How many times does the Bible mention money?

The finding

Money is one of the most frequently discussed subjects in the Bible. Words for money, silver, gold, and specific units of currency appear more than 800 times across the canon, depending on the counting methodology and the translation used.

The Hebrew word kesef (כֶּסֶף), which means both “silver” and “money,” appears more than 400 times in the Old Testament alone. The Greek argyrion (ἀργύριον), with the same dual meaning, appears regularly in the New Testament. Specific currency units — shekels, talents, denarii, drachmae, lepta — appear in narrative and parable across both testaments.

By way of comparison (all approximate, all subject to the same methodology caveat):

• The English word “prayer” (and related verbs) appears around 110 times in many translations.
• The English word “heaven” appears around 600 times.
• The English word “faith” appears around 250 times.

Under these counts, money outpaces all three. The comparison is illustrative rather than precise — each of these word groups would yield a different number under a different translation or search method.

A note on counting

Counts vary substantially by:

• Translation. Different English translations render the same Hebrew or Greek word with different English words. Counting “money” alone in the BSB will produce a different number than counting “silver” or “gold” or specific currency units.
• What is counted. Should the count include the unit names (“shekel,” “talent,” “denarius”)? The metals themselves (“silver,” “gold,” “copper”)? Verbs of buying, selling, lending? Each choice produces a different total.
• Methodology. Lexical concordances vary in how they group derived forms.

The figure of “more than 800” is based on the combined totals of the principal Hebrew and Greek vocabulary across both testaments, including currency unit names. More restrictive counts (only direct mentions of “money”) produce lower totals; broader counts (including all economic vocabulary) produce higher totals.

The most-cited statistic

A widely repeated claim is that “Jesus spoke about money more than he spoke about heaven and hell combined.” Counts vary by methodology, but it is consistent across major studies that money and possessions are one of the most frequent subjects in the recorded teaching of Jesus, particularly in the parables — which include the rich young ruler, the rich fool, the dishonest manager, the talents, the minas, the two debtors, and the widow’s mite. Approximately 11 of the 39 parables in the Synoptic Gospels concern money or possessions.

Related entries

• How many times does the Bible mention wine?
• Money is the root of all evil — paraphrase of 1 Timothy 6:10
• What does the Bible say about gambling?