Biblical Oddities #27 Trivia Quiz

Answer: No one knows

The debate has been going on for centuries, but no can say with any certainty who wrote the Book of Hebrews.

A number of theologians believe Paul wrote the book but others strongly disagree. A number of names have been put forth as possible authors, ranging from Apollos to Priscilla.

However, it appears almost certain the writer was Jewish, as the book is addressed to Messianic Jews who were going back to their old ways of following God.

Answer: Levi

Matthew, one of the original twelve disciples and the author of the Gospel of Matthew, was also known as Levi. Before becoming a disciple, he was a tax collector.

In order of appearance, Matthew is the first Gospel in the New Testament. The Gospel places great emphasis on showing Jesus was the fulfilment of Old Testament prophecies pertaining to the coming of the Messiah.

Answer: David

David, a noted king of Israel, is credited with writing as many as 75 chapters in the Book of Psalms.

Many theologians believe David wrote Psalms 3-9, 11-32, 34-41, 51-65, 68-70, 86, 101, 103, 108-110, 122, 124, 131, 133, and 138-145.

Without question, David's Psalm 23, titled 'The Lord Is My Shepherd', is one of his most popular entries in the book.

Considering the Book of Psalms contains 150 chapters, David wrote about one-half of the book.

In addition to being a noted king of Israel, David was a young shepherd boy who slayed Goliath, a Philistine giant, with a slingshot.

Answer: Lemuel

Lemuel is credited with writing Chapter 31, the last chapter of the Book of Proverbs. The majority of the book was written by Solomon, a noted king of Israel, but there are also contributions by Agur and the Men of Hezekiah.

According to Proverbs 31:1, Lemuel's thoughts were words of wisdom his mother passed on to him. According to various Websites, Lemuel's name means "belonging to God".

No one knows exactly who Lemuel was. Some theologians believe he was a foreign king while others believe he was a pseudonym used by Solomon or Hezekiah.

Answer: John

John, one of the original twelve disciples, is the correct answer. He is credited with writing five of the twenty seven books in the New Testament.

The five books he is credited with writing are the Gospel of John, 1 John, 2 John, 3 John and Revelation.

To be fair, contemporary scholars dispute the fact he wrote Revelation, the final book in the New Testament. However, going by church tradition dating from the 3rd century, he was the writer of the book in which the author has a vision while in exile on the island of Patmos.

For the record, Paul, the apostle to the Gentiles is credited with writing thirteen books in the New Testament.

Answer: Moses

It might come as a surprise to some, but Moses is credited with writing at least one of the 150 Psalms in the Old Testament.

Moses, the man who led the Israelites on their forty-year-long journey to the Promised Land, is credited with writing Psalm 90.

In the Psalm, Moses cries out to the LORD to once again have mercy on His people.

Answer: Luke

If word count is the criteria, Luke is the biggest contributor to the New Testament. Although he wrote only two books compared to thirteen by Paul, Luke is the winner.

Results vary among New Testament translations used, but Luke, who wrote the Gospel of Luke and the Book of Acts, is credited with writing approximately 37,932 words, or about 27 per cent of the New Testament.

Paul is credited with writing about 32,408 words in his thirteen letters.

Meanwhile, John, the attributed author of five books, is credited with writing about 28,091 words.

Luke was a physician and worker in the early church who often laboured alongside Paul.

Answer: Lamentations

Lamentations, consisting of five chapters, is the shortest book written by one of the Major Prophets.

The book was written by Jeremiah, known as the 'weeping prophet'.

Other books written by the Major Prophets include Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, and Daniel.

The books offer a wide array of messages.

Answer: Isaiah

When it comes to the most chapters written by the Major Prophets, Isaiah is the clear winner with 66 chapters.

In second is Ezekiel with 52 chapters

Isaiah is known as the "messianic prophet", as he often writes about the coming Messiah. Christians believe that prophecy was fulfilled with the birth of Jesus Christ.

Answer: Hosea

The Minor Prophets section of the Bible consists of twelve books and two of them are tied when it comes to the most chapters.

Hosea and Zechariah both consist of fourteen chapters, making them the longest in the Minor Prophet section when it comes to chapters.

Incidentally, the shortest book among the Minor Prophets is Obadiah, with only one chapter, followed by Haggai, with two.

It should be pointed out the books are called 'Minor Prophets' not because they are less important than other books, but because they are shorter than other books written by prophets in the Old Testament of the Protestant Bible.