Religious History Quiz


Check your knowledge of Ancient Jewish History!

These 10 questions are the first of what will be a series of quizzes at this site. Upcoming quizzes will be on The Times of Jesus, The Early Church, Medieval Christianity and the Rise of Islam, The Reformation and the Witch Craze, and Modern Christianity.

For each question, click on the letter for the correct answer:

1. In the second millennium B.C. the ancient nation of Canaan was destroyed by:

    A The Israelites under Joshua
    B The Israelites under Moses
    C The Egyptians
    D The Philistines, the mortal enemies of Ancient Israel


2. Which god did the Ancient Israelites have in common with the Canaanites?

    A The Lord
    B El
    C Yahweh
    D Melchizedek


3. Which of the following did the Ancient Israelites adopt from the Canaanites?

    A Circumcision
    B The Communion Sacrifice and the Holocaust
    C The ancient Hebrew language
    D All of the above


4. Child sacrifice was:

    A Prevelant among the Ancient Israelites
    B Never practiced by the Israelites
    C Extensively practiced by the Canaanites
    D Only ever practiced by Pacific Islanders


5. King David:

    A Established an empire extending from the Red Sea to the Euphrates
    B Slew Goliath and took Jerusalem for the Israelites
    C Had Bathsheba's husband killed so he could marry her himself
    D All of the above


6. King Solomon:

    A Established the principle of joint custody in dealing with disputes over children
    B Created the seeds of a divided Israel by favoring Judah over the northern tribes
    C Never married
    D Extensively renovated the temple his father David built


7. During their exile in Babylon, Israel's priests and scribes:

    A Reflected on their nation's mistakes, and wrote down much of the Bible
    B Sought to sing religious songs to their captors in the hope of converting them
    C Became the first prophets
    D Were led to repentance and greatness by the example of their king, Zedekiah


8. During the Diaspora, Esther was:

    A The queen of Israel
    B An "underground" army leader who liberated her people from Babylon
    C King Xerxes Jewish queen who used her wiles and wisdom to save many Jews
    D All of the above


9. In Hellenistic times, many Jews sought "epispasms" to undo their circumcisions:

    A Because of the Hellenistic trend toward naturalism
    B To enable them to take Greek wives
    C So they wouldn't stand out when exercising nude at the gymnasium
    D Because regular bathing made it less necessary for hygenic reasons


10. The "abomination of desolation," which Hanukkah celebrates the ending of, was:

    A The erection by a conqueror of a pagan altar in the temple at Jerusalem
    B Accompanied by ritual prostitution in the temple precincts
    C Enforced by executing Jews who defied bans against keeping the Sabath
    D All of the above


If you enjoyed this quiz, please come back and try the additional quizzes I will be publishing at this site over the next few weeks!

How to buy the book: If you would like to see the options for buying a copy of In Search of the Loving God, the book these questions were taken from, then click here:

Author's Metaphysical Bookstore

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