How many times is gold mentioned in the Bible?
The word gold appears 417 times in the King James Version, in 361 verses. Counting every form (gold, golden), it appears 483 times in 415 verses across 43 of the 66 books. The World English Bible uses gold 408 times (482 with every form).
Gold in the King James Version and the World English Bible
Each form of gold counted in each translation.
| Form | KJV | WEB |
|---|---|---|
| gold | 417 | 408 |
| golden | 66 | 74 |
| Total | 483 | 482 |
Which books mention gold most
Gold appears in 43 books of the 66 in the King James Version. Exodus has the most (105), then 2 Chronicles (49) and 1 Kings (44).
Also in: 1 Samuel (7), Zechariah (7), 2 Samuel (6), Esther (6), Song of Solomon (6), Jeremiah (6), Joshua (5), Matthew (5), Deuteronomy (4), Judges (3), Nehemiah (3), Lamentations (3), Acts (3), Hebrews (3), 1 Peter (3), Ecclesiastes (2), Hosea (2), James (2), Leviticus (1), Joel (1), Nahum (1), Habakkuk (1), Zephaniah (1), Haggai (1), Malachi (1), 1 Corinthians (1), 1 Timothy (1), 2 Timothy (1).
First and last mention of gold
The name of the first is Pison: that is it which compasseth the whole land of Havilah, where there is gold;
And the twelve gates were twelve pearls; every several gate was of one pearl: and the street of the city was pure gold, as it were transparent glass.
The verse that uses it most is Exodus 26:29, 3 times (tied with Exodus 36:34, 1 Kings 6:21, 1 Chronicles 28:17, Hebrews 9:4):
And thou shalt overlay the boards with gold, and make their rings of gold for places for the bars: and thou shalt overlay the bars with gold.
Where the two translations differ
2 verses match in the KJV but not in the World English Bible, and 3 verses match only in the World English Bible, usually because the other translation chose a different word there.
Job 36:19: counted in the KJV only
Will he esteem thy riches? no, not gold, nor all the forces of strength.
Would your wealth sustain you in distress, or all the might of your strength?
Song of Solomon 1:10: counted in the KJV only
Thy cheeks are comely with rows of jewels, thy neck with chains of gold.
Your cheeks are beautiful with earrings, your neck with strings of jewels.
Leviticus 24:4: counted in the World English Bible only
He shall order the lamps upon the pure candlestick before the LORD continually.
He shall keep in order the lamps on the pure gold lamp stand before Yahweh continually.
Leviticus 24:6: counted in the World English Bible only
And thou shalt set them in two rows, six on a row, upon the pure table before the LORD.
You shall set them in two rows, six on a row, on the pure gold table before Yahweh.
Verses with gold on our topic pages
9 verses that use gold in the World English Bible are in our topic collections.
Let your beauty be not just the outward adorning of braiding the hair, and of wearing jewels of gold, or of putting on fine clothing;
A good name is more desirable than great riches, and loving favor is better than silver and gold.
My fruit is better than gold, yes, than fine gold; my yield than choice silver.
On: Wisdom
Like a gold ring in a pig’s snout, is a beautiful woman who lacks discretion.
On: Modesty
How much better it is to get wisdom than gold! Yes, to get understanding is to be chosen rather than silver.
On: Wisdom
The silver is mine, and the gold is mine,’ says Yahweh of Armies.
On: Tithing
Being then the offspring of God, we ought not to think that the Divine Nature is like gold, or silver, or stone, engraved by art and design of man.
On: Idolatry
In the same way, that women also adorn themselves in decent clothing, with modesty and propriety; not just with braided hair, gold, pearls, or expensive clothing;
On: Modesty
that the proof of your faith, which is more precious than gold that perishes even though it is tested by fire, may be found to result in praise, glory, and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ—
On: Suffering
Common questions
How many times is gold in the Old Testament and the New Testament?
In the King James Version, counting every form, 442 of the 483 uses are in the Old Testament and 41 in the New Testament. Gold appears in 43 books of the 66 in the King James Version. Exodus has the most (105), then 2 Chronicles (49) and 1 Kings (44).
Where is gold first mentioned in the Bible?
The first use in the King James Version is Genesis 2:11: "The name of the first is Pison: that is it which compasseth the whole land of Havilah, where there is gold;" The last is Revelation 21:21.
More word counts: amen, hallelujah, mercy, glory, truth, righteousness, salvation, repent, 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.