How many times is Bethlehem mentioned in the Bible?
The word Bethlehem appears 39 times in the King James Version, in 38 verses. It is found in 15 of the 66 books. The World English Bible uses Bethlehem 49 times.
Bethlehem in the King James Version and the World English Bible
Each form of Bethlehem counted in each translation.
| Form | KJV | WEB |
|---|---|---|
| Bethlehem | 39 | 49 |
| Total | 39 | 49 |
First and last mention of Bethlehem
And Rachel died, and was buried in the way to Ephrath, which is Bethlehem.
Hath not the scripture said, That Christ cometh of the seed of David, and out of the town of Bethlehem, where David was?
The verse that uses it most is Ruth 1:19, 2 times:
So they two went until they came to Bethlehem. And it came to pass, when they were come to Bethlehem, that all the city was moved about them, and they said, Is this Naomi?
Where the two translations differ
0 verses match in the KJV but not in the World English Bible, and 9 verses match only in the World English Bible, usually because the other translation chose a different word there.
Judges 17:7: counted in the World English Bible only
And there was a young man out of Bethlehemjudah of the family of Judah, who was a Levite, and he sojourned there.
There was a young man out of Bethlehem Judah, of the family of Judah, who was a Levite; and he lived there.
Judges 17:8: counted in the World English Bible only
And the man departed out of the city from Bethlehemjudah to sojourn where he could find a place: and he came to mount Ephraim to the house of Micah, as he journeyed.
The man departed out of the city, out of Bethlehem Judah, to live where he could find a place, and he came to the hill country of Ephraim, to the house of Micah, as he traveled.
Common questions
How many times is Bethlehem in the Old Testament and the New Testament?
In the King James Version, counting every form, 31 of the 39 uses are in the Old Testament and 8 in the New Testament. Bethlehem appears in 15 books of the 66 in the King James Version. 1 Chronicles has the most (7), then Ruth (5) and 2 Samuel (5).
Where is Bethlehem first mentioned in the Bible?
The first use in the King James Version is Genesis 35:19: "And Rachel died, and was buried in the way to Ephrath, which is Bethlehem." The last is John 7:42.
More word counts: Nazareth, Galilee, Jordan, Sinai, Sodom, Gomorrah, Eden, Zion, 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.