How many times is hair mentioned in the Bible?
The word hair appears 64 times in the King James Version, in 60 verses. Counting every form (hair, hairs, hairy), it appears 84 times in 80 verses across 29 of the 66 books. The World English Bible uses hair 82 times (98 with every form).
Hair in the King James Version and the World English Bible
Each form of hair counted in each translation.
| Form | KJV | WEB |
|---|---|---|
| hair | 64 | 82 |
| hairs | 15 | 10 |
| hairy | 5 | 6 |
| Total | 84 | 98 |
Which books mention hair most
Hair appears in 29 books of the 66 in the King James Version. Leviticus has the most (17), then Genesis (6) and Exodus (6).
Also in: Ezekiel (2), John (2), Deuteronomy (1), 1 Kings (1), 2 Kings (1), Ezra (1), Nehemiah (1), Job (1), Jeremiah (1), Hosea (1), Mark (1), Acts (1), 1 Timothy (1), 1 Peter (1).
First and last mention of hair
And the first came out red, all over like an hairy garment; and they called his name Esau.
And they had hair as the hair of women, and their teeth were as the teeth of lions.
The verse that uses it most is Leviticus 14:9, 2 times (tied with 2 Samuel 14:26, 1 Corinthians 11:15, Revelation 9:8):
But it shall be on the seventh day, that he shall shave all his hair off his head and his beard and his eyebrows, even all his hair he shall shave off: and he shall wash his clothes, also he shall wash his flesh in water, and he shall be clean.
Where the two translations differ
2 verses match in the KJV but not in the World English Bible, and 15 verses match only in the World English Bible, usually because the other translation chose a different word there.
Numbers 6:19: counted in the KJV only
And the priest shall take the sodden shoulder of the ram, and one unleavened cake out of the basket, and one unleavened wafer, and shall put them upon the hands of the Nazarite, after the hair of his separation is shaven:
The priest shall take the boiled shoulder of the ram, and one unleavened cake out of the basket, and one unleavened wafer, and shall put them on the hands of the Nazirite, after he has shaved the head of his separation;
Deuteronomy 32:25: counted in the KJV only
The sword without, and terror within, shall destroy both the young man and the virgin, the suckling also with the man of gray hairs.
Outside the sword will bereave, and in the rooms, terror; on both young man and virgin, the nursing infant with the gray-haired man.
Leviticus 10:6: counted in the World English Bible only
And Moses said unto Aaron, and unto Eleazar and unto Ithamar, his sons, Uncover not your heads, neither rend your clothes; lest ye die, and lest wrath come upon all the people: but let your brethren, the whole house of Israel, bewail the burning which the LORD hath kindled.
Moses said to Aaron, and to Eleazar and to Ithamar, his sons, “Don’t let the hair of your heads go loose, and don’t tear your clothes; so that you don’t die, and so that he not be angry with all the congregation; but let your brothers, the whole house of Israel, bewail the burning which Yahweh has kindled.
Leviticus 13:45: counted in the World English Bible only
And the leper in whom the plague is, his clothes shall be rent, and his head bare, and he shall put a covering upon his upper lip, and shall cry, Unclean, unclean.
“The leper in whom the plague is shall wear torn clothes, and the hair of his head shall hang loose. He shall cover his upper lip, and shall cry, ‘Unclean! Unclean!’
Verses with hair on our topic pages
5 verses that use hair 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;
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;
He makes a path shine after him. One would think the deep had white hair.
Gray hair is a crown of glory. It is attained by a life of righteousness.
Neither shall you swear by your head, for you can’t make one hair white or black.
On: What Does the Bible Say About Cussing and Swearing? 26 Verses
Common questions
How many times is hair in the Old Testament and the New Testament?
In the King James Version, counting every form, 64 of the 84 uses are in the Old Testament and 20 in the New Testament. Hair appears in 29 books of the 66 in the King James Version. Leviticus has the most (17), then Genesis (6) and Exodus (6).
Where is hair first mentioned in the Bible?
The first use in the King James Version is Genesis 25:25: "And the first came out red, all over like an hairy garment; and they called his name Esau." The last is Revelation 9:8.
More word counts: Hamath, Asahel, Amram, Nahash, power, wedding, Seir, Gibeon, or all 635 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 2026-10-24.