How many times is goat mentioned in the Bible?
The word goat appears 35 times in the King James Version, in 32 verses. Counting every form (goat, goats), it appears 132 times in 127 verses across 19 of the 66 books. The World English Bible uses goat 79 times (157 with every form).
Goat in the King James Version and the World English Bible
Each form of goat counted in each translation.
| Form | KJV | WEB |
|---|---|---|
| goat | 35 | 79 |
| goats | 97 | 78 |
| Total | 132 | 157 |
Which books mention goat most
Goat appears in 19 books of the 66 in the King James Version. Numbers has the most (43), then Leviticus (28) and Genesis (11).
Also in: Jeremiah (2), Matthew (2), Job (1), Zechariah (1).
First and last mention of goat
And he said unto him, Take me an heifer of three years old, and a she goat of three years old, and a ram of three years old, and a turtledove, and a young pigeon.
For it is not possible that the blood of bulls and of goats should take away sins.
The verse that uses it most is Genesis 30:35, 2 times (tied with Genesis 32:14, Leviticus 16:21, Leviticus 16:22, Daniel 8:5):
And he removed that day the he goats that were ringstraked and spotted, and all the she goats that were speckled and spotted, and every one that had some white in it, and all the brown among the sheep, and gave them into the hand of his sons.
Where the two translations differ
1 verse matches in the KJV but not in the World English Bible, and 26 verses match only in the World English Bible, usually because the other translation chose a different word there.
Leviticus 16:18: counted in the KJV only
And he shall go out unto the altar that is before the LORD, and make an atonement for it; and shall take of the blood of the bullock, and of the blood of the goat, and put it upon the horns of the altar round about.
“He shall go out to the altar that is before Yahweh and make atonement for it, and shall take some of the bull’s blood, and some of the goat’s blood, and put it around on the horns of the altar.
Genesis 31:10: counted in the World English Bible only
And it came to pass at the time that the cattle conceived, that I lifted up mine eyes, and saw in a dream, and, behold, the rams which leaped upon the cattle were ringstraked, speckled, and grisled.
During mating season, I lifted up my eyes, and saw in a dream, and behold, the male goats which leaped on the flock were streaked, speckled, and grizzled.
Genesis 31:12: counted in the World English Bible only
And he said, Lift up now thine eyes, and see, all the rams which leap upon the cattle are ringstraked, speckled, and grisled: for I have seen all that Laban doeth unto thee.
He said, ‘Now lift up your eyes, and behold, all the male goats which leap on the flock are streaked, speckled, and grizzled, for I have seen all that Laban does to you.
Common questions
How many times is goat in the Old Testament and the New Testament?
In the King James Version, counting every form, 126 of the 132 uses are in the Old Testament and 6 in the New Testament. Goat appears in 19 books of the 66 in the King James Version. Numbers has the most (43), then Leviticus (28) and Genesis (11).
Where is goat first mentioned in the Bible?
The first use in the King James Version is Genesis 15:9: "And he said unto him, Take me an heifer of three years old, and a she goat of three years old, and a ram of three years old, and a turtledove, and a young pigeon." The last is Hebrews 10:4.
More word counts: dove, locust, soul, bride, widow, poor, riches, sun, 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.