Can you tell your Abrahams from your Absaloms? Can you read the word of God and know who is being addressed? Well, then you might have a chance to ace the impossibly difficult excerpt The Shofar offers here, taken from this year’s Chidon — the Old Testament knowledge contest organized by the World Zionist Organization and the American Zionist Movement to challenge even the mightiest Torah scholar.

“It’s not an easy test,” says Shanni Alon, who coordinates the Chidon HaTanakh, which runs every two years and draws entrants from around the world. The test’s 50 multiple-choice questions pull trivia from the deepest trenches of the Tanakh, and no, it’s not open-book. Most of the questions require contestants to answer a question about a verse or a phrase within a verse. There are 23,145 verses in the Five Books, Prophets and Writings — the liturgy included in the Tanakh.

The grand prize in the American competition? A free trip to Israel to compete in another Chidon, against winners from Argentina, France, Israel and other countries.

Here are 10 questions from this year’s exam, courtesy of The Forward.  [From the JPS edition]

P.S. There’s no shame in failing. Answers appear on the last page of this issue of The Shofar. No peeking…

 

  1. How long did Jacob dwell in the land of Egypt?
  2. 17 years; B, 20 years; C, 23 years; D, 30 years
  3. A biblical character is described in the following quote: “His father had never scolded him: ‘Why did you do that?’” Who is it?

A, Amnon; B, Absalom; C, Adonijah; D, Shlomo

 

  1. The following quote is addressed to a biblical character: “And listen to what they say; after that, you will have the courage to attack the camp.” Who is it?

A, Joshua; B, David; C, Saul; D, Gideon

 

  1. When is it not mandatory to blow trumpets?

A, At festive times; B, At the beginning of the month; C, In wartime; D, When inaugurating a building

 

  1. A biblical character is described as going to “the top of the hill that is near Hebron.” Who is it?

A, Samson; B, Caleb, the son of Jephunneh; C, David; D, Jacob

 

  1. The following phrase is excerpted from a prophecy: “But let them be covered with sackcloth, both man and beast.” What is the prophecy about?

A, A person’s death; B, An epidemic; C, The destruction of a city; D, A defeat in battle

 

  1. A biblical character is described in the following quote: “And taking of every clean animal and of every clean bird, he offered burnt offerings on the altar.” Who is it?

A, Shlomo; B, Noah; C, Samuel; D, Saul

 

  1. Which biblical character said the following: “As you say, my lord king, I and all I have are yours.”

A, Ziba; B, Ahab; C, Mephibosheth; D, Shimei, son of Gera

 

  1. Who of the following was not born in Egypt?

A, Moses; B, Efraim; C, Jeroboam, son of Nevat; D, Genubath

 

  1. Which biblical character utters the following prayer: “Please, O Lord, remember how I have walked before you…”

A, A Psalmist; B, Elijah; C, Jonah; D, Hezekiah