Patriarchs (Bible)

Patriarchs or patriarch referred to the 1st Book of Moses (Genesis), the three Ahnväter of the Israelites; the newer biblical studies they referred to, together with their wives as ancestral and the four women as matriarchs. The prefix " arch- " comes from the Greek arch- "First, Highest ". The seven ancestral are:

• Abraham and Sarah,
• Their son Isaac and his wife Rebekah,
• Their son Jacob and his wives Leah and Rachel.

Their stories in Genesis from chapter 12 reproduced in the Erzelternerzählung ( traditionally referred to as the patriarchal history ).

The 12 sons of Jacob with Leah and Rachel, the great-grandson of Abraham, are considered to be progenitors of the " 12 tribes of Israel ": Reuben, Simeon, Levi, Judah, Dan, Naphtali, Gad, Asher, Issachar, Zebulun, Joseph, Benjamin.