THE BIBLE AS LITERATURE: A LIST OF BIBLICAL ALLUSIONS
Pick ten of these sayings and explain them. If you know the story associated with the quote, include this
information as well.

A drop in the bucket

Calling someone “Judas”

A fly in the ointment

Can a leopard change its spots?

A good Samaritan

Cast the first stone

A house divided will not stand

Cast your pearls before swine

A labor of love

Daniel in the lion’s den

A mountaintop experience

David and Goliath

A prodigal son

Doubting Thomas

A Road to Damascus experience

Eat, drink, and be merry

A thorn in the flesh

Fall from grace

Adam’s apple: According to a non-

Fight the good fight
Biblical legend, a piece of the

Fire and brimstone
forbidden fruit lodged in Adam’s

Flesh and blood
throat as he ate it, indicating the

For everything there is a season
grief that would come from it in the

Forbidden fruit
future.

Forgive them, for they know not

All things must pass

Am I my brother’s keeper?

Go the extra mile

An eye for an eye and a tooth for a

Golden calf: Materialism
tooth

Gospel

Apocalypse

How are the mighty fallen!

Armageddon

I don’t know him from Adam.

As old as Methuselah

In the twinkling of an eye

As old as the hills

It is better to give than to receive

Ashes to ashes and dust to dust

Jezebel

At their wits’ end

Let my people go!

Baptism by fire

Let not the sun go down on your

Beating swords into plowshares

Betrayed with a kiss

Let there be light

Blessed are the peacemakers

Like a lamb led to the slaughter

Bone of my bone, flesh of my flesh

Love thy neighbor as thyself

Burning bush

Man does not live by bread alone

Busybody

Manna

By the skin of your teeth

Mark of the beast
what they do.
wrath

Messiah

The fat of the land

Mortal sin

The love of money is the root of all

My cup runneth over

No rest for the wicked

The powers that be

Noah and the Ark

The root of the matter

O ye of little faith

The spirit is willing, but the flesh is

Out of the mouth of babes

Philistine

The straight and narrow way

Salt of the earth

The writing on the wall

Scapegoat

Thrown to the lions

Sodom and Gomorrah

Turn the other cheek

Spare the rod and spoil the child

What God has joined together, let no

Stumbling block

Suffering like Job

Wise king Solomon

The apple of his eye

Woe is me

The blind leading the blind

Wolves in sheep’s clothing

The bread of life

You reap what you sow
evil
weak
man put asunder.