Bible Survey

Bible Survey is a class in Calvin Theological Seminary you can be tested out of. It covers following six topics:

1. Themes of the biblical books (30%)
2. Biblical verses from memory (20%)
3. Biblical figures and the books in which they appear (20%)
4. Canonical order of the biblical books (15%)
5. Places of significance in biblical history (10%)
6. Dates of significance in biblical history (5%)

Use these to gauge your familiarity with the Bible. It will be a good exercise to make your own study guide on these topics.

1. Themes of the biblical books (30%): Know all of the following themes for the biblical books. For the test, you will be asked to provide 15 of them. Word-for-word memorization is not required, but you should be able to provide the same general ideas.

• Genesis: God separates out one through whom he would bless all nations.
• Exodus: God delivers his people from slavery into his presence.
• Leviticus: God instructs his people how to live in his presence.
• Numbers: God chastens his disobedient people but reaffirms his intent to bring them into the Promised Land.
• Deuteronomy: God gives Moses instructions for the second generation of Israel regarding faithful living in the Promised Land.
• Joshua: God uses Joshua to bring his people victorious rest in the Promised Land.
• Judges: God raises up judges to rescue his errant people from the consequences of their rebellion.
• Ruth: God uses Ruth and Boaz to fill Naomi’s emptiness by providing her with food and a son.
• 1 & 2 Samuel: God exalts the weak and humbles the proud.
• 1 & 2 Kings: God expels Israel and Judah from his presence in the Promised Land when its kings turn away from Torah.
• 1 & 2 Chronicles: God provides hope to post–exilic Israel by means of an account of Davidic kings who acknowledge the Lord’s rule.
• Ezra: God brings the exiles back to Jerusalem and directs that his temple be rebuilt.
• Nehemiah: God moves the returned exiles to rebuild the wall of Jerusalem.
• Esther: God providentially provides Esther and Mordecai to bring Israel deliverance from her enemies.
• Job: God is active in areas and realms beyond our understanding.
• Psalms: God the Great King provides the words of lament and praise that are appropriate responses to him.
• Proverbs: God has placed an order in creation to which we should pay attention in order to live wisely.
• Ecclesiastes: God prompts the Teacher to question the purpose of life.
• Song of Songs: God depicts intimate human love as a gift and also a key to understanding his own love for his people.
• Isaiah: The Holy One of Israel challenges his people to respond appropriately to his presence among them.
• Jeremiah: God promises his people a new covenant beyond the necessary exile.
• Lamentations: God’s loving compassion and faithfulness are present even during the cataclysmic destruction of Jerusalem.
• Ezekiel: God’s presence is the key to life.
• Daniel: God asserts his authority over human kingdoms. 
• Hosea: A faithful God contends with his unfaithful people.
• Joel: The Day of the LORD is coming and brings judgment before restoration.
• Amos: God judges his people for their social injustice.
  Obadiah: God will avenge Edom’s mistreatment of Israel.
• Jonah: The Sovereign LORD‘s compassion extends beyond Israel.
• Micah: God will punish his rebellious people, but promises future salvation.
• Nahum: The LORD is sovereign over all and will judge Nineveh.
• Habakkuk: God is my only comfort in life and in death in a world of seemingly unchecked evil.
• Zephaniah: God announces to Judah the approaching day of the LORD.
• Haggai: God directs his people to give priority to him and his house, and so be blessed.
• Zechariah: God uses apocalyptic, eschatological imagery to encourage his people to
  complete the rebuilding of the temple.
• Malachi: When he comes to judge, God will spare those who honor him.
• Matthew: Jesus is the new Moses who reinterprets the Torah.
• Mark: Jesus is the suffering Son of Man.
• Luke: The Son of Man came to seek and to save what was lost.
• John: Jesus, the Word, is God.
• Acts: God expands and empowers his Church through his Spirit.
• Romans: Through Christ, God brings his chosen ones from death to life.
• 1 Corinthians: God gives guidance to the spiritually gifted, but immature Corinthian church.
• 2 Corinthians: God directs Paul to explain and vindicate his apostolic authority while encouraging the generosity of the Corinthian church.
• Galatians: God calls for rejecting the legalistic demands of the Judaizers and embracing the gospel of grace.
• Ephesians: God establishes the Church as the firstfruits of his shalom.
• Philippians: God gives resurrection power and joy in the face of persecution and heresy.
• Colossians: God has exalted his Christ above all human wisdom and tradition.
• 1 & 2 Thessalonians: God empowers productive, godly lives as believers wait for the Lord’s return.
• 1 Timothy: God encourages the (Ephesian) church in promoting the truth and opposing error.
• 2 Timothy: God appeals to Timothy and the churches to remain loyal to the gospel message in the face of persecution and error.
• Titus: God provides instructions to a young church leader regarding defending, speaking, and living out the truth.
• Philemon: God shows Philemon how his slave, Onesimus, has become a Christian brother.
• Hebrews: Christ is the ultimate revelation and mediator of God’s gracious new relationship with his people.
• James: God enables a life of good works that flow from a genuine faith.
• 1 Peter: God equips struggling believers to stand firm in his grace as they live holy lives.
• 2 Peter: God encourages believers in the security and grace of divine truth as they patiently await the Lord’s return.
• 1 John: God calls those who believe in the divinity of the incarnate Christ to become like him.
• 2 John: God warns against showing hospitality to those who would promote error.
• 3 John: God inspires John to praise Gaius for his hospitality toward John’s messengers, and condemn Diotrephes for his inhospitality toward them.
• Jude: God warns his people against those who encourage them to view God’s grace as a license to sin.
• Revelation: God enables his people to stand fast against Satan and his forces until God brings about the ultimate and sure victory.

2. Biblical verses from memory (20%): Know biblical verses from memory from the following list.

• Two of following verses from the Pentateuch: Genesis 12:2–3, Exodus 29:46, Leviticus 20:26, Numbers 14:18, Deuteronomy 10:12–13
• Two of following verses from the Historical Books (Former Prophets): Joshua 11:23, Judges 2:16–17, Ruth 4:14–15, 1 Samuel 2:7–8, 2 Samuel 7:11, 1 Kings 11:11, 2 Kings 17:20, 1 Chronicles 17:11, 2 Chronicles 7:17–18, Ezra 1:3, Nehemiah 2:17, Esther 4:14
• Two of following verses from the Writings: Job 42:3, Psalms 1:6, Proverbs 1:7, Ecclesiastes 12:13, Song of Songs 8:7
• Two of following verses from the Major Prophets: Isaiah 42:1, Jeremiah 31:33, Lamentations 3:22–23, Ezekiel 37:5, Daniel 2:20–21
• Two of following verses from the Minor Prophets: Hosea 1:2, Joel 1:15, Amos 5:24, Obadiah 10, Jonah 4:2, Micah 7:18, Nahum 1:7–8, Habakkuk 3:19, Zephaniah 2:3, Haggai 1:8, Zechariah 1:16, Malachi 3:7
• Two of following verses from the Synoptic Gospels: Matthew: 28:18–20, Mark 10:45, Luke 19:10
• Two of following verses from the Pauline Epistles: Romans: 6:23, 1 Corinthians 3:3, 2 Corinthians 2:17, Galatians 2:16, Ephesians 2:17, Philippians 3:10–11, Colossians 1:18, 1 Thessalonians 3:13, 2 Thessalonians 2:13, 1 Timothy 4:16, 2 Timothy 2:15, Titus 2:1, Philemon 16b
• Two of following verses from the General Epistles: Hebrews 2:9, James 2:18b, 1 Peter 5:10, 2 Peter 3:17b–18a, 1 John 2:29, 2 John 10, 3 John 8, Jude 19
• John 1:1
• Acts 1:8
• Revelation 21:6–7a

3. Biblical figures and the books in which they appear (20%): Be able to describe the significance of all of the following biblical figures and note the biblical book in which they appear most prominently. For the test, you will be asked to do so for twenty of them.

• Adam, Eve, Cain, Abel, Seth, Noah, Shem, Ham, Japheth, Abram/Abraham, Sarai/Sarah, Lot, Melchizedek, Hagar, Ishmael, Isaac, Rebekah, Laban, Jacob, Esau, Leah, Rachel, Reuben, Simeon, Levi, Judah, Dan, Naphtali, Gad, Asher, Issachar, Zebulun, Joseph, Benjamin, Manasseh, Ephraim, Moses, Aaron, Miriam, Amalekites, Phinehas, Korah, Balaam, Caleb, Joshua, Rahab, Deborah, Barak, Sisera, Jael, Gideon, Midianites, Jephthah, Ammonites, Samson, Delilah, Philistines, Ruth, Naomi, Boaz, Eli, Hannah, Samuel, Saul, Jonathan, Goliath, David, Ish–Bosheth, Abner, Joab, Nathan, Bathsheba, Tamar, Amnon, Absalom, Adonijah, Zadok, Solomon, Rehoboam, Jeroboam, Asa, Ahab, Jezebel, Elijah, Elisha, Jehoshaphat, Jehu, Athaliah, Joash, Uzziah, Ahaz, Hoshea, Hezekiah, Sennacherib, Manesseh (king), Josiah, Jehoiakim, Jehoiachin, Nebuchadnezzar, Zedekiah, Cyrus (II), Ezra, Artaxerxes, Darius, Nehemiah, Esther, Mordecai, Haman, Xerxes (Ahasuerus), Job, Isaiah, Jeremiah, Baruch, Ezekiel, Daniel, Hosea, Gomer, Joel, Amos, Obadiah, Jonah, Micah, Nahum, Habbakkuk, Zephaniah, Haggai, Zechariah, Zerubbabel, Malachi, Matthew, Mary, Herod the Great, John the Baptist, Simon Peter, Andrew, James, John, Pharisees, Sadducees, Philip, Thomas, Judas Iscariot, Caiaphas, Pontius Pilate, John Mark, Herod Antipas, Luke, Elizabeth, Martha, Lazarus, Nicodemus, Samaritans, Mary Magdalene, Zacchaeus, Herod Agrippa II, Ananias, Sapphira, Stephen, Saul of Tarsus/Paul, Barnabas, Aquila, Apollos, Felix, Festus, Timothy, Titus, Philemon, Onesimus, Jude

4. Canonical order of the biblical books (15%): Know the names (spelled correctly) and (Protestant) canonical order for the books of the Old Testament and New Testament.

5. Places of significance in biblical history (10%): Know the locations of all of the following places of significance in biblical history. For the test, you will be asked to locate then of them on a map.

• Judea, Hebron, Bethlehem, Samaria, Mount Sinai, Nazareth, Galilee, Edom, Jerusalem, The Sea of Galilee, Egypt, Gethsemane, The Jordan River, The Nile River, Cyprus, Mediterranean Sea, Mount Gerizim, Caesarea, The Dead Sea, Mount Ebal, Macedonia, The Negev, Sodom and Gomorrah, Achaia, Assyria, Tigris River, Thessalonica, Babylon, Euphrates River, Athens, Syria, Mesopotamia, Corinth, Tyre, Shechem, Greece, Sidon, Red Sea, Ephesus, Philistia, Bethel, Italy, Moab, Damascus, Rome, Gilead, Canaan, Crete, Ammon, Jericho, Malta, Dan, Ashkelon, Galatia, Beersheba, Persia, Philippi, Megiddo, Nineveh, Colossae

6. Dates of significance in biblical history (5%): Know all of the following significant dates in biblical history. For the test, you will be asked to provide five of them.

• The time period of the patriarchs (approximately): 2000–1550 B.C.
• The exodus (approximately): 1446 or 1275 B.C.
• The period of the judges (approximately): 1200–1050 B.C.
• The reign of Saul: 1050–1010 B.C.
• The reign of David: 1010–970 B.C.
• The reign of Solomon: 970–930 B.C.
• The division of the kingdom: 930 B.C.
• The fall of the northern kingdom: 722 B.C.
• The discovery of the law book in the Temple: 622 B.C.
• The fall of Jerusalem: 587/6 B.C.
• The return from exile: 539/8 B.C.
• The dates of Paul’s missionary journeys (approximately):
  
  • A.D. 46–48 (Acts 13:2–14:28)
  • A.D. 49–52 (Acts 15:40–18:23)
  • A.D. 53–57 (Acts 18:23–21:17)
  • A.D. 62–67 (Titus 1:5)
• The Jerusalem Council: A.D. 49–50
• The Roman destruction of Jerusalem: A.D. 70
• The last book of the Bible written: A.D. 95 (Johannine Letters and/or Revelation)