How many times is Nahash mentioned in the Bible?
The word Nahash appears 9 times in the King James Version, in 8 verses. It is found in 3 of the 66 books. The World English Bible uses Nahash 9 times.
Not counted: Nahash inside the hyphenated name of a different person or place, 1 time in the KJV: Ir-nahash (1). The World English Bible has 1 such use.
Nahash in the King James Version and the World English Bible
Each form of Nahash counted in each translation.
| Form | KJV | WEB |
|---|---|---|
| Nahash | 9 | 9 |
| Total | 9 | 9 |
What the name Nahash means
Hitchcock's Bible Names Dictionary glosses Nahash as "snake; serpent".
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 2026-10-24.
Which books mention Nahash most
Nahash appears in 3 books of the 66 in the King James Version. 1 Samuel has the most (4), then 2 Samuel (3) and 1 Chronicles (2).
First and last mention of Nahash
Then Nahash the Ammonite came up, and encamped against Jabesh-gilead: and all the men of Jabesh said unto Nahash, Make a covenant with us, and we will serve thee.
And David said, I will shew kindness unto Hanun the son of Nahash, because his father shewed kindness to me. And David sent messengers to comfort him concerning his father. So the servants of David came into the land of the children of Ammon to Hanun, to comfort him.
The verse that uses it most is 1 Samuel 11:1, 2 times:
Then Nahash the Ammonite came up, and encamped against Jabesh-gilead: and all the men of Jabesh said unto Nahash, Make a covenant with us, and we will serve thee.
Common questions
How many times is Nahash in the Old Testament and the New Testament?
In the King James Version, counting every form, 9 of the 9 uses are in the Old Testament and 0 in the New Testament. Nahash appears in 3 books of the 66 in the King James Version. 1 Samuel has the most (4), then 2 Samuel (3) and 1 Chronicles (2).
Where is Nahash first mentioned in the Bible?
The first use in the King James Version is 1 Samuel 11:1: "Then Nahash the Ammonite came up, and encamped against Jabesh-gilead: and all the men of Jabesh said unto Nahash, Make a covenant with us, and we will serve thee." The last is 1 Chronicles 19:2.
What does the name Nahash mean in the Bible?
Hitchcock's Bible Names Dictionary glosses Nahash as "snake; serpent".
More word counts: power, wedding, Seir, Gibeon, Abiathar, Hur, Barzillai, river, or all 635 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 2026-10-24.