Patriarchs

The word "patriarch" appears in only a few places in the Berean Standard Bible, and it is given to fourteen men. Hebrews calls Abraham "the patriarch Abraham" when it describes him giving a tenth of the plunder to Melchizedek (Hebrews 7:4). Stephen, tracing the covenant of circumcision from Abraham through Isaac to Jacob, names Jacob’s twelve sons as the twelve patriarchs, and goes on to say that the patriarchs, jealous of Joseph, sold him into Egypt (Acts 7:8–9). Those twelve are Reuben, Simeon, Levi, Judah, Dan, Naphtali, Gad, Asher, Issachar, Zebulun, Joseph and Benjamin.

At Pentecost Peter adds a fourteenth: "the patriarch David died and was buried, and his tomb is with us to this day" (Acts 2:29). David is the only king the text gives the title.

Isaac and Jacob are not on the list. Scripture tells their stories at length, but no verse uses the word of either man, and this list admits only those the text names.