How many times is Laban mentioned in the Bible?
The word Laban appears 51 times in the King James Version, in 44 verses. Counting every form (Laban, Laban's), it appears 55 times in 47 verses across 2 of the 66 books. The World English Bible uses Laban 50 times (55 with every form).
Laban in the King James Version and the World English Bible
Each form of Laban counted in each translation.
| Form | KJV | WEB |
|---|---|---|
| Laban | 51 | 50 |
| Laban's | 4 | 5 |
| Total | 55 | 55 |
What the name Laban means
Hitchcock's Bible Names Dictionary glosses Laban as "white; shining; gentle; brittle".
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 Laban most
Laban appears in 2 books of the 66 in the King James Version. Genesis has the most (54), then Deuteronomy (1).
First and last mention of Laban
And Rebekah had a brother, and his name was Laban: and Laban ran out unto the man, unto the well.
These be the words which Moses spake unto all Israel on this side Jordan in the wilderness, in the plain over against the Red sea, between Paran, and Tophel, and Laban, and Hazeroth, and Dizahab.
The verse that uses it most is Genesis 29:10, 3 times:
And it came to pass, when Jacob saw Rachel the daughter of Laban his mother’s brother, and the sheep of Laban his mother’s brother, that Jacob went near, and rolled the stone from the well’s mouth, and watered the flock of Laban his mother’s brother.
Common questions
How many times is Laban in the Old Testament and the New Testament?
In the King James Version, counting every form, 55 of the 55 uses are in the Old Testament and 0 in the New Testament. Laban appears in 2 books of the 66 in the King James Version. Genesis has the most (54), then Deuteronomy (1).
Where is Laban first mentioned in the Bible?
The first use in the King James Version is Genesis 24:29: "And Rebekah had a brother, and his name was Laban: and Laban ran out unto the man, unto the well." The last is Deuteronomy 1:1.
What does the name Laban mean in the Bible?
Hitchcock's Bible Names Dictionary glosses Laban as "white; shining; gentle; brittle".
More word counts: Josiah, Zadok, Rehoboam, Haman, Jesse, Nathan, Balak, Ahaz, 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.