Bible Trivia

Below are 12 questions, the first six are from the Hebrew Scriptures and the next six are from the New Testament. Pronunciations are shown in brackets. The answers will appear at the bottom of this page. God bless you. Dr. Dan.

1. The word “psalm” is derived from the Greek word “psalmos,” meaning a “song sung to” WHAT instrument?
2. Seven psalms (25, 34, 37, 111, 112, 119 & 145) are examples of “acrostic” psalms. WHAT is an acrostic psalm?
3. Of the 150 psalms, at least 73 were written by David, but the oldest psalm (1450-BC) dates at least four centuries before David. WHO is the author of the oldest biblical psalm?
4. The word “selah” [SAY-LUH] appears 71 times throughout the Book of Psalms, WHAT does it mean?
5. WHAT Psalm did Jesus quote during the Last Supper?
6. WHAT Psalm mentions the sea monster, Leviathan?
7. The feeding of the multitudes with five loaves and two fish is present in all four gospels. WHAT prophet in the Hebrew Scriptures (Old Testament) fed 100 men with 20 loaves of barley bread?
8. She is found in Luke 2, she is a prophetess and widow who worshiped God through prayer and fasting in the Temple, who saw the baby Jesus when He was presented at the temple. WHO is she?
9. She first appears in Mathew 14, WHO is the granddaughter of King Herod the Great, mother of Salome, who married her uncle Philip (AKA: Herod I), then divorced him to marry his half-brother Herod Antipas?
10.  She is a disciple living in Joppa who died, but was raised from the dead by Peter. WHO is she?
11.  She is the first converted believer after the resurrection, and the first to introduce the Gospel to her household. She was a successful business woman, who meets Paul in Philippi during his second missionary journey. WHO is she?
12.  This woman meets Paul at Lystra during his second missionary journey, she is Jewish, but is married to a Greek man; her son is Timothy and her mother is Lois. WHO is she?

Answers:

1. Harp, “psalmos” means a “song sung to harp”
2. Acrostic is an alphabet poem (or psalm) that is structured so that the first letter of each verse or stanza follows the sequence of the Hebrew alphabet, from the first letter (aleph) to the last (tav); it symbolized completeness from beginning to end; it was memory device to aid in memorization of the psalms
3. Moses; Psalm 90 is attributed to Moses
4. Pause, while there is some debate about its meaning, many scholars believe that it implies a music interlude, in which the choir or congregation pauses between stanzas
5. Psalm 41:9, “He who shares my bread has lifted up his heel against me,” to predict his betrayal by Judas Iscariot
6. Two psalms: Psalm 74:14 and Psalm 104:25-26; Leviathan also appears in the Book of Job and in Isaiah
7. Elisha, in 2 Kings 4:42-44; Elisha told his servant to feed the men, but the servant didn’t believe that there would be enough and was surprised when there was bread left over
8. Anna; she is often listed as being 84-years-old, but verse-36 says that she was a widow for 84-years and that her marriage had lasted seven-years; so, if marriageable age for Judean girls is 14-years-old, she may have been 105
9.  Herodias; John the Baptist declared their marriage illegal under Jewish law, according to the Mosaic code found in Leviticus 18:16 and 20:21 that bans a man from marrying his brother’s wife (exception is the Levirate rule, Deuteronomy 25:5-10)
10.  Tabitha, also known as Dorcas (Acts 9:36-42); not to be confused with Talitha, an unnamed 12-year-old girl who Jesus raised from the dead in Mark 5:21-46; Jesus referred to her as “Talitha,” which is Aramaic for “little girl”
11.  Lydia of Thyatira, introduced in Acts 16:11-40; Lydia may not have been her birth name; the name Lydia means female from the ancient district of Lydia in Asia Minor
12.  Eunice; both she and her mother Lois were believers who instructed Timothy, in his youth in the teachings of the Way