How many times is Terah mentioned in the Bible?
The word Terah appears 12 times in the King James Version, in 10 verses. It is found in 3 of the 66 books. The World English Bible uses Terah 14 times.
Terah in the King James Version and the World English Bible
Each form of Terah counted in each translation.
| Form | KJV | WEB |
|---|---|---|
| Terah | 12 | 14 |
| Total | 12 | 14 |
What the name Terah means
Hitchcock's Bible Names Dictionary glosses Terah as "to breathe; scent; blow".
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 Terah most
Terah appears in 3 books of the 66 in the King James Version. Genesis has the most (9), then Joshua (2) and 1 Chronicles (1).
First and last mention of Terah
And Nahor lived nine and twenty years, and begat Terah:
Serug, Nahor, Terah,
The verse that uses it most is Genesis 11:27, 2 times (tied with Genesis 11:32):
Now these are the generations of Terah: Terah begat Abram, Nahor, and Haran; and Haran begat Lot.
Where the two translations differ
1 verse matches 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.
Joshua 21:27: counted in the KJV only
And unto the children of Gershon, of the families of the Levites, out of the other half tribe of Manasseh they gave Golan in Bashan with her suburbs, to be a city of refuge for the slayer; and Beesh-terah with her suburbs; two cities.
They gave to the children of Gershon, of the families of the Levites, out of the half-tribe of Manasseh Golan in Bashan with its suburbs, the city of refuge for the man slayer, and Be Eshterah with its suburbs: two cities.
Numbers 33:27: counted in the World English Bible only
And they departed from Tahath, and pitched at Tarah.
They traveled from Tahath, and encamped in Terah.
Numbers 33:28: counted in the World English Bible only
And they removed from Tarah, and pitched in Mithcah.
They traveled from Terah, and encamped in Mithkah.
Common questions
How many times is Terah in the Old Testament and the New Testament?
In the King James Version, counting every form, 12 of the 12 uses are in the Old Testament and 0 in the New Testament. Terah appears in 3 books of the 66 in the King James Version. Genesis has the most (9), then Joshua (2) and 1 Chronicles (1).
Where is Terah first mentioned in the Bible?
The first use in the King James Version is Genesis 11:24: "And Nahor lived nine and twenty years, and begat Terah:" The last is 1 Chronicles 1:26.
What does the name Terah mean in the Bible?
Hitchcock's Bible Names Dictionary glosses Terah as "to breathe; scent; blow".
More word counts: Dinah, Nimrod, Melchizedek, Andrew, Festus, Titus, Cornelius, Apollos, 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.