How many times is river mentioned in the Bible?
The word river appears 175 times in the King James Version, in 145 verses. Counting every form (river, rivers, river's), it appears 256 times in 217 verses across 35 of the 66 books. The World English Bible uses river 155 times (218 with every form).
River in the King James Version and the World English Bible
Each form of river counted in each translation.
| Form | KJV | WEB |
|---|---|---|
| river | 175 | 155 |
| rivers | 77 | 61 |
| river's | 4 | 2 |
| Total | 256 | 218 |
Which books mention river most
River appears in 35 books of the 66 in the King James Version. Ezekiel has the most (38), then Exodus (26) and Isaiah (26).
Also in: 2 Samuel (4), Job (4), Numbers (3), Nehemiah (3), Nahum (3), Habakkuk (3), Leviticus (2), 2 Chronicles (2), Proverbs (2), Ecclesiastes (2), Lamentations (2), Joel (2), Micah (2), Zechariah (2), Song of Solomon (1), Amos (1), Zephaniah (1), Mark (1), John (1), Acts (1).
First and last mention of river
And a river went out of Eden to water the garden; and from thence it was parted, and became into four heads.
In the midst of the street of it, and on either side of the river, was there the tree of life, which bare twelve manner of fruits, and yielded her fruit every month: and the leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations.
The verse that uses it most is Genesis 15:18, 3 times (tied with Exodus 7:18, Exodus 7:21, Joshua 12:2, Joshua 17:9, Judges 5:21 and 1 more):
In the same day the LORD made a covenant with Abram, saying, Unto thy seed have I given this land, from the river of Egypt unto the great river, the river Euphrates:
Where the two translations differ
48 verses match in the KJV but not in the World English Bible, and 17 verses match only in the World English Bible, usually because the other translation chose a different word there.
Exodus 17:5: counted in the KJV only
And the LORD said unto Moses, Go on before the people, and take with thee of the elders of Israel; and thy rod, wherewith thou smotest the river, take in thine hand, and go.
Yahweh said to Moses, “Walk on before the people, and take the elders of Israel with you, and take the rod in your hand with which you struck the Nile, and go.
Numbers 24:6: counted in the KJV only
As the valleys are they spread forth, as gardens by the river’s side, as the trees of lign aloes which the LORD hath planted, and as cedar trees beside the waters.
As valleys they are spread out, as gardens by the riverside, as aloes which Yahweh has planted, as cedar trees beside the waters.
Joshua 2:7: counted in the World English Bible only
And the men pursued after them the way to Jordan unto the fords: and as soon as they which pursued after them were gone out, they shut the gate.
The men pursued them along the way to the fords of the Jordan River. As soon as those who pursued them had gone out, they shut the gate.
Joshua 2:23: counted in the World English Bible only
So the two men returned, and descended from the mountain, and passed over, and came to Joshua the son of Nun, and told him all things that befell them:
Then the two men returned, descended from the mountain, crossed the river, and came to Joshua the son of Nun. They told him all that had happened to them.
Verses with river on our topic pages
11 verses that use river in the World English Bible are in our topic collections.
When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and through the rivers, they will not overflow you. When you walk through the fire, you will not be burned, and flame will not scorch you.
On: Protection, Worry, Suffering, Loneliness
Behold, I will do a new thing. It springs out now. Don’t you know it? I will even make a way in the wilderness, and rivers in the desert.
On: New Beginnings, Bitterness, Change, Bible Verses for the New Year
If it seems evil to you to serve Yahweh, choose today whom you will serve; whether the gods which your fathers served that were beyond the River, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you dwell; but as for me and my house, we will serve Yahweh.”
You visit the earth, and water it. You greatly enrich it. The river of God is full of water. You provide them grain, for so you have ordained it.
Then I proclaimed a fast there, at the river Ahava, that we might humble ourselves before our God, to seek from him a straight way for us, and for our little ones, and for all our possessions.
On: Fasting
As the waters fail from the sea, and the river wastes and dries up,
Behold, if a river overflows, he doesn’t tremble. He is confident, though the Jordan swells even to his mouth.
There is a river, the streams of which make the city of God glad, the holy place of the tents of the Most High.
For he will be as a tree planted by the waters, who spreads out its roots by the river, and will not fear when heat comes, but its leaf will be green; and will not be concerned in the year of drought. It won’t cease from yielding fruit.
On: Blessings
But let justice roll on like rivers, and righteousness like a mighty stream.
On: Justice
in the middle of its street. On this side of the river and on that was the tree of life, bearing twelve kinds of fruits, yielding its fruit every month. The leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations.
On: Healing
Common questions
How many times is river in the Old Testament and the New Testament?
In the King James Version, counting every form, 247 of the 256 uses are in the Old Testament and 9 in the New Testament. River appears in 35 books of the 66 in the King James Version. Ezekiel has the most (38), then Exodus (26) and Isaiah (26).
Where is river first mentioned in the Bible?
The first use in the King James Version is Genesis 2:10: "And a river went out of Eden to water the garden; and from thence it was parted, and became into four heads." The last is Revelation 22:2.
More word counts: Asia, Kish, heathen, feet, ashes, sickness, Kohath, curse, 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.