Bible Trivia Questions for Adults: What Do the Three Abrahamic Faiths Say?

The Hebrew Bible — the Tanakh — is the bedrock of Jewish religious life, and engaging with it through questions and debate is deeply embedded in Jewish tradition. The practice of Torah study isn't passive; it's dialogical and interrogative by design. Rabbis from the Talmudic era onward, including figures like Rabbi Akiva (c. 50–135 CE) and Maimonides (1138–1204 CE), emphasized that questioning scripture is itself an act of reverence.

For Jewish adults, trivia-style engagement with the Bible — knowing the names of the Twelve Tribes, the order of the plagues in Exodus, or the contents of the Five Books of Moses — is a natural extension of the mitzvah of Torah study. The Passover Seder itself is structured around questions (the Four Questions), showing that interrogating the text is liturgically central, not merely recreational.

It's worth noting that what Christians call the "Old Testament" corresponds roughly to the Tanakh, though the ordering and interpretive traditions differ significantly. Jewish scholars like Rabbi Joseph B. Soloveitchik (1903–1993) stressed that the text must be wrestled with, not merely memorized. So adult Bible trivia, from a Jewish lens, ideally moves beyond rote recall toward genuine interpretive engagement.

Christianity is the tradition most directly associated with "Bible trivia" as a cultural and devotional practice. The Bible — comprising the Old and New Testaments — is central to Christian worship, education, and community life. Adult Bible trivia has long been used in Sunday school settings, church small groups, and family devotions as a way to deepen scriptural familiarity.

Interestingly, Jesus himself modeled a kind of sacred questioning. In Matthew 21, he deflects a challenge by posing his own question to his interrogators Matthew 21:24. Earlier, in Matthew 20, he probes his disciples' understanding with a pointed question about whether they truly grasp what they're asking for Matthew 20:22. And in John 16, he challenges his followers' confidence in their own belief John 16:31. This pattern — using questions to provoke deeper reflection — suggests that trivia-style engagement, when it leads to genuine understanding, aligns with how Jesus himself taught.

Theologians like N.T. Wright and scholars in the tradition of biblical literacy movements (e.g., the Bible Literacy Project, early 2000s) have argued that factual knowledge of scripture is a prerequisite for deeper theological reflection. You can't wrestle with what you don't know. That said, there's a genuine tension in Christian circles: some worry that trivia reduces sacred text to a game, while others see it as an accessible entry point for adults who might otherwise disengage from scripture entirely.

Islam's relationship to the concept of "Bible trivia" is indirect but theologically interesting. The Quran acknowledges earlier scriptures — the Torah (Tawrat) and the Gospel (Injil) — as divine in origin, though Islamic theology holds that those texts were altered over time and that the Quran supersedes them as the final, preserved revelation Quran 31:2.

The Quran itself poses a rhetorical question that's strikingly relevant here: "Or do you have a scripture in which you learn" Quran 68:37 — a challenge directed at those who claim religious authority without grounding it in genuine divine revelation. This verse (Quran 68:37) is often cited by scholars like Sayyid Qutb (1906–1966) as a rebuke of superficial or selective engagement with sacred text.

For Muslim adults, the equivalent of "Bible trivia" would be Quran-based knowledge competitions (Musabaqah Tilawatil Quran), which are widespread across Muslim-majority countries and diaspora communities. These competitions test memorization, recitation, and interpretation — not just factual recall. The Quran describes itself as "revelations of the wise Scripture" Quran 31:2, and Islamic tradition holds that engaging with it seriously is a religious obligation, not merely an intellectual exercise.

So while "Bible trivia" as a Christian cultural form doesn't have a direct Islamic counterpart, the underlying impulse — adults deepening their knowledge of sacred text — is very much present in Islamic practice.

Use these Tanakh-focused prompts for adult study or a quiz night. Answers aren’t provided here so you can match your preferred translation and commentary tradition.

• Which prophet confronted King David with a parable after his sin with Bathsheba?
• Which book contains the Song of the Sea and what event does it celebrate?
• Name the priest who blessed Abram with bread and wine.
• In which prophetic book does the vision of the valley of dry bones appear?
• Which wisdom book features a dialogue wrestling with innocent suffering?
• Which festival is instituted in the book that never explicitly mentions the Divine Name?
• Who were Moses’ sister and brother, and which of them led a song after the sea crossing?
• Which judge tore down his father’s altar to Baal at night?
• Which king is associated with compiling many proverbs and a song of love poetry?
• Which minor prophet’s short book focuses on Edom’s downfall?

Adult-level New Testament trivia with sourced answers:

1. Jesus challenges the chief priests about authority. What question does he pose? Answer: “I also will ask you one thing … by what authority I do these things?” Matthew 21:24
2. When the disciples say they are able, what two images does Jesus use to describe what awaits him? Answer: “To drink of the cup … and to be baptized with the baptism that I am baptized with.” Matthew 20:22
3. In the Upper Room discourse, what brief question does Jesus ask that cuts to the heart of faith? Answer: “Do ye now believe?” John 16:31

More open-ended prompts for your quiz set (provide your own answers/translations):

• Which parable closes with the saying, “the last shall be first”?
• Who first recognizes Jesus as “the Lamb of God” in the Gospel of John?
• Which chapter lists the fruit of the Spirit?
• In Acts, who explains the Scriptures to the Ethiopian official?
• Which epistle includes the “armor of God” imagery?
• Which Gospel uniquely records the parable of the Good Samaritan?
• Where does Jesus restore Peter with a threefold question after the resurrection?

Not applicable. Concerns Christian and Jewish scripture (the Bible); no direct counterpart in Islamic practice beyond distinct Qur’anic study.