Bible Trivia
Hard Bible Trivia: 50 Difficult Questions and Answers
This hard Bible trivia list has 50 difficult questions on names, numbers, places, and lesser-known events from both Testaments. Every answer includes a book, chapter, and verse so you can confirm it in the text. Expect to miss some: many of these details appear only once in Scripture.
Click "Show answer" to reveal each answer. All answers follow the NIV (2011), and a few note where the NIV wording differs from older translations.
What Makes These Questions Hard
These questions focus on details that are easy to read past: minor kings, obscure place names, exact numbers, and people who appear in a single verse. They also include a few questions where the biblical text differs from how the story is usually retold.
If you want to warm up first, try our general Bible trivia questions or the Bible quiz questions and answers for adults.
How to Play This List as a Game
For a group, read each question aloud and give teams one minute to write an answer. Award two points for a fully correct answer and one point for a partial answer, such as naming two of the four rivers of Eden. Questions with multiple parts, like the names of Hosea's children, work well for partial credit.
You can also play with open Bibles and a timer. Give teams the book but not the chapter, and see who finds the verse first. The references in each answer make it easy to settle disputes.
Hard Bible Trivia: Genesis to Deuteronomy
What are the names of the four rivers that flowed out of Eden?
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The Pishon, the Gihon, the Tigris, and the Euphrates. (Genesis 2:10-14)
Who is described as a mighty hunter before the Lord?
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Nimrod, a descendant of Ham through Cush. (Genesis 10:8-9)
What was the name of Abraham's servant sent to find a wife for Isaac?
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This is a trick question. Genesis 24 calls him only "the senior servant" and never names him. Abraham names Eliezer of Damascus as his heir in Genesis 15, but the text does not say he is the servant of Genesis 24. (Genesis 15:2; 24:2)
What name did Jacob give the place where he wrestled with God?
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Peniel, because he said he saw God face to face and his life was spared. (Genesis 32:30)
What Egyptian name did Pharaoh give Joseph?
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Zaphenath-Paneah. Pharaoh also gave him Asenath, daughter of Potiphera, priest of On, as his wife. (Genesis 41:45)
What were the names of the two Hebrew midwives who refused Pharaoh's order to kill the baby boys?
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Shiphrah and Puah. (Exodus 1:15-17)
Who was Moses's father-in-law, the priest of Midian?
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Jethro, who is also called Reuel. (Exodus 2:18; 3:1)
Which two craftsmen did God fill with skill to build the tabernacle?
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Bezalel son of Uri, of the tribe of Judah, and Oholiab son of Ahisamak, of the tribe of Dan. (Exodus 31:1-6)
Who held up Moses's hands during the battle against the Amalekites?
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Aaron and Hur, one on each side. (Exodus 17:10-12)
How many cubits long was the iron-decorated bed of Og king of Bashan?
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More than nine cubits long and four cubits wide. (Deuteronomy 3:11)
From which mountain did Moses view the Promised Land before he died?
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Mount Nebo, from the top of Pisgah, across from Jericho. (Deuteronomy 34:1)
Who buried Moses?
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The Lord. He buried Moses in Moab, and no one knows where his grave is. (Deuteronomy 34:5-6)
Joshua Through Esther
During which battle did the sun stand still?
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Joshua's battle against the five Amorite kings at Gibeon. The sun stood still over Gibeon and the moon over the Valley of Aijalon. (Joshua 10:5, 12-13)
Which judge struck down 600 Philistines with an oxgoad?
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Shamgar son of Anath. (Judges 3:31)
Who killed Sisera with a tent peg?
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Jael, the wife of Heber the Kenite. (Judges 4:17, 21)
What word did the Gileadites use to identify Ephraimites at the Jordan?
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"Shibboleth." Ephraimites said "Sibboleth" because they could not pronounce it correctly. (Judges 12:5-6)
How many foxes did Samson catch to burn the Philistines' grain?
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Three hundred. He tied them tail to tail in pairs with a torch between each pair. (Judges 15:4-5)
What name did Naomi ask to be called after returning to Bethlehem?
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Mara, because the Almighty had made her life very bitter. (Ruth 1:20)
What name did Phinehas's wife give her son as she was dying, and why?
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Ichabod, saying the Glory had departed from Israel, because the ark of God had been captured. (1 Samuel 4:19-22)
How tall was Goliath?
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Six cubits and a span, which the NIV footnote gives as about 9 feet 9 inches. (1 Samuel 17:4)
Which son of Jonathan was crippled in both feet?
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Mephibosheth. His nurse dropped him when news came of Saul and Jonathan's deaths, and David later gave him a place at his table. (2 Samuel 4:4; 9:6-7)
Who died after reaching out to steady the ark of God?
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Uzzah. The oxen stumbled, he took hold of the ark, and God struck him down. (2 Samuel 6:6-7)
Which king of Israel reigned for only seven days?
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Zimri, who reigned in Tirzah. (1 Kings 16:15)
For which god of Moab did Solomon build a high place on a hill east of Jerusalem?
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Chemosh. He also built one for Molek, the god of the Ammonites. (1 Kings 11:7)
Whose vineyard did Jezebel arrange to seize for King Ahab?
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Naboth the Jezreelite's. She had false witnesses accuse him, and he was stoned. See Jezebel in the Bible. (1 Kings 21:1-14)
How many boys were mauled by bears after jeering at Elisha?
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Forty-two. The boys came out of the town and said, "Get out of here, baldy!" and two bears came out of the woods. (2 Kings 2:23-24)
How old was Joash when he became king of Judah?
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Seven. His aunt Jehosheba had hidden him, and he stayed hidden at the temple for six years until the priest Jehoiada brought him out. (2 Kings 11:2-4, 21)
What did Haman have set up for Mordecai, and how high was it?
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A pole fifty cubits high, on which he planned to have Mordecai impaled. Older translations say "gallows." Haman was impaled on it instead. (Esther 5:14; 7:9-10)
Wisdom Books and Prophets
Name Job's three daughters born after his restoration.
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Jemimah, Keziah, and Keren-Happuch. No women in all the land were as beautiful. (Job 42:13-15)
What are the names of the two creatures God describes to Job in chapters 40 and 41?
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Behemoth and Leviathan. (Job 40:15; 41:1)
Which psalm is also recorded, almost word for word, in 2 Samuel 22?
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Psalm 18, David's song after the Lord delivered him from his enemies and from Saul. (2 Samuel 22:1; Psalm 18, title)
What was Daniel's Babylonian name?
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Belteshazzar. Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah were renamed Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. (Daniel 1:6-7)
Under which plant did Jonah sit outside Nineveh, and what destroyed it?
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A leafy plant that God provided for shade. The next day God provided a worm that chewed it so it withered. (Jonah 4:6-7)
What were the names of Hosea's three children?
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Jezreel, Lo-Ruhamah, and Lo-Ammi. (Hosea 1:4-9)
Which prophet saw a man with a measuring line going to measure Jerusalem?
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Zechariah. (Zechariah 2:1-2)
The Gospels and Acts
What was the name of the elderly prophet from the tribe of Asher who spoke about the infant Jesus in the temple?
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Anna, the daughter of Penuel. She was a widow until she was eighty-four. (Luke 2:36-38)
How many times did Jesus tell Peter to forgive, according to the NIV?
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Seventy-seven times. The NIV footnote gives "seventy times seven" as an alternative. (Matthew 18:21-22)
What was the name of the blind beggar Jesus healed near Jericho, according to Mark?
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Bartimaeus, son of Timaeus. (Mark 10:46-52)
In the parable of the rich man and the poor beggar, what was the beggar's name?
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Lazarus. He lay at the rich man's gate, covered with sores. (Luke 16:20)
How many fish did the disciples catch when Jesus told them to cast the net on the right side of the boat after His resurrection?
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153 large fish, and the net did not tear. (John 21:6, 11)
What is the Aramaic name of the place where Jesus was crucified, and what does it mean?
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Golgotha, which John explains means the place of the Skull. (John 19:17)
Which disciple of Joppa, also called Dorcas, did Peter raise from the dead?
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Tabitha. (Acts 9:36-41)
Which sorcerer on Cyprus was struck blind after opposing Paul?
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Elymas, also called Bar-Jesus. (Acts 13:6-11)
What was the inscription on the altar Paul saw in Athens?
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"to an unknown god." Paul used it to introduce the God the Athenians did not know. (Acts 17:23)
On which island was Paul shipwrecked on the way to Rome?
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Malta. A viper fastened on his hand there, and he suffered no ill effects. (Acts 28:1-5)
Letters and Revelation
Which co-worker does Paul say deserted him because he loved this world?
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Demas, who went to Thessalonica. (2 Timothy 4:10)
Which believer does Paul say was a physician?
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Luke. Paul sends greetings from him and identifies him as a doctor. See who was Luke in the Bible. (Colossians 4:14)
What were the names of Timothy's grandmother and mother?
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Lois and Eunice. (2 Timothy 1:5)
Which church in Revelation was told it was lukewarm?
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Laodicea. (Revelation 3:14-16)
What number is given as the number of the beast?
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666. (Revelation 13:18)
Where the Text Differs From the Retelling
A few questions above turn on the exact wording of Scripture. These are worth checking before you mark an answer wrong.
- Abraham's servant. The servant who found Rebekah is not named in Genesis 24. Identifying him as Eliezer comes from linking him to Genesis 15:2, which the text itself does not do.
- Haman's gallows. The NIV translates the structure as a pole for impaling (Esther 5:14; 7:10). Older translations use "gallows."
- Forgiveness. The NIV reads seventy-seven times in Matthew 18:22, with seventy times seven given as an alternative in the footnote.
- Jonah's plant. The NIV calls it a leafy plant (Jonah 4:6). Older translations such as the King James Version call it a gourd.
How Did You Do?
Scoring above 30 on this list means you know the text in detail. If you scored below 20, the references make it simple to go back and read the passages.
If you missed several questions from one section, read that section of the Bible straight through. Many of these details sit in chapters that are often skimmed, such as genealogies and lists of kings.
Play Who Am I? Bible Edition on Hard and see if you can name the character before the last clue.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is a hard Bible trivia question?
A hard Bible trivia question asks about a detail that appears only briefly in Scripture, such as a minor king, an exact number, or a person named in a single verse. For example, Zimri reigned over Israel for only seven days (1 Kings 16:15).
Was Haman's gallows really a gallows?
The NIV (2011) translates the word as a pole fifty cubits high on which Mordecai would be impaled (Esther 5:14). Older translations such as the King James Version use "gallows."
How many fish did the disciples catch in John 21?
They caught 153 large fish, and the net did not tear (John 21:11).
Who buried Moses?
The Bible says the Lord buried Moses in Moab and that no one knows where his grave is (Deuteronomy 34:5-6).