How many times is Barzillai mentioned in the Bible?
The word Barzillai appears 12 times in the King James Version, in 10 verses. It is found in 4 of the 66 books. The World English Bible uses Barzillai 12 times.
Barzillai in the King James Version and the World English Bible
Each form of Barzillai counted in each translation.
| Form | KJV | WEB |
|---|---|---|
| Barzillai | 12 | 12 |
| Total | 12 | 12 |
What the name Barzillai means
Hitchcock's Bible Names Dictionary glosses Barzillai as "son of contempt; made of iron".
This is the 1869 traditional meaning; modern scholars often read names differently.
See every name and place with its meaning and count on Bible names and their meanings.
Source: Hitchcock's Bible Names Dictionary (1869), checked 2026-10-24.
First and last mention of Barzillai
And it came to pass, when David was come to Mahanaim, that Shobi the son of Nahash of Rabbah of the children of Ammon, and Machir the son of Ammiel of Lo-debar, and Barzillai the Gileadite of Rogelim,
And of the priests: the children of Habaiah, the children of Koz, the children of Barzillai, which took one of the daughters of Barzillai the Gileadite to wife, and was called after their name.
The verse that uses it most is Ezra 2:61, 2 times (tied with Nehemiah 7:63):
And of the children of the priests: the children of Habaiah, the children of Koz, the children of Barzillai; which took a wife of the daughters of Barzillai the Gileadite, and was called after their name:
Common questions
How many times is Barzillai in the Old Testament and the New Testament?
In the King James Version, counting every form, 12 of the 12 uses are in the Old Testament and 0 in the New Testament. Barzillai appears in 4 books of the 66 in the King James Version. 2 Samuel has the most (7), then Ezra (2) and Nehemiah (2).
Where is Barzillai first mentioned in the Bible?
The first use in the King James Version is 2 Samuel 17:27: "And it came to pass, when David was come to Mahanaim, that Shobi the son of Nahash of Rabbah of the children of Ammon, and Machir the son of Ammiel of Lo-debar, and Barzillai the Gileadite of Rogelim," The last is Nehemiah 7:63.
What does the name Barzillai mean in the Bible?
Hitchcock's Bible Names Dictionary glosses Barzillai as "son of contempt; made of iron".
More word counts: river, Asia, Kish, heathen, feet, ashes, sickness, Kohath, or all 635 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 2026-10-24.