How many times is Pilate mentioned in the Bible?
The word Pilate appears 56 times in the King James Version, in 54 verses. It is found in 6 of the 66 books. The World English Bible uses Pilate 56 times.
Pilate in the King James Version and the World English Bible
Each form of Pilate counted in each translation.
| Form | KJV | WEB |
|---|---|---|
| Pilate | 56 | 56 |
| Total | 56 | 56 |
First and last mention of Pilate
And when they had bound him, they led him away, and delivered him to Pontius Pilate the governor.
I give thee charge in the sight of God, who quickeneth all things, and before Christ Jesus, who before Pontius Pilate witnessed a good confession;
The verse that uses it most is Matthew 27:58, 2 times (tied with John 19:38):
He went to Pilate, and begged the body of Jesus. Then Pilate commanded the body to be delivered.
Verses with Pilate on our topic pages
1 verse that uses Pilate in the World English Bible is in our topic collections.
This man went to Pilate, and asked for Jesus’ body. Then Pilate commanded the body to be given up.
Common questions
How many times is Pilate in the Old Testament and the New Testament?
In the King James Version, counting every form, 0 of the 56 uses are in the Old Testament and 56 in the New Testament. Pilate appears in 6 books of the 66 in the King James Version. John has the most (21), then Luke (12) and Mark (10).
Where is Pilate first mentioned in the Bible?
The first use in the King James Version is Matthew 27:2: "And when they had bound him, they led him away, and delivered him to Pontius Pilate the governor." The last is 1 Timothy 6:13.
More word counts: Cain, Ishmael, Esau, Judah, Babylon, Bethlehem, Nazareth, Galilee, 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.