How many times is Caleb mentioned in the Bible?
The word Caleb appears 33 times in the King James Version, in 33 verses. Counting every form (Caleb, Caleb's), it appears 37 times in 37 verses across 6 of the 66 books. The World English Bible uses Caleb 33 times (37 with every form).
Caleb in the King James Version and the World English Bible
Each form of Caleb counted in each translation.
| Form | KJV | WEB |
|---|---|---|
| Caleb | 33 | 33 |
| Caleb's | 4 | 4 |
| Total | 37 | 37 |
What the name Caleb means
Hitchcock's Bible Names Dictionary glosses Caleb as "a dog; a crow; a basket".
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 2026-10-22.
Which books mention Caleb most
Caleb appears in 6 books of the 66 in the King James Version. 1 Chronicles has the most (10), then Numbers (9) and Joshua (9).
First and last mention of Caleb
Of the tribe of Judah, Caleb the son of Jephunneh.
But the fields of the city, and the villages thereof, they gave to Caleb the son of Jephunneh.
Common questions
How many times is Caleb in the Old Testament and the New Testament?
In the King James Version, counting every form, 37 of the 37 uses are in the Old Testament and 0 in the New Testament. Caleb appears in 6 books of the 66 in the King James Version. 1 Chronicles has the most (10), then Numbers (9) and Joshua (9).
Where is Caleb first mentioned in the Bible?
The first use in the King James Version is Numbers 13:6: "Of the tribe of Judah, Caleb the son of Jephunneh." The last is 1 Chronicles 6:56.
What does the name Caleb mean in the Bible?
Hitchcock's Bible Names Dictionary glosses Caleb as "a dog; a crow; a basket".
More word counts: Ahasuerus, Jephthah, Philip, Uzziah, Korah, Micah, Ezra, Baruch, or all 484 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 2026-10-22.