(בּית אב , bēth 'ābh , בּית אבות , bēth 'ābhōth ): Father's house in the Old Testament is (1) a dwelling, the family home (Genesis 12:1; Genesis 31:14 , Genesis 31:30; Genesis 38:11; 1 Samuel 18:2 ); (2) a family or household (Genesis 41:51; Genesis 46:31; Exodus 12:3 , the Revised Version (British and American) "fathers' houses"); (3) The group of households, of several of which the "family" or "clan" was constituted, aggregations of which formed the "tribe," generally "fathers' houses" (Numbers 1:18 , Numbers 1:20; Numbers 17:2; Ezra 2:59; Nehemiah 10:34 , etc.); (4)the "family" (clan), mishpāḥāh , "fathers' houses" (Exodus 6:14 f; Numbers 3:20 ); (5) The tribe, "fathers' house," "houses" (Numbers 7:2; Numbers 17:1-3 , etc.).
In the New Testament "father's house" (οἶκος τοῦ πατρός , oı́kos toú patrós ) occurs in the sense of dwelling, house (Luke 16:27; compare Luke 16:4 ). our Lord also uses the phrase (1) of the earthly temple-dwelling of God at Jerusalem (John 2:16 , "Make not my Father's house a house of merchandise"; compare Psalm 11:4; Isaiah 63:15 ); (2) of heaven as the abode of God and His children (John 14:2 , "In my Father's house are many mansions," the Revised Version, margin "abiding places," oikı́a "house," "dwelling," also household, family; compare Psalm 33:13; Isaiah 63:15; Matthew 6:9 ). The phrase occurs also (Acts 7:20 ) of Moses, "nourished ... in his father's house" (oikos ).
Revised Version has "father's hquse" for "principal household" (1 Chronicles 24:6 ), "heads of the fathers' houses" for "chief fathers" (Numbers 31:26; Numbers 32:28; Numbers 36:1; 1 Chronicles 9:34 , etc.); "one prince of a father's house," for "each of" (Joshua 22:14 ); "the heads of the fathers' (houses)" for "the chief of the fathers," and "the fathers' houses of the chief," for "the principal fathers" (1 Chronicles 24:31 ).
The International Standard Bible Encyclopedia (ISBE) was edited by James Orr, John Nuelsen, Edgar Mullins, Morris Evans, and Melvin Grove Kyle and was published complete in 1939. This web site includes the complete text.
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