How many times is Leviathan mentioned in the Bible?
The word Leviathan appears 5 times in the King James Version, in 4 verses. It is found in 3 of the 66 books. The World English Bible uses Leviathan 6 times.
Leviathan in the King James Version and the World English Bible
Each form of Leviathan counted in each translation.
| Form | KJV | WEB |
|---|---|---|
| leviathan | 5 | 6 |
| Total | 5 | 6 |
First and last mention of Leviathan
Canst thou draw out leviathan with an hook? or his tongue with a cord which thou lettest down?
In that day the LORD with his sore and great and strong sword shall punish leviathan the piercing serpent, even leviathan that crooked serpent; and he shall slay the dragon that is in the sea.
The verse that uses it most is Isaiah 27:1, 2 times:
In that day the LORD with his sore and great and strong sword shall punish leviathan the piercing serpent, even leviathan that crooked serpent; and he shall slay the dragon that is in the sea.
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.
Job 3:8: counted in the World English Bible only
Let them curse it that curse the day, who are ready to raise up their mourning.
Let them curse it who curse the day, who are ready to rouse up leviathan.
Verses with Leviathan on our topic pages
4 verses that use Leviathan in the World English Bible are in our topic collections.
“Can you draw out Leviathan with a fish hook, or press down his tongue with a cord?
You broke the heads of Leviathan in pieces. You gave him as food to people and desert creatures.
There the ships go, and leviathan, whom you formed to play there.
In that day, Yahweh with his hard and great and strong sword will punish leviathan, the fleeing serpent, and leviathan the twisted serpent; and he will kill the dragon that is in the sea.
Common questions
How many times is Leviathan in the Old Testament and the New Testament?
In the King James Version, counting every form, 5 of the 5 uses are in the Old Testament and 0 in the New Testament. Leviathan appears in 3 books of the 66 in the King James Version. Psalms and Isaiah share the most, 2 each.
Where is Leviathan first mentioned in the Bible?
The first use in the King James Version is Job 41:1: "Canst thou draw out leviathan with an hook? or his tongue with a cord which thou lettest down?" The last is Isaiah 27:1.
More word counts: Antichrist, thus saith the LORD, verily, verily, born again, Son of God, Alpha and Omega, love one another, fear of the LORD, or all 253 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 2026-10-05.