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patriarchmore about patriarch

patriarch

 

  3  definitions  found 
 
  From  Webster's  Revised  Unabridged  Dictionary  (1913)  [web1913]: 
 
  Patriarch  \Pa"tri*arch\,  n.  [F.  patriarche,  L.  patriarcha,  Gr 
  ?,  fr  ?  lineage,  especially  on  the  father's  side  race;  ? 
  father  +  ?  a  leader,  chief,  fr  ?  to  lead,  rule  See 
  {Father},  {Archaic}.] 
  1.  The  father  and  ruler  of  a  family;  one  who  governs  his 
  family  or  descendants  by  paternal  right  --  usually 
  applied  to  heads  of  families  in  ancient  history, 
  especially  in  Biblical  and  Jewish  history  to  those  who 
  lived  before  the  time  of  Moses. 
 
  2.  (R.  C.  Ch  &  Gr  Ch.)  A  dignitary  superior  to  the  order  of 
  archbishops;  as  the  patriarch  of  Constantinople,  of 
  Alexandria,  or  of  Antioch. 
 
  3.  A  venerable  old  man;  an  elder.  Also  used  figuratively. 
 
  The  patriarch  hoary,  the  sage  of  his  kith  and  the 
  hamlet.  --Longfellow. 
 
  The  monarch  oak,  the  partiarch  of  trees.  --Dryde. 
 
  From  WordNet  r  1.6  [wn]: 
 
  patriarch 
  n  1:  the  head  of  family  or  tribe  [syn:  {paterfamilias},  {head  of 
  household}] 
  2:  any  of  the  early  Biblical  characters  regarded  as  fathers  of 
  the  human  race 
  3:  a  man  who  is  older  and  higher  in  rank  than  yourself  [syn:  {graybeard}] 
 
  From  Easton's  1897  Bible  Dictionary  [easton]: 
 
  Patriarch 
  a  name  employed  in  the  New  Testament  with  reference  to  Abraham 
  (Heb.  7:4),  the  sons  of  Jacob  (Acts  7:8,  9),  and  to  David 
  (2:29).  This  name  is  generally  applied  to  the  progenitors  of 
  families  or  "heads  of  the  fathers"  (Josh.  14:1)  mentioned  in 
  Scripture,  and  they  are  spoken  of  as  antediluvian  (from  Adam  to 
  Noah)  and  post-diluvian  (from  Noah  to  Jacob)  patriachs  But  the 
  expression  "the  patriarch,"  by  way  of  eminence,  is  applied  to 
  the  twelve  sons  of  Jacob,  or  to  Abraham,  Isaac,  and  Jacob. 
 
  "Patriachal  longevity  presents  itself  as  one  of  the  most 
  striking  of  the  facts  concerning  mankind  which  the  early  history 
  of  the  Book  of  Genesis  places  before  us...There  is  a  large 
  amount  of  consentient  tradition  to  the  effect  that  the  life  of 
  man  was  originally  far  more  prolonged  than  it  is  at  present, 
  extending  to  at  least  several  hundred  years.  The  Babylonians, 
  Egyptians,  and  Chinese  exaggerated  these  hundreds  into 
  thousands.  The  Greeks  and  Romans,  with  more  moderation,  limited 
  human  life  within  a  thousand  or  eight  hundred  years.  The  Hindus 
  still  farther  shortened  the  term.  Their  books  taught  that  in  the 
  first  age  of  the  world  man  was  free  from  diseases,  and  lived 
  ordinarily  four  hundred  years;  in  the  second  age  the  term  of 
  life  was  reduced  from  four  hundred  to  three  hundred;  in  the 
  third  it  became  two  hundred;  in  the  fourth  and  last  it  was 
  brought  down  to  one  hundred"  (Rawlinson's  Historical 
  Illustrations).




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