Patriarch; Patriachs pa'-tri-ark, patriarches). 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 (Genesis 5:1-32, 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 Ge are dealt with in special articles.
See ANTEDILUVIAN PATRIARCHS, ANTEDILUVIANS (GENEALOGY).
James Orr