How many times is brass mentioned in the Bible?
The word brass appears 126 times in the King James Version, in 113 verses. It is found in 24 of the 66 books. The World English Bible uses brass 132 times.
Brass in the KJV translates a Hebrew word for copper or bronze. The World English Bible also says brass, and says bronze in 27 other places, which are not counted. Where the KJV has the adjective brasen (29 uses, as in the brasen altar) the World English Bible writes "of brass", so its count runs higher.
Brass in the King James Version and the World English Bible
Each form of brass counted in each translation.
| Form | KJV | WEB |
|---|---|---|
| brass | 126 | 132 |
| Total | 126 | 132 |
Which books mention brass most
Brass appears in 24 books of the 66 in the King James Version. Exodus has the most (32), then 1 Chronicles (10) and Daniel (10).
Also in: 2 Samuel (3), Genesis (1), Leviticus (1), Judges (1), Psalms (1), Micah (1), Zechariah (1), Matthew (1), 1 Corinthians (1).
First and last mention of brass
And Zillah, she also bare Tubal-cain, an instructer of every artificer in brass and iron: and the sister of Tubal-cain was Naamah.
The merchandise of gold, and silver, and precious stones, and of pearls, and fine linen, and purple, and silk, and scarlet, and all thyine wood, and all manner vessels of ivory, and all manner vessels of most precious wood, and of brass, and iron, and marble,
The verse that uses it most is Exodus 30:18, 2 times (tied with Exodus 38:8, Numbers 21:9, 1 Samuel 17:5, 1 Samuel 17:6, 1 Kings 7:14 and 7 more):
Thou shalt also make a laver of brass, and his foot also of brass, to wash withal: and thou shalt put it between the tabernacle of the congregation and the altar, and thou shalt put water therein.
Where the two translations differ
3 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.
Deuteronomy 8:9: counted in the KJV only
A land wherein thou shalt eat bread without scarceness, thou shalt not lack any thing in it; a land whose stones are iron, and out of whose hills thou mayest dig brass.
a land in which you shall eat bread without scarceness, you shall not lack anything in it; a land whose stones are iron, and out of whose hills you may dig copper.
2 Kings 25:7: counted in the KJV only
And they slew the sons of Zedekiah before his eyes, and put out the eyes of Zedekiah, and bound him with fetters of brass, and carried him to Babylon.
They killed Zedekiah’s sons before his eyes, then put out Zedekiah’s eyes, bound him in fetters, and carried him to Babylon.
Exodus 35:16: counted in the World English Bible only
The altar of burnt offering, with his brasen grate, his staves, and all his vessels, the laver and his foot,
the altar of burnt offering, with its grating of brass, it poles, and all its vessels, the basin and its base;
Exodus 38:4: counted in the World English Bible only
And he made for the altar a brasen grate of network under the compass thereof beneath unto the midst of it.
He made for the altar a grating of a network of brass, under the ledge around it beneath, reaching halfway up.
Verses with brass on our topic pages
4 verses that use brass in the World English Bible are in our topic collections.
A poor widow came, and she cast in two small brass coins, which equal a quadrans coin.
Your bars will be iron and brass. As your days, so your strength will be.
His bones are like tubes of brass. His limbs are like bars of iron.
If I speak with the languages of men and of angels, but don’t have love, I have become sounding brass, or a clanging cymbal.
On: What Does the Bible Say About Speaking in Tongues? 22 Verses
Common questions
How many times is brass in the Old Testament and the New Testament?
In the King James Version, counting every form, 120 of the 126 uses are in the Old Testament and 6 in the New Testament. Brass appears in 24 books of the 66 in the King James Version. Exodus has the most (32), then 1 Chronicles (10) and Daniel (10).
Where is brass first mentioned in the Bible?
The first use in the King James Version is Genesis 4:22: "And Zillah, she also bare Tubal-cain, an instructer of every artificer in brass and iron: and the sister of Tubal-cain was Naamah." The last is Revelation 18:12.
More word counts: iron, gold, silver, valley, cattle, voice, Micaiah, Eliakim, or all 680 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 2026-10-26.