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50 free John the Baptist trivia questions with answers — literature quiz, new questions added Aug 2026.
John the Baptist is the voice crying in the wilderness, the man who baptised Jesus and lost his head to a dancing girl's request, and this quiz covers all of him. It starts with the birth story in Luke: the old priest Zechariah struck dumb by Gabriel, his wife Elizabeth, the traditional birthplace at Ein Karem, and why the feast falls exactly six months before Christmas. Then it moves to the desert: the camel-hair clothing, the locusts and wild honey, the brood of vipers, and the baptism of Jesus at Bethany beyond the Jordan. The second half is the death and the afterlife. Herod Antipas, Herodias, the unnamed daughter Josephus calls Salome, the hilltop fortress of Machaerus, and the head on a plate that three shrines still claim to hold. From there it ranges across who else honours John: Islam's prophet Yahya, the Mandaeans of Iraq who call him their last prophet, the Knights Hospitaller, the city of Florence, and the midsummer bonfires of St John's Eve. It ends with Leonardo's last painting, Caravaggio, Oscar Wilde's banned play and the Dance of the Seven Veils. Easy questions suit anyone who knows the Gospel story; the expert tier is for church historians. Every answer was checked against Wikipedia's articles on John, his family, his killers and his cult, and the supporting sentence is attached to each question.
30 of 50 questions with answers and explanations. Play the quiz
Q 01According to the Gospel of Luke, who were John the Baptist's parents?
Zechariah and Elizabeth
Both were of priestly descent from Aaron, and both were far too old to expect a child.
Q 02Which angel announced John's birth to Zechariah while he was serving in the Temple?
Gabriel
The same angel later told Mary that her relative Elizabeth was already six months pregnant.
Q 03What happened to Zechariah because he doubted the angel's message?
He was struck dumb
His voice returned when he wrote 'His name is John' at the naming ceremony, and he burst into the prophecy known as the Benedictus.
Q 04The Nativity of John the Baptist is celebrated on 24 June, how long before Christmas?
Six months
The date follows Luke's note that Elizabeth was six months along at the Annunciation, and it lands on the old Roman summer solstice.
Q 05Christian tradition places John's birthplace at Ein Karem, a village on the outskirts of which city?
Jerusalem
The Church of Saint John the Baptist there is built around the cave identified as the spot, and the village is also linked to the Visitation.
Q 06The Gospels describe John's clothing as made from the hair of which animal?
Camel
The leather belt and hair garment echo the description of Elijah in 2 Kings, which is part of why the Gospels cast John as Elijah returned.
Q 07What did John the Baptist famously eat in the wilderness?
Locusts and wild honey
The vegetarian Ebionites reportedly amended their gospel so that he ate honey cakes or manna instead.
Q 08In Matthew's Gospel, John calls the Pharisees and Sadducees a 'brood of' what?
Vipers
Matthew also has him preaching that the kingdom of heaven is at hand and warning of coming judgement.
Q 09When priests asked who he was, John denied being the Christ and described himself as what?
A voice crying in the wilderness
The phrase fulfils a passage from Isaiah that Mark quotes to introduce him.
Q 10In which river did John baptise Jesus?
The Jordan
The site is generally identified as Al-Maghtas, Bethany beyond the Jordan, on the river's eastern bank near Jericho.
Q 11Al-Maghtas, the traditional site of the baptism of Jesus, lies in which modern country?
Jordan
The gospel also mentions further baptisms at Aenon near Salim, 'because there was much water there'.
Q 12At the baptism of Jesus, the Spirit is described as descending in the form of which bird?
A dove
Luke insists it came in bodily form as a dove, not merely descending like one, and a voice from heaven spoke.
Q 13In Eastern Christianity, the baptism of Jesus is commemorated on 6 January under which feast name?
Theophany
The Orthodox keep John's main feast the very next day, 7 January.
Q 21In the Antiquities of the Jews, why does the tetrarch really have the Baptist killed?
Fear that his popularity could spark a rebellion
Josephus adds that many Jews saw the later destruction of Herod's army by King Aretas as divine punishment for the killing.
Q 22The tetrarch who killed John was exiled to Gaul after being accused of conspiracy against which emperor?
Caligula
The accuser was his own nephew Agrippa I; Antipas had built his capital, Tiberias, on the Sea of Galilee.
Q 23Salome later became queen of Armenia Minor by marrying which cousin?
Aristobulus of Chalcis
Q 14According to Matthew, Jesus explicitly identified John as the return of which Old Testament prophet?
Elijah
The link goes back to Malachi's promise that the prophet would come before the great day of the Lord.
Q 15In Eastern Orthodoxy, John is most commonly given which title?
The Forerunner
Baptists prefer Saint John the Immerser, and in Islam he is the prophet Yahya ibn Zakariya.
Q 16Which ruler ordered John's execution after John condemned his marriage?
Herod Antipas
The tetrarch of Galilee and Perea had divorced a Nabatean princess to marry his brother's wife, and the Gospels say he feared John but liked listening to him.
Q 17What was the name of the woman whose marriage to Herod John denounced, and who demanded his death?
Herodias
She had been married to Herod's half-brother; the Gospels call him Philip, though Josephus names him Herod.
Q 18Which historian supplies the name Salome for the unnamed girl who danced for Herod?
Josephus
The idea that mother and daughter were both called Herodias circulated in early modern Europe because the Bible leaves her unnamed.
Q 19On what was John's severed head delivered to the dancing girl, at her request?
A plate
The girl had asked her mother what to request and was told to demand the Baptist's head.
Q 20John was executed at which hilltop fortress east of the Dead Sea?
Machaerus
The site, in modern Jordan, was rebuilt by Herod the Great in 30 BC and stands about 1,100 metres above the level of the Dead Sea.
Her first husband had been her uncle Philip the Tetrarch, who died in AD 34.
Q 24The Catholic Church marks the Beheading of Saint John the Baptist on which date?
29 August
The Orthodox keep six separate feasts for John, including three findings of his head.
Q 25Which building in Damascus is one of three places claiming to hold John the Baptist's head?
The Umayyad Mosque
Pope John Paul II visited it in 2001 mainly to see the relic; Amiens Cathedral and San Silvestro in Capite in Rome make rival claims.
Q 26Which Picardy cathedral claims to hold John the Baptist's head, brought after the Fourth Crusade?
Amiens
The Orthodox story is different: followers dug the head up on the Mount of Olives, where it was buried and rediscovered twice more.
Q 27The Topkapi Palace in Istanbul claims to hold which part of John the Baptist?
His right index finger
A monastery in Cetinje, Montenegro, and Siena Cathedral both claim the whole right hand that baptised Jesus.
Q 28In Islam, John the Baptist is known by what name?
Yahya
The Quran says God sent peace on him the day he was born and the day he died, and tradition says Muhammad met him in the second heaven.
Q 29Which ancient religious group in Iraq and Iran regards John the Baptist as its final prophet?
The Mandaeans
They speak an Eastern Aramaic language and are known to their neighbours as Sabians or Subba, from a root meaning baptism.
Q 30The Knights Hospitaller grew from a Holy Land hospital founded by merchants from which Italian town?
Amalfi
Pope Paschal II recognised the order in 1113; it later ruled Rhodes and Malta.