The 10 quiz questions
Question 1 : How many books make up the Catholic canon of the Old Testament?
Possible answers:
- 27
- 39
- 46
- 73
Explanation: The Catholic canon includes 46 books, with the deuterocanonical ones (Tobit, Judith, Maccabees, Wisdom, Sirach, Baruch). The Hebrew and Protestant canon has 39, and the Eastern Orthodox canon has even more depending on tradition.
Question 2 : Who received the Ten Commandments on Mount Sinai?
Possible answers:
- Moses
- Abraham
- Noah
- Elijah
Explanation: Moses received the Ten Commandments after the Exodus from Egypt. Tradition dates the event to around 1300 BCE, but no historical source outside the Bible has been able to confirm it.
Question 3 : Which patriarch is considered the father of Isaac and grandfather of Jacob?
Possible answers:
- Noah
- David
- Joseph
- Abraham
Explanation: Abraham is the common ancestor claimed by Judaism, Christianity and Islam. His wife Sarah gives birth to Isaac at 90 according to the biblical narrative, one of the central narrative miracles of Genesis.
Question 4 : How many days does the rain of the Flood last according to Genesis?
Possible answers:
- 7 days
- 40 days
- 70 days
- 100 days
Explanation: The rain falls for 40 days and 40 nights according to Genesis 7:12. The number 40 recurs as a motif throughout the Bible: 40 years in the desert for the Hebrews, 40 days for Moses on Sinai, 40 days of fasting for Jesus. A symbol of transition more than a real measurement.
Question 5 : Which king kills Goliath with a sling in the first book of Samuel?
Possible answers:
- David
- Solomon
- Saul
- Hezekiah
Explanation: David kills Goliath, the Philistine champion, with a sling and a stone. The story is largely legendary, but King David himself seems to have existed: a stele discovered in 1993 at Tel Dan explicitly mentions the "house of David".
Question 6 : Which book tells the story of a man swallowed by a great fish?
Possible answers:
- Daniel
- Jonah
- Job
- Tobit
Explanation: Jonah is swallowed by a great fish after trying to flee the divine command to go preach in Nineveh. He stays there for three days and three nights. Christianity later reuses this motif as a foreshadowing of the resurrection of Jesus.
Question 7 : How many psalms does the Book of Psalms contain?
Possible answers:
- 100
- 150
- 200
- 250
Explanation: The Book of Psalms contains 150. Nearly half are attributed to David, but many are actually anonymous liturgical songs. Some date from several centuries after King David, and the final collection was probably compiled in the Second Temple era.
Question 8 : Which prophet contains the messianic passages most reused by the Gospels?
Possible answers:
- Isaiah
- Ezekiel
- Daniel
- Amos
Explanation: The book of Isaiah is massively quoted by the New Testament to announce the coming of Jesus. Small twist: scholars now think this book actually has three distinct authors, written over more than 200 years (Proto-, Deutero- and Trito-Isaiah).
Question 9 : What is the name of the first man according to Genesis?
Possible answers:
- Cain
- Abel
- Adam
- Seth
Explanation: Adam (אָדָם) means "human" or "red earth" in Hebrew. The Genesis text actually offers two different versions: the first creates man and woman simultaneously, the second draws Eve from one of Adam's ribs. Scholars see two juxtaposed traditions.
Question 10 : Which wisdom book is traditionally attributed to King Solomon?
Possible answers:
- Lamentations
- Esther
- Ruth
- Ecclesiastes
Explanation: Ecclesiastes (Qoheleth in Hebrew) is attributed to Solomon by Jewish and Christian tradition. Linguists actually date the text to several centuries after his reign. The disillusioned tone that opens the book, "vanity of vanities, all is vanity", stands out completely in the biblical canon.
