28 Bible Trivia Questions About Jonah and the Whale

A prophet who ran from God, a storm at sea, a great fish and a city that repented. How much do you remember about Jonah and Nineveh?

28 questionsTap an answer to check itBible verse for every answer

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Easy questions

  1. Question 1Easy

    While the great storm threatened to break the ship, Jonah was awake and praying to his God.

    Answer: FalseJonah 1:5
    Then the mariners were afraid, and cried every man unto his god, and cast forth the wares that were in the ship into the sea, to lighten it of them. But Jonah was gone down into the sides of the ship; and he lay, and was fast asleep.
  2. Question 2Easy

    What did Jonah tell the sailors to do to him to calm the sea?

    Answer: B. Throw him into the seaJonah 1:12
    And he said unto them, Take me up, and cast me forth into the sea; so shall the sea be calm unto you: for I know that for my sake this great tempest is upon you.
  3. Question 3Easy

    How did Jonah react when God forgave the city of Nineveh?

    Answer: B. He was furiousJonah 4:1
    But it displeased Jonah exceedingly, and he was very angry.
  4. Question 4Easy

    How long was Jonah inside the huge fish?

    Answer: C. Three days and three nightsJonah 1:17
    Now the LORD had prepared a great fish to swallow up Jonah. And Jonah was in the belly of the fish three days and three nights.
  5. Question 5Easy

    In Jonah's prayer, what does he say comes from the Lord?

    Answer: C. SalvationJonah 2:9
    But I will sacrifice unto thee with the voice of thanksgiving; I will pay that that I have vowed. Salvation is of the LORD.
  6. Question 6Easy

    Nineveh was the capital city of the Babylonian Empire.

    Answer: FalseJonah 1:2
    Arise, go to Nineveh, that great city, and cry against it; for their wickedness is come up before me.
  7. Question 7Easy

    What was Jonah's exact message to the people of Nineveh?

    Answer: C. Forty more days and Nineveh will be overthrownJonah 3:4
    And Jonah began to enter into the city a day's journey, and he cried, and said, Yet forty days, and Nineveh shall be overthrown.
  8. Question 8Easy

    God saw Nineveh's repentance and did not bring the destruction He had threatened.

    Answer: TrueJonah 3:10
    And God saw their works, that they turned from their evil way; and God repented of the evil, that he had said that he would do unto them; and he did it not.
  9. Question 9Easy

    To which city did God tell Jonah to go and preach against it?

    Answer: B. NinevehJonah 1:1-2
    Now the word of the LORD came unto Jonah the son of Amittai, saying, Arise, go to Nineveh, that great city, and cry against it; for their wickedness is come up before me.
  10. Question 10Easy

    Who sent the great wind on the sea that threatened Jonah's ship?

    Answer: C. The LordJonah 1:4
    But the LORD sent out a great wind into the sea, and there was a mighty tempest in the sea, so that the ship was like to be broken.
  11. Question 11Easy

    God commanded the fish, and it vomited Jonah onto dry land.

    Answer: TrueJonah 2:10
    And the LORD spake unto the fish, and it vomited out Jonah upon the dry land.

Medium questions

  1. Question 12Medium

    Jesus answered that an evil and adulterous generation seeks a sign, but no sign will be given except the sign of _____.

    Answer: A. Prophet JonahMatthew 12:39
    But he answered and said unto them, ‹An evil and adulterous generation seeketh after a sign; and there shall no sign be given to it, but the sign of the prophet Jonas:›
  2. Question 13Medium

    To which port city by the sea did Jonah go to find a ship sailing away from the Lord?

    Answer: D. JoppaJonah 1:3
    But Jonah rose up to flee unto Tarshish from the presence of the LORD, and went down to Joppa; and he found a ship going to Tarshish: so he paid the fare thereof, and went down into it, to go with them unto Tarshish from the presence of the LORD.
  3. Question 14Medium

    How large was the city of Nineveh according to the book of Jonah?

    Answer: C. It took three days to go through itJonah 3:3
    So Jonah arose, and went unto Nineveh, according to the word of the LORD. Now Nineveh was an exceeding great city of three days' journey.
  4. Question 15Medium

    Jonah told God that he was angry enough to die over the withered plant.

    Answer: TrueJonah 4:9
    And God said to Jonah, Doest thou well to be angry for the gourd? And he said, I do well to be angry, even unto death.
  5. Question 16Medium

    The sailors asked Jonah what his business was, where he came from, and what his country was.

    Answer: TrueJonah 1:8
    Then said they unto him, Tell us, we pray thee, for whose cause this evil is upon us; What is thine occupation? and whence comest thou? what is thy country? and of what people art thou?
  6. Question 17Medium

    What did God provide to give Jonah shade as he waited outside the city?

    Answer: C. A leafy plant (gourd)Jonah 4:6
    And the LORD God prepared a gourd, and made it to come up over Jonah, that it might be a shadow over his head, to deliver him from his grief. So Jonah was exceeding glad of the gourd.
  7. Question 18Medium

    As Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of the great fish, so will the Son of Man be three days and three nights in the _____.

    Answer: C. Heart of the earthMatthew 12:40
    ‹For as Jonas was three days and three nights in the whale's belly; so shall the Son of man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth.›
  8. Question 19Medium

    In the book of Jonah, how did the sailors determine who was responsible for the storm?

    Answer: A. They cast lotsJonah 1:7
    And they said every one to his fellow, Come, and let us cast lots, that we may know for whose cause this evil is upon us. So they cast lots, and the lot fell upon Jonah.
  9. Question 20Medium

    While in the belly of the fish, Jonah prayed and said he had been banished from God's sight.

    Answer: TrueJonah 2:4
    Then I said, I am cast out of thy sight; yet I will look again toward thy holy temple.
  10. Question 21Medium

    The people of Nineveh did not believe Jonah and tried to stone him.

    Answer: FalseJonah 3:5
    So the people of Nineveh believed God, and proclaimed a fast, and put on sackcloth, from the greatest of them even to the least of them.
  11. Question 22Medium

    In Nineveh, what were the people commanded to give up along with their evil ways?

    Answer: D. Their violenceJonah 3:8
    But let man and beast be covered with sackcloth, and cry mightily unto God: yea, let them turn every one from his evil way, and from the violence that is in their hands.
  12. Question 23Medium

    In the book of Jonah, the sailors greatly feared the Lord and offered a sacrifice after the storm ceased.

    Answer: TrueJonah 1:15-16
    So they took up Jonah, and cast him forth into the sea: and the sea ceased from her raging. Then the men feared the LORD exceedingly, and offered a sacrifice unto the LORD, and made vows.

Hard questions

  1. Question 24Hard

    God rebuked Jonah, saying Nineveh had more than how many people who could not tell their right hand from their left?

    Answer: C. 120,000Jonah 4:11
    And should not I spare Nineveh, that great city, wherein are more than sixscore thousand persons that cannot discern between their right hand and their left hand; and also much cattle?
  2. Question 25Hard

    Which prophet prophesied the restoration of Israel's border during the reign of Jeroboam II?

    Answer: B. Jonah son of Amittai2 Kings 14:25
    He restored the coast of Israel from the entering of Hamath unto the sea of the plain, according to the word of the LORD God of Israel, which he spake by the hand of his servant Jonah, the son of Amittai, the prophet, which was of Gathhepher.
  3. Question 26Hard

    In Jonah's poetic prayer from the fish, what did he say wrapped around his head?

    Answer: B. SeaweedJonah 2:5
    The waters compassed me about, even to the soul: the depth closed me round about, the weeds were wrapped about my head.
  4. Question 27Hard

    What did the king of Nineveh command even the animals to wear in repentance?

    Answer: D. SackclothJonah 3:6-8
    For word came unto the king of Nineveh, and he arose from his throne, and he laid his robe from him, and covered him with sackcloth, and sat in ashes. And he caused it to be proclaimed and published through Nineveh by the decree of the king and his nobles, saying, Let neither man nor beast, herd nor flock, taste any thing: let them not feed, nor drink water: But let man and beast be covered with sackcloth, and cry …
  5. Question 28Hard

    What two things did God send to destroy Jonah's comfort under the plant?

    Answer: A. A worm and a scorching east windJonah 4:7-8
    But God prepared a worm when the morning rose the next day, and it smote the gourd that it withered. And it came to pass, when the sun did arise, that God prepared a vehement east wind; and the sun beat upon the head of Jonah, that he fainted, and wished in himself to die, and said, It is better for me to die than to live.

Answer key

  1. False (Jonah 1:5)
  2. B. Throw him into the sea (Jonah 1:12)
  3. B. He was furious (Jonah 4:1)
  4. C. Three days and three nights (Jonah 1:17)
  5. C. Salvation (Jonah 2:9)
  6. False (Jonah 1:2)
  7. C. Forty more days and Nineveh will be overthrown (Jonah 3:4)
  8. True (Jonah 3:10)
  9. B. Nineveh (Jonah 1:1-2)
  10. C. The Lord (Jonah 1:4)
  11. True (Jonah 2:10)
  12. A. Prophet Jonah (Matthew 12:39)
  13. D. Joppa (Jonah 1:3)
  14. C. It took three days to go through it (Jonah 3:3)
  15. True (Jonah 4:9)
  16. True (Jonah 1:8)
  17. C. A leafy plant (gourd) (Jonah 4:6)
  18. C. Heart of the earth (Matthew 12:40)
  19. A. They cast lots (Jonah 1:7)
  20. True (Jonah 2:4)
  21. False (Jonah 3:5)
  22. D. Their violence (Jonah 3:8)
  23. True (Jonah 1:15-16)
  24. C. 120,000 (Jonah 4:11)
  25. B. Jonah son of Amittai (2 Kings 14:25)
  26. B. Seaweed (Jonah 2:5)
  27. D. Sackcloth (Jonah 3:6-8)
  28. A. A worm and a scorching east wind (Jonah 4:7-8)
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Who was Jonah?

Jonah the son of Amittai was a prophet whom God sent to cry against Nineveh, that great city. Instead he went down to Joppa and boarded a ship heading for Tarshish, fleeing from the presence of the Lord (Jonah 1:3). God sent a great storm, and when the sailors cast lots, the lot fell on Jonah. At his own word they threw him into the sea.

The Lord prepared a great fish to swallow Jonah, and he was in its belly three days and three nights (Jonah 1:17), where he prayed. The fish then vomited him onto dry land. This time Jonah obeyed and warned that Nineveh would be overthrown in forty days. The people believed God and turned from their evil way, and God spared the city (Jonah 3:10). Jonah was angry, and God taught him about mercy with a gourd. Jesus later spoke of Jonas in the whale's belly (Matthew 12:40).

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