How many times is Ham mentioned in the Bible?
The word Ham appears 17 times in the King James Version, in 16 verses. It is found in 3 of the 66 books. The World English Bible uses Ham 17 times.
Ham in the King James Version and the World English Bible
Each form of Ham counted in each translation.
| Form | KJV | WEB |
|---|---|---|
| Ham | 17 | 17 |
| Total | 17 | 17 |
What the name Ham means
Hitchcock's Bible Names Dictionary glosses Ham as "hot; heat; brown".
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 Ham most
Ham appears in 3 books of the 66 in the King James Version. Genesis has the most (10), then Psalms (4) and 1 Chronicles (3).
First and last mention of Ham
And Noah was five hundred years old: and Noah begat Shem, Ham, and Japheth.
Wondrous works in the land of Ham, and terrible things by the Red sea.
The verse that uses it most is Genesis 9:18, 2 times:
And the sons of Noah, that went forth of the ark, were Shem, and Ham, and Japheth: and Ham is the father of Canaan.
Common questions
How many times is Ham in the Old Testament and the New Testament?
In the King James Version, counting every form, 17 of the 17 uses are in the Old Testament and 0 in the New Testament. Ham appears in 3 books of the 66 in the King James Version. Genesis has the most (10), then Psalms (4) and 1 Chronicles (3).
Where is Ham first mentioned in the Bible?
The first use in the King James Version is Genesis 5:32: "And Noah was five hundred years old: and Noah begat Shem, Ham, and Japheth." The last is Psalm 106:22.
What does the name Ham mean in the Bible?
Hitchcock's Bible Names Dictionary glosses Ham as "hot; heat; brown".
More word counts: Japheth, Miriam, Hagar, Enoch, Lamech, Nahor, Eliezer, Jethro, 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.