Warning: This page contains spoilers for the November 16, 2022, game of Jeopardy! — please do not scroll down if you wish to avoid being spoiled. Please note that the game airs as early as noon Eastern in some U.S. television markets.
Here’s today’s Final Jeopardy (in the category The New Testament) for Wednesday, November 16, 2022 (Season 39, Game 48):
Paul’s letter to them is the New Testament epistle with the most Old Testament quotations
(correct response beneath the contestants)
Today’s Jeopardy! contestants:
Sam Buttrey, an associate professor of operations research at the Naval Postgraduate School from Pacific Grove, California
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Andrew He, a software developer from San Francisco, California
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Amy Schneider, a writer from Oakland, California
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Andy’s Pregame Thoughts:
In all three meetings between Amy Schneider and Andrew He, Andrew He has led going into Final Jeopardy. However, in two of those meetings, Amy Schneider has come out as the victor. Andrew’s stronger strategy over the first two rounds—namely, being better at both finding and taking advantage of the Daily Doubles—has resulted in having the upper hand twice. One thing to consider: there was an overnight taping break in between Game 2 and Game 3 of this series; will Amy have adapted her strategy as we go into Game 3? Or, will she feel that her current strategy is working? Amy has been dominating on the signaling device and Andrew is only in this series because of the Daily Doubles. If Amy and Sam stop selecting top-row clues and start an all-out hunt for the Daily Doubles, this might be a different series going forward, because starving Andrew of those big-money opportunities is the best way to keep him from winning.
I should also point out that I come at this from a perspective of hoping that all the players play their best game possible, and I feel disappointed when I don’t see that happen.
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(Content continues below)
Correct response: Who are Hebrews (as per the show)?
More information about Final Jeopardy:
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There are a couple of problems with this clue: I can’t tell whether the intended correct response is “Romans” or “Hebrews”. Firstly, I have found conflicting sources as to whether Romans or Hebrews contains more quotations. Secondly, there’s the more pressing question of authorship—specifically of Hebrews. There’s no dispute that Paul wrote Romans. While Ken’s church—the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints—claims Paul wrote Hebrews, this is certainly disputed—even a clue by the show from June 2021 says that Barnabas has sometimes been credited with authorship—and even Britannica itself says it is “now widely believed to be the work of another Jewish Christian”.
These combined problems make this clue completely inappropriate for a Tournament of Champions final. The show needs to improve—all this will do is cause unnecessary angst online, especially amongst Biblical scholars.
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Game Recap:
Jeopardy! Round:
(Categories: A Bouquet Of Flowers; American History; Better Call Saul; Rappers Who Act; Beastly Book Titles; Making An Assonance Of Yourself)
Amy had control of the board for most of the opening of today’s game, but it was Andrew who found the Daily Double—because he was searching for it. Andrew led after 15 clues, but all three players stayed very close—Amy and Andrew were tied at $3,800, with Sam just $200 behind going into Double Jeopardy.
Statistics at the first break (15 clues):
Andrew 4 correct 1 incorrect
Amy 4 correct 1 incorrect
Sam 2 correct 0 incorrect
Statistics after the Jeopardy round:
Andrew 8 correct 1 incorrect
Amy 9 correct 1 incorrect
Sam 7 correct 0 incorrect
Double Jeopardy! Round:
(Categories: 4 Weddings & A Funeral; Opera Characters; Compound Words; Cold Around The Globe; Heard In The Movie; Spelementary)
The hunting happened, and I am happy. Unfortunately, the Daily Doubles still worked out better for Andrew. Amy dropped $5,000 on hers, whereas Andrew pulled back significantly to Sam by doubling up through his! Sam had zero unforced errors today, though, and this led to our professor leading going into Final with $14,800; Andrew had $13,200 and Amy $2,400.
Statistics after Double Jeopardy:
Sam 18 correct 0 incorrect
Andrew 15 correct 3 incorrect
Amy 15 correct 4 incorrect
Total number of unplayed clues this season: 12 (0 today).
Controversy will abound as Sam’s response was not accepted, in spite of potential evidence that it maybe should have been. As a result, Andrew has been awarded a crucial second victory towards the championship; Game 4 is tomorrow!
Tonight’s Game Stats:
Looking to find out who won Jeopardy! today? Here’s the Wednesday, November 16, 2022 Jeopardy! by the numbers:
Scores going into Final:
Sam $14,800
Andrew $13,200
Amy $2,400
Tonight’s results:
Amy $2,400 + $1,000 = $3,400 (Who are the Hebrews?) (1 win)
Andrew $13,200 – $3,201 = $9,999 (Who are Philippiaes?) (2 wins)
Sam $14,800 – $11,601 = $3,199 (Who are the Romans?) (0 wins)
Scores after the Jeopardy! Round:
Andrew $3,800
Amy $3,800
Sam $3,600
Opening break taken after: 15 clues
Daily Double locations:
1) AMERICAN HISTORY $1000 (clue #11)
Andrew 400 +1000 (Amy 2000 Sam 200)
2) COMPOUND WORDS $2000 (clue #6)
Amy 5800 -5000 (Andrew 5000 Sam 5200)
3) 4 WEDDINGS & A FUNERAL $800 (clue #20, $5600 left on board)
Andrew 5800 +5800 (Amy 1600 Sam 12400)
Overall Daily Double Efficiency for this game: 114
Average Row of Clue Selection, Before Daily Doubles Found:
Andrew 4.00
Amy 3.31
Sam 3.91
Unplayed clues:
J! Round: None!
DJ! Round: None!
Total Left On Board: $0
Number of clues left unrevealed this season: 12 (0.25 per episode average), 0 Daily Doubles
Game Stats:
Andrew $8,200 Coryat, 15 correct, 3 incorrect, 28.07% in first on buzzer (16/57), 0/0 on rebound attempts (on 2 rebound opportunities)
Amy $7,400 Coryat, 15 correct, 4 incorrect, 29.82% in first on buzzer (17/57), 0/1 on rebound attempts (on 3 rebound opportunities)
Sam $14,800 Coryat, 18 correct, 0 incorrect, 29.82% in first on buzzer (17/57), 1/1 on rebound attempts (on 5 rebound opportunities)
Combined Coryat Score: $30,400
Lach Trash: $12,800 (on 11 Triple Stumpers)
Coryat lost to incorrect responses (less double-correct responses): $10,800
Amy Schneider, career statistics:
1434 correct, 95 incorrect
67/82 on rebound attempts (on 178 rebound opportunities)
50.57% in first on buzzer (1321/2612)
69/80 on Daily Doubles (Net Earned: $214,200)
30/46 in Final Jeopardy
Average Coryat: $25,422
Andrew He, career statistics:
254 correct, 35 incorrect
15/17 on rebound attempts (on 38 rebound opportunities)
38.12% in first on buzzer (239/627)
17/22 on Daily Doubles (Net Earned: $87,800)
4/11 in Final Jeopardy
Average Coryat: $18,018
Sam Buttrey, career statistics:
211 correct, 20 incorrect
12/14 on rebound attempts (on 36 rebound opportunities)
39.18% in first on buzzer (201/513)
5/7 on Daily Doubles (Net Earned: $4,600)
5/9 in Final Jeopardy
Average Coryat: $17,667
Remaining Players’ Tournament of Champions Chances (after 100,000 Simulations)
Amy 24.475%
Andrew 72.368%
Sam 3.157%
Chances of 4 games: 37.157%
Chances of 5 games: 38.069%
Chances of 6 games: 17.841%
Chances of 7 games: 6.933%
Today’s interviews:
Sam went skydiving for a friend’s bachelor party.
Andrew received feedback that he was “visibly aging” from his mother after his shows.
Amy was at the White House Correspondents’ Dinner.
Andy’s Thoughts:
- As highlighted above, I believe Sam has a significant protest case, and I don’t know how the show can rectify it. The fact that the show claims the epistle was written by Paul when most Biblical scholars now believe he didn’t, means that, at best, I believe this was a Final Jeopardy! clue with no correct response—an untenable situation considering the stakes of this match.
- Today’s box score: November 16, 2022 Box Score.
Final Jeopardy! wagering suggestions:
(Scores: Sam $14,800 Andrew $13,200 Amy $2,400)
Amy: If Sam covers Andrew and is incorrect, he falls to $3,199. Thus, you need to bet at least $801 to have the best chance of winning. (Actual bet: $1,000)
Andrew: Bet between $3,201 (covering Sam’s very small range) and $8,399 (thereby keeping Amy locked out). (Actual bet: $3,201)
Sam: Standard cover bet over Andrew is $11,601. (Actual bet: $11,601)
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Given that this clue made it to air the way it is, says something about the production values, at least for this episode. I have not seen the show yet to see if Sam actually had a vocal protest on air or not, but the producers could have easily scrubbed the final segment, and submitted a new clue, with possibly allowing the contestants to adjust their wagers, or they could have submitted a whole new category and clue for Final. Believe me, it is hard to tell where edits have occurred during taping; I believe I was on stage for not one, but two, edits where the recording was stopped, the board was reset and a new clue was inserted, and I had a tough time remembering where they were when i watched the shows in broadcast.
The recent Finals clues have been good, and expectedly tougher for this level of play. I am surprised that the production crew allowed a clue with such an arguable, and ambiguous, response to make it into Final, especially in the Finals of a Tournament like this. While they may not take away Andrew’s win, it might be equitable to give Sam credit for a win as well.
It will be interesting to see if this is at all addressed in the next game.
Having done my due diligence as a student at a very large, popular seminary, I can absolutely protest to this clue. The ONLY way that this clue could in any way, shape, or form be seen as correct is if the writers had somehow attributed this to The King James Version. The KJV credits Paul as the author. Modern translations and the original Greek do not. Scholars are correct that they author of Hebrews is anonymous. The Greek wording differs from Paul’s style, but is relatively similar to Luke’s. There’s a thousand possibilities. Also, the only way that Hebrews quotes the OT more is because it quotes the same verse multiple times. By my count, Romans is the correct answer, but I’m only a Bible Scholar–what do I know? Sad for Sam.
If I may ask, where does the KJV credit Paul? I could not find that credit earlier.
Andy, it is in the title of the letter: “The Epistle of Paul the Apostle to the Hebrews.” Now, I realize that is not actually part of the Scripture and may have been added for reader’s purpose, but it is labeled that way on every King James Version I know of.
Andy –
When you say “Unfortunately, the Daily Doubles still worked out better for Andrew”, do you say that in a tone of wanting Amy to succeed, or in a tone of not wanting Andrew to?
(I’m not accusing you of favoritism or anything like that. I just have an awful time decoding what sentences imply on the internet, and this is no exception.)
Apologies — I say that in a tone of wanting Amy to succeed.
So, maybe, there should be a Second Chance Tournament for contestants who were inappropriately denied a victory in the Tournament of Champions. If there were such a Second Chance Tournament, Sam would certainly qualify based on today’s episode.
Having taught the International Class at my church as well as a class called “Through the Bible in One Year,” in my opinion, Sam should have been the winner of today’s game as his response was the closest to being correct. This clue should never have been included as there is no definitive correct answer as several have pointed out in their earlier comments. Romans was clearly written by Paul and should have been ruled as correct. Hebrews not so much. There is too much evidence to the contrary to definitively consider Paul as the author. In addition, there is the controversy as to the number of quotes in each book as our seminary student pointed out.
In my opinion, Sam deserves some sort of reparation for this ruling. If not a second chance, I like the idea of awarding him a win as well as someone earlier suggested.
In the meantime, congratulations to Andrew on a second win.
Musing… Is it possible the show could announce a different ruling at the beginning of tomorrow’s show, or it it already too late for that?
That’s certainly possible. But you’d think if they took that route, they’d have retaped this ending.
Bible scholar checking in.
I’ll have more to say in another forum, but for Jeopardy purposes I’ll just say here that Andy is entirely correct, and for many more reasons than he lists here. This is a terrible clue, and a terrible spot for the show to put itself in. I don’t know what rectifying this bad of an error would even look like.
So disappointing as we were rooting for Sam, who would have won if Romans was accepted. My husband and I had the exact same discussion as Andy gives—and we also checked Brittanica. 😊 This does seem unacceptable for such a high-stakes Final. All the more disappointing since the tournament has been awesome up to this point!
A bad FJ clue. Sam has just cause to protest. Some remedial action is needed to set things straight.
Most theologians would dispute that Paul is the author of Hebrews – he may be but it has never, ever to my knowledge been widely accepted. Hebrews is the only book in the Bible for authorship to be in question (I think). Jeopardy owes it to the players to correct this error. Seems that the writers don’t have a lot of biblical knowledge – this is really an unexcusable error.
There actually are quite a few books in the Bible that have unknown or disputed authors – all the more reason for the Jeopardy clue writers to be very careful when referring to Biblical authors.
Andy, there should be a Hall of Shame archive on your site of all the bad calls, non-calls, host errors, and poorly written clues, occurring just in the post-Covid era. I know that “Berry/Barry” was in Sep. 2020, and that might have marked the beginning of this ridiculousness, but that’s just my memory, I’m sure I’m missing something from earlier.
Editorially, I think a running catalog would turn this place into too much like The Sun.
I checked the internet and and found a publication from Stephen Voorwinde who claims that Romans has 63 quotes while Hebrews has 40 ifd he is right the Sam Buttrey should have won!
I think Final Jeopardy should be re-played, because Sam should have won! I suppose that isn’t possible, though since the games are taped ahead of time. It just doesn’t seem fair.