Women of the Bible trivia: 61 questions, from Eve to Priscilla

These 61 women of the Bible trivia questions run in Bible order, from Eve in Genesis to Priscilla in Acts, and cover the famous (Sarah, Ruth, Esther, Mary) along with women most quizzes skip, like Shiphrah and Puah, Huldah, Jehosheba and the daughters of Zelophehad. Every answer has its King James Version reference, and most link to a full character profile.

Many women in Scripture are unnamed: the widow of Zarephath, the woman at the well, Pilate's wife. Their stories are often just as important, so several questions ask about them, with the verse so you can read the scene.

If a question sends you to a profile you've never read, that's the best outcome. A character study shows you a whole life, not just one trivia fact.

Women of the Bible at a glance

Here are the women with full profiles on our site, in Bible order, with the passage where their story centers. Each profile walks through her life in order, her strengths and weaknesses, and lessons for today.

The app has 100+ Bible characters like these, each with their life in order and a short quiz. It's a good way to go from "I know her name" to "I know her story".

Women of Genesis trivia

1. What name did Adam give his wife, and why? Answer: Eve, "because she was the mother of all living" (Genesis 3:20). See Adam and Eve.
2. Who laughed within herself when she heard she would have a son in her old age? Answer: Sarah (Genesis 18:12). See Sarah's profile.
3. How old was Sarah when she died? Answer: 127 years (Genesis 23:1).
4. What was the name of Sarah's Egyptian handmaid, the mother of Ishmael? Answer: Hagar (Genesis 16:1, 16:15). Read Hagar and the God who sees.
5. What did Hagar call the LORD who spoke to her in the wilderness? Answer: "Thou God seest me" (Genesis 16:13).
6. Who offered to draw water for all the camels of Abraham's servant? Answer: Rebekah (Genesis 24:15-19). See Rebekah's profile and a wife for Isaac.
7. Which of her twin sons did Rebekah love? Answer: Jacob; Isaac loved Esau (Genesis 25:28).
8. Laban had two daughters. Which one was "tender eyed"? Answer: Leah, the elder; Rachel was "beautiful and well favoured" (Genesis 29:16-17).
9. How many years did Jacob first serve for Rachel? Answer: Seven, and "they seemed unto him but a few days" (Genesis 29:20). See Rachel's profile.
10. Which two sons did Rachel bear? Answer: Joseph and Benjamin; she died giving birth to Benjamin (Genesis 30:22-24, 35:18).
11. Where was Rachel buried? Answer: On the way to Ephrath, which is Bethlehem (Genesis 35:19).
12. What was the name of Jacob and Leah's daughter? Answer: Dinah (Genesis 30:21).
13. Which widow of Er disguised herself to make Judah keep his word? Answer: Tamar (Genesis 38:6, 38:14). Read Judah and Tamar.

Women from Exodus to Ruth trivia

1. What were the names of the two Hebrew midwives who refused Pharaoh's order to kill the baby boys? Answer: Shiphrah and Puah (Exodus 1:15-17).
2. What was the name of Moses' mother? Answer: Jochebed, the wife of Amram (Exodus 6:20).
3. Whom did Moses marry in Midian? Answer: Zipporah, the daughter of the priest of Midian (Exodus 2:21).
4. What happened to Miriam after she and Aaron spoke against Moses? Answer: She became leprous, "white as snow", for seven days (Numbers 12:10, 12:15). See Miriam's profile.
5. Five sisters asked Moses for their dead father's inheritance. Whose daughters were they? Answer: The daughters of Zelophehad: Mahlah, Noah, Hoglah, Milcah and Tirzah (Numbers 27:1-7).
6. In which city did Rahab live? Answer: Jericho; her house was on the town wall (Joshua 2:1, 2:15). See Rahab's profile.
7. Which New Testament chapter names Rahab as an example of faith? Answer: Hebrews 11, "By faith the harlot Rahab perished not" (Hebrews 11:31).
8. What was the name of Deborah's husband? Answer: Lapidoth (Judges 4:4). See Deborah's profile and Deborah and Barak.
9. What did Barak tell Deborah before the battle? Answer: "If thou wilt go with me, then I will go: but if thou wilt not go with me, then I will not go" (Judges 4:8).
10. How much did each lord of the Philistines offer Delilah to find out Samson's secret? Answer: Eleven hundred pieces of silver (Judges 16:5).
11. Back in Bethlehem, what did Naomi ask to be called? Answer: Mara, "for the Almighty hath dealt very bitterly with me" (Ruth 1:20). See Naomi's profile.
12. Which of Naomi's daughters-in-law kissed her and went back to her people? Answer: Orpah (Ruth 1:14). Read Ruth and Boaz.

Women in the days of the kings trivia

1. What was the name of Elkanah's other wife, who provoked Hannah? Answer: Peninnah (1 Samuel 1:2, 1:6). See Hannah's profile.
2. What did Hannah make for Samuel and bring him every year? Answer: A little coat (1 Samuel 2:19).
3. Which daughter of Saul let David down through a window to escape? Answer: Michal, David's wife (1 Samuel 19:11-12).
4. After Nabal died, whom did Abigail marry? Answer: David (1 Samuel 25:39-42). See Abigail's profile and David and Abigail.
5. Bathsheba was the wife of which soldier? Answer: Uriah the Hittite (2 Samuel 11:3). See Bathsheba's profile.
6. Which son of David and Bathsheba became king after David? Answer: Solomon (2 Samuel 12:24, 1 Kings 1:30).
7. Which widow fed Elijah with her last handful of meal during the drought? Answer: A widow of Zarephath, whose barrel of meal did not waste (1 Kings 17:9-16). Read Elijah, the ravens and the widow of Zarephath.
8. Which queen promised Ahab, "I will give thee the vineyard of Naboth"? Answer: Jezebel (1 Kings 21:7). See Jezebel's profile.
9. How did Jezebel die? Answer: Jehu ordered her thrown down from a window (2 Kings 9:33). Read Jehu and the end of Jezebel.
10. Which "great woman" of Shunem built a little chamber on the wall for Elisha? Answer: The Shunammite woman, who is not named (2 Kings 4:8-10). Read the Shunammite woman and her son.
11. Which prophetess did King Josiah's officials consult after the book of the law was found? Answer: Huldah, who lived in Jerusalem (2 Kings 22:14).
12. Which queen mother destroyed "all the seed royal" of Judah? Answer: Athaliah (2 Kings 11:1).
13. Who hid the baby prince Joash from Athaliah? Answer: Jehosheba, daughter of King Joram (2 Kings 11:2). Read Joash, the king hidden in the temple.

Esther and the wisdom books trivia

1. What was Esther's Hebrew name? Answer: Hadassah (Esther 2:7). See Esther's profile.
2. Which queen refused to come when King Ahasuerus called for her? Answer: Vashti (Esther 1:12).
3. What did Esther ask the Jews of Shushan to do before she went to the king? Answer: Fast for her three days, night or day (Esther 4:16). Read Esther saves her people.
4. Which book asks, "Who can find a virtuous woman? for her price is far above rubies"? Answer: Proverbs (Proverbs 31:10).

Women in the Gospels trivia

1. What were the names of John the Baptist's parents? Answer: Zacharias and Elisabeth (Luke 1:5). See Zechariah and Elizabeth.
2. What did Mary answer the angel Gabriel? Answer: "Behold the handmaid of the Lord; be it unto me according to thy word" (Luke 1:38). See Mary, mother of Jesus.
3. What happened when Elisabeth heard Mary's greeting? Answer: The babe leaped in her womb and she was filled with the Holy Ghost (Luke 1:41). Read Mary visits Elizabeth.
4. Which aged prophetess gave thanks when she saw the infant Jesus in the temple? Answer: Anna, the daughter of Phanuel (Luke 2:36-38).
5. How many devils had gone out of Mary Magdalene? Answer: Seven (Luke 8:2). See Mary Magdalene's profile.
6. Which woman, the wife of Herod's steward Chuza, supported Jesus from her means? Answer: Joanna (Luke 8:3).
7. How many husbands had the woman at the well had? Answer: Five, and the man she had now was not her husband (John 4:18). Read the woman at the well.
8. What did Martha ask Jesus to tell her sister? Answer: To help her, because Mary had left her to serve alone (Luke 10:40). See Martha and Mary of Bethany.
9. Who came to Jesus with her sons James and John to ask for places of honor for them? Answer: The mother of Zebedee's children (Matthew 20:20-21).
10. What message did Pilate's wife send him during the trial? Answer: "Have thou nothing to do with that just man: for I have suffered many things this day in a dream because of him" (Matthew 27:19).
11. Who was the first person John's Gospel says saw the risen Jesus? Answer: Mary Magdalene, in the garden by the tomb (John 20:14-16). Read Mary Magdalene in the garden.

Women of Acts and the letters trivia

1. Which wife lied with her husband about the price of their land? Answer: Sapphira, wife of Ananias (Acts 5:1-10). Read Ananias and Sapphira.
2. What is the Greek name of Tabitha, the disciple at Joppa? Answer: Dorcas (Acts 9:36). Read Tabitha raised from the dead.
3. Which seller of purple was the first convert Acts names in Philippi? Answer: Lydia of Thyatira (Acts 16:14-15). Read Lydia, the seller of purple.
4. In Philippi, Paul cast a spirit of divination out of a damsel. What did her masters lose? Answer: "The hope of their gains", so they had Paul and Silas dragged to the rulers (Acts 16:16-19).
5. What trade did Priscilla and Aquila share with Paul? Answer: Tentmaking (Acts 18:2-3). See Priscilla and Aquila.
6. Whom did Priscilla and Aquila take aside to explain "the way of God more perfectly"? Answer: Apollos (Acts 18:24-26). See Apollos.
7. Philip the evangelist had four unmarried daughters. What did they do? Answer: They prophesied (Acts 21:8-9).
8. Which woman does Paul call "a succourer of many, and of myself also"? Answer: Phebe, of the church at Cenchrea (Romans 16:1-2).

Here's a short Ruth quiz from the app's question bank, a book where two women carry the whole story:

Quick quiz: Ruth

Which people was Ruth from?

The EdomitesThe MoabitesThe AmmonitesThe Philistines

What is the name of Ruth’s mother-in-law?

OrpahTamarNaomiRachel

In whose field does Ruth go to glean?

BoazSalmonJesseNahshon

Continue the quiz

There are many more questions like these in Bible Academy, each with its explanation and verse. Start free, no card needed.

What these women have in common

Read their stories side by side and a pattern shows up. Over and over, God works through women the culture around them overlooked: a foreign widow (Ruth), a Canaanite in Jericho (Rahab), a slave woman in the desert (Hagar), a barren wife mocked by a rival (Hannah). Matthew even names four women in Jesus' genealogy, Tamar, Rahab, Ruth and Bathsheba (the KJV spells them Thamar and Rachab, and calls Bathsheba "her that had been the wife of Urias"), plus Mary (Matthew 1:3-6, 1:16).

The women are also some of the most courageous people in Scripture. The midwives defied Pharaoh. Jehosheba hid a prince from a murderous queen. Esther walked into the king's court unbidden:

Go, gather together all the Jews that are present in Shushan, and fast ye for me, and neither eat nor drink three days, night or day: I also and my maidens will fast likewise; and so will I go in unto the king, which is not according to the law: and if I perish, I perish.

And the first witnesses of the resurrection were women. All four Gospels place them at the empty tomb, with Mary Magdalene named in every one (Matthew 28:1, Mark 16:1, Luke 24:10, John 20:1).

To dig into one of these lives properly, try a character study. Our guide on how to do a character study in the Bible walks you through it step by step, and the Bible characters index lists every profile. For a lighter take, the which Bible character are you quiz includes several of these women as results.

How to use this quiz

For a women's group or Bible study, take one section per week and read one full story before playing. The Ruth, Esther and Hannah questions each lead into a short book or passage you can finish in one sitting.

For a mixed group trivia night, combine these with our Old Testament quiz questions and New Testament trivia questions, or pull from the big list of Bible trivia questions and answers.

On your own, mark every name you didn't know. Then read her passage from the table or the answer. Each character profile also has its own quiz, like the Ruth character quiz or the Esther character quiz.

If you'd like a structured way to meet them all, the app takes you through 100+ Bible characters, one life at a time, with a quiz on each.

Frequently asked questions

Who is the most mentioned woman in the Bible?

Counting the KJV text, Abraham's wife Sarah is named 59 times if you include Sarai and the New Testament spelling Sara (Romans 4:19, Hebrews 11:11, 1 Peter 3:6); one more "Sarah" is a daughter of Asher (Numbers 26:46). Esther's appears 56 times, all in the book of Esther. "Mary" appears 54 times, but that name covers several different women.

Who was the first woman in the Bible?

Eve was the first woman. God made her from a rib taken from Adam (Genesis 2:21-22), and Adam named her Eve "because she was the mother of all living" (Genesis 3:20). Her story, including the fall in Eden, is in Genesis 2 to 4.

Which women are in the genealogy of Jesus?

Matthew's genealogy names five women: Tamar, Rahab, Ruth, "her that had been the wife of Urias" (Bathsheba), and Mary, the mother of Jesus (Matthew 1:3, 1:5-6, 1:16). Including women in a genealogy was unusual, and several of them were foreigners or had complicated stories.

Were there women prophets in the Bible?

Yes. The Old Testament names Miriam (Exodus 15:20), Deborah (Judges 4:4), Huldah (2 Kings 22:14) and Noadiah, who opposed Nehemiah (Nehemiah 6:14). The New Testament names Anna (Luke 2:36) and mentions Philip's four daughters, who prophesied (Acts 21:9).

Who was the only female judge in the Bible?

Deborah is the only woman the Bible names as a judge of Israel: "Deborah, a prophetess, the wife of Lapidoth, she judged Israel at that time" (Judges 4:4). She sat under a palm tree between Ramah and Bethel, and she called Barak to lead Israel's army against Sisera.