Trivia Bible Questions: What Judaism, Christianity, and Islam Say About Scripture

The Hebrew Bible — called the Tanakh — is the foundation of Jewish scripture and the ultimate source for any trivia questions rooted in the "Bible." It comprises the Torah (the Five Books of Moses), the Nevi'im (Prophets), and the Ketuvim (Writings). Rabbinic tradition, codified in the Talmud and Midrash, generated centuries of commentary, debate, and interpretive trivia around these texts.

Classic trivia questions drawn from the Hebrew Bible include topics like the names of the twelve tribes of Israel, the plagues of Egypt, the contents of the Ten Commandments, and the authorship of the Psalms. Scholars like Rabbi Akiva (c. 50–135 CE) and later Maimonides (1138–1204 CE) treated deep familiarity with scripture as a religious obligation, not merely an intellectual exercise.

John 10:34 is actually a fascinating cross-tradition trivia point: Jesus quotes the Hebrew Psalms (Psalm 82:6) directly, saying "Ye are gods" John 10:34, illustrating how the Jewish scriptures underpin New Testament dialogue. Jewish readers would recognize that citation immediately as a reference to their own sacred text.

It's worth noting that Jewish trivia around scripture often extends into Talmudic law, liturgical practice, and the Hebrew calendar — areas with no direct Christian or Islamic counterpart.

Christianity is the tradition most directly associated with "trivia Bible questions" as a cultural phenomenon. Bible trivia games, quiz bowls, and Sunday school competitions have been a staple of Christian education for generations, covering both the Old and New Testaments.

The theological grounding for taking scripture so seriously — and therefore for knowing it well — comes from passages like 2 Timothy 3:16, where Paul writes that "All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness" 2 Timothy 3:16. This doctrine of plenary inspiration (the idea that every part of scripture carries divine authority) has motivated Christians across denominations to memorize, study, and yes, quiz each other on biblical content.

Popular Christian trivia categories include: the four Gospels and their authors, the miracles of Jesus, the letters of Paul, the books of prophecy, and narrative events from Genesis through Revelation. Even a seemingly simple exchange like Jesus telling a disciple "What I do thou knowest not now; but thou shalt know hereafter" John 13:7 can become a trivia question about the context of the Last Supper foot-washing scene (John 13).

Theologians like B.B. Warfield (1851–1921) developed detailed arguments for biblical inerrancy that effectively elevated scriptural knowledge to a spiritual discipline. There's some disagreement, though — progressive scholars like Peter Enns argue that treating the Bible as a trivia repository can flatten its literary and theological complexity.

"Trivia Bible questions" as a category is specific to the Jewish and Christian scriptural traditions, and Islam doesn't engage with the Bible as a primary devotional or liturgical text. That said, Islam does hold a strong theology of divine scripture. The Quran itself is described as a "wise Scripture" Quran 31:2, and Quran 68:37 pointedly asks, "Or do you have a scripture in which you learn" Quran 68:37 — a rhetorical challenge about the source of one's religious knowledge.

Muslims do recognize the Torah (Tawrat), Psalms (Zabur), and Gospel (Injil) as originally revealed scriptures, but Islamic tradition holds that these texts were altered over time. Therefore, the Quran — not the Bible — is the authoritative scripture for Muslims, and Islamic trivia questions would center on Quranic surahs, the life of the Prophet Muhammad (PBUH), and hadith literature.

Scholars like Ibn Kathir (1301–1373 CE) wrote extensively on the relationship between the Quran and earlier scriptures, acknowledging points of contact while asserting the Quran's final authority.

Use these scripture-linked prompts for trivia Bible questions focused on the Hebrew Bible as reflected in the New Testament’s reference to Jewish Law:

• Where does Jesus appeal to the Jewish Law with the line, “Is it not written in your law, I said, Ye are gods?” Answer: John 10:34 John 10:34.
• Trivia angle: This quotation points back to Israel’s sacred Law as recognized in Jesus’s debate, highlighting how the written Law is invoked within Jewish-Christian dialogue John 10:34.

These make crisp trivia Bible questions centered on the New Testament’s view of scripture:

• Which verse says, “All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness”? Answer: 2 Timothy 3:16 2 Timothy 3:16.
• Which verse has Jesus telling a disciple that understanding will come later—ideal for a timing/understanding question? Answer: John 13:7 John 13:7.

These prompts connect to how the Qur’an frames scripture—useful in comparative trivia Bible questions that include Islamic scripture:

• Which verse asks, “Or have ye a scripture wherein ye learn”? Answer: Quran 68:37 (Pickthall) Quran 68:37.
• Which verse declares, “These are revelations of the wise Scripture”? Answer: Quran 31:2 (Pickthall) Quran 31:2.
• Another translation of the first prompt reads, “Or do you have a scripture in which you learn” (Sahih) for variant-wording questions: Quran 68:37 (Sahih) Quran 68:37.