Here’s something I’ve learned from running bible trivia for church groups, youth nights, and bar events where someone insisted on a “Bible round”: the people who are most confident are the ones who get burned the hardest. Not because they don’t know the Bible. They do. But they know the version of it they learned at age nine, and they’ve never gone back to check. They remember Jonah and the whale, but they don’t remember what the text actually calls the creature. They remember David and Goliath, but they’ll fight you on which valley it happened in. The details are where the fun lives.
I’ve organized these 150 bible trivia questions to move the way a good trivia night moves. Some will feel like layups. Some will make you second-guess yourself mid-sentence. A few will make you pull out your phone to verify because you won’t believe the answer. That’s the whole point.
1. What fruit did Adam and Eve eat in the Garden of Eden, according to the Book of Genesis?
I start with this one because half the room shouts “apple” before I finish the sentence. The text never names the fruit. It just says “fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.” The apple thing comes from centuries of European art and possibly a Latin pun , the word malum means both “evil” and “apple.”
2. How many of each animal did Moses bring onto the Ark?
This is my favorite trap question of all time. Read it again slowly.
3. What is the first book of the Bible?
A breather. Everyone needs one after that Moses trick.
4. How many days and nights did it rain during the Great Flood?
People remember the number forty from somewhere in the Bible. The question is whether they attach it to the right event.
5. Who was swallowed by a great fish in the Old Testament?
Notice I said “great fish” and not “whale.” The Hebrew text says dag gadol, which means great fish. The whale association comes from the King James translation of Matthew 12:40, where Jesus references the story. Two different words in two different languages, and people have been arguing about it for centuries.
6. What are the names of the first two people God created, according to Genesis?
7. Who killed Goliath with a stone and a sling?
Everyone gets this. But ask them how tall Goliath was and you’ll get numbers ranging from seven feet to thirty feet. The text says “six cubits and a span” , roughly nine feet nine inches. Some older manuscripts say “four cubits and a span,” which would put him closer to six foot nine. Tall, but not mythically so. That manuscript debate alone can fuel an hour of conversation.
8. In what town was Jesus born?
9. How many apostles did Jesus choose?
Twelve is the quick answer, and it’s correct. But I’ve had people say thirteen, counting Matthias, who replaced Judas. And then someone always brings up Paul. The number twelve is symbolic , it mirrors the twelve tribes of Israel. That’s not an accident.
10. What sea did Moses part to lead the Israelites out of Egypt?
The Hebrew says Yam Suph, which more accurately translates to “Sea of Reeds.” Whether that’s the body of water we now call the Red Sea is a whole scholarly debate. But for trivia purposes, Red Sea is what people expect and what most translations say.
11. What was the name of the garden where God placed Adam and Eve?
12. Who was Adam and Eve’s firstborn son?
13. What did God create on the first day, according to Genesis 1?
People want to say “the heavens and the earth,” but that’s the setup line. The creation act of Day One is light.
14. What is the last book of the Old Testament in the Protestant Bible?
I specify Protestant because Catholic Bibles arrange things differently. This trips up more people than you’d expect.
15. What was the sign of God’s covenant with Noah after the Flood?
16. Who was Abraham’s wife?
His first wife. He had more than one, which always surprises people who stopped reading after the Isaac story.
17. How many books are in the Protestant Bible?
18. What did Esau sell to Jacob for a bowl of stew?
The casualness of this transaction never stops being funny to me. A man traded his entire inheritance for lentil soup. I’ve watched people in trivia rounds physically recoil when they remember the details.
19. On what mountain did Moses receive the Ten Commandments?
20. Which disciple betrayed Jesus for thirty pieces of silver?
21. What is the shortest verse in the Bible (in most English translations)?
This is one of those questions where confident people answer instantly and they’re almost always right. It’s become trivia canon. But it’s worth noting that in the original Greek, the shortest verse is actually 1 Thessalonians 5:16 (“Rejoice always”). “Jesus wept” is shortest in English translation.
22. Who was thrown into a den of lions by King Darius?
23. What were the names of the two cities destroyed by God with fire and brimstone in Genesis?
24. Who wrote most of the Psalms?
25. What was the profession of the apostles Peter, Andrew, James, and John before they followed Jesus?
26. Name the four Gospels.
Most people get three instantly and then pause on the fourth. It’s almost always John they forget to say aloud, even though they know it.
27. Who was the oldest person in the Bible, and how old did they live to be?
28. What was the name of Moses’ brother, who served as his spokesman?
29. In the parable of the Good Samaritan, what two people passed by the injured man before the Samaritan stopped?
This is where Sunday school memory gets tested. People remember the Samaritan. They rarely remember who walked past first.
30. What was the name of the angel who appeared to Mary to announce she would bear Jesus?
31. How many plagues did God send upon Egypt?
32. Can you name the tenth and final plague?
People remember the first few and the last one. It’s the middle plagues that vanish from memory.
33. What was the name of the tower that people built to try to reach heaven?
34. Who was the first king of Israel?
David is the most common wrong answer. Understandably , he’s the most famous king. But he wasn’t first.
35. What New Testament book comes right after the four Gospels?
36. What did God use to make Eve, according to Genesis?
37. Who interpreted Pharaoh’s dreams about seven fat cows and seven thin cows?
38. What was unique about Samson’s source of strength?
39. Who cut Samson’s hair?
Almost everyone says Delilah. Almost everyone is wrong. Read Judges 16:19 carefully.
40. What did Jesus turn water into at the wedding in Cana?
41. How many wise men visited the baby Jesus, according to the Gospel of Matthew?
I love this question because the room splits instantly. The answer is not what the Christmas pageant taught you.
42. What is the longest book of the Bible by number of chapters?
43. Who asked Pontius Pilate for Jesus’ body after the crucifixion?
44. What is the name of the place where Jesus was crucified?
45. What language was most of the Old Testament originally written in?
46. Who denied Jesus three times before the rooster crowed?
47. What was the apostle Paul’s name before his conversion?
48. What are the first four words of the Bible (in most English translations)?
49. Who was the mother of John the Baptist?
50. In the Book of Exodus, what object did the Israelites make and worship while Moses was on Mount Sinai?
51. What book of the Bible tells the story of the walls of Jericho falling?
52. What was placed on Jesus’ head before the crucifixion?
53. Who was Jacob’s favorite wife?
The fact that he had more than one wife always catches someone off guard in a trivia round.
54. What river was Jesus baptized in?
55. What was the occupation of Luke, the author of the third Gospel?
56. In what book of the Bible would you find the story of Ruth?
Yes, this is a trick question of sorts.
57. What was the name of Abraham’s nephew who traveled with him to Canaan?
58. What did Lot’s wife turn into when she looked back at the destruction of Sodom?
59. How many sons did Jacob have?
This is trickier than it sounds because you have to remember the connection between Jacob’s sons and the tribes of Israel.
60. What judge of Israel was left-handed, which he used as a tactical advantage to assassinate King Eglon?
One of the most cinematic scenes in the Bible, and almost nobody remembers it.
61. What Old Testament prophet was taken up to heaven in a chariot of fire?
62. Who was King Solomon’s father?
63. What did Solomon famously ask God for, instead of wealth or long life?
64. In the Book of Judges, what did Gideon use to test God’s will?
65. What prophet was told by God to marry a prostitute as a living metaphor for Israel’s unfaithfulness?
66. What Old Testament figure wrestled with God (or an angel) all night and had his hip dislocated?
67. Who was thrown into a fiery furnace by King Nebuchadnezzar , and how many were thrown in?
68. What queen visited Solomon to test his wisdom with hard questions?
69. In what body of water were the pursuing Egyptian soldiers drowned?
70. What Old Testament book is a collection of love poetry, traditionally attributed to Solomon?
This one makes people blush when they remember what’s actually in it.
71. What is the last book of the Bible?
72. Who wrote the Book of Revelation?
73. What was the name of the tax collector who climbed a sycamore tree to see Jesus?
If you went to Sunday school, you’re probably already humming the song.
74. On the road to Damascus, Saul (later Paul) was struck blind. How many days was he blind?
75. What did Jesus say was the greatest commandment?
76. Who was the Roman governor who sentenced Jesus to death?
77. In the parable of the talents, how many talents did the master give to the first servant?
78. What was the name of the beggar, covered in sores, who sat at the rich man’s gate in one of Jesus’ parables?
This is the only parable where Jesus names a character. That detail alone makes it unusual.
79. How many loaves of bread did Jesus use to feed the 5,000?
80. After the feeding of the 5,000, how many baskets of leftovers were collected?
People remember the miracle. They rarely remember this detail, which is honestly the part that makes the story hit hardest.
81. What did Jesus say to do when someone strikes you on the right cheek?
82. Which apostle is called “doubting” because he wouldn’t believe in the Resurrection until he saw Jesus’ wounds?
83. What woman found Jesus’ tomb empty on Easter morning, according to the Gospel of John?
84. What is the “Sermon on the Mount” and in which Gospel is it found in its longest form?
85. What happened in Jerusalem on the day of Pentecost, as described in Acts 2?
86. In the Book of Numbers, what animal spoke to its rider?
This story is so strange that people who’ve read the Bible cover to cover sometimes forget it’s in there.
87. What prophet was so upset that God spared the city of Nineveh that he asked God to let him die?
88. According to Genesis, who was the first person to build a city?
89. What king of Babylon went insane and lived like an animal, eating grass, for seven years?
90. In the Book of Judges, what did Jael use to kill the Canaanite general Sisera?
One of the most visceral scenes in the entire Bible.
91. What unusual food did John the Baptist eat in the wilderness?
92. Which Old Testament patriarch lived to be 175 years old?
93. What did the Israelites eat in the wilderness for forty years?
94. In 2 Kings, a group of youths mocked which prophet for being bald , and what happened to them?
This story comes up in every “weirdest Bible stories” conversation, and for good reason.
95. Who is the only female judge mentioned in the Book of Judges?
96. How many brothers did Joseph (of the coat of many colors) have?
97. What was the name of the garden where Jesus prayed the night before his crucifixion?
98. What does the name “Emmanuel” (or “Immanuel”) mean?
99. In what city was the apostle Paul when he was shipwrecked and bitten by a viper, but survived?
100. What is the second book of the Bible?
After ninety-nine questions, a softball feels like a trap. It isn’t. Sometimes you just need to breathe.
101. Who replaced Judas Iscariot as the twelfth apostle?
102. The Book of Proverbs is traditionally attributed to which king?
103. What two Old Testament figures appeared with Jesus during the Transfiguration?
104. What was the name of the pool in Jerusalem where Jesus healed a man who had been unable to walk for 38 years?
105. How many days was Lazarus dead before Jesus raised him?
106. What book of the Bible never mentions God by name?
There are actually two. I’ll take either.
107. What was the trade or profession of Jesus’ earthly father, Joseph?
108. What is the longest chapter in the Bible?
109. What is the shortest chapter in the Bible?
110. In Revelation, what number is called “the number of the beast”?
111. What two trees were specifically named in the Garden of Eden?
Everyone remembers one. The second one is the whole point of the story’s ending, and almost nobody names it.
112. What material was Noah’s Ark made from?
113. Who was the first person to be murdered in the Bible?
114. What did Cain do for a living, and what did Abel do?
115. In the story of David and Bathsheba, what was Bathsheba’s husband’s name, and what did David do to him?
116. What prophet confronted David about this sin?
117. What was the name of Abraham and Hagar’s son?
118. What was God about to have Abraham do to Isaac before stopping him?
119. What New Testament letter is the shortest by word count?
120. In what language was most of the New Testament originally written?
121. What was the first of the Ten Commandments?
122. How long did Jesus fast in the wilderness before being tempted by the devil?
123. What was the name of the high priest who presided over Jesus’ trial?
124. Which Gospel is considered the earliest written?
This one depends on who you ask, but there’s a strong scholarly consensus.
125. What does “Gospel” literally mean?
126. What was the name of the island where Paul was shipwrecked?
127. How did Judas identify Jesus to the soldiers who came to arrest him?
128. What woman hid Israelite spies in Jericho and was spared when the city fell?
129. According to tradition, who wrote the first five books of the Bible?
130. What was the name of the man who carried Jesus’ cross part of the way to Golgotha?
131. In the story of the Prodigal Son, what job did the younger son take after he’d spent all his money?
132. What was the first miracle Jesus performed, according to the Gospel of John?
133. Who dreamed of a ladder reaching to heaven with angels ascending and descending on it?
134. What color was the coat (or robe) that Joseph’s father gave him?
“Many colors” is the traditional answer, but it’s worth noting the uncertainty.
135. How many days was Jesus in the tomb before the Resurrection?
136. What Old Testament book reads like a philosophical dialogue about suffering and never resolves the question of why good people suffer?
137. In the Book of Revelation, how many churches does Jesus address in his letters?
138. What Old Testament figure had a wife named Zipporah?
139. Which apostle was a tax collector before following Jesus?
140. What did the inscription on the cross above Jesus say?
141. In the Old Testament, who said “Am I my brother’s keeper?”
142. What bird did Noah first send out from the Ark to check for dry land?
Most people say dove. That’s the second bird.
143. What is the Beatitude that begins “Blessed are the meek”?
144. Paul’s letter to the Romans is addressed to Christians in what city?
It’s in the name, and yet I’ve seen people overthink this into oblivion.
145. What woman became queen of Persia and saved the Jewish people from genocide?
146. What apostle was called “the Rock” by Jesus?
147. What are the Synoptic Gospels?
148. In Genesis 1, on which day did God create humans?
149. What seven words did Jesus speak from the cross? Name any one of them.
This is a team question at my events. I give a point for each one they can name, up to seven. Tables go silent trying to remember.
150. What is the very last word of the Bible?
I always end with this one. The room goes quiet because nobody has ever thought to check. People start guessing “God” or “heaven” or “forever.” And then you tell them, and it lands differently than any answer all night. Because after 150 questions about a book full of floods and plagues and wars and miracles, the whole thing ends on this single, quiet word. It feels right.
The best funny trivia questions aren't the ones with silly answers. They're the ones where someone says their answer with total confidence, then watches their whole table turn on them.
Forty questions pulled from years of running general trivia quizzes in rooms full of people who thought they were ready. Some of these will confirm what you know. Others will rearrange it.
These aren't trivia questions that sit politely on the page. They're the ones that make someone slam a table and say 'No way that's right' before anyone's even revealed the answer.
I've watched grown adults nearly flip a table over whether Rudolph is technically one of Santa's reindeer. These 50 christmas trivia questions are built to do exactly that kind of damage.
