How many times is Rahab mentioned in the Bible?
The word Rahab appears 10 times in the King James Version, in 10 verses. It is found in 5 of the 66 books. The World English Bible uses Rahab 14 times.
Hitchcock's dictionary lists more than one person or place with this name, and every use is counted.
Rahab in the King James Version and the World English Bible
Each form of Rahab counted in each translation.
| Form | KJV | WEB |
|---|---|---|
| Rahab | 10 | 14 |
| Total | 10 | 14 |
What the name Rahab means
Hitchcock's Bible Names Dictionary glosses Rahab as "proud; quarrelsome (applied to Egypt)". He lists one more entry under the same spelling, for another person or place: "large; extended" (name of a woman).
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 Rahab
And Joshua the son of Nun sent out of Shittim two men to spy secretly, saying, Go view the land, even Jericho. And they went, and came into an harlot’s house, named Rahab, and lodged there.
Likewise also was not Rahab the harlot justified by works, when she had received the messengers, and had sent them out another way?
Where the two translations differ
0 verses match in the KJV but not in the World English Bible, and 4 verses match only in the World English Bible, usually because the other translation chose a different word there.
Job 9:13: counted in the World English Bible only
If God will not withdraw his anger, the proud helpers do stoop under him.
“God will not withdraw his anger. The helpers of Rahab stoop under him.
Job 26:12: counted in the World English Bible only
He divideth the sea with his power, and by his understanding he smiteth through the proud.
He stirs up the sea with his power, and by his understanding he strikes through Rahab.
Verses with Rahab on our topic pages
1 verse that uses Rahab in the World English Bible is in our topic collections.
Awake, awake, put on strength, arm of Yahweh! Awake, as in the days of old, the generations of ancient times. Isn’t it you who cut Rahab in pieces, who pierced the monster?
Common questions
How many times is Rahab in the Old Testament and the New Testament?
In the King James Version, counting every form, 8 of the 10 uses are in the Old Testament and 2 in the New Testament. Rahab appears in 5 books of the 66 in the King James Version. Joshua has the most (5), then Psalms (2) and Isaiah (1).
Where is Rahab first mentioned in the Bible?
The first use in the King James Version is Joshua 2:1: "And Joshua the son of Nun sent out of Shittim two men to spy secretly, saying, Go view the land, even Jericho. And they went, and came into an harlot’s house, named Rahab, and lodged there." The last is James 2:25.
What does the name Rahab mean in the Bible?
Hitchcock's Bible Names Dictionary glosses Rahab as "proud; quarrelsome (applied to Egypt)". He lists one more entry under the same spelling, for another person or place: "large; extended" (name of a woman).
More word counts: Deborah, Delilah, Hannah, Seth, Methuselah, Terah, Dinah, Nimrod, 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.