How many times is Melchizedek mentioned in the Bible?
The word Melchizedek (spelled Melchisedec in the KJV) appears 9 times in the King James Version, in 9 verses. Counting every form (Melchisedec, Melchizedek), it appears 11 times in 11 verses across 3 of the 66 books. The World English Bible uses Melchizedek 11 times.
The KJV spells the name Melchisedec in most verses and Melchizedek in two. Both spellings are counted. The World English Bible spells it Melchizedek throughout.
Melchizedek in the King James Version and the World English Bible
Each form of Melchizedek counted in each translation.
| Form | KJV | WEB |
|---|---|---|
| Melchisedec | 9 | not counted |
| Melchizedek | 2 | 11 |
| Total | 11 | 11 |
What the name Melchizedek means
Hitchcock's Bible Names Dictionary glosses Melchizedek as "king of justice".
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.
First and last mention of Melchizedek
And Melchizedek king of Salem brought forth bread and wine: and he was the priest of the most high God.
(For those priests were made without an oath; but this with an oath by him that said unto him, The Lord sware and will not repent, Thou art a priest for ever after the order of Melchisedec:)
Verses with Melchizedek on our topic pages
1 verse that uses Melchizedek in the World English Bible is in our topic collections.
For this Melchizedek, king of Salem, priest of God Most High, who met Abraham returning from the slaughter of the kings and blessed him,
On: Tithing
Common questions
How many times is Melchizedek in the Old Testament and the New Testament?
In the King James Version, counting every form, 2 of the 11 uses are in the Old Testament and 9 in the New Testament. Melchizedek appears in 3 books of the 66 in the King James Version. Hebrews has the most (9), then Genesis (1) and Psalms (1).
Where is Melchizedek first mentioned in the Bible?
The first use in the King James Version is Genesis 14:18: "And Melchizedek king of Salem brought forth bread and wine: and he was the priest of the most high God." The last is Hebrews 7:21.
What does the name Melchizedek mean in the Bible?
Hitchcock's Bible Names Dictionary glosses Melchizedek as "king of justice".
More word counts: Andrew, Festus, Titus, Cornelius, Apollos, Caiaphas, Felix, Gamaliel, 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.