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one’s mother’s side were called “thy mother’s father” (Gen. 28:2). This noun may be
used of any one of the entire line of men from whom a given individual is descended:
“But he [Elijah] himself went a day’s journey into the wilderness, and came and sat down
under a juniper tree: and he requested for himself that he might die; and said, It is
enough; now, O Lord, take away my life; for I am not better than my fathers” (1 Kings
19:4). In such use, the word may refer to the first man, a “forefather,” a clan (Jer. 35:6), a
tribe (Josh. 19:47), a group with a special calling (1 Chron. 24:19), a dynasty (1 Kings
15:3), or a nation (Josh. 24:3). Thus, “father” does not necessarily mean the man who
directly sired a given individual.
This noun sometimes describes the adoptive relationship, especially when it is used of
the “founder of a class or station,” such as a trade: “And Adah bare Jabal: he was the
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of such as dwell in tents, and of such as have cattle” (Gen. 4:20).
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can be a title of respect, usually applied to an older person, as when David said to
Saul: “Moreover, my father, see, yea, see the skirt of thy robe in my hand …” (1 Sam.
24:11). The word is also applied to teachers: “And Elisha saw it, and he cried, My father,
my father, the chariot of Israel, and the horsemen thereof …” (2 Kings 2:12). In 2 Kings
6:21, the word is applied to the prophet Elisha and in Judg. 17:10, to a priest; this word is
also a title of respect when used of “one’s husband”: “Wilt thou not from this time cry
unto me, My father, thou art the guide of my youth?” (Jer. 3:4). In Gen. 45:8, the noun is
used of an “advisor”: “So now it was not you that sent me hither, but God: and he hath
made me a father [advisor] to Pharaoh, and lord of all his house, and a ruler throughout
all the land of Egypt.” In each case, the one described as “father” occupied a position or
status and received the honor due to a “father.”
In conjunction with
(“house”), the word
may mean “family”: “In the tenth
day of this month they shall take to them every man a lamb, according to the house of
their fathers …” (Exod. 12:3). Sometimes the plural of the word used by itself can
represent “family”: “… These are the heads of the fathers [households] of the Levites
according to their families” (Exod. 6:25).
God is described as the “father” of Israel (Deut. 32:6). He is the One who begot and
protected them, the One they should revere and obey. Mal. 2:10 tells us that God is the
“father” of all people. He is especially the “protector” or “father” of the fatherless: “A
father of the fatherless, and a judge of the widows, is God in his holy habitation” (Ps.
68:5). As the “father” of a king, God especially aligns Himself to that man and his
kingdom: “I will be his father, and he shall be my son. If he commit iniquity, I will
chasten him with the rod of men, and with the stripes of the children of men” (2 Sam.
7:14). Not every king was a son of God—only those whom He adopted. In a special
sense, the perfect King was God’s adopted Son: “I will declare the decree: the Lord hath
said unto me, Thou art my Son; this day have I begotten thee” (Ps. 2:7). The extent,
power, and duration of His kingdom are guaranteed by the Father’s sovereignty (cf. Ps.
2:8-9). On the other hand, one of the Messiah’s enthronement names is “Eternal Father”:
“… And his name shall be called Wonderful, Counselor, The mighty God, The
everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace” (Isa. 9:6).
FAVOR
A. Noun.