How many times is ark mentioned in the Bible?
The word ark appears 230 times in the King James Version, in 199 verses. It is found in 19 of the 66 books. The World English Bible uses ark 197 times.
Ark in the King James Version and the World English Bible
Each form of ark counted in each translation.
| Form | KJV | WEB |
|---|---|---|
| ark | 230 | 197 |
| Total | 230 | 197 |
Which books mention ark most
Ark appears in 19 books of the 66 in the King James Version. 1 Samuel has the most (40), then 1 Chronicles (34) and Joshua (30).
Also in: Matthew (1), Luke (1), 1 Peter (1), Revelation (1).
First and last mention of ark
Make thee an ark of gopher wood; rooms shalt thou make in the ark, and shalt pitch it within and without with pitch.
And the temple of God was opened in heaven, and there was seen in his temple the ark of his testament: and there were lightnings, and voices, and thunderings, and an earthquake, and great hail.
The verse that uses it most is Exodus 40:20, 3 times (tied with 1 Samuel 5:8, 1 Samuel 5:10):
And he took and put the testimony into the ark, and set the staves on the ark, and put the mercy seat above upon the ark:
Where the two translations differ
29 verses match in the KJV but not in the World English Bible, and 0 verses match only in the World English Bible, usually because the other translation chose a different word there.
Genesis 6:14: counted in the KJV only
Make thee an ark of gopher wood; rooms shalt thou make in the ark, and shalt pitch it within and without with pitch.
Make a ship of gopher wood. You shall make rooms in the ship, and shall seal it inside and outside with pitch.
Genesis 6:15: counted in the KJV only
And this is the fashion which thou shalt make it of: The length of the ark shall be three hundred cubits, the breadth of it fifty cubits, and the height of it thirty cubits.
This is how you shall make it. The length of the ship shall be three hundred cubits, its width fifty cubits, and its height thirty cubits.
Common questions
How many times is ark in the Old Testament and the New Testament?
In the King James Version, counting every form, 224 of the 230 uses are in the Old Testament and 6 in the New Testament. Ark appears in 19 books of the 66 in the King James Version. 1 Samuel has the most (40), then 1 Chronicles (34) and Joshua (30).
Where is ark first mentioned in the Bible?
The first use in the King James Version is Genesis 6:14: "Make thee an ark of gopher wood; rooms shalt thou make in the ark, and shalt pitch it within and without with pitch." The last is Revelation 11:19.
More word counts: sacrifice, incense, idol, apostle, disciple, elder, gospel, parable, or all 253 words.
Counted by Bible Says About from the full public-domain text of the King James Version (1769 edition) and the World English Bible. Verse text only: headings and psalm titles are left out. A word is a run of letters: a hyphenated name like Beer-sheba counts as two, and an apostrophe stays inside its word (LORD'S is one). Matching ignores capital letters. Data compiled 2026-10-05.