How many times is dog mentioned in the Bible?
The word dog appears 15 times in the King James Version, in 15 verses. Counting every form (dog, dogs, dog's), it appears 41 times in 40 verses across 19 of the 66 books. The World English Bible uses dog 12 times (40 with every form).
Dog in the King James Version and the World English Bible
Each form of dog counted in each translation.
| Form | KJV | WEB |
|---|---|---|
| dog | 15 | 12 |
| dogs | 24 | 25 |
| dog's | 2 | 3 |
| Total | 41 | 40 |
Which books mention dog most
Dog appears in 19 books of the 66 in the King James Version. 1 Kings has the most (7), then Psalms (5) and 2 Samuel (3).
Also in: Luke (1), Philippians (1), 2 Peter (1), Revelation (1).
First and last mention of dog
But against any of the children of Israel shall not a dog move his tongue, against man or beast: that ye may know how that the LORD doth put a difference between the Egyptians and Israel.
For without are dogs, and sorcerers, and whoremongers, and murderers, and idolaters, and whosoever loveth and maketh a lie.
The verse that uses it most is 1 Kings 21:19, 2 times:
And thou shalt speak unto him, saying, Thus saith the LORD, Hast thou killed, and also taken possession? And thou shalt speak unto him, saying, Thus saith the LORD, In the place where dogs licked the blood of Naboth shall dogs lick thy blood, even thine.
Where the two translations differ
1 verse matches in the KJV but not in the World English Bible, and 0 verses match only in the World English Bible, usually because the other translation chose a different word there.
Deuteronomy 23:18: counted in the KJV only
Thou shalt not bring the hire of a whore, or the price of a dog, into the house of the LORD thy God for any vow: for even both these are abomination unto the LORD thy God.
You shall not bring the hire of a prostitute, or the wages of a male prostitute, into the house of Yahweh your God for any vow; for both of these are an abomination to Yahweh your God.
Common questions
How many times is dog in the Old Testament and the New Testament?
In the King James Version, counting every form, 32 of the 41 uses are in the Old Testament and 9 in the New Testament. Dog appears in 19 books of the 66 in the King James Version. 1 Kings has the most (7), then Psalms (5) and 2 Samuel (3).
Where is dog first mentioned in the Bible?
The first use in the King James Version is Exodus 11:7: "But against any of the children of Israel shall not a dog move his tongue, against man or beast: that ye may know how that the LORD doth put a difference between the Egyptians and Israel." The last is Revelation 22:15.
More word counts: lion, children, mother, father, friend, heart, holy, kindness, or all 107 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 2026-10-02.