Your Mileage May Vary Quiz | The Bible

Quiz Answer Key and Fun Facts

1. Just two chapters into the Bible, we come across the land of Cush which, historically, was identified with the modern day country of Ethiopia. Ethiopia was also the home country of the eunuch encountered by Philip in the book of Acts and may have been the domain of the famed Queen of Sheba who visited Solomon. Approximately how long is the journey from the ancient Ethiopian capital of Yeha to Jerusalem?

Answer: 1230 miles

"The name of the second river is the Gihon; it winds through the entire land of Cush." (Genesis 2 v. 13)

Although most modern historians place the historical kingdom of Cush in Sudan, there has long been a tradition (and would have been in Jesus' day) associating it with Ethiopia. Indeed, the first-century historian, Josephus, records that the person named Cush (Genesis 10), a grandson of Noah, settled in Ethiopia and gave his name to its people.

Likewise, there is some dispute as to where the Queen of Sheba, whose story appears in 2 Kings 9, might have come from. Various possibilities have included Yemen, Ethiopia, Egypt and Eritrea. An Ethiopian tradition (not backed up by the Bible) suggests that the queen slept with Solomon and gave birth to a son, Menelik. Menelik's significance to Ethiopians lies in his being their first emperor.

The account of Philip's encounter with an Ethiopian is found in Acts 8 v. 26-40. Luke records the man as being a eunuch and a high-ranking official of the Ethiopian queen, Candace.

2. As slaves in Egypt, the Israelites weren't used to clocking up much mileage. That all changed when Pharaoh gave them their exit permits. From the Red Sea, they travelled on to Mount Sinai. Approximately how long was this part of their journey, when measured from the present day town of Sharm-el-Sheikh at the northern end of the Red Sea?

Answer: 51 miles

"In the third month after the Israelites left Egypt, on the very day, they came to the Desert of Sinai. After they set out from Rephidim, they entered the Desert of Sinai, and Israel camped there in the desert in front of the mountain." (Exodus 19 v. 1-2)

It should have taken just weeks for the Israelites to enter the promised land but, because they were daunted by the initial reports of scouts, it ended up being 40 years!

3. When the Israelites were finally settled in their own land, they didn't expect to do much more travelling. That all changed, though, in the sixth century, with defeat at the hands of the Babylonians. Many of the leading Jews were taken into exile in Babylon. Although they probably took a much longer route, what is the approximate distance between Jerusalem and Babylon?

Answer: 540 miles

The straight line from Jerusalem to Babylon, in present day Iraq, goes straight through the Arabian desert. It is, therefore, highly likely that the Jews would have been taken along the traditional caravan trail. This went northward to the Euphrates river, which it then followed southward to Babylon. The extended journey would have measured approximately 900 miles.

4. Centuries later, Mary and Joseph clocked up some unexpected mileage when, at the height of Mary's pregnancy, they were required to travel to Bethlehem for a census. Approximately how far was their journey from Nazareth to Bethlehem?

Answer: 69 miles

"In those days Caesar Augustus issued a decree that a census should be taken of the entire Roman world. (This was the first census that took place while Quirinius was governor of Syria.) And everyone went to his own town to register. So Joseph also went up from the town of Nazareth in Galilee to Judea, to Bethlehem the town of David, because he belonged to the house and line of David. He went there to register with Mary, who was pledged to be married to him and was expecting a child." (Luke 2 v. 1-5)

For registration, Jewish males had to attend the ancestral home of their particular family. Joseph was descended from David and, thus, had to travel to Bethlehem, David's birthplace. Luke records one further journey made by Mary and Joseph when Jesus was twelve years old. (Luke 2 v. 41-50). This was the occasion on which he was "lost" in the Jerusalem Temple. By the time that Jesus reaches adulthood, there are no further references to Joseph and it is presumed that he has died.

5. The Magi, or Wise Men, travelled a tiny bit further than they'd expected in searching for the baby Jesus. They came to Jerusalem, the seat of royalty, only to be told to go on to Bethlehem. Approximately how far was this additional mileage?

Answer: 6 miles

"Then Herod called the Magi secretly and found out from them the exact time the star had appeared. He sent them to Bethlehem and said, "Go and make a careful search for the child. As soon as you find him, report to me, so that I too may go and worship him."" (Matthew 2 v. 7-8)

Bethlehem is just to the south of Jerusalem. The reading above should also help to dispel the myth that the Magi followed a star for their entire journey. Initially, they saw a star in the sky, but took this, from their study of ancient texts, to indicate that a new king would shortly be born in Israel. That is why they turned up, not unreasonably, in Jerusalem and sought out King Herod. Herod consulted his experts, who suggested looking in Bethlehem. It was on the way to Bethlehem that the star reappeared and guided them to their destination.

6. On the day that Jesus was crucified, Jerusalem was full of Jews celebrating the annual Passover festival. One of these people was a man named Simon who had made his pilgrimage from Cyrene, a town in modern day Libya. He had some unexpected and unpleasant extra distance to cover when he was required to carry Jesus' cross. Approximately how far was Simon's journey from Cyrene to Jerusalem?

Answer: 785 miles

"A certain man from Cyrene, Simon, the father of Alexander and Rufus, was passing by on his way in from the country, and they forced him to carry the cross." (Mark 15 v.21)

There is a fascinating tradition that Simon's family became Christians. This is fuelled by the fact that Mark records the names of Simon's sons, clearly expecting that his readers will have some idea of who they are. It has also been speculated that they are linked with the men of Cyrene who "went to Antioch and began to speak to Greeks also, telling them the good news about the Lord Jesus." (Acts 11 v. 20)

7. On the day of Jesus' resurrection, a man named Cleopas and his companion were journeying from Jerusalem to Emmaus. On the way, they were joined by a man who turned out to be the risen Jesus. Their reaction was to turn right round and return to Jerusalem. How much was their additional mileage in returning from Emmaus?

Answer: 7 miles

"Now that same day two of them were going to a village called Emmaus, about seven miles from Jerusalem." (Luke 24 v. 13)

Luke gives the distance from Emmaus to Jerusalem as 60 stadia. Whilst the Roman measure of a stadion could vary slightly, the distance works out as approximately 7 miles. There is, now, no village called Emmaus in the vicinity of Jerusalem. One tradition links the story with the town of Emmaus Nicopolis which is 160 stadia from Jerusalem. This is, however, very unlikely as it would require a textual error and a distance too great for the two disciples to consider travelling late in the day.

8. In the book of Acts, Paul was determined to argue his case, and the message of Christianity, before Caesar in Rome. Approximately how far was his journey, under guard, from Jerusalem to Rome?

Answer: 1430 miles

Paul's journey began when the Jewish authorities brought charges against him to the Roman governor, Antonius Felix, at Caesarea. Without making any decision, Felix left Paul in prison for two years before being succeeded as governor by Porcius Festus. Festus heard Paul's case within days. He asked if Paul was willing to be tried in Jerusalem (where Luke alleges that assassins were waiting to ambush and kill him), but Paul insisted on his right, as a Roman citizen, to make his defence in Rome.

The final chapter of Acts records that, having reached Rome, Paul spent two years living in a rented house where, "boldly and without hindrance he preached the kingdom of God and taught about the Lord Jesus Christ." (Acts 28 v. 31) According to legend, Paul was martyred in Rome under the emperor Nero, at some time during the early sixties AD.

9. This quiz has had a few questions about Jerusalem and relative distances. Your mileage, though, is going to vary staggeringly when you take on board the dimensions of the new Jerusalem, as given in the book of Revelation. The ground layout is described as being in the shape of a square with each side measuring 12,000 stadia long. If you walked around the entire perimeter, approximately how many miles would you travel?

Answer: 5600 miles

"The angel who talked with me had a measuring rod of gold to measure the city, its gates and its walls. The city was laid out like a square, as long as it was wide. He measured the city with the rod and found it to be 12,000 stadia in length, and as wide and high as it is long." (Revelation 21 v. 15-16)

Did the new Jerusalem turn out to be larger than you thought? Its area is 50% bigger than the country of India. Not only that but it is described as a perfect cube, as its height is also given as 12,000 stadia! Most scholars, of course, argue that these details should be taken taken figuratively and not literally. The book of Revelation was written to strengthen Christians who were experiencing increasing persecution within the Roman empire. It is full of numerology, symbolism and allusion to Old Testament scripture. Indeed, it is probably not without significance that the distance between Jerusalem and Rome is ... approximately 12000 stadia!

10. For centuries, the Lemba people of Zimbabwe and South Africa have handed down a fascinating oral tradition. They have always believed themselves to be descended from Jews that travelled from Israel to Yemen and then down the eastern coast of Africa to their present home. Approximately how far would that migration have been, if you calculate it from Jerusalem to the present day Zimbabwean capital of Harare?

Answer: 3430 miles

I find this story fascinating. The Lemba passed the story of their origins down through the generations. It began with a man called Buba, who led a group of Jews out of Israel and to a town called Senna, in what is now Yemen. This is thought to have happened about 2500 years ago, making it conceivable that it could coincide with the Babylonian sacking of Jerusalem, or even the earlier loss of the ten northern tribes under the Assyrians. At a later date, their descendants had to leave Senna and travelled down the coastline of Africa. Various groups splintered off along the way, with the Lemba making it all the way to Southern Africa.

In recent years, this folklore has been subjected to modern analysis. Firstly, a virtually deserted town, called Sanaw, was identified in Yemen, that closely matches the geographical details handed down in the story. Even more persuasive, however, was a discovery made when the Lemba's DNA was tested. It is very rare for men from outside of the tribe to become Lemba and, thus, any genetic material handed down is more likely to come from common ancestors. Results showed that a significant majority of Lemba men carry the Cohen modal haplotype, a distinguishing characteristic of the Jewish Kohanim or priesthood. This was even more marked in the Lemba's own priestly clan, the Buba. Whilst not 100% proof, it does indicate very strongly that the Lemba do indeed share an ancestry that links back to the ancient Jewish priesthood.

Source: Author glendathecat

This quiz was reviewed by FunTrivia editor CellarDoor before going online.
Any errors found in FunTrivia content are routinely corrected through our feedback system.

Your Mileage May Vary Trivia Quiz

This quiz comes to you courtesy of an Author Challenge set by Polaris101. It contains Bible stories that will probably be familiar to you but how sure are you of the varied mileages involved? All distances are calculated "as the crow flies".

NEXT>

NEXT>

NEXT>

NEXT>

NEXT>

NEXT>

NEXT>

NEXT>

NEXT>