“ _____, _____, you who kill the prophets and stone those sent to you, how often I have longed to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, and you were not willing.

• Matthew 23:37

“How familiar are you with places in the Bible?  All the answers to the questions below begin with the letter “J”.

• J. Stephen Lang, The Whimsical Quizzical Bible Trivia Book

Note:  There were 22 questions in the original quiz, but only 10 answers, so many questions are multiple questions with the same answer.

Disclaimer:  Whenever I quote something from this book, I will include this disclaimer.  The Apostle Paul told Timothy in 2 Timothy 3:16 that all Scripture is useful for instruction.  Thus, none of Scripture could be considered “Trivia.”  And if this quiz causes people to look up the answers, that is not trivial at all.

The Questions:

1. What is the most-mentioned city in the Bible? Or David moved his capital from Hebron to what city? Or What city was besieged by Assyrian armies during Isaiah’s time?
2. What was the largest of the twelve tribes of Israel? Or What area of Israel was Jesus born in?
3. What is the most mentioned river in the Bible?  Or In what river was Jesus baptized by John?  Or What river’s waters healed Naaman of his leprosy?
4. What very ancient city (mentioned often in the Bible) is also called the ‘city of palms’?  Or In Jesus’ parable of the Good Samaritan, where was the traveler headed when he was attacked by robbers?  Or What city’s walls fell down while the Israelites marched around it?  Or In the time of Elijah and Elisha, what town had a fraternity of prophets?  Or What city of Israel is probably the oldest city in the world?  (So the archaeologists say.)
5. In what seaside city did Peter receive his vision of a sheet holding a variety of unclean animals?  Or From what port did Jonah depart when he was fleeing from the Lord?  Or In what city did Peter restore life to a woman named Tabitha?
6. Where was wicked Queen Jezebel devoured by wild dogs?  Or Where was Naboth murdered because wicked King Ahab wanted to possess his vineyard?
7. What was the older name of the city of Jerusalem?
8. Jacob wrestled with an angel by the side of what river?
9. What name is used in the Old Testament for the area we now call Greece?
10. What Roman province included Jerusalem and the surrounding area?

The Bible References:

I will now give the Bible references for each of these questions, at least one for each question, if you needed to look them up, but also to provide a break between the questions and the answers.

1. 2 Samuel 5:5 and Isaiah 36.  It is also the fill in the blank of the Scripture above.
2. Numbers 1, slightly more than Joseph (the tribes of Ephraim and Manasseh combined).  Matthew 2:1, using the name associated with question 10.
3. Matthew 3.  2 Kings 5 (and he did not like Elisha’s suggestion, because the Abana and Pharpar rivers in Damascus were better.
4. Deuteronomy 34:3.  Luke 10:30.  Joshua 6.  2 Kings 2.
5. Acts 10.  Jonah 1:3.  Acts 9:36-43
6. 2 Kings 9.  1 Kings 21.
7. Judges 19:10.
8. Genesis 32
9. Isaiah 66:19 (NKJV), Ezekiel 27:13 (NKJV, NASB, RSV).  The translations are noted, because the NIV translates the word to Greece, while most other translations use the “J” word.
10. Matthew 2:1-5

I take exception to question #8.  In Genesis 32:22-32, Jacob, who becomes Israel due to this wrestling match, meets a “man.”  Yet, in being named Israel, he is so named for having struggled with God and man.  This was no angel.  It is most likely a Christophany, where Jesus came to earth to meet Jacob.

The Answers:

1. Jerusalem
2. Judah
3. The Jordan
4. Jericho
5. Joppa
6. Jezreel
7. Jebus
8. Jabbock
9. Javan
10. Judea

Treat yourself to a bit of music from the Hoppers, about the New Jerusalem.

And let’s take a two-and-a-half-minute tour of Jericho and the “Mount of Temptation.”

I have become aware of people who may not know all of the answers in these quizzes. I did not expect that – okay, a few questions are obscure, but… I never expected … (wait for it) … the Spanish Inquisition.

Nobody expects the Spanish Inquisition!

Then again, there is nothing wrong with not knowing all the quiz answers. And the Bible references allow these simple quizzes to become a means of searching the Bible for answers. The Bible has answers to more than just these quiz questions. The Bible points to Jesus, who is the answer to Life’s greatest question.

Soli Deo Gloria.  Only to God be the Glory.