1 Kings
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50 free 1 Kings trivia questions with answers — trivia quiz, new questions added Oct 2026.
First Kings packs a lot into 22 chapters. It opens with a palace plot over who will follow the dying David, lingers on the wealth and wisdom of Solomon, then watches his kingdom break in two under his son. This quiz covers the whole story. Some questions deal with the succession, the famous judgment between two mothers, and the building of the temple. More than half come from chapters 12 to 22: Rehoboam and Jeroboam, the kings of Israel and Judah who followed them, and the prophet Elijah's long fight with Ahab and Jezebel. The questions suit Sunday school classes, Bible study groups and anyone reading through the Old Testament. The answers hold in the King James Version and in modern translations alike, and every explanation adds a detail from the text.
30 of 50 questions with answers and explanations. Play the quiz
Q 01Which birds brought Elijah bread and meat twice a day while he hid by the brook Cherith?
Ravens
Ravens were an unlikely choice of waiter: the law of Moses lists them among the unclean birds that Israelites were forbidden to eat.
Q 02What did Solomon call for when two women each claimed to be the mother of the same baby?
A sword
A sword was never used: Solomon's order to cut the living child in two made the real mother give up her claim to save him.
Q 03The queen of which land came to Jerusalem with camels of spices to test Solomon with hard questions?
Sheba
Sheba's queen went home saying the reports had not told her the half of it, and left Solomon 120 talents of gold.
Q 04On which mountain did Elijah challenge 450 prophets of Baal to call down fire on a sacrifice?
Mount Carmel
Mount Carmel heard Baal's prophets shout from morning until evening without an answer before Elijah took his turn.
Q 05At Horeb, after a wind, an earthquake and a fire, how did God finally speak to Elijah?
In a still small voice
In a still small voice, as the King James Version puts it, came the presence that three louder spectacles had lacked; Elijah covered his face with his cloak before answering.
Q 06Whom did Elijah find ploughing a field and call as his successor by throwing his cloak over him?
Elisha
Elisha burned his bridges at once, slaughtering his plough team and cooking the meat over the wooden gear to feed his neighbours.
Q 07Whose vineyard beside the palace in Jezreel did Ahab want to turn into a vegetable garden?
Naboth
Naboth refused because the land was his family inheritance, and the refusal cost him his life when Jezebel had him falsely accused of blasphemy.
Q 08How many wives of royal birth does 1 Kings 11 say Solomon had, besides 300 concubines?
700
700 wives and their foreign gods are the book's explanation for the kingdom's breakup: Solomon built hilltop shrines for them outside Jerusalem.
Q 09Rehoboam said his father had disciplined Israel with whips; what did he threaten to use instead?
Scorpions
Scorpions was the answer his young friends drafted for him, and it split the kingdom: the northern tribes walked out and crowned Jeroboam.
Q 10Which two foods never ran out for the widow of Zarephath who fed Elijah during the drought?
Flour and oil
Flour and oil were all she had left: when Elijah met her she was gathering sticks to cook a last meal for herself and her son before starving.
Q 11Which son of David declared himself king while his father lay dying, only to lose the throne to Solomon?
Adonijah
Adonijah threw himself a coronation feast, but the cheering for Solomon's anointing reached his guests before the meal was over and they fled.
Q 12Which young Shunammite woman was brought to the palace to keep the aged King David warm?
Abishag
Abishag later cost a prince his life: when Solomon's older half-brother asked to marry her, Solomon read it as a claim on the throne.
Q 13Which wife of David reminded the dying king of his oath that her son Solomon would reign?
Bathsheba
Bathsheba later received royal honours herself: Solomon rose, bowed to her and had a seat placed for her at his right hand.
Q 21According to 1 Kings 6, which sound was never heard at the site while Solomon's temple was being built?
Hammers
Hammers stayed silent because every block was cut and finished at the quarry, then carried in ready to fit.
Q 22Which winged figures, carved in olive wood and overlaid with gold, stood in Solomon's temple sanctuary?
Cherubim
Cherubim there stood about fifteen feet tall, with wings that spanned the room from wall to wall and met in the middle above the ark.
Q 23One great pillar at the entrance of Solomon's temple was named Jachin; what was the other called?
Boaz
Boaz shared its name with Solomon's great-great-grandfather, the husband of Ruth, and both pillars rose about 27 feet before their capitals.
Q 14Which prophet, who had once rebuked David over Uriah's death, helped put Solomon on the throne?
Nathan
Nathan coached Solomon's mother on what to say to the old king, then walked in on cue to confirm her story.
Q 15Which priest anointed Solomon king at Gihon while the rival priest Abiathar feasted with another prince?
Zadok
Zadok took the horn for the anointing from the sacred tent, and his reward was the top priestly post: Solomon banished his rival to Anathoth.
Q 16On which animal, King David's own, did Solomon ride down to Gihon to be anointed king?
A mule
A mule was what David's sons rode, so seating Solomon on the king's own animal showed Jerusalem whom David had chosen.
Q 17Which veteran commander of David's army was struck down beside the altar on Solomon's orders?
Joab
Joab had murdered two rival generals in peacetime, and David's deathbed advice to Solomon was not to let his grey head go down to the grave in peace.
Q 18How did God appear to Solomon at Gibeon when Solomon asked for wisdom rather than riches?
In a dream
In a dream God told Solomon to ask for anything, and was so pleased with the request that he added the wealth and honour Solomon had not asked for.
Q 19Which king of Tyre, a lifelong friend of David, supplied the cedar timber for Solomon's temple?
Hiram
Hiram was paid in food: Solomon sent 20,000 measures of wheat to his household every year in return for the timber.
Q 20The cedar logs for Solomon's temple were cut in which northern land and floated south by sea?
Lebanon
Lebanon was worked by 30,000 Israelite conscripts in monthly shifts, so that each man spent one month in the forests and two at home.
Q 24The huge cast-metal basin called the Sea in Solomon's temple rested on twelve statues of which animal?
Oxen
Oxen faced outward in four groups of three, one group for each point of the compass, under a basin about fifteen feet across.
Q 25When the ark was carried into Solomon's temple, what was the only thing inside it?
Two stone tablets
Two stone tablets, placed there by Moses at Horeb, were all it held, though Hebrews 9 also lists manna and Aaron's staff among its contents.
Q 26Solomon repaid the king of Tyre with twenty towns in which region, a gift the king disliked?
Galilee
Galilee's twenty towns pleased him so little that he nicknamed the district Cabul, a name the book says stuck.
Q 27Solomon's great throne, set above six steps and overlaid with gold, was made of which material?
Ivory
Ivory came to Solomon by sea: the same chapter says his trading fleet returned with a fresh cargo every three years.
Q 28Besides gold and silver, which exotic animals did Solomon's trading ships bring home every three years?
Apes and peacocks
Apes and peacocks is the King James reading of two rare Hebrew words; some modern translations make the second animal a baboon.
Q 29A prophet from Shiloh tore what into twelve pieces, handing Jeroboam ten for the tribes he would rule?
A new garment
A new garment made the point in cloth, and the pieces held back stood for what would stay with Solomon's son for the sake of David.
Q 30Which king of Egypt sheltered the fugitive Jeroboam and later carried off the treasures of Jerusalem's temple?
Shishak
Shishak took the gold shields Solomon had made, so Rehoboam replaced them with bronze copies for his guards to carry.