Can You Pass This Basic Sunday School Quiz?

Genesis says that Adam and Eve ate the fruit "from the tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil." The type of fruit is not specified.

Today, many children are taught that the Devil took the form of a serpent. But Genesis 3:1 seems to blame the animal itself, saying "Now the serpent was more crafty than any of the wild animals that God had made."

Genesis 3:7 says that Adam and Eve "knew that they were naked, and they sewed fig leaves together to make loincloths." To this day, body language experts refer to a person standing with their hands folded over the region of the groin as "fig leaf position." It suggests a feeling of being exposed and wanting to protect oneself.

This is a famous phrase, from the story in Genesis 4 in which God confronts Cain about killing Abel. "Brother's Keeper" has been used as the title for both books and films.

"The Land of Nod" is sometimes used to mean sleep or bed (as a reference to "nodding off.") But originally, it was a land "east of Eden" where Cain settled.

This is sometimes phrased more poetically as "forty days and forty nights." However you say it, it was long enough that "everything on dry land in whose nostrils was the breath of life died." (Gen. 7:22).

God gave instructions for the ark to be three hundred cubits long, fifty wide, and thirty high. In feet, this is about 450 by 75 by 45.

This might be symbolic of God's peace-making with humanity, as the olive branch stands for peace. First, the dove brings one back to the ark; the next time it is sent out, it does not return at all.

Noah had three sons. Abednego was part of a famous trio later in the Bible, the three faithful youths who were thrown into the fiery furnace by Nebuchadnezzar.

The story in Genesis 25 says that Esau came in from hunting extremely hungry and wanted the stew Jacob had made. Jacob asked for Esau's birthright (his standing as firstborn), which Esau gave him. This might be history's first written example of how low blood sugar affects judgment!

Both Sarah and Abraham underwent a minor name change at God's behest. Abram became "Abraham," meaning "father of a multitude," while "Sarai" became "Sarah," meaning "princess."

You might know this from the musical, "Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat." Joseph was his father's favorite, and the gift of the coat only fanned the flames of his brothers' jealousy.

The Pharaoh had dreams of seven fat cows swallowed up by seven thin cows, and then seven healthy stalks of grain that were destroyed by seven thin, unhealthy ones. Joseph interpreted this as seven years of prosperity that would be followed by seven years of famine, and advised Pharaoh to make plans for the lean years.

Seth was the third child borne by Eve. As such, we can assume he played a role in the peopling of the earth, yet he is not considered one of the Bible's patriarchs.

The pharaoh of that time was probably Seti. Ramses was his successor. But it was the daughter of the Pharaoh who found the infant Moses in a basket and raised him as her own.

The ten plagues on Egypt were the pollution of the Nile, frogs, gnats, flies, boils, a plague on cattle, boils, thunderstorm, locusts, a thick darkness, and, finally, death of the firstborn Egyptians. There's some speculation that the plague on cattle might have been an early form of anthrax.

The Egyptians who attempted to follow them were drowned when the walls of water came back down. Moses celebrated this victory with the song of praise in Exodus 15: "I will sing unto the Lord, for he has triumphed gloriously/The horse and rider he has thrown into the sea."

You might remember a Sunday School song about Joshua fighting the battle of Jericho. According to the story, the walls simply fell down flat after a ram's horn was blown and the Israelites raised "a great shout." Sonic warfare, millennia before the modern era!

Delilah is often called a Philistine woman, but the Bible only says that she lived "in the valley of Sorek." She could have been an Israelite - though she was certainly cozy with the Philistines.

Samson was a Nazirite, meaning that, among several other practices showing his devotion to God, he was not supposed to cut his hair. In Samson's case, this was the key to his great strength -- and when Delilah shaved his head, he lost it.

It's easy to think of David as the first king of Israel, but Saul came first, chosen by lots. This followed a period in which the Israelites were ruled by civic figures called judges. Having a monarchy was a sort of "step up" for them as an established nation.

David was one of eight brothers from the town of Bethlehem. Early in Samuel, he is seen playing music for King Saul, and also guarding flocks of sheep for his family.

Nineveh was the Assyrian capital, a city of great wickedness, according to the book of Jonah. The prophet does not believe that the people of Nineveh deserve redemption, and at first flees from God's command, by ship. We all know how that works out.

This is another case where you have to pay attention to the details. Though many Bible stories for children say "a whale," the actual book of Jonah says "great fish."

Naomi was the mother-in-law in the book of Ruth. She was a Jew, and Ruth a foreigner who married into the family. So Ruth's loyalty to Naomi can be interpreted as fidelity to God and the Jewish people overall, which is rewarded.

This is a favorite Bible story for children. Daniel was thrown into the lion's den, where he was unharmed. It's a metaphor for the protections that God gives to those who serve him.

The star is described as moving while the wise men follow it, then stopping over "the place where the child was." Astronomers have puzzled over the exact nature of this celestial phenomenon -- a nova? A slow-moving comet?

The gifts of the three wise men are celebrated in Christmas carols. Probably the best known of these is "We Three Kings," which promotes the "wise men" of the Bible to royalty.

This happened after John the Baptist baptized Jesus in the river Jordan. Ever since, the Holy Spirit has often been portrayed as a dove in stained glass and other religious art.

Jesus includes this in the lengthy, philosophy-rich Sermon on the Mount. Interestingly, it's closely related to Immanuel Kant's Universal Principle, which asks, "What would it be like if everyone practiced this behavior?"

The story of their calling is found in Matthew 4. James and John were mending nets with their father when Jesus called them, and they left immediately. (We imagine Dad wasn't too happy about this!)

In Jesus's parable, a man is attacked by thieves while traveling, robbed, and beaten. Several parties who would be considered "righteous" pass him by, but it is the heathen Samaritan who stops to help.

Jesus walks out to a boat that the disciples are in on the Sea of Galilee. When Peter attempts to walk out to him, he succeeds until he notices the power of the wind and waves, gets frightened, and starts to sink. This is when Jesus, rescuing him, says, "O ye of little faith." It's a phrase that has stuck with us until this day.

Jesus made this statement on the evening before his crucifixion, at the Last Supper. As the events of Jesus's arrest and trial unfolded, Peter did deny knowing him three times.

"And now abide these three: faith, hope and love, but the greatest of these is love." (1 Corinthians 13:13).