πατριάρχας
patriárchēs
patriarchs
A founding ancestor or chief forebear of a family line, especially one from whom a clan, tribe, or nation traces descent; in the context of ancient societies, denotes a male figure recognized as the head or originator of a familial, tribal, or national group. In Hellenistic and later Jewish contexts, specifically refers to revered early ancestors of the Israelite people (such as Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and the twelve sons of Jacob). May also denote later prominent ancestral figures in specific genealogies or histories.
Acts 7:8 · Word #26
Lexicon G3966
| Lemma | πατριάρχης |
| Transliteration | patriárchēs |
| Strong's | G3966 |
| Definition | A founding ancestor or chief forebear of a family line, especially one from whom a clan, tribe, or nation traces descent; in the context of ancient societies, denotes a male figure recognized as the head or originator of a familial, tribal, or national group. In Hellenistic and later Jewish contexts, specifically refers to revered early ancestors of the Israelite people (such as Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and the twelve sons of Jacob). May also denote later prominent ancestral figures in specific genealogies or histories. |
Morphology N ACC M PL
All morphology codes
| Part of Speech | N — Noun — A person, place, thing, or idea |
| Case | ACC — Accusative — Direct object or extent |
| Gender | M — Masculine — Grammatical masculine |
| Number | PL — Plural — More than one |
Common Translation
| Phrase | patriarchs |
| Literal | patriarchs |
Lexical Info
| Lemma | πατριάρχης |
| Strong's | G3966 |
SIBI-P1 Translation G3966-02
founding clan chiefs
| Morphological Notes | Noun, accusative masculine plural (Gr,N,,,,,AMP): masculine plural object form. |
| Rendering Rationale | The compound denotes a leader (ἄρχω) of a family or clan (πατριά), thus "clan chief" or "founding ancestor." The accusative masculine plural form is reflected by the plural English rendering. |
View full lexicon entry for G3966 →
SILEX v2
SIBI-P2 (Context-Aware)
patriarchs
| Same as P1 | No — adjusted for context |
| Rationale | 'founding clan chiefs' is a paraphrase; 'patriarchs' is the standard term in genealogical/ancestral narratives and aligns with SILEX context here. |