1997 Bible Content Exam

All biblical quotations have been taken from the NRSV.

The questions here are the property of the Presbyterian Church (USA).  Internet version software and formatting are copyright ©2000-2023 by Stephen A. Whitney. All rights reserved.


1. For what use did Abraham purchase a field in Machpelah?

a. a burial place for Sarah
b. a place to build an altar to God
c. an inheritance gift for Isaac
d. barter when trading for livestock

Bible reference for question 1 or the reference with options

2. Whom did the Lord name when Moses, nearing death, asked for a successor?

a. Aaron the brother of Moses
b. Caleb the son of Jephunneh
c. Eleazar the priest
d. Joshua son of Nun

Bible reference for question 2 or the reference with options

3. What do the food laws in Leviticus forbid the people to eat?

a. animal fat
b. flesh that touches anything unclean
c. the blood of fowl and animals
d. all of the above

Bible reference for question 3 or the reference with options

4. Who was Rebekah's husband?

a. Abraham
b. Isaac
c. Jacob
d. Joseph

Bible reference for question 4 or the reference with options

5. In which of the following books does Moses view the promised land from Mt. Nebo?

a. Exodus
b. Leviticus
c. Numbers
d. Deuteronomy

Bible reference for question 5 or the reference with options

6. Who directed the making of the golden calf?

a. Aaron
b. Deborah
c. Joshua
d. Moses

Bible reference for question 6 or the reference with options

7. What is the focus of the conversation between Eve and the serpent?

a. apples
b. covenant
c. death
d. tilling the soil

Bible reference for question 7 or the reference with options

8. Which person does not appear in the stories about Abraham?

a. Isaac
b. Ishmael
c. Joseph
d. Melchizedek

Bible reference for question 8 or the reference with options

9. Whom was Joseph accused of molesting?

a. Caleb's wife
b. Judah's wife
c. Laban's wife
d. Potiphar's wife

Bible reference for question 9 or the reference with options

10. What did the Passover festival celebrate?

a. the defeat of the Egyptians at the Red Sea
b. the Egyptian agreement to release the Hebrews
c. the Hebrews' being spared from the angel of death
d. the Hebrews' departure from Egypt

Bible reference for question 10 or the reference with options

11. References to Melchizedek, king of Salem, in the Epistle to the Hebrews presuppose an account in which Old Testament book?

a. Genesis
b. Exodus
c. Leviticus
d. Deuteronomy

Bible reference for question 11 or the reference with options

12. Which of the following is a central theme of Leviticus?

a. Israel's subjugation of the peoples east of the Jordan River
b. the dividing of the land among the tribes of Israel
c. the holiness of God and the holiness of the people
d. the men's learning of arts of war in order to enter the promised land

Bible reference for question 12 or the reference with options

13. What were the cities of refuge?

a. cities where homeless people were welcome
b. cities to which those accused of homicide could escape
c. fortresses guarding the borders of Canaan
d. places where Canaanites could be safe

Bible reference for question 13 or the reference with options

14. "Hear, O Israel: the Lord is our God, the Lord alone. You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your might." This appears in which of the following?

a. Exodus
b. Leviticus
c. Deuteronomy
d. Joshua

Bible reference for question 14 or the reference with options

15. When Abram and Sarai went to Egypt, he asked her to say she was his sister. What resulted?

a. Abram repented and tried to change Sarai's course.
b. Pharaoh married Sarai and she bore a son.
c. Pharaoh was glad because Sarai was very beautiful, and he asked Abram to oversee his estates.
d. The Lord afflicted Pharaoh, and Abram departed with great wealth.

Bible reference for question 15 or the reference with options

16. According to Leviticus. what does the Jubilee year require?

a. animal sacrifice
b. return of property
c. ritual purification
d. the celebration of the Exodus

Bible reference for question 16 or the reference with options

17. What was the name of Jacob's youngest son, who was born in the promised land?

a. Benjamin
b. Dan
c. Joseph
d. Naphtali

Bible reference for question 17 or the reference with options

18. In the Book of Esther, who was furious with Mordecai?

a. Ahasuerus
b. Haman
c. Haggai
d. Vashti

Bible reference for question 18 or the reference with options

19. Why was the prostitute Rahab saved from the destruction of Jericho?

a. she fled the city
b. she hid the spies sent by Joshua
c. she promised to change her way of life
d. she provided water for Joshua's spies

Bible reference for question 19 or the reference with options

20. Where does the following quotation appear: "Choose this day whom you will serve... but as for me and my household, we will serve the Lord"?

a. Exodus 15
b. Numbers 6
c. Deuteronomy 6
d. Joshua 24

Bible reference for question 20 or the reference with options

21. Who does not belong on this list?

a. Ehud
b. Elisha
c. Gideon
d. Jephthah

Bible reference for question 21 or the reference with options

22. "With the jawbone of a donkey, heaps upon heaps, with the jawbone of a donkey I have slain a thousand men," was said by whom?

a. Gideon
b. Lamech
c. Samson
d. Saul

Bible reference for question 22 or the reference with options

23.To whom does the following refer: "So she gleaned in the field until evening. Then she beat out what she had gleaned"?

a. Bathsheba
b. Deborah
c. Esther
d. Ruth

Bible reference for question 23 or the reference with options

24. Why did David refuse to take Saul's life when he had the chance?

a. David did not believe in killing.
b. David felt obligated to Saul for his past generosity.
c. David had great respect for Saul's son, Jonathan.
d. Saul was the Lord's anointed.

Bible reference for question 24 or the reference with options

25. Which of the following kings does not belong on this list?

a. Asa
b. Hezekiah
c. Hiram
d. Jehoshaphat

Bible reference for question 25 or the reference with options

26. Nebuchadnezzar was most closely associate with which country?

a. Babylon
b. Israel
c. Judah
d. Syria

Bible reference for question 26 or the reference with options

27. Reading the book of the covenant, purifying the Jerusalem temple, and celebrating the Passover are all associated with whom?

a. David
b. Jeroboam
c. Josiah
d. Manasseh

Bible reference for question 27 or the reference with options

28. Who said, "I have been very zealous for the Lord, the God of hosts; for the Israelites have forsaken your covenant, thrown down your altars, and killed your prophets with the sword. I alone am left, and they are seeking my life, to take it away"?

a. David
b. Elijah
c. Hezekiah
d. Isaiah

Bible reference for question 28 or the reference with options

29. After the temple in Jerusalem had been destroyed by the Babylonians, which king issued the command to rebuild it?

a. Ahasuerus
b. Cyrus
c. David
d. Josiah

Bible reference for question 29 or the reference with options

30. Which queen was deposed for disobeying her husband's command?

a. Bathsheba
b. Deborah
c. Jezebel
d. Vashti

Bible reference for question 30 or the reference with options

31. Which of these was a prophet in Judah in the days of Hezekiah?

a. Daniel
b. Elisha
c. Ezekiel
d. Isaiah

Bible reference for question 31 or the reference with options

32. Which prophet declared: "Forty days more, and Nineveh shall be overthrown"?

a. Ezekiel
b. Hosea
c. Joel
d. Jonah

Bible reference for question 32 or the reference with options

33. "In the wilderness prepare the way of the Lord" occurs in which book?

a. Isaiah
b. Hosea
c. Amos
d. Habakkuk

Bible reference for question 33 or the reference with options

34. What was the point of these symbolic actions of Ezekiel: lying on his left side 390 days, then on his right side 40 days; shaving off his hair and beard; digging through a wall and crawling though it with his baggage?

a. to attract attention to his words; the actions themselves had no meaning
b. to demonstrate the irrationality of Israel's behavior
c. to participate symbolically in the fall of Jerusalem and exile
d. to purify himself from Israel's uncleanness

Bible reference for question 34 or the reference with options

35. Which of the following familiar phrases is not taken from the Bible?

a. "Know yourself."
b. "Peace, peace, when there is no peace.
c. "Send out your bread upon the waters."
d. "They shall beat their swords into plowshares."

Bible reference for question 35 or the reference with options

36. Which prophet is identified as from "among the shepherds"?

a. Amos
b. Habakkuk
c. Obadiah
d. Zephaniah

Bible reference for question 36 or the reference with options

37. In which book does this quotation appear: "I heard the voice of the Lord saying, 'Whom shall I send, and who will go for us?' And I said, 'Here am I; send me"'?

a. Isaiah
b. Jeremiah
c. Lamentations
d. Jonah

Bible reference for question 37 or the reference with options

38. What did the great image represent which Nebuchadnezzar saw in his dream?

a. a series of empires
b. his own life history
c. Israel's history
d. the practice of idolatry

Bible reference for question 38 or the reference with options

39. Which prophet was locked up, thrown into a well, and forced to go to Egypt against his will?

a. Ezekiel
b. Hosea
c. Isaiah
d. Jeremiah

Bible reference for question 39 or the reference with options

40. To which prophet did the word of the Lord come, saying: "Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, and before you were born I consecrated you"?

a. Jeremiah
b. Ezekiel
c. Hosea
d. Amos

Bible reference for question 40 or the reference with options

41. "A new heart I will give you, and a new spirit I will put within you; and I will remove from your body the heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh," is found in which book?

a. Ezekiel
b. Daniel
c. Amos
d. Malachi

Bible reference for question 41 or the reference with options

42. "For my thoughts are not your thoughts, nor are your ways my ways, says the Lord," is found in which of the following?

a. Isaiah
b. Ezekiel
c. Daniel
d. Habakkuk

Bible reference for question 42 or the reference with options

43. "Many of those who sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, some to everlasting life, and some to shame and everlasting contempt," is found in which book?

a. Deuteronomy
b. Job
c. Lamentations
d. Daniel

Bible reference for question 43 or the reference with options

44. These quotations, "Name him Lo-ammi, for you are not my people," and "They made kings, but not through me," are from which book?

a. Amos
b. Ezekiel
c. Hosea
d. Jonah

Bible reference for question 44 or the reference with options

45. Which prophet said that the Lord requires Israel "to do justice. and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God"?

a. Ezekiel
b. Hosea
c. Amos
d. Micah

Bible reference for question 45 or the reference with options

46. "Rejoice greatly, O daughter Zion! Shout aloud, O daughter Jerusalem! Lo, your king comes to you; triumphant and victorious is he, humble and riding on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey." This is found in which book?

a. Joel
b. Haggai
c. Zechariah
d. Malachi

Bible reference for question 46 or the reference with options

47. Which prophetic book envisions a future in which "your sons and daughters shall prophesy, your old men shall dream dreams, and your young men shall see visions"?

a. Joel
b. Haggai
c. Zechariah
d. Malachi

Bible reference for question 47 or the reference with options

48. What book concludes with the following verse: "Make haste, my beloved, and be like a gazelle or a young stag upon the mountains of spices"?

a. Job
b. Proverbs
c. Ecclesiastes
d. Song of Solomon

Bible reference for question 48 or the reference with options

49. With what lines does Psalm 51 begin?

a. "Have mercy on me, 0 God, according to your steadfast love"
b. "Make a joyful noise to God, all the earth"
c. "The almighty God, the Lord speaks"
d. "The Lord reigns, he is robed with majesty

Bible reference for question 49 or the reference with options

50. In the final chapter of the book of Job, with whom is God angry?

a. Job
b. Job's children
c. Job's friends
d. Job's wife

Bible reference for question 50 or the reference with options

51. According to Psalm 137, to what place did the Psalmist refer when writing: "On the willows there we hung up our harps"?

a. "In the Negeb"
b. "On Jordan's stormy banks"
c. "When Israel went forth from Egypt"
d. "By the waters of Babylon"

Bible reference for question 51 or the reference with options

52. Who said this: "A mortal, born of woman, few of days and full of trouble, comes up like a flower and withers, flees like a shadow and does not last"?

a. Bildad
b. Elihu
c. God
d. Job

Bible reference for question 52 or the reference with options

53. "For I know that my Redeemer lives, and that at the last he will stand upon the earth" is found in which book?

a. Job
b. Psalms
c. Proverbs
d. Ecclesiastes

Bible reference for question 53 or the reference with options

54. How is God praised in Psalm 150?

a. by calling on his name
b. with lute and harp
c. with my whole heart
d. with new offerings

Bible reference for question 54 or the reference with options

55. How is this affirmation in Psalm 91 completed: "You who live in the shelter of the Most High..."

a. who abide in the shadow of the Almighty
b. who forgive all iniquities
c. who have caused God's wonderful works to be remembered
d. who keep faith forever

Bible reference for question 55 or the reference with options

56. "They are like trees planted by streams of water" (Psalm 1) refers to which of the following?

a. David and his family
b. God and the heavenly hosts
c. righteous kings
d. those who do not follow the advice of the wicked

Bible reference for question 56 or the reference with options

57. God answers out of the whirlwind in response to which of the following persons?

a. David
b. Job
c. Lemuel
d. Solomon

Bible reference for question 57 or the reference with options

58. In the Gospel of Luke, who prayed, "God, I thank you that I am not like other people"?

a. a Pharisee
b. a tax collector
c. a Sadducee
d. a Samaritan

Bible reference for question 58 or the reference with options

59. The parables about the lost sheep, the lost coin, and the two sons are found in which of the following?

a. Matthew
b. Mark
c. Mark and Luke
d. Luke

Bible reference for question 59 or the reference with options

60. In John 1, how does John the Baptist identify Jesus?

a. as the Good Shepherd
b. as the Lamb of God
c. as the Root of David
d. as the Son of God

Bible reference for question 60 or the reference with options

61. Who said, "In the resurrection whose wife will she be"?

a. Mary Magdalene
b. some Sadducees
c. the rich young man
d. the woman at the well

Bible reference for question 61 or the reference with options

62. In Luke, who says, "Master, now you are dismissing your servant in peace, according to your word; for my eyes have seen your salvation, which you have prepared in the presence of all peoples, a light for revelation to the Gentiles and for glory to your people Israel"?

a. Anna
b. Elizabeth
c. Simeon
d. Zechariah

Bible reference for question 62 or the reference with options

63. The words, "You have heard that it was said... but I say to you..." appear in which of the following contexts?

a. as part of the charges made by Caiaphas against Jesus
b. as the response of the Pharisees to Jesus' teaching
c. as words typical of John the Baptist's preaching
d. as words used by Jesus in the Sermon on the Mount

Bible reference for question 63 or the reference with options

64. In John 4 what did Jesus offer the Samaritan woman?

a. forgiveness
b. healing
c. living water
d. the bread of life

Bible reference for question 64 or the reference with options

65. The Parable of the Sower is found in which of the following Gospels?

a. Matthew
b. Mark
c. Luke
d. all of these

Bible reference for question 65 or the reference with options

66. According to Luke, what happened to Jesus after he preached in the synagogue of Nazareth?

a. he was asked to return
b. he was invited to a banquet
c. he was driven out of the town
d. he was taken to his mother's home

Bible reference for question 66 or the reference with options

67. Who responded to Jesus by saying: "What have you to do with us, Jesus of Nazareth? Have you come to destroy us? I know who you are, the Holy One of God"?

a. an unclean spirit in a man
b. Roman soldiers
c. the Pharisees
d. the people in the synagogue of Nazareth

Bible reference for question 67 or the reference with options

68. Which of the following are words of the risen Jesus?

a. "Go therefore and make disciples of all nations."
b. "On their hands they will bear you up."
c. "The stone that the builders rejected has become the cornerstone."
d. "You are the light of the world."

Bible reference for question 68 or the reference with options

69. Which book contains Jesus' appearance after his resurrection to two disciples on the road to Emmaus?

a. Matthew
b. Mark
c. Luke
d. John

Bible reference for question 69 or the reference with options

70. The Gospel of John contains all but which of the following?

a. Jesus' conversation with Nicodemus
b. the feeding of the five thousand
c. the foretelling of the coming of the Paraclete or Holy Spirit
d. the transfiguration

Bible reference for question 70 or the reference with options

71. In which book is the story of the shepherds "keeping watch over their flock by night" found?

a. Matthew
b. Mark
c. Luke
d. John

Bible reference for question 71 or the reference with options

72. What book tells of the wedding at Cana?

a. John
b. Acts
c. Romans
d. 1 Corinthians

Bible reference for question 72 or the reference with options

73. In somewhat different form the Lord's Prayer is found in which of the following Gospels?

a. Matthew and Mark
b. Matthew and Luke
c. Mark and John
d. Luke and John

Bible reference for question 73 or the reference with options

74. According to John, what did Jesus say in connection with the feeding of the five thousand?

a. "I am the bread of life."
b. "I will make you fish for people."
c. "My food is to do the will of him who sent me.
d. "Take, eat; this is my body."

Bible reference for question 74 or the reference with options

75. Who said, "It is better for you to have one man die for the people than to have the whole nation destroyed"?

a. Caiaphas
b. Jesus
c. John the Baptist
d. Philip

Bible reference for question 75 or the reference with options

76. Paul's counsel not to marry if one is not already married is found in which book?

a. Romans
b. 1 Corinthians
c. Galatians
d. Ephesians

Bible reference for question 76 or the reference with options

77. What book or letter contains an account of the day of Pentecost?

a. Acts
b. Romans
c. 1 Corinthians
d. Ephesians

Bible reference for question 77 or the reference with options

78. What should those who speak "in a tongue" pray for?

a. the power to convert
b. the power to exorcize demons
c. the power to heal
d. the power to interpret

Bible reference for question 78 or the reference with options

79. Who does not appear in the Acts account of Paul's ministry?

a. Agrippa and Bernice
b. Felix and Drusilla
c. Festus
d. Pilate

Bible reference for question 79 or the reference with options

80. To whom does Paul give the following advice: "Let no one despise your youth"?

a. Barnabas
b. Epaphrus
c. John Mark
d. Timothy

Bible reference for question 80 or the reference with options

81. Where was Paul when he wrote to Philemon?

a. in jail
b. in Nicopolis
c. on board ship
d. on Crete

Bible reference for question 81 or the reference with options

82. The disciples appointed seven men to oversee the care of the Hellenists' widows in Acts. One of these, Philip, is remembered for what?

a. his opposition to communal living
b. his preaching to the Ethiopian eunuch
c. his work in Galatia
d. his work with Peter

Bible reference for question 82 or the reference with options

83. "For I am not ashamed of the gospel; it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who has faith... For in it the righteousness of God is revealed through faith for faith; as it is written, 'The one who is righteous will live by faith'" appears in which of the following?

a. Romans
b. 1 Corinthians
c. Ephesians
d. Colossians

Bible reference for question 83 or the reference with options

84. The epistle to the Colossians describes Christ as which of the following?

a. the firstborn from the dead
b. the firstborn of all creation
c. the image of the invisible God
d. all of these

Bible reference for question 84 or the reference with options

85. Because the Corinthians had been reconciled to God through Christ and had been given the ministry of reconciliation, how were they to consider themselves?

a. as ambassadors of Christ
b. as contenders for the faith
c. as shepherds of the flock
d. as soldiers of the cross

Bible reference for question 85 or the reference with options

86. Which book contains the following exhortation: "Put on the whole armor of God, so that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil"?

a. 1 Corinthians
b. 2 Corinthians
c. Ephesians
d. Philippians

Bible reference for question 86 or the reference with options

87. "Let the same mind be in you that was in Christ Jesus, who, though he was in the form of God, did not regard equality with God as something to be exploited" is found in which book?

a. Romans
b. 2 Corinthians
c. Ephesians
d. Philippians

Bible reference for question 87 or the reference with options

88. Which of the following books devotes the most attention to problems of disunity in the church?

a. Acts
b. Romans
c. 1 Corinthians
d. Galatians

Bible reference for question 88 or the reference with options

89. The statements, "We who are alive, who are left, will be caught up in the clouds together with them to meet the Lord in the air" and "the day of the Lord will come like a thief in the night," were addressed to Christians in which of the following locations?

a. at Philippi
b. at Thessalonica
c. in Galatia
d. in Rome

Bible reference for question 89 or the reference with options

90. "All scripture is inspired by God and is useful for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness" is found in which book?

a. 2 Timothy
b. Titus
c. 2 Peter
d. 2 John

Bible reference for question 90 or the reference with options

91. Which of the following is an essential theme of the First Letter of John?

a. creation
b. election
c. love
d. predestination

Bible reference for question 91 or the reference with options

92. According to 1 John "If we say that we have not sinned," we make God which of the following?

a. a liar
b. a judge
c. a prosecutor
d. angry

Bible reference for question 92 or the reference with options

93. What is the name of the great city in Revelation which is depicted as a woman sitting on a scarlet beast, a city whose fall is both celebrated and lamented?

a. Babylon
b. Damascus
c. Nineveh
d. Tyre

Bible reference for question 93 or the reference with options

94. "Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen" is found in which book?

a. Galatians
b. Philippians
c. Titus
d. Hebrews

Bible reference for question 94 or the reference with options

95. The book of Hebrews presents Jesus primarily as which of the following?

a. great high priest
b. new Moses
c. prophet of righteousness
d. son of Adam

Bible reference for question 95 or the reference with options

96. The words, "Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth..." appear in which of the following books?

a. Mark
b. Acts
c. Hebrews
d. Revelation

Bible reference for question 96 or the reference with options

97. Which of the following is an attitude expressed in 1 Peter toward government?

a. "And the dragon gave it his power and his throne and great authority."
b. "For the Lord's sake accept the authority of every human institution."
c. "Give to the emperor the things that are the emperor's."
d. "Keep oneself unstained by the world."

Bible reference for question 97 or the reference with options

98. What book contains the following quotation: "Beloved, do not be surprised at the fiery ordeal that is taking place among you to test you"?

a. Titus
b. Hebrews
c. 1 Peter
d. Jude

Bible reference for question 98 or the reference with options

99. The epistle which says, "Have mercy on some who are wavering; save others by snatching them out of the fire; and have mercy on still others with fear" and speaks of Enoch as a prophet is which of the following?

a. Philippians
b. Colossians
c. 1 John
d. Jude

Bible reference for question 99 or the reference with options

100. In one New Testament book, a forest set ablaze by a small fire and the rudder of a ship occur as images for which of the following?

a. the emotions
b. the heart
c. the mind
d. the tongue

Bible reference for question 100 or the reference with options

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