as one place. Christian tradition identifies it with Jebel Musa in Egypt.

Which angel, who also appears in the Book of Daniel, told Mary she would give birth to Jesus?

Gabriel had earlier told Zechariah that his wife would bear John the Baptist, and struck him speechless for doubting it. The visit to Mary is known as the Annunciation.

Besides gold and frankincense, which third gift did the wise men bring the young Jesus in Matthew's Gospel?

Myrrh, a fragrant resin used in perfume and embalming, completed the trio. Matthew never says how many wise men came; the traditional three simply matches the number of gifts.

By which trade is Joseph, the husband of Mary, traditionally said to have earned his living in Nazareth?

Carpenter is the traditional translation of the Greek word tekton, which could cover a craftsman working in wood, stone or metal. The Gospels mention Joseph's job only once.

With which greeting did Judas point out Jesus to the armed crowd that came to arrest him at night?

A kiss let Judas single out his teacher for the men carrying swords and clubs. A 'Judas kiss' has come to mean a show of friendship that actually harms the person receiving it.

Which gesture did the Roman governor Pontius Pilate make before the crowd to disown blame for Jesus's death?

Pilate washed his hands in front of them, a scene found only in Matthew's Gospel. It gave English a phrase for refusing any further responsibility.

In which town, known as the city of David, do the Gospels of Matthew and Luke place the birth of Jesus?

Bethlehem had nowhere for the family to stay, so the newborn was laid in a manger. Jesus grew up further north in Nazareth, which is why he is known as Jesus of Nazareth.

In which river, crossed by the Israelites entering the Promised Land, did John the Baptist baptise Jesus?

The Jordan baptism is generally treated as the start of Jesus's public ministry. Straight afterwards, the Gospels say, a voice from heaven called him a beloved Son.

Roman soldiers mocking Jesus as a king pressed onto his head a crown twisted from what?

Thorns turned a royal crown into an instrument of pain and ridicule. A relic venerated as the crown was carried to safety when Notre-Dame cathedral in Paris burned in 2019.

As Jesus rode into Jerusalem, John's Gospel says the welcoming crowd carried branches of which plant?

Palm branches were an ancient symbol of victory and triumph across the Mediterranean world. Christians keep the day each year as Palm Sunday, the Sunday before Easter.

In Jesus's parable of the two builders, the foolish man's house fell in a storm because it stood on what?

Sand gave way when the rain and floods came, while the wise builder's house on rock stood firm. The parable closes Jesus's longest sermon in Matthew's Gospel.

When God appeared to the young King Solomon in a dream and offered a gift, what did Solomon request?

Wisdom to rule and guide his people was the only thing he asked for. God was pleased that Solomon had not sought long life or the death of his enemies.

Which creature, called more cunning than any beast in Genesis, persuaded Eve to eat the forbidden fruit?

A serpent did the talking, and it was cursed to crawl on its belly and eat dust. Genesis never calls it Satan or the Devil; that identification came from later interpretation.

After Noah's flood, which sign did God set in the sky as a promise never to drown the earth again?

A rainbow was the sign of an everlasting covenant made not only with Noah but with every living creature on earth.

Which instrument did the young shepherd David play to calm King Saul when a troubling spirit came over him?

A harp, or more exactly a lyre, was the instrument that won David a place at court. Saul later grew jealous of him and tried to have him killed.

In 1 Corinthians 13, Paul names faith, hope and one other quality, calling which of the three the greatest?

Love is the greatest of the three, Paul writes, in a chapter that is among the most frequently chosen readings at Christian weddings. Older English Bibles translate the word as 'charity'.

Jesus compared the kingdom of heaven to which tiny seed that grows until birds can nest in its branches?

Mustard seed was proverbially small, yet black mustard can grow almost three metres tall. Jesus used the same seed elsewhere as a picture of how little faith is needed.

In John's account of the Last Supper, Jesus took a towel and a basin to clean which part of his disciples?

Their feet were his lesson in humble service, an example he told them to copy. Many churches re-enact the scene on Maundy Thursday, the Thursday before Easter.

Which king of Judea, outwitted by the wise men, ordered infant boys killed to destroy the newborn Jesus?

Herod the Great, furious at being tricked, ordered the deaths of boys aged two and under. In Matthew's Gospel the holy family escapes by fleeing to Egypt.

Whose Latin Bible of the 1450s was the first major book printed in Europe with movable type?

Johannes Gutenberg printed it in Mainz, and it is also known as the 42-line Bible after its page layout. Fewer than 50 copies are known to survive.

Which woman, later called the 'apostle to the apostles', was first to see the risen Jesus in John's Gospel?

Mary Magdalene at first mistook him for the gardener, and knew him only when he spoke her name. Luke's Gospel says seven demons had been driven out of her.

Which wife of Abraham laughed to herself on overhearing that she would bear a son at the age of ninety?

Sarah's laughter is echoed in her son's name: Isaac means 'he laughs' in Hebrew. Abraham had laughed at the idea of becoming parents at their age as well.

Which assistant of Moses, one of the twelve spies sent into Canaan, succeeded him as leader of the Israelites?

Joshua and Caleb were the only spies to bring back an encouraging report, and the only two of their generation allowed to enter the promised land.

Which eldest son of King Saul became the close friend of David and later died beside his father in battle?

Jonathan and David sealed their friendship with a covenant. After his friend fell at Gilboa, David honoured it by giving Jonathan's son a seat at the royal table.

The queen who came to King Solomon with camels bearing spices, gold and precious gems ruled which land?

Sheba is identified by modern historians with a South Arabian kingdom in what is now Yemen, while Ethiopian tradition claims the queen as its own. The Bible never gives her name.

Which boy at Shiloh heard a voice call his name three times in the night and mistook it for his mentor Eli?

Samuel learned how to answer only after the old man realised who was really calling. He grew up to anoint both Saul and David as kings of Israel.

In which place outside Jerusalem, whose name means 'oil press', did Jesus pray in anguish before his arrest?

Gethsemane is where the three disciples he took with him kept falling asleep while he prayed. Luke describes his sweat falling to the ground like great drops of blood.

Which sister of Mary of Bethany complained to Jesus that she had been left to do all the serving alone?

Martha was told she was worried and upset about many things when only one was needed. Mary, who sat listening to Jesus instead of helping, had chosen the better part.

In the Jerusalem temple courts, Jesus overturned the tables of which traders and drove out the merchants?

Money changers swapped Greek and Roman coins for the shekels used in the temple. Jesus accused the traders of turning a house of prayer into a den of thieves.

For how long did the Israelites wander in the wilderness between leaving Egypt and entering the Promised Land?

40 years was the sentence after the people believed the spies' fearful report and refused to go in. Almost the whole adult generation died before the wandering ended.

In which northern region, home to his boyhood town of Nazareth, did Jesus begin his public ministry?

Galilee was where he grew up and where he began preaching after John the Baptist's arrest. Many of his best-known miracles are set on the shores of its lake.

Which manuscripts, found by shepherds in desert caves, include the oldest surviving copies of biblical books?

Before the Dead Sea Scrolls turned up in jars in the 1940s, the oldest Hebrew Bible manuscripts dated from the 10th century AD. The scrolls are about a thousand years older.

Fleeing his brother Esau, Jacob dreamed of angels going up and down what, reaching from earth to heaven?

A ladder is the traditional translation, though some picture a staircase. Jacob woke in awe, called the spot the house of God and set up the rock he had slept on as a marker.

In the 'armour of God' passage in Ephesians, which piece of equipment does Paul pair with faith?

The shield of faith sits alongside the helmet of salvation, the breastplate of righteousness and the belt of truth. The only weapon in the list is the sword of the Spirit.

Which Jewish festival recalls the Israelites smearing lamb's blood on their doorframes before leaving Egypt?

Passover recalls the final plague, when God would pass over the homes marked with blood. Three of the Gospels describe Jesus's Last Supper as a Passover meal.

Which Gospel, by far the shortest of the four, do most scholars believe was the first to be written?

Mark is just over half the length of Luke. Since the 19th century most scholars have held that Matthew and Luke both used it as a source.

Which prophetess, the only woman among the judges of Israel, sent the general Barak into battle against Sisera?

Deborah agreed to go along when Barak declined to march without her, but declared that the glory of the victory would then belong to a woman.

Which prophet, taunted for his baldness by a group of boys from Bethel, cursed them before two bears attacked?

Elisha's curse was followed by two female bears coming out of the forest and tearing into forty-two of the boys.

Which rebellious son of King David was left dangling when his head caught in an oak as his mule ran on?

Absalom, renowned for his beauty and long hair, was found alive in the branches and killed by David's commander Joab. The king's grief for his rebel son was overwhelming.

Which Phoenician princess, wife of King Ahab, promoted the worship of Baal and was thrown from a window?

Jezebel painted her eyes and arranged her hair, then taunted her enemy Jehu from the window before her own servants threw her down. Her name became a symbol of manipulative women.

Which cousin adopted the orphaned Esther and later uncovered a plot to assassinate the Persian king Ahasuerus?

Mordecai refused to bow to the king's vizier, who then plotted to wipe out Persia's Jews. Esther, by then queen, foiled the scheme at her guardian's urging.

Which Pharisee visited Jesus by night and was told that no one can see God's kingdom without being born again?

Nicodemus puzzled over how anyone could be born a second time. He reappears after the crucifixion, bringing spices and helping Joseph of Arimathea prepare the body for burial.

Which prisoner, jailed after a riot, did the Jerusalem crowd choose to have released instead of Jesus?

Barabbas is called a bandit in John's Gospel. The Gospels describe a festival custom of freeing one prisoner of the crowd's choosing, though no other historical record mentions it.

Which companion of Paul, the son of a Jewish mother and a Greek father, has two New Testament letters addressed to him?

Timothy met Paul on his second missionary journey and became his constant co-worker. His mother Eunice and grandmother Lois are both singled out for their faith.

On which Mediterranean island was Paul shipwrecked while sailing to Rome to appeal to Caesar?

Malta, called Melita in Acts, is said to have shown the survivors unusual kindness. Paul is the island's patron saint, and it celebrates his shipwreck every February.

Jacob worked seven years to marry Rachel, but was tricked by her father Laban into first marrying which sister?

Leah was the elder daughter, and Laban claimed it was not the custom to marry off the younger one first. Jacob had to work another seven years for Rachel.