How many times is Tarshish mentioned in the Bible?
The word Tarshish appears 24 times in the King James Version, in 21 verses. It is found in 9 of the 66 books. The World English Bible uses Tarshish 28 times.
Tarshish in the King James Version and the World English Bible
Each form of Tarshish counted in each translation.
| Form | KJV | WEB |
|---|---|---|
| Tarshish | 24 | 28 |
| Total | 24 | 28 |
What the name Tarshish means
Hitchcock's Bible Names Dictionary glosses Tarshish as "contemplation; examination".
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.
Which books mention Tarshish most
Tarshish appears in 9 books of the 66 in the King James Version. Isaiah has the most (7), then 2 Chronicles (4) and Jonah (4).
First and last mention of Tarshish
And the sons of Javan; Elishah, and Tarshish, Kittim, and Dodanim.
And he prayed unto the LORD, and said, I pray thee, O LORD, was not this my saying, when I was yet in my country? Therefore I fled before unto Tarshish: for I knew that thou art a gracious God, and merciful, slow to anger, and of great kindness, and repentest thee of the evil.
The verse that uses it most is Jonah 1:3, 3 times:
But Jonah rose up to flee unto Tarshish from the presence of the LORD, and went down to Joppa; and he found a ship going to Tarshish: so he paid the fare thereof, and went down into it, to go with them unto Tarshish from the presence of the LORD.
Where the two translations differ
0 verses match in the KJV but not in the World English Bible, and 3 verses match only in the World English Bible, usually because the other translation chose a different word there.
1 Kings 10:22: counted in the World English Bible only
For the king had at sea a navy of Tharshish with the navy of Hiram: once in three years came the navy of Tharshish, bringing gold, and silver, ivory, and apes, and peacocks.
For the king had a fleet of Tarshish at sea with Hiram’s fleet. Once every three years the fleet of Tarshish came, bringing gold, silver, ivory, apes, and peacocks.
1 Kings 22:48: counted in the World English Bible only
Jehoshaphat made ships of Tharshish to go to Ophir for gold: but they went not; for the ships were broken at Ezion-geber.
Jehoshaphat made ships of Tarshish to go to Ophir for gold, but they didn’t go; for the ships wrecked at Ezion Geber.
Common questions
How many times is Tarshish in the Old Testament and the New Testament?
In the King James Version, counting every form, 24 of the 24 uses are in the Old Testament and 0 in the New Testament. Tarshish appears in 9 books of the 66 in the King James Version. Isaiah has the most (7), then 2 Chronicles (4) and Jonah (4).
Where is Tarshish first mentioned in the Bible?
The first use in the King James Version is Genesis 10:4: "And the sons of Javan; Elishah, and Tarshish, Kittim, and Dodanim." The last is Jonah 4:2.
What does the name Tarshish mean in the Bible?
Hitchcock's Bible Names Dictionary glosses Tarshish as "contemplation; examination".
More word counts: Ophir, Haran, Joppa, Nebo, Hermon, Gilead, Edom, Golgotha, 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.