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Bible Trivia: Exodus and the Wilderness — printable

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Bible Trivia: Exodus and the Wilderness — printable

Name: ______________________________ Date: ____________ Score: ______

  1. 1. Who was Moses’ brother, appointed to speak for him? Easy

    1. A Caleb
    2. B Joshua
    3. C Aaron
    4. D Hur

  2. 2. What was the final plague on Egypt? Easy

    1. A The death of the firstborn
    2. B Darkness
    3. C Hail
    4. D Locusts

  3. 3. What did Moses receive on the mountain? Easy

    1. A A staff
    2. B A crown
    3. C The tablets of the covenant
    4. D A scroll of the prophets

  4. 4. What did the people make while Moses was on the mountain? Easy

    1. A A golden calf
    2. B A bronze serpent
    3. C An ark of gopher wood
    4. D A tower

  5. 5. Who was Moses’ father-in-law? Medium

    1. A Hobab
    2. B Korah
    3. C Nadab
    4. D Jethro

  6. 6. How long does the text say the wilderness wandering lasted? Medium

    1. A Seven years
    2. B Forty years
    3. C Twelve years
    4. D Four hundred years

  7. 7. Which two spies gave a favourable report of the land? Medium

    1. A Aaron and Hur
    2. B Joshua and Caleb
    3. C Nadab and Abihu
    4. D Eldad and Medad

  8. 8. What was carried inside the ark of the covenant? Medium

    1. A The bronze serpent
    2. B The golden calf
    3. C The rod of Jesse
    4. D The tablets of the covenant

  9. 9. What is the name of the place where the people first complain about bitter water? Hard

    1. A Marah
    2. B Meribah
    3. C Massah
    4. D Rephidim

  10. 10. Who holds up Moses’ hands during the battle with Amalek? Hard

    1. A Joshua and Caleb
    2. B Eleazar and Ithamar
    3. C Aaron and Hur
    4. D Jethro and Zipporah

  11. 11. Which mountain does Moses climb to see the land before he dies? Hard

    1. A Sinai
    2. B Horeb
    3. C Hor
    4. D Nebo

  12. 12. What sign is given that Aaron’s house is chosen, in Numbers 17? Hard

    1. A A cloud rests on his tent
    2. B His staff buds and produces almonds
    3. C His garments turn white
    4. D Fire falls on his offering

Answer key — teacher’s sheet

Print pages separately: hand out the worksheet, keep this one.

  1. 1. C — Aaron

    Exodus 4:14–16. Moses objects that he is slow of speech, and Aaron is appointed to speak for him — the text puts it that Aaron will be his mouth and he will be as God to Aaron. Joshua and Caleb belong to the spy narrative in Numbers; Hur appears at the battle with Amalek.

  2. 2. A — The death of the firstborn

    Exodus 11–12. The tenth plague is the death of the firstborn, and it is the only one preceded by instructions the Israelites must act on: the lamb, the blood on the doorposts, the meal eaten in haste. Passover is instituted before the plague falls, not after it.

  3. 3. C — The tablets of the covenant

    Exodus 31:18 — two tablets of the covenant, written with the finger of God. Moses breaks them in chapter 32 and a second pair is cut in chapter 34. The staff belongs to the earlier scenes, from the burning bush through the plagues and the sea.

  4. 4. A — A golden calf

    Exodus 32. Aaron collects the gold earrings and casts the calf, and the people say 'these are your gods, Israel, who brought you up out of Egypt'. The bronze serpent is a separate object from Numbers 21, made to heal rather than to worship — though 2 Kings 18:4 records it eventually being worshipped and destroyed.

  5. 5. D — Jethro

    Exodus 3:1 and 18:1 — Jethro, priest of Midian. In chapter 18 he watches Moses judge the people alone from morning to evening, tells him plainly that what he is doing is not good, and proposes the system of officers over thousands, hundreds, fifties and tens. It is the Bible's first delegation of authority.

  6. 6. B — Forty years

    Numbers 14:33–34 sets the forty years and gives the reason: a year for each of the forty days the spies spent in the land. The four hundred years belongs to a different promise, made to Abraham in Genesis 15:13 about his descendants in a land not their own.

  7. 7. B — Joshua and Caleb

    Numbers 14:6–9. Joshua and Caleb tear their clothes and argue that the land is exceedingly good; the other ten insist the people there are too strong. It is the majority report the people believe, and that is what the forty years answers.

  8. 8. D — The tablets of the covenant

    Deuteronomy 10:5 — the tablets, placed in the ark Moses had made. Hebrews 9:4 adds the jar of manna and Aaron's budded staff to the description, and 1 Kings 8:9 says explicitly that by Solomon's day there was nothing in it but the two tablets. The three passages do not agree, and the text does not reconcile them.

  9. 9. A — Marah

    Exodus 15:23. They reach Marah and cannot drink the water because it is bitter — which is what the name means. Massah and Meribah come later, at Rephidim in Exodus 17, and there the complaint is that there is no water at all rather than that it cannot be drunk.

  10. 10. C — Aaron and Hur

    Exodus 17:12. Moses' hands grow heavy, so Aaron and Hur put a stone under him and hold his hands up on either side until sunset. Joshua is in the same scene but down in the valley, leading the fighting — the episode deliberately separates the two kinds of work.

  11. 11. D — Nebo

    Deuteronomy 34:1. Moses climbs Nebo, is shown the whole land, and dies there. Hor is where Aaron dies in Numbers 20, stripped of his priestly garments in front of his son — a genuinely easy pair to swap, since both are deaths on a mountain outside the land.

  12. 12. B — His staff buds and produces almonds

    Numbers 17:8. Twelve staffs are laid up overnight, one for each tribal house, and Aaron's alone buds, blossoms and produces ripe almonds. It is then kept before the covenant as a standing sign, so that the complaint does not have to be settled again.

Every question, with the answer and the reason

The interactive module above runs in a sandbox of its own, which means its text is not part of this page. So here is the whole thing in full: all 12 questions, the options as they appear, the answer, and why that answer and not the one beside it. Nothing is held back to make you play first.

Easy

These turn on something stated outright in the text. If you have read the book, you have met the answer.

  1. Who was Moses’ brother, appointed to speak for him?

    • Caleb
    • Joshua
    • Aaron — correct
    • Hur

    Answer: Aaron

    Exodus 4:14–16. Moses objects that he is slow of speech, and Aaron is appointed to speak for him — the text puts it that Aaron will be his mouth and he will be as God to Aaron. Joshua and Caleb belong to the spy narrative in Numbers; Hur appears at the battle with Amalek.

  2. What was the final plague on Egypt?

    • The death of the firstborn — correct
    • Darkness
    • Hail
    • Locusts

    Answer: The death of the firstborn

    Exodus 11–12. The tenth plague is the death of the firstborn, and it is the only one preceded by instructions the Israelites must act on: the lamb, the blood on the doorposts, the meal eaten in haste. Passover is instituted before the plague falls, not after it.

  3. What did Moses receive on the mountain?

    • A staff
    • A crown
    • The tablets of the covenant — correct
    • A scroll of the prophets

    Answer: The tablets of the covenant

    Exodus 31:18 — two tablets of the covenant, written with the finger of God. Moses breaks them in chapter 32 and a second pair is cut in chapter 34. The staff belongs to the earlier scenes, from the burning bush through the plagues and the sea.

  4. What did the people make while Moses was on the mountain?

    • A golden calf — correct
    • A bronze serpent
    • An ark of gopher wood
    • A tower

    Answer: A golden calf

    Exodus 32. Aaron collects the gold earrings and casts the calf, and the people say 'these are your gods, Israel, who brought you up out of Egypt'. The bronze serpent is a separate object from Numbers 21, made to heal rather than to worship — though 2 Kings 18:4 records it eventually being worshipped and destroyed.

Medium

These need a detail held in place — a name, a sequence, a number that only means something next to another number.

  1. Who was Moses’ father-in-law?

    • Hobab
    • Korah
    • Nadab
    • Jethro — correct

    Answer: Jethro

    Exodus 3:1 and 18:1 — Jethro, priest of Midian. In chapter 18 he watches Moses judge the people alone from morning to evening, tells him plainly that what he is doing is not good, and proposes the system of officers over thousands, hundreds, fifties and tens. It is the Bible's first delegation of authority.

  2. How long does the text say the wilderness wandering lasted?

    • Seven years
    • Forty years — correct
    • Twelve years
    • Four hundred years

    Answer: Forty years

    Numbers 14:33–34 sets the forty years and gives the reason: a year for each of the forty days the spies spent in the land. The four hundred years belongs to a different promise, made to Abraham in Genesis 15:13 about his descendants in a land not their own.

  3. Which two spies gave a favourable report of the land?

    • Aaron and Hur
    • Joshua and Caleb — correct
    • Nadab and Abihu
    • Eldad and Medad

    Answer: Joshua and Caleb

    Numbers 14:6–9. Joshua and Caleb tear their clothes and argue that the land is exceedingly good; the other ten insist the people there are too strong. It is the majority report the people believe, and that is what the forty years answers.

  4. What was carried inside the ark of the covenant?

    • The bronze serpent
    • The golden calf
    • The rod of Jesse
    • The tablets of the covenant — correct

    Answer: The tablets of the covenant

    Deuteronomy 10:5 — the tablets, placed in the ark Moses had made. Hebrews 9:4 adds the jar of manna and Aaron's budded staff to the description, and 1 Kings 8:9 says explicitly that by Solomon's day there was nothing in it but the two tablets. The three passages do not agree, and the text does not reconcile them.

Hard

These turn on what the evidence actually supports, which is not always what the story is remembered as saying.

  1. What is the name of the place where the people first complain about bitter water?

    • Marah — correct
    • Meribah
    • Massah
    • Rephidim

    Answer: Marah

    Exodus 15:23. They reach Marah and cannot drink the water because it is bitter — which is what the name means. Massah and Meribah come later, at Rephidim in Exodus 17, and there the complaint is that there is no water at all rather than that it cannot be drunk.

  2. Who holds up Moses’ hands during the battle with Amalek?

    • Joshua and Caleb
    • Eleazar and Ithamar
    • Aaron and Hur — correct
    • Jethro and Zipporah

    Answer: Aaron and Hur

    Exodus 17:12. Moses' hands grow heavy, so Aaron and Hur put a stone under him and hold his hands up on either side until sunset. Joshua is in the same scene but down in the valley, leading the fighting — the episode deliberately separates the two kinds of work.

  3. Which mountain does Moses climb to see the land before he dies?

    • Sinai
    • Horeb
    • Hor
    • Nebo — correct

    Answer: Nebo

    Deuteronomy 34:1. Moses climbs Nebo, is shown the whole land, and dies there. Hor is where Aaron dies in Numbers 20, stripped of his priestly garments in front of his son — a genuinely easy pair to swap, since both are deaths on a mountain outside the land.

  4. What sign is given that Aaron’s house is chosen, in Numbers 17?

    • A cloud rests on his tent
    • His staff buds and produces almonds — correct
    • His garments turn white
    • Fire falls on his offering

    Answer: His staff buds and produces almonds

    Numbers 17:8. Twelve staffs are laid up overnight, one for each tribal house, and Aaron's alone buds, blossoms and produces ripe almonds. It is then kept before the covenant as a standing sign, so that the complaint does not have to be settled again.

What this quiz draws on

Books in play: Deuteronomy, Exodus, Joshua, Numbers. Each of those leads to what the book contains, who has been proposed as its author, and how it is dated.

Themes: Law and covenant.

Answers here are drawn from the biblical text and, where an external record bears on the question, from the artefact or publication that carries it. How this site reads a text and how this site is written set out the rules, so you can check the reasoning rather than take the answer on trust.