Patriarch; Patriachs
Patriarch; Patriachs [1]
pā´tri - ark , ( πατριάρχης , patriárchēs ). The word occurs in the New Testament in application to Abraham ( Hebrews 7:4 ), to the sons of Jacob ( Acts 7:8 , Acts 7:9 ), and to David ( Acts 2:29 ). In Septuagint it is used as the equivalent of the head of the fathers' house, or of a tribe ( 1 Chronicles 24:31; 1 Chronicles 27:32; 2 Chronicles 26:12 ). Commonly now the term is used of the persons whose names appear in the genealogies and covenant-histories in the periods preceding Moses (Gen 5; 11, histories of Noah, Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, etc.; compare "patriarchal dispensation"). The problems connected with the longevity ascribed to the patriarchs in the genealogies and narratives in Gen are dealt with in special articles. See Antediluvian Patriarchs; Antediluvians Genealogy .
