How many times is Joel mentioned in the Bible?
The word Joel appears 20 times in the King James Version, in 20 verses. It is found in 7 of the 66 books. The World English Bible uses Joel 21 times.
Joel in the King James Version and the World English Bible
Each form of Joel counted in each translation.
| Form | KJV | WEB |
|---|---|---|
| Joel | 20 | 21 |
| Total | 20 | 21 |
What the name Joel means
Hitchcock's Bible Names Dictionary glosses Joel as "he that wills or commands".
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 Joel most
Joel appears in 7 books of the 66 in the King James Version. 1 Chronicles has the most (14), then 1 Samuel (1) and 2 Chronicles (1).
First and last mention of Joel
Now the name of his firstborn was Joel; and the name of his second, Abiah: they were judges in Beer-sheba.
But this is that which was spoken by the prophet Joel;
Where the two translations differ
0 verses match in the KJV but not in the World English Bible, and 1 verse matches only in the World English Bible, usually because the other translation chose a different word there.
1 Chronicles 6:28: counted in the World English Bible only
And the sons of Samuel; the firstborn Vashni, and Abiah.
The sons of Samuel: the firstborn, Joel, and the second, Abijah.
Common questions
How many times is Joel in the Old Testament and the New Testament?
In the King James Version, counting every form, 19 of the 20 uses are in the Old Testament and 1 in the New Testament. Joel appears in 7 books of the 66 in the King James Version. 1 Chronicles has the most (14), then 1 Samuel (1) and 2 Chronicles (1).
Where is Joel first mentioned in the Bible?
The first use in the King James Version is 1 Samuel 8:2: "Now the name of his firstborn was Joel; and the name of his second, Abiah: they were judges in Beer-sheba." The last is Acts 2:16.
What does the name Joel mean in the Bible?
Hitchcock's Bible Names Dictionary glosses Joel as "he that wills or commands".
Joel is also the name of a book of the Bible. See its 3 chapters, 73 verses and reading time.
More word counts: Michal, Nabal, Omri, Abigail, Athaliah, Naaman, Shem, Ham, 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.