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Quiz about Biblical Allusion in Dylans Lyrics
Quiz about Biblical Allusion in Dylans Lyrics

Biblical Allusion in Dylan's Lyrics Quiz


Dylan's music reflects scores of influences, including the Bible. See how much you know about the influence of the Hebrew and Christian Scriptures on the lyrics of Bob Dylan.

A multiple-choice quiz by skylarb. Estimated time: 6 mins.
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Author
skylarb
Time
6 mins
Type
Multiple Choice
Quiz #
110,627
Updated
Dec 03 21
# Qns
20
Difficulty
Tough
Avg Score
11 / 20
Plays
777
Awards
Top 35% Quiz
Last 3 plays: Guest 99 (6/20), Guest 137 (9/20), 122334 (16/20).
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Question 1 of 20
1. True or false: Before his conversion to Christianity, Dylan alluded to the Hebrew Scriptures in his song lyrics, but not to the New Testament.


Question 2 of 20
2. Some have seriously argued that the Joker in "All Along the Watchtower" represents: Hint


Question 3 of 20
3. It has been argued that the Jokerman in "Jokerman" represents: Hint


Question 4 of 20
4. The line, "There's been rumors of wars and wars that have been...", from "Let Me Die in my Footsteps" alludes to a statement made by Christ. In what book of the Bible?
Hint


Question 5 of 20
5. The line "But I know I ain't no prophet / An' I ain't no prophet's son" from the song "Long Time Gone" refers to what book of the Bible?
Hint


Question 6 of 20
6. The lyric "And the first one now / Will later be last" in "The Times They Are A' Changing" alludes to what book of the Bible?
Hint


Question 7 of 20
7. In "With God on Our Side" the speaker has "for many a dark hour" been thinking about what? Hint


Question 8 of 20
8. In what song does Dylan allude to the exodus of the Hebrews, singing, "And like Pharaoh's tribe, they'll be drowned in the tide."
Hint


Question 9 of 20
9. What Biblical figure is mentioned in "Tombstone Blues"? Hint


Question 10 of 20
10. Which Biblical figure is NOT mentioned in "Desolation Row?" Hint


Question 11 of 20
11. The album "John Wesley Harding" draws Biblical allusions most heavily from which of the following books? Hint


Question 12 of 20
12. Name ONE of the two books of the Bible that Dylan says are the Jokerman's only teachers in the song "Jokerman." (Hint: Both are books of the law.) Hint


Question 13 of 20
13. In "Foot of Pride", Dylan sings "up on the stage they'll be trying to get water out of rocks." He is alluding to the action of what Biblical figure? Hint


Question 14 of 20
14. Which biblical figure, considered a father of nations, does Bob Dylan mention in the first stanza of "Highway 61"?

Answer: (One Word, first name only)
Question 15 of 20
15. In what song does Bob Dylan probably allude to the following scripture: "And he cried, A lion: My lord, I stand continually upon the watchtower in the daytime, and I am set in my ward whole nights: And, behold, there cometh a chariot of men, with a couple of horsemen. And he answered and said, Babylon is fallen, is fallen; and all the graven images of her gods he hath broken down unto the ground" (Isaiah 21:8-9). Hint


Question 16 of 20
16. What one song probably alludes to all four of the following scriptures?

(1) "..and ye shall eat, and not be satisfied" (Leviticus 26:26)

(2) "Seeing many things, but thou observest not; opening the ears, but he heareth not." (Isaiah 42:20)

(3) "God will not cast away a perfect man...'till he fill thy mouth with laughing" (Job 8:20-21).

(4) "They build upon Zion with blood, and Jerusalem with iniquity" (Micah 3:10)
Hint


Question 17 of 20
17. In 1987, Bob Dylan opened a tour by saying, "I'm going to sing a song about my hero." He then went into a rendition of what Biblical-allusion-laced song? Hint


Question 18 of 20
18. Based on a Biblical allusion in "Sweetheart Like You," who might we guess is the Sweetheart's father? Hint


Question 19 of 20
19. In "The Groom's Still Waiting at the Altar," which of the following does the groom most likely represent? Hint


Question 20 of 20
20. What Biblical character is mentioned by name in "Every Grain of Sand"? Hint



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Most Recent Scores
Mar 22 2024 : Guest 99: 6/20
Mar 19 2024 : Guest 137: 9/20
Mar 06 2024 : 122334: 16/20

Score Distribution

quiz
Quiz Answer Key and Fun Facts
1. True or false: Before his conversion to Christianity, Dylan alluded to the Hebrew Scriptures in his song lyrics, but not to the New Testament.

Answer: False

Dylan alluded frequently to both the Old and New Testaments long before his 1978 conversion to Christianity, as you will see from the questions in this quiz.
2. Some have seriously argued that the Joker in "All Along the Watchtower" represents:

Answer: Jesus Christ

Reasons for this interpretation include:

(1) The Joker is speaking to a thief, and Christ was crucified with two thieves

(2) The Joker speaks of businessmen drinking his wine and plowmen digging his earth, which accords with the Biblical picture of Christ as a husbandman of the Vineyard

(3) The thief says to the joker, "There are many here among us who feel that life is but a joke. / But you and I we've been through that, and this is not our fate. /So let us not talk falsely now, the hour is getting late.'" One of the two thieves crucified with Christ mocked him (treating life as a joke), but the other thief refused to talk falsely, recognizing that the end was at hand, and he asked Christ to remember him in His kingdom.
3. It has been argued that the Jokerman in "Jokerman" represents:

Answer: All of these

Interesting arguments have been made for all three positions. The Biblical allusions are jumbled enough that it is possible to pull off BOTH a Christ and anti-Christ interpretation. The song obviously alludes to modern-day Israel in many places as well, but whether Jokerman represents Israel, or is simply existing in or around Israel, is another question. Still others consider the Jokerman to be Bob Dylan himself.
4. The line, "There's been rumors of wars and wars that have been...", from "Let Me Die in my Footsteps" alludes to a statement made by Christ. In what book of the Bible?

Answer: Matthew

Matthew 24:6: "And ye shall hear of wars and rumors of wars: see that ye be not troubled: for all these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet."
5. The line "But I know I ain't no prophet / An' I ain't no prophet's son" from the song "Long Time Gone" refers to what book of the Bible?

Answer: Amos

Amos 7:14: "I was no prophet, neither was I a prophet's son; but I was an herdman...And the Lord took me as I followed the flock, and the Lord said unto me, Go, prophesy unto my people Israel."
6. The lyric "And the first one now / Will later be last" in "The Times They Are A' Changing" alludes to what book of the Bible?

Answer: Matthew

Matthew 19:30: "But many that are first shall be last."
7. In "With God on Our Side" the speaker has "for many a dark hour" been thinking about what?

Answer: The manner of Christ's betrayal

The full quote is: "In many a dark hour /
I've been thinking' about this /
That Jesus Christ /
Was betrayed by a kiss /
But I can't think for you /
You'll have to decide /
Whether Judas Iscariot /
Had God on his side."
8. In what song does Dylan allude to the exodus of the Hebrews, singing, "And like Pharaoh's tribe, they'll be drowned in the tide."

Answer: When the Ship Comes In

He also alludes to another Biblical event in the same song: the defeat of Goliath by David.
9. What Biblical figure is mentioned in "Tombstone Blues"?

Answer: Both of these

"Well John the Baptist after torturing a thief

Looks up at his hero the Commander-in-Chief

Saying, 'Tell me great hero, but please make it brief

Is there a hole for me to get sick in?'"



and: "The geometry of innocence, flesh on the bone

Causes Gallileo's math book to get thrown

At Delilah who sits worthlessly alone

But the tears on her cheeks are from laughter"
10. Which Biblical figure is NOT mentioned in "Desolation Row?"

Answer: Jesus Christ

1) "All except for Cain and Abel . . . "

2) "And the Good Samaritan, he's dressing /
He's getting ready for the show"

3) "And though her eyes are fixed upon
Noah's great rainbow..."
11. The album "John Wesley Harding" draws Biblical allusions most heavily from which of the following books?

Answer: Isaiah

So heavy are the allusions, that one critic actually described the album as "the Book of Isaiah set to music."
12. Name ONE of the two books of the Bible that Dylan says are the Jokerman's only teachers in the song "Jokerman." (Hint: Both are books of the law.)

Answer: Leviticus

"Well, the Book of Leviticus and Deuteronomy, / The law of the jungle and the sea are your only teachers"
13. In "Foot of Pride", Dylan sings "up on the stage they'll be trying to get water out of rocks." He is alluding to the action of what Biblical figure?

Answer: Moses

Moses brought forth water from the rock on two occasions, but in one instance, he did it in a manner glorifying himself rather than God, for which he was punished (Numbers 20:10). It is the latter, self-serving image Dylan is conjuring up here.
14. Which biblical figure, considered a father of nations, does Bob Dylan mention in the first stanza of "Highway 61"?

Answer: Abraham

"Now God said to Abraham give me a son. /
Abe said, 'Man you must be putting me on.'"
15. In what song does Bob Dylan probably allude to the following scripture: "And he cried, A lion: My lord, I stand continually upon the watchtower in the daytime, and I am set in my ward whole nights: And, behold, there cometh a chariot of men, with a couple of horsemen. And he answered and said, Babylon is fallen, is fallen; and all the graven images of her gods he hath broken down unto the ground" (Isaiah 21:8-9).

Answer: All Along the Watchtower

We see the "couple of horsemen" here in Dylan's song:



"Outside in the distance a wildcat did growl / Two riders were approaching, the wind began to howl."
16. What one song probably alludes to all four of the following scriptures?
(1) "..and ye shall eat, and not be satisfied" (Leviticus 26:26)
(2) "Seeing many things, but thou observest not; opening the ears, but he heareth not." (Isaiah 42:20)
(3) "God will not cast away a perfect man...'till he fill thy mouth with laughing" (Job 8:20-21).
(4) "They build upon Zion with blood, and Jerusalem with iniquity" (Micah 3:10)


Answer: I Pity the Poor Immigrant

He alludes to them in the following lines of the song:

(1) "Who eats but is not satisfied"

(2) "Who hears but does not see"

(3) "Who fills his mouth with laughing"

(4) "Who builds his town with blood."
17. In 1987, Bob Dylan opened a tour by saying, "I'm going to sing a song about my hero." He then went into a rendition of what Biblical-allusion-laced song?

Answer: In the Garden

"In the Garden" is about the betrayal of Jesus Christ, and appears on Dylan's album "Saved."
18. Based on a Biblical allusion in "Sweetheart Like You," who might we guess is the Sweetheart's father?

Answer: God

Dylan sings of the sweetheart, "They say in your father's house, there's many mansions." This is how Christ refers to God, His Father, saying, "In my father's house are many mansions." Dylan adds the very clever--and very Dylanesque, "Each one of them got a fireproof floor," which conjures up a brilliant image of a home safe from the fires of hell below.
19. In "The Groom's Still Waiting at the Altar," which of the following does the groom most likely represent?

Answer: Jesus Christ

Jesus is frequently spoken of as the Groom, and his Bride is the Church. The fact that the groom is still waiting at the altar indicates that the final reconciliation has not yet taken place, that peace has not been achieved on earth, and that the world is threfore still in turmoil: "Cities on fire, phones our of order / They're killing nuns and soldiers, there's fighting on the border."
20. What Biblical character is mentioned by name in "Every Grain of Sand"?

Answer: Cain

"Like Cain, I now behold this chain of events that I must break."
Source: Author skylarb

This quiz was reviewed by FunTrivia editor CellarDoor before going online.
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This quiz is part of series Thematic Bob Dylan Quizzes:

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  1. Dylan & Literary Influence Average
  2. Biblical Allusion in Dylan's Lyrics Tough
  3. Numbers in Dylan's Lyrics Average
  4. About Bob Dylan's Songs Average
  5. Dylan Covers Tough
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  7. Characters in Bob Dylan Songs Average

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