How many times is birth mentioned in the Bible?
The word birth appears 15 times in the King James Version, in 15 verses. It is found in 13 of the 66 books. The World English Bible uses birth 78 times.
Where the World English Bible writes gave birth or give birth, the KJV often writes bare, brought forth or begat, so the World English Bible count is about five times the KJV's. Birthday and birthright are different words and are not counted.
Birth in the King James Version and the World English Bible
Each form of birth counted in each translation.
| Form | KJV | WEB |
|---|---|---|
| birth | 15 | 78 |
| Total | 15 | 78 |
First and last mention of birth
Six of their names on one stone, and the other six names of the rest on the other stone, according to their birth.
And she being with child cried, travailing in birth, and pained to be delivered.
Where the two translations differ
3 verses match in the KJV but not in the World English Bible, and 62 verses match only in the World English Bible, usually because the other translation chose a different word there.
Psalm 58:8: counted in the KJV only
As a snail which melteth, let every one of them pass away: like the untimely birth of a woman, that they may not see the sun.
Let them be like a snail which melts and passes away, like the stillborn child, who has not seen the sun.
Ecclesiastes 6:3: counted in the KJV only
If a man beget an hundred children, and live many years, so that the days of his years be many, and his soul be not filled with good, and also that he have no burial; I say, that an untimely birth is better than he.
If a man fathers a hundred children, and lives many years, so that the days of his years are many, but his soul is not filled with good, and moreover he has no burial; I say, that a stillborn child is better than he:
Genesis 4:1: counted in the World English Bible only
And Adam knew Eve his wife; and she conceived, and bare Cain, and said, I have gotten a man from the LORD.
The man knew Eve his wife. She conceived, and gave birth to Cain, and said, “I have gotten a man with Yahweh’s help.”
Genesis 4:2: counted in the World English Bible only
And she again bare his brother Abel. And Abel was a keeper of sheep, but Cain was a tiller of the ground.
Again she gave birth, to Cain’s brother Abel. Abel was a keeper of sheep, but Cain was a tiller of the ground.
Verses with birth on our topic pages
13 verses that use birth in the World English Bible are in our topic collections.
For when they are saying, “Peace and safety,” then sudden destruction will come on them, like birth pains on a pregnant woman; and they will in no way escape.
The midwives said to Pharaoh, “Because the Hebrew women aren’t like the Egyptian women; for they are vigorous, and give birth before the midwife comes to them.”
“If men fight and hurt a pregnant woman so that she gives birth prematurely, and yet no harm follows, he shall be surely fined as much as the woman’s husband demands and the judges allow.
A good name is better than fine perfume; and the day of death better than the day of one’s birth.
On: Death
They will not labor in vain, nor give birth for calamity; for they are the offspring of Yahweh’s blessed, and their descendants with them.
On: Miscarriage
Now the birth of Jesus Christ was like this: After his mother, Mary, was engaged to Joseph, before they came together, she was found pregnant by the Holy Spirit.
On: Christmas
She shall give birth to a son. You shall call his name Jesus, for it is he who shall save his people from their sins.”
On: Christmas
“Behold, the virgin shall be with child, and shall give birth to a son. They shall call his name Immanuel”; which is, being interpreted, “God with us.”
On: Christmas
and didn’t know her sexually until she had given birth to her firstborn son. He named him Jesus.
On: Christmas
You will have joy and gladness; and many will rejoice at his birth.
On: Christmas
As he passed by, he saw a man blind from birth.
A woman, when she gives birth, has sorrow, because her time has come. But when she has delivered the child, she doesn’t remember the anguish any more, for the joy that a human being is born into the world.
On: Children
Common questions
How many times is birth in the Old Testament and the New Testament?
In the King James Version, counting every form, 10 of the 15 uses are in the Old Testament and 5 in the New Testament. Birth appears in 13 books of the 66 in the King James Version. Ecclesiastes and Isaiah share the most, 2 each.
Where is birth first mentioned in the Bible?
The first use in the King James Version is Exodus 28:10: "Six of their names on one stone, and the other six names of the rest on the other stone, according to their birth." The last is Revelation 12:2.
More word counts: mouth, Hinnom, Nadab, Tobiah, Tophet, city, sister, body, 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.