How many times is Pharaoh mentioned in the Bible?
The word Pharaoh appears 231 times in the King James Version, in 205 verses. Counting every form (Pharaoh, Pharaoh's), it appears 279 times in 240 verses across 17 of the 66 books. The World English Bible uses Pharaoh 228 times (280 with every form).
Pharaoh is a title, not a name, and the Bible uses it for several different kings of Egypt. Every use is counted.
Pharaoh in the King James Version and the World English Bible
Each form of Pharaoh counted in each translation.
| Form | KJV | WEB |
|---|---|---|
| Pharaoh | 231 | 228 |
| Pharaoh's | 48 | 52 |
| Total | 279 | 280 |
Which books mention Pharaoh most
Pharaoh appears in 17 books of the 66 in the King James Version. Exodus has the most (115), then Genesis (94) and 1 Kings (13).
Also in: Romans (1), Hebrews (1).
First and last mention of Pharaoh
The princes also of Pharaoh saw her, and commended her before Pharaoh: and the woman was taken into Pharaoh’s house.
By faith Moses, when he was come to years, refused to be called the son of Pharaoh’s daughter;
The verse that uses it most is Genesis 12:15, 3 times (tied with Genesis 40:11, Genesis 41:25, 1 Kings 11:20, 2 Kings 23:35):
The princes also of Pharaoh saw her, and commended her before Pharaoh: and the woman was taken into Pharaoh’s house.
Verses with Pharaoh on our topic pages
3 verses that use Pharaoh in the World English Bible are in our topic collections.
Joseph said to Pharaoh, “The dream of Pharaoh is one. What God is about to do he has declared to Pharaoh.
On: Dreams
The midwives said to Pharaoh, “Because the Hebrew women aren’t like the Egyptian women; for they are vigorous, and give birth before the midwife comes to them.”
Then Pharaoh also called for the wise men and the sorcerers. They also, the magicians of Egypt, did the same thing with their enchantments.
Common questions
How many times is Pharaoh in the Old Testament and the New Testament?
In the King James Version, counting every form, 274 of the 279 uses are in the Old Testament and 5 in the New Testament. Pharaoh appears in 17 books of the 66 in the King James Version. Exodus has the most (115), then Genesis (94) and 1 Kings (13).
Where is Pharaoh first mentioned in the Bible?
The first use in the King James Version is Genesis 12:15: "The princes also of Pharaoh saw her, and commended her before Pharaoh: and the woman was taken into Pharaoh’s house." The last is Hebrews 11:24.
More word counts: Herod, Pilate, Cain, Ishmael, Esau, Judah, Babylon, Bethlehem, 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.