How many times is Tophet mentioned in the Bible?
The word Tophet appears 9 times in the King James Version, in 8 verses. Counting every form (Tophet, Topheth), it appears 10 times in 9 verses across 3 of the 66 books. The World English Bible uses Tophet 9 times.
The KJV spells it Tophet in most verses and Topheth in 2 Kings 23:10; the World English Bible writes Topheth. Both spellings are counted. In Isaiah 30:33 the KJV says Tophet where the World English Bible says his burning place, so its count is one lower.
Tophet in the King James Version and the World English Bible
Each form of Tophet counted in each translation.
| Form | KJV | WEB |
|---|---|---|
| Tophet | 9 | not counted |
| Topheth | 1 | 9 |
| Total | 10 | 9 |
What the name Tophet means
Hitchcock's Bible Names Dictionary glosses Tophet as "a drum; betraying".
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 2026-10-24.
First and last mention of Tophet
And he defiled Topheth, which is in the valley of the children of Hinnom, that no man might make his son or his daughter to pass through the fire to Molech.
Then came Jeremiah from Tophet, whither the LORD had sent him to prophesy; and he stood in the court of the LORD’S house; and said to all the people,
The verse that uses it most is Jeremiah 7:32, 2 times:
Therefore, behold, the days come, saith the LORD, that it shall no more be called Tophet, nor the valley of the son of Hinnom, but the valley of slaughter: for they shall bury in Tophet, till there be no place.
Where the two translations differ
1 verse matches in the KJV but not in the World English Bible, and 0 verses match only in the World English Bible, usually because the other translation chose a different word there.
Isaiah 30:33: counted in the KJV only
For Tophet is ordained of old; yea, for the king it is prepared; he hath made it deep and large: the pile thereof is fire and much wood; the breath of the LORD, like a stream of brimstone, doth kindle it.
For his burning place has long been ready. Yes, for the king it is prepared. He has made its pyre deep and large with fire and much wood. Yahweh’s breath, like a stream of sulfur, kindles it.
Common questions
How many times is Tophet in the Old Testament and the New Testament?
In the King James Version, counting every form, 10 of the 10 uses are in the Old Testament and 0 in the New Testament. Tophet appears in 3 books of the 66 in the King James Version. Jeremiah has the most (8), then 2 Kings (1) and Isaiah (1).
Where is Tophet first mentioned in the Bible?
The first use in the King James Version is 2 Kings 23:10: "And he defiled Topheth, which is in the valley of the children of Hinnom, that no man might make his son or his daughter to pass through the fire to Molech." The last is Jeremiah 19:14.
What does the name Tophet mean in the Bible?
Hitchcock's Bible Names Dictionary glosses Tophet as "a drum; betraying".
More word counts: Hinnom, city, sister, body, son, teeth, womb, disease, 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.