1. Biblical Usage
The LXX coined the Gk. word patriarchēs, which derives from patria (family, tribe). In the OT it may be used for any group leaders, but in the NT it refers specifically to Abraham (Heb. 7:4), the 12 sons of Jacob (Acts 7:8–9), and David (2:29).
2. Jewish History
From the third century to the fifth, the nasi (prince), the head of the Tiberias Sanhedrin, was called patriarchē…