πατριά

From the study of Ephesians 3:15

Range of meaning

A social group defined by descent from a common father. Depending on context it can mean (1) lineage or ancestry, (2) a clan or extended family, a 'father's house', (3) a whole people or nation as a descent-group (BDAG s.v. πατριά). It never means a household in the modern nuclear sense, and it is not clearly attested as an abstract noun for 'fatherhood.'

Against the English

"Family" is the usual English rendering. It works, but a modern reader pictures parents and children under one roof. Patria is wider and more structured: a named lineage like 'the house of David' or the tribes and clans of Numbers 1. The Vulgate's paternitas ("fatherhood") and the KJV's "whole family" both pull the word in directions the Greek does not clearly support.

How it drifted

Two separate drifts. (1) Latin paternitas turned a concrete social group into an abstract quality, 'fatherhood,' and this reading came into English through some paraphrases and footnotes. (2) The KJV's "the whole family" (one family) gave rise to the devotional idea of a single family of God made up of believers on earth and in heaven.

Used elsewhere in the period

Herodotus uses patriai for descent-groups or clans (e.g. Histories 1.200). The Septuagint (LXX, the Greek Old Testament) uses it heavily for the Hebrew mishpachah ('clan') and bet 'av ('father's house'). For example, Numbers 1 counts Israel 'by their clans, by their fathers' houses' (kat' oikous patriōn). The LXX also speaks of 'the families (patriai) of the nations': Psalm 21:28 LXX (22:27) says 'all the families of the nations shall bow before him,' and Psalm 95:7 LXX (96:7) and 1 Chronicles 16:28 say 'ascribe to the Lord, O families of the nations.' In the New Testament: Luke 2:4, Joseph was 'of the house and patria of David'; Acts 3:25 quotes the Abraham promise as 'all the patriai of the earth.' Josephus uses the word for Israelite clans and lineages.

From the study of Luke 2:4

Range of meaning

A family group descended from a common father: clan, lineage, ancestral line, and sometimes a whole people.

Against the English

KJV and ESV-style 'lineage' and BSB/NIV 'line' bring out descent. WEB/YLT/NASB-style 'family' can sound like a modern nuclear family, which is too small.

How it drifted

Modern 'family' means parents and children. Patria meant an extended lineage traced through generations of fathers.

Used elsewhere in the period

In the Septuagint it often renders Hebrew mišpāḥāh (clan) or bêt ʾābôt (father's house), especially in Numbers and Chronicles, where genealogies and registrations are organised by tribe and patria. New Testament: Acts 3:25 'all the families of the earth'; Eph 3:15.

From the study of Acts 3:25

Range of meaning

A family or clan traced to a common ancestor. It can also mean a house, a lineage, or a larger people seen as one extended family.

Against the English

BSB, WEB, ESV and NASB say “families.” KJV says “kindreds,” an older word that keeps the sense of blood relationship. NIV's “all peoples on earth” is smoother but loses the family-tree picture and sounds like Genesis 22:18's “nations.”

Used elsewhere in the period

In the Greek Old Testament it is common for Israel's clans and ancestral houses (Exod 6; Num 1–4). Psalm 22:27 (Greek 21:28): “all the families of the nations will worship before you.” Luke 2:4: Joseph was “of the house and patria of David.” Ephesians 3:15: “every family (patria) in heaven and on earth.” Peter's quotation differs from the Greek Genesis texts, which have “nations” (22:18) or “tribes” (12:3; 28:14).