Bible Trivia: Miracles in the Bible — printable
Name: ______________________________ Date: ____________ Score: ______
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1. Which sea is parted in the exodus account? Easy
- A The sea at the crossing, called in Hebrew the Sea of Reeds
- B The Sea of Galilee
- C The Dead Sea
- D The Mediterranean
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2. In which Gospel does Jesus turn water into wine at a wedding? Easy
- A John
- B Matthew
- C Mark
- D Luke
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3. Which prophet is associated with a contest on Mount Carmel? Easy
- A Elisha
- B Elijah
- C Isaiah
- D Jeremiah
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4. How many people are fed in the account usually called the feeding of the five thousand? Easy
- A Five hundred
- B Five thousand men, besides women and children
- C Fifty
- D Five thousand households
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5. Which book of the Hebrew Bible contains no miracle and does not name God? Medium
- A Esther
- B Ecclesiastes
- C Ruth
- D Song of Songs
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6. In 2 Kings 19:35, what happens to the Assyrian army besieging Jerusalem? Medium
- A It withdraws after receiving tribute
- B It is defeated by an Egyptian force
- C It splits and retreats north
- D It is struck down in the night
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7. Which classical writer preserves a separate ancient story of an Assyrian withdrawal caused by a disaster in the camp? Medium
- A Josephus
- B Tacitus
- C Polybius
- D Herodotus
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8. In the book of Daniel, what survives the furnace? Medium
- A Daniel alone
- B Daniel and the three companions
- C The royal herald
- D Three companions of Daniel
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9. Which Gospel contains no birth narrative and, in the earliest manuscripts, no resurrection appearances? Hard
- A John
- B Luke
- C Matthew
- D Mark
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10. What does the term 'sign-act' describe in prophetic literature? Hard
- A A miracle performed to authenticate a prophet
- B A vision recorded in the first person
- C An action the prophet performs to carry the message
- D A blessing pronounced over a king
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11. Why do historians treat miracle reports differently from reports of campaigns and tribute? Hard
- A Miracle reports are always later additions
- B They describe events that leave no external record and cannot be independently tested
- C They are written in a different language
- D They appear only in poetry
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12. On this site's five-grade scale, what does grade 4 record? Hard
- A That a claim is refuted
- B That no external attestation is available, so the claim is neither confirmed nor refuted
- C That the dating is disputed
- D That the biblical text contradicts itself
Answer key — teacher’s sheet
Print pages separately: hand out the worksheet, keep this one.
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1. A — The sea at the crossing, called in Hebrew the Sea of Reeds
The Hebrew is yam suph, 'sea of reeds'; 'Red Sea' comes through the Greek and Latin translations. Which body of water is meant, and where, has been argued for centuries and is not settled by the name.
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2. A — John
John 2, at Cana. John calls his miracle accounts 'signs' and counts them, which is a structural feature of that Gospel rather than a general New Testament usage.
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3. B — Elijah
Elijah, in 1 Kings 18. Elijah and Elisha dominate long stretches of Kings and are almost entirely absent from the parallel account in Chronicles — one of the clearest differences between the two histories.
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4. B — Five thousand men, besides women and children
The count in Matthew 14:21 is of men, 'besides women and children'. It is the only miracle narrated in all four Gospels, which is itself worth noticing when comparing them.
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5. A — Esther
Esther. God is not named in the Hebrew text, and the plot turns on coincidences and human decisions. The Greek versions of Esther add material that supplies what the Hebrew leaves out.
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6. D — It is struck down in the night
The text reports a catastrophe in the camp and a withdrawal. Sennacherib's own account ends with tribute and a subdued vassal instead — the two versions frame the outcome incompatibly, and no reading makes them one.
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7. D — Herodotus
Herodotus, in a story about field mice gnawing the Assyrians' equipment. It is not corroboration of the biblical account, but it shows the biblical version is not the only ancient report of an abnormal ending to that campaign.
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8. D — Three companions of Daniel
Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, in Daniel 3. Daniel himself is the one in the lions' den, in chapter 6 — the two episodes are routinely merged in retellings.
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9. D — Mark
Mark. The earliest manuscripts end at 16:8, with the women leaving the tomb afraid. The longer endings are later additions and are marked as such in critical editions.
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10. C — An action the prophet performs to carry the message
A performed action that embodies the oracle — Hosea's marriage, Jeremiah's yoke, Ezekiel lying on his side. It is a recognised genre, and reading such passages as straightforward biography misses what they are doing.
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11. B — They describe events that leave no external record and cannot be independently tested
Because the method has limits and this is one of them. A campaign leaves tablets, ruins and tribute lists; a report of an event outside ordinary causation leaves none of that. This site records that as a limit on what can be tested, not as a verdict on what happened.
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12. B — That no external attestation is available, so the claim is neither confirmed nor refuted
Unconfirmed. It is not a criticism: it is the ordinary condition of most literature from the ancient world, biblical and otherwise, and a scale without it would force false verdicts on ordinary cases.
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.
Which sea is parted in the exodus account?
- The sea at the crossing, called in Hebrew the Sea of Reeds — correct
- The Sea of Galilee
- The Dead Sea
- The Mediterranean
Answer: The sea at the crossing, called in Hebrew the Sea of Reeds
The Hebrew is yam suph, 'sea of reeds'; 'Red Sea' comes through the Greek and Latin translations. Which body of water is meant, and where, has been argued for centuries and is not settled by the name.
In which Gospel does Jesus turn water into wine at a wedding?
- John — correct
- Matthew
- Mark
- Luke
Answer: John
John 2, at Cana. John calls his miracle accounts 'signs' and counts them, which is a structural feature of that Gospel rather than a general New Testament usage.
Which prophet is associated with a contest on Mount Carmel?
- Elisha
- Elijah — correct
- Isaiah
- Jeremiah
Answer: Elijah
Elijah, in 1 Kings 18. Elijah and Elisha dominate long stretches of Kings and are almost entirely absent from the parallel account in Chronicles — one of the clearest differences between the two histories.
How many people are fed in the account usually called the feeding of the five thousand?
- Five hundred
- Five thousand men, besides women and children — correct
- Fifty
- Five thousand households
Answer: Five thousand men, besides women and children
The count in Matthew 14:21 is of men, 'besides women and children'. It is the only miracle narrated in all four Gospels, which is itself worth noticing when comparing them.
Medium
These need a detail held in place — a name, a sequence, a number that only means something next to another number.
Which book of the Hebrew Bible contains no miracle and does not name God?
- Esther — correct
- Ecclesiastes
- Ruth
- Song of Songs
Answer: Esther
Esther. God is not named in the Hebrew text, and the plot turns on coincidences and human decisions. The Greek versions of Esther add material that supplies what the Hebrew leaves out.
In 2 Kings 19:35, what happens to the Assyrian army besieging Jerusalem?
- It withdraws after receiving tribute
- It is defeated by an Egyptian force
- It splits and retreats north
- It is struck down in the night — correct
Answer: It is struck down in the night
The text reports a catastrophe in the camp and a withdrawal. Sennacherib's own account ends with tribute and a subdued vassal instead — the two versions frame the outcome incompatibly, and no reading makes them one.
Which classical writer preserves a separate ancient story of an Assyrian withdrawal caused by a disaster in the camp?
- Josephus
- Tacitus
- Polybius
- Herodotus — correct
Answer: Herodotus
Herodotus, in a story about field mice gnawing the Assyrians' equipment. It is not corroboration of the biblical account, but it shows the biblical version is not the only ancient report of an abnormal ending to that campaign.
In the book of Daniel, what survives the furnace?
- Daniel alone
- Daniel and the three companions
- The royal herald
- Three companions of Daniel — correct
Answer: Three companions of Daniel
Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, in Daniel 3. Daniel himself is the one in the lions' den, in chapter 6 — the two episodes are routinely merged in retellings.
Hard
These turn on what the evidence actually supports, which is not always what the story is remembered as saying.
Which Gospel contains no birth narrative and, in the earliest manuscripts, no resurrection appearances?
- John
- Luke
- Matthew
- Mark — correct
Answer: Mark
Mark. The earliest manuscripts end at 16:8, with the women leaving the tomb afraid. The longer endings are later additions and are marked as such in critical editions.
What does the term 'sign-act' describe in prophetic literature?
- A miracle performed to authenticate a prophet
- A vision recorded in the first person
- An action the prophet performs to carry the message — correct
- A blessing pronounced over a king
Answer: An action the prophet performs to carry the message
A performed action that embodies the oracle — Hosea's marriage, Jeremiah's yoke, Ezekiel lying on his side. It is a recognised genre, and reading such passages as straightforward biography misses what they are doing.
Why do historians treat miracle reports differently from reports of campaigns and tribute?
- Miracle reports are always later additions
- They describe events that leave no external record and cannot be independently tested — correct
- They are written in a different language
- They appear only in poetry
Answer: They describe events that leave no external record and cannot be independently tested
Because the method has limits and this is one of them. A campaign leaves tablets, ruins and tribute lists; a report of an event outside ordinary causation leaves none of that. This site records that as a limit on what can be tested, not as a verdict on what happened.
On this site's five-grade scale, what does grade 4 record?
- That a claim is refuted
- That no external attestation is available, so the claim is neither confirmed nor refuted — correct
- That the dating is disputed
- That the biblical text contradicts itself
Answer: That no external attestation is available, so the claim is neither confirmed nor refuted
Unconfirmed. It is not a criticism: it is the ordinary condition of most literature from the ancient world, biblical and otherwise, and a scale without it would force false verdicts on ordinary cases.
What this quiz draws on
Books in play: 1 Kings, 2 Kings, Daniel, Esther, Exodus, John, Mark. Each of those leads to what the book contains, who has been proposed as its author, and how it is dated.
Themes: Gospels and Jesus, People and places.
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.