What Does “Patriarch” Mean in the Bible?
Title
The fathers of the people of Israel: Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and the twelve sons of Jacob.
It can mean
- David: Peter calls King David a “patriarch.”
- Another use: in some Eastern Churches, “Patriarch” is the title of the chief bishop.
Where it appears in the Bible
Acts 7:8; Acts 2:29
What the Bible says
Acts 7:8
And he gave him the covenant of circumcision, and so he begot Isaac, and circumcised him the eighth day; and Isaac begot Jacob; and Jacob the twelve patriarchs.
Acts 2:29
Ye men, brethren, let me freely speak to you of the patriarch David; that he died, and was buried; and his sepulchre is with us to this present day.
Douay-Rheims Bible (Challoner revision), public domain.
Source: RAE, “patriarca”; Catechism 1297