Original Word: πατήρ, πατρός, ὁ
Part of Speech: Noun, Masculine
Transliteration: patér
Phonetic Spelling: (pat-ayr')
Short Definition: father, Father, ancestor
Definition: father, (Heavenly) Father, ancestor, elder, senior.

3962 patḗr – father; one who imparts life and is committed to it; a progenitor, bringing into being to pass on the potential for likeness.

3962 /patḗr ("father") is used of our heavenly Father. He imparts life, from physical birth to the gift of eternal life through the second birth (regeneration, being born again). Through ongoing sanctification, the believer more and more resembles their heavenly Father – i.e. each time they receive faith from Him and obey it, which results in their unique glorification.

[3962 /patḗr ("father") refers to a begetter, originator, progenitor – one in "intimate connection and relationship" (Gesenius). Just as in the NT, the OT never speaks of universal fatherhood of God toward men (see. G. B. Steven's concession, The Theology of the New Testament, p 70; see p 68) (TWOT 1, 6).

For more on the Fatherhood of God see: Bruce, F. F., NIDNTT 2. 655-656; Burton, E. de W., The Epistle to the Galatians (Edinburgh: Clark 1921) 384-392; Jeremias, J., The Prayers of Jesus (ET) (London: SCM, 1967) 11-65.]

STRONGS NT 3962: πατήρ

πατήρ (from the root, pa; literally, nourisher, protector, upholder; (Curtius, § 348)), πατρός, πατρί, πατέρα, vocative πάτερ (for which the nominative ὁ πατήρ is five times used, and (anarthrous) πατήρ in John 17:21 T Tr WH, 24 and 25 L T Tr WH; cf. B. § 129, 5; Winers Grammar, § 29, 2; WH's Appendix, p. 158), plural πατέρες, πατέρων, πατρασι (Hebrews 1:1), πατέρας, ὁ (from Homer down), the Sept. for אָב, a father;

1. properly, equivalent to generator or male ancestor, and either a. the nearest ancestor: Matthew 2:22; Matthew 4:21; Matthew 8:21; Luke 1:17; John 4:53; Acts 7:14; 1 Corinthians 5:1, etc.; οおみくろんἱ πατέρες τたうῆς σαρκός, fathers of the corporeal nature, natural fathers (opposed to ὁ πατήρ τたうῶνにゅー πνευμάτων), Hebrews 12:9; plural of both parents, Hebrews 11:23 (not infrequent in secular auth, cf. Delitzsch at the passage); or b. a more remote ancestor, the founder of a race or tribe, progenitor of a people, forefather: so Abraham is called, Matthew 3:9; Luke 1:73; Luke 16:24; John 8:39, 53; Acts 7:2; Romans 4:1 Rec., Romans 4:17f, etc.; Isaac, Romans 9:10; Jacob, John 4:12; David, Mark 11:10; Luke 1:32; plural, fathers i. e. ancestor's, forefathers, Matthew 23:30, 32; Luke 6:23, 26; Luke 11:47; John 4:20; John 6:31; Acts 3:13, 25; 1 Corinthians 10:1, etc., and often in Greek writings from Homer down; so too אָבות, 1 Kings 8:21; Psalm 21:5 (), etc.; in the stricter sense of the founders of a race, John 7:22; Romans 9:5; Romans 11:28.

c. equivalent to one advanced in years, a senior: 1 John 2:13f.

2. metaphorically;

a. the originator and transmitter of anything: πατήρ περιτομῆς, Romans 4:12; the author of a family or society of persons animated by the same spirit as himself: so πατήρ πάντων τたうῶνにゅー πιστευόντων, Romans 4:11, cf. Romans 4:12, 16 (1 Macc. 2:54); one who has infused his own spirit into others, who actuates and governs their minds, John 8:38, 41f, 44; the phrase ἐκかっぱ πατρός τίνος εいぷしろんἶνにゅーαあるふぁιいおた is used of one who shows himself as like another in spirit and purpose as though he had inherited his nature from him, John 8:44.

b. one who stands in a father's place, and looks after another in paternal way: 1 Corinthians 4:15.

c. a title of honor (cf. Sophocles, Lexicon, under the word), applied to αあるふぁ. teachers, as those to whom pupils trace back the knowledge and training they have received: Matthew 23:9 (of prophets, 2 Kings 2:12; 2 Kings 6:21). βべーた. the members of the Sanhedrin, whose prerogative it was, by virtue of the wisdom and experience in which they excelled, to take charge of the interests of others: Acts 7:2; Acts 22:1; cf. Gesenius, Thesaurus i., p. 7{a}.

3. God is called the Father, a. τたうῶνにゅー φώτων (A. V. of lights i. e.) of the stars, the heavenly luminaries, because he is their creator, upholder, ruler, James 1:17.

b. of all rational and intelligent beings, whether angels or men, because he is their creator, preserver, guardian and protector: Ephesians 3:14f G L T Tr WH; τたうῶνにゅー πνευμάτων, of spiritual beings, Hebrews 12:9; and, for the same reason, of all men (πατήρ τたうοおみくろんῦ παντός ἀνθρώπων γένους, Josephus, Antiquities 4, 8, 24): so in the Synoptic Gospels, especially Matthew, Matthew 6:4, 8, 15; Matthew 24:36; Luke 6:36; Luke 11:2; Luke 12:30, 32; John 4:21, 23; James 3:9; ὁ πατήρ ὁ ἐνにゅー (τたうοおみくろんῖς) οおみくろんὐρανοῖς, the Father in heaven, Matthew 5:16, 45, 48; Matthew 6:1, 9; Matthew 7:11, 21; Matthew 18:14; Mark 11:25, 26 R G L; Luke 11:13 (ἐξくしー οおみくろんὐρανοῦ; cf. Buttmann, § 151, 2{a}; Winer's Grammar, § 66, 6); ὁ πατήρ ὁ οおみくろんὐρανοῖς, the heavenly Father, Matthew 6:14, 26, 32; Matthew 15:13.

c. of Christians, as those who through Christ have been exalted to a specially close and intimate relationship with God, and who no longer dread him as the stern judge of sinners, but revere him as their reconciled and loving Father. This conception, common in the N. T. Epistles, shines forth with especial brightness in Romans 8:15; Galatians 4:6; in John's use of the term it seems to include the additional idea of one who by the power of his Spirit, operative in the gospel, has begotten them anew to a life of holiness (see γεννάω, 2 d.): absolutely, 2 Corinthians 6:18; Ephesians 2:18; 1 John 2:1, 14(),; ; Θεός καί πατήρ πάντων, of all Christians, Ephesians 4:6; with the addition of a genitive of quality (Winer's Grammar, § 34, 3 b.; § 132, 10), ὁ πατήρ τたうῶνにゅー οおみくろんἰκτίρμων, 2 Corinthians 1:3; τたうῆς δόξης, Ephesians 1:17; on the phrases ὁ Θεός καί πατήρ ἡμみゅーῶνにゅー, Θεός πατήρ, etc., see Θεός, 3, p. 288{a}.

d. the Father of Jesus Christ, as one whom God has united to himself in the closest bond of love and intimacy, made acquainted with his purposes, appointed to explain and carry out among men the plan of salvation, and (as appears from the teaching of John) made to share also in his own divine nature; he is so called, αあるふぁ. by Jesus himself: simply ὁ πατήρ (opposed to ὁ υうぷしろんἱός), Matthew 11:25-27; Luke 10:21; John 5:20-23, 26, 36; John 10:15, 30, etc.; ὁ πατήρ μみゅーοおみくろんυうぷしろん, Matthew 11:27; Matthew 25:34; Matthew 26:53; Luke 10:22; John 5:17; John 8:19, 49; John 10:18, 32, and often in John's Gospel; Revelation 2:28 (); ; with ὁ ἐνにゅー τたうοおみくろんῖς οおみくろんὐρανοῖς added, Matthew 7:11, 21, 32; Matthew 12:50; Matthew 16:17; Matthew 18:10, 19; ὁ οおみくろんὐράνιος, Matthew 15:13; ὁ ἐπουράνιος, Matthew 18:35 Rec. βべーた. by the apostles: Romans 15:6; 2 Corinthians 1:3; 2 Corinthians 11:31; Ephesians 1:3; Ephesians 3:14 Rec.: Colossians 1:3; Hebrews 1:5; 1 Peter 1:3; Revelation 1:6. See (Tholuck (Bergrede Christi) on Matthew 6:9; Weiss, Biblical Theol. d. N. T., Index under Vater; C. Wittichen, Die Idee Gottes als d. Vaters (Göttingen, 1865); Westcott, Epistles of St. John, pp. 27-34, and) below in υうぷしろんἱός and τέκνον.

father, parent.

Apparently a primary word; a "father" (literally or figuratively, near or more remote) -- father, parent.

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