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PATRIARCHS

The leaders of families and clans within ancient Israel. The term derives from Heb. rāʾšê ʾăḇôṯ (“heads of the fathers”), translated in the LXX as “rulers of the fathers” (Gk. archaí patriós) and simplified as patriárchēs in the NT and Apocrypha. Within the discipline of biblical studies the term has come to refer more specifically to the four generations of Israel’s founders described in Gen. 12–50: Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and his 12 sons (esp. Joseph). This leads into the realm of ethnicity, an organizing social principle based on the perception that members of the group share a common ancestral heritage. Ethnicity is a very powerful mode of identity because it extends the natural sentiments of kinship affiliation from the immediate family to the society as a whole. Sentiments of ethnicity are commonly associated with original forefathers through whom all members of the group trace their lineage — in the case of ancient Israel, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. Research in ethnicity has demonstrated that, although a forefather might be a historical figure, it is also quite common to find that the tradition was invented to foster group cohesiveness. This raises an important question about the patriarchal stories themselves. To what extent do the narratives provide historical information?

History and Genre

Early in the 20th century it was increasingly common for scholars to view the patriarchal narratives as family legends and sagas rather than as historical compositions. But in later decades it was proposed that they derive from ancient epics which preserve historical accounts of the forefathers’ movements in Mesopotamia and Palestine. In addition, some have argued that the geopolitical and cultural details of the stories find their closest affinities with ancient texts from Ebla, Mari, and Nuzi (from 2300-1500 b.c.e.), and this is taken as evidence for a supposed 2nd-millennium “patriarchal age” (ca. 2000-1800). Recent work has called this archaeological and textual evidence into question, so that most now concede there is little solid evidence to connect the patriarchal stories exclusively with such an early historical period. A survey of the ideological landscape shows that four views of the patriarchal narratives predominate. First, in both Christian and Jewish quarters there remain religiously conservative scholars who view the texts as accurate historical narratives. Second, some scholars continue to adhere to the “epic” interpretation of the stories and see them as a useful — albeit cloudy — historical window into early Israel’s patriarchal origins under Abraham and/or forefathers like him. Third, some view the narratives not as history but rather as ancient family and tribal sagas acted out by literary characters — Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and his sons. These first three approaches have in common the view that the patriarchal narratives preserve within them a good deal of ancient material. The fourth perspective differs in that, while acknowledging some older materials, it views the patriarchal story as a later, invented tradition that tells more about the period in which the narrative was constructed (exilic or postexilic periods) than it does about ancient Israelite history. Although many scholars would not go this far in denying the historical value of the patriarchal narratives, at present nearly all scholars recognize that Genesis does not provide us with history like that provided by the historical books of Samuel and Kings. Accordingly, it has become common for those writing the history of ancient Israel to begin with the period of David and Solomon rather than of Abraham and Jacob.

Literary Considerations

Although the patriarchal stories of Genesis are preserved as a single literary work, scholars generally believe that a very complex process has created them. Various literary sources from different historical periods lie behind the narratives, and these have been written or edited by several authors and redactors. In addition, these literary sources were composed of smaller units of tradition, e.g., Jacob traditions from the northern kingdom, the Abraham/Isaac traditions from the southern kingdom, and a self-contained short story about the forefather Joseph. Whether these materials originated orally or as smaller literary works is often difficult to determine. The process by which the various traditions were combined is also debated, with some viewing it as the work of a few authors or editors and others as a gradual and accidental process which resulted in the accumulation of many traditions into one narrative.

Theological Significance

The complex literary origin of the narratives does not negate their theological importance for Jewish and Christian traditions. Especially important is the concept of “promise.” God promised the patriarchs that they would receive blessings — a posterity — and a homeland. The fulfillment of these promises became a preoccupation in other portions of the OT, including the remaining parts of the Pentateuch, the historical books, and much of the prophetic material. While in the OT this promise was inherited primarily by the ethnic community of ancient Israel — Abraham’s posterity — in the NT the promise was spiritualized (cf. Heb. 4:1-11) and extended to non-Jews by “grafting” them into the people of God (Rom. 11:17-24). However, this theological innovation did not necessarily render inconsequential the ethnic boundaries that separated Jews from Gentiles, as Rom. 11:25-32 shows.

“Faith justification” is another important theological concept in the patriarchal narratives. This perspective maintains that one is in right standing with the deity by virtue of trust in God (Gen. 15:1-6), a view subsequently taken up in both Jewish and Christian traditions (Isa. 51:1-2; Rom. 4).

Bibliography. W. F. Albright, Yahweh and the Gods of Canaan (1968, repr. Winona Lake, 1990); P. G. Kirkpatrick, “Folklore Studies and the Genre of the Patriarchal Narratives,” in The Old Testament and Folklore Study. JSOTSup 62 (Sheffield, 1988), 73-114; W. McKane, Studies in the Patriarchal Narratives (Winona Lake, 1983); A. R. Millard and D. J. Wiseman, Essays on the Patriarchal Narratives (Winona Lake, 1983); J. Van Seters, Prologue to History: The Yahwist as Historian in Genesis (Louisville, 1992); C. Westermann, Genesis, 3 vols. (Minneapolis, 1984-86), esp. 2:23-131.

Kenton Lane Sparks

Prayer Tents Bible References - Prayer Tents

PATRIARCHS

Eerdmans Dictionary of the Bible (2000)