אָב1191 H0001
Father: immediate male parent; ancestor or forefather (plural); patriarchal clan head in Israel's tribal organization.
The Hebrew word av is among the most foundational kinship terms in Scripture, appearing over 1,200 times and carrying weight far beyond biology. It names the immediate father in family narratives (Gen 2:24, 'a man shall leave his father'), but its plural form avot reaches back through generations to mean 'ancestors' or 'forefathers' — the patriarchs with whom God made covenant. Korean distinguishes neatly between 아버지 (father) and 조상 (ancestor), and Hindi between पिता (father) and पूर्वज (forefather), revealing that what Hebrew collapses into one root, many languages split apart. A specialized institutional sense appears in Chronicles, where 'fathers' houses' (bet avot) designate the clan divisions that organized Israel's military, priesthood, and census.
2. ancestor, forefather — Ancestors or forefathers, used overwhelmingly in the plural (avot) to denote previous generations of Israel's lineage — those who came out of Egypt, received the covenant, or sinned in the wilderness. With 146 occurrences, this sense anchors phrases like 'the God of your fathers' (Exod 3:13) and 'the land sworn to your fathers.' Korean 조상, Hindi पूर्वज/पितर, and Arabic آباء all employ dedicated ancestor vocabulary distinct from 'father,' underscoring that the Hebrew plural avot carries a collective, transgenerational meaning absent from the singular. 146×
AR["آبَاءَهُمْ","آبَائِهِمْ"]·ben["তাদের-পিতৃগণের","তাদের-পিতৃদের","তাদের-পিতৃপুরুষদের","তাদের-পূর্বপুরুষদের","তাদের-পূর্বপুরুষদের,"]·DE["ihr-Vaeter"]·EN["their-fathers"]·FR["leur-pères","leurs-pères"]·heb["אֲבוֹתָם","אבותם","אבתם"]·HI["अपने-पूर्वजों-का","उनके-पितरों-के","उनके-पूर्वजों","उनके-पूर्वजों-के","उनके-पूर्वजों-को","पितरों-अपने-के","पूर्वजों-अपने"]·ID["nenek-moyang-mereka"]·IT["loro-padri"]·jav["leluhur","leluhur-ipun","para-bapanipun","para-rama-ipun","para-ramanipun","rama-ramanipun"]·KO["그들-의-아버지들","그들의-아버지들","그들의-조상","그들의-조상들","그들의-조상들을","그들의-조상들의","조상들-그들의"]·PT["pais-deles","pais-seus","seus-pais"]·RU["отцов-их","отцов-своих"]·ES["padres-de-ellos","sus-padres"]·SW["baba-zao","ya-baba-zao","za-baba-zao"]·TR["atalarını","atalarının","atalarının-onların","babalarının"]·urd["ان-کے-باپ-دادا","اُن-کے-آباؤ-اجداد-کے","اُن-کے-باپ-دادا","اُن-کے-باپ-دادا-کے","اُن-کے-باپوں-کا","اپنے-باپ-دادا","اپنے-باپ-دادا-کے","باپ-دادا-اپنے","باپ-دادا-کے","باپوں-ان","باپوں-اپنے"]
Lev 26:39, Lev 26:40, Num 1:2, Num 1:16, Num 1:18, Num 1:20, Num 1:22, Num 1:24, Num 1:26, Num 1:28, Num 1:30, Num 1:32 (+38 more)
▼ 2 more senses below
Senses
1. father, immediate male parent — The immediate male parent — biological father, and by extension grandfather, father-in-law, adoptive father, or any singular authority figure addressed with filial respect. This dominant sense (1,030+ occurrences) spans from 'honor your father' (Exod 20:12) to Joseph's self-identification as 'a father to Pharaoh' (Gen 45:8). Spanish padre, French père, German Vater, and Arabic أب all converge on the basic parental term. The polite self-referential 'your servant' parallels the use of 'your father' as a term of respect for prophets and advisors (2 Kgs 2:12). 1031×
AR["أبي","أَبي","أَبِي"]·ben["আমার-পিতা","আমার-পিতাকে","আমার-পিতার","পিতা-আমার","বাবা-আমার"]·DE["mein-Vater","meinem-Vater","meinen-Vater","meines-Vaters"]·EN["my-father"]·FR["mon-père"]·heb["אב-י","אבי"]·HI["पिता-के-अपने","पिता-के-मेरे","पिता-ने-मेरे","पिता-मेरे","पिता-मेरे-के","मेर-पित","मेरा-पिता","मेरे-पित-के","मेरे-पिता","मेरे-पिता-का","मेरे-पिता-के"]·ID["ayahku","bapa-ku","bapaku"]·IT["mio-padre"]·jav["amargi","bapa-kawula","bapak-kawula","bapak-kita","bapak-kula","rama-kawula","rama-kula"]·KO["나의-아버지","나의-아버지가","나의-아버지도","나의-아버지를","나의-아버지와","나의-아버지의","내-아버지의","아버지-나의-의"]·PT["meu-pai","pai-meu"]·RU["отец-мой","отца-моего","отцу-моему"]·ES["mi-padre","padre-mío"]·SW["baba-wangu","baba-yangu","tutapata","wa-baba-yangu"]·TR["babam","babama","babamı","babamın"]·urd["باپ-اپنے-کے","باپ-میرے","باپ-میرے-نے","باپ-میرے-کا","باپ-میرے-کی","باپ-میرے-کے","میرا-باپ","میرے-باپ","میرے-باپ-کا","میرے-باپ-کی؟","میرے-باپ-کے","میرے-باپ-کے۔"]
3. head of a fathers' house — The patriarchal clan head in the institutional phrase bet avot ('fathers' houses'), the basic organizational unit of Israelite tribal structure used for census, military muster, and priestly service. Concentrated in Numbers and Chronicles (35 occurrences), this administrative sense surfaces in passages like 1 Chr 7:40 ('heads of fathers' houses, choice men, mighty warriors'). Hindi distinctively renders this as पितृवंश (patriarchal lineage), while most European translations resort to periphrasis ('heads of ancestral houses'), signaling that this is an institutional concept without neat equivalents outside the biblical world. 35×
AR["الآباء","الآباءِ","الآبَاء","الآبَاءِ","الْآبَاءِ"]·ben["-পিতৃকুলদের","-পিতৃকুলের","-পিতৃবংশের","পিতৃকুল-এর","পিতৃকুলদের","পিতৃদের","পূর্বপুরুষদের"]·DE["der-Vaeter"]·EN["the-fathers"]·FR["père"]·heb["ה-אב"]·HI["-के-पूर्वजों","-पितृवंशों-के","इस्राएल","पितरों","पितरों-के","पितरोंके","पूर्वजों-के-घरानों-के"]·ID["-bapa-bapa","bapa-bapa","kaum-bapa","nenek-moyang"]·IT["padre"]·jav["ing-para-bapa","kang-rama","para-bapa","para-rama","rama-rama"]·KO["그-아버지들","그-아버지들-의","그-아버지들의","그-조상들","그-조상들-의","그-조상들의"]·PT["os-pais"]·RU["а-отцов","отцов"]·ES["los-padres"]·SW["baba","wa-baba"]·TR["-ataların","atalarin","ataların","ataların-","babaların"]·urd["آبا-کے","آباء-کے","آباؤ-کے","ال-آباء-کے","باپ-دادا-کے"]
1 Chr 7:11, 1 Chr 7:40, 1 Chr 8:13, 1 Chr 9:34, 1 Chr 15:12, 1 Chr 23:9, 1 Chr 23:24, 1 Chr 24:6, 1 Chr 24:31, 1 Chr 24:31, 1 Chr 26:21, 1 Chr 26:26 (+23 more)
Related Senses
H0376 1. man, person, human male (2130×)H0251 1. brother (blood sibling) (573×)H0120 1. man, human being (individual/generic) (527×)H0802 1. woman, female person (519×)G0444 1. human being, person (469×)G3962 1. father or divine Father (413×)G0080 1. brother, fellow believer (343×)H0802 2. wife, spouse (255×)H0517 1. mother, female parent (217×)G0435 1. man, male person (202×)G1135 1. woman, adult female (190×)H2233 1. offspring, descendants (172×)H5288 1. Youth, young man (122×)H0269 1. sister (female sibling) (113×)H1755 1. generation, contemporaries (96×)G5043 1. child, offspring (89×)G0444 2. people, humankind (86×)H3206 1. child, boy, youth (86×)H2145 1. male (human being) (79×)G3384 1. mother (77×)
BDB / Lexicon Reference
אָב1191 n.m. father (Ph. אב, Assyrian abu, Arabic أَبٌ, Sab. אב CISiv, 1. 37 1. 2 al. Ethiopic አብ Aramaic אַבָּא, ܐܰܒܳܐ )—abs. אָב Gn 44:19 + 47 times; cstr. אַב Gn 17:4, 5 (cf. in אַ��ְרָהָם ib. & elsewhere in n.pr. On Hal’s proposes אֲבִר v. אברהם); אֲבִי" dir="rtl" >אֲבִי (cf. Ge§§ 90, 3b, 96) Gn 4:20 +; sf. אָבִי Gn 19:34 + (MI אבי); אָבִיךָ Gn 12:1 +; אָבִיו Gn 2:24 +; אָבִ֫יהוּ Ju 14:10 + 6…