Q 01/05

What was Saint Peter's birth name?

A) Andrew bar Zebedee

B) Simon bar Jonah

C) Levi bar Alphaeus

D) Judas bar Simon

Answer · why

B) Simon bar Jonah

In two New Testament passages the name is spelled 'Simeon', reflecting the Jewish custom of pairing a patriarch's name with a similar-sounding Greek o...

Q 02/05

In which town on the Sea of Galilee was Peter born?

A) Nazareth

B) Capernaum

C) Bethsaida

D) Magdala

Answer · why

C) Bethsaida

His mother-in-law was healed by Jesus at the family home in Capernaum, which is why he is thought to have been married or widowed.

Q 03/05

What was Peter's trade before he followed Jesus?

A) Tentmaking

B) Tax collecting

C) Carpentry

D) Fishing

Answer · why

D) Fishing

He worked with his brother Andrew and with James and John, the sons of Zebedee; the popes still wear the Fisherman's Ring in his memory.

Q 04/05

The name Cephas, which Jesus gave to Simon, comes from an Aramaic word meaning what?

A) Fisher of men

B) Rock or stone

C) Good shepherd

D) Faithful servant

Answer · why

B) Rock or stone

Petros is the Greek masculinised form; Cephas appears nine times in the New Testament and Petros 156 times.

Q 05/05

How many times does the combined name 'Simon Peter' appear in the New Testament?

A) 19

B) 7

C) 31

D) 50

Answer · why

A) 19

Some Syriac documents call him Simon Cephas.