patēr · father, Father

What it means

patēr (πατήρ) is a Greek word of the Bible that means “father, Father”.

Father; also ancestor.

How to say it

Approximate pronunciation. Vowels sound as in Spanish (a as in father, e as in bed, i as in machine, o as in note, u as in rule); the syllable in bold is stressed. The voice is your device's.

Its senses in the Bible

1. A family's father; sometimes father and mother.
2. An ancestor: Abraham as the founder of the family.
3. One who starts something or whom others follow.
4. God, who gives life and cares for his own; the Father of Jesus.

From Abbott-Smith (1922) · Thayer (1889)

Word study

Father. Abbott-Smith defines it as “father”; Thayer notes that it is used also of an ancestor and, in a higher sense, of God.

• The father of a family Luke 15:12
• The ancestors: “We have Abraham as our father” Matthew 3:9John 6:31
• God as Father: “Our Father” Matthew 6:9
• The Father of Jesus John 10:30Mark 14:36

How we translate it

“Father” 359 times, “fathers” 53, once “parents”. It is capitalized when it refers to God. The Aramaic word ἀββά, which the text itself translates right after it (“Abba, Father”, Mark 14:36), is left as it is, “Abba”.

How it is translated

The words this translation uses for it, most frequent first.

• Father ×359
• fathers ×53
• parents ×1

Related words

Words of the same family, by Strong’s numbering.

Where it appears

• Matthew×63
• Mark×18
• Luke×56
• John×136
• Acts×35
• Romans×14
• 1 Corinthians×6
• 2 Corinthians×5
• Galatians×5
• Ephesians×11
• Philippians×4
• Colossians×5
• 1 Thessalonians×5
• 2 Thessalonians×3
• 1 Timothy×2
• 2 Timothy×1
• Titus×1
• Philemon×1
• Hebrews×9
• James×4
• 1 Peter×3
• 2 Peter×2
• 1 John×14
• 2 John×4
• Jude×1
• Revelation×5

• Matthew 2:22

  But hearing that Archelaus was reigning over Judea in place of his father Herod, he was afraid to go there; and having been warned in a dream, he withdrew to the region of Galilee,

• Matthew 3:9

  and do not presume to say within yourselves, ‘We have Abraham as our father,’ for I tell you that God is able from these stones to raise up children for Abraham.

• Matthew 4:21

  And going on from there, he saw two other brothers, James the son of Zebedee and John his brother, in the boat with Zebedee their father, mending their nets; and he called them.

• Matthew 4:22

  And they at once left the boat and their father and followed him.

• Matthew 5:16

  In the same way, let your light shine before people, so that they may see your good works and glorify your Father who is in heaven.

• Matthew 5:45

  so that you may become sons of your Father who is in heaven; for he makes his sun rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous.

• Matthew 5:48

  So you shall be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect.

• Matthew 6:1

  “Be careful not to practice your righteousness before people in order to be seen by them; otherwise you have no reward with your Father who is in heaven.

• Matthew 6:4

  so that your alms may be in secret; and your Father who sees in secret will repay you.

• Matthew 6:6

  But you, when you pray, go into your inner room and, having shut your door, pray to your Father who is in secret; and your Father who sees in secret will repay you.

• Matthew 6:8

  So do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask him.

• Matthew 6:9

  So you pray like this: ‘Our Father in heaven, may your name be sanctified;

• Matthew 6:14

  For if you forgive people their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you;

• Matthew 6:15

  but if you do not forgive people, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.

• Matthew 6:18

  so that you may not appear to people as fasting, but to your Father who is in secret; and your Father who sees in secret will repay you.

• Matthew 6:26

  Look at the birds of the sky: they do not sow, nor reap, nor gather into barns, and your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not worth much more than they?

• Matthew 6:32

  For all these things the nations seek after; for your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things.

• Matthew 7:11

  If then you, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask him!

• Matthew 7:21

  “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter into the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven.

• Matthew 8:21

  Another of the disciples said to him, “Lord, let me first go and bury my father.”

• Matthew 10:20

  For it is not you who speak, but the Spirit of your Father who speaks in you.

• Matthew 10:21

  And brother will hand over brother to death, and a father his child; and children will rise up against parents and put them to death.

• Matthew 10:29

  Are not two sparrows sold for an assarion? And not one of them will fall to the ground apart from your Father.

• Matthew 10:32

  So everyone who acknowledges me before people, I too will acknowledge him before my Father who is in heaven;

• Matthew 10:33

  but whoever denies me before people, I too will deny him before my Father who is in heaven.

• Matthew 10:35

  For I came to set a man against his father, and a daughter against her mother, and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law;

• Matthew 10:37

  The one who holds father or mother dearer than me is not worthy of me; and the one who holds son or daughter dearer than me is not worthy of me.

• Matthew 11:25

  At that time Jesus responded and said, “I praise you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because you hid these things from the wise and the intelligent and revealed them to little children.

• Matthew 11:26

  Yes, Father, for so it was well-pleasing before you.

• Matthew 11:27

  All things have been handed over to me by my Father, and no one knows the Son except the Father, nor does anyone know the Father except the Son and anyone to whom the Son chooses to reveal him.

• Matthew 12:50

  For whoever does the will of my Father who is in heaven, he is my brother and sister and mother.”

• Matthew 13:43

  Then the righteous will shine out like the sun in the kingdom of their Father. The one who has ears, let him hear.

• Matthew 15:4

  For God said, ‘Honor your father and your mother,’ and, ‘Whoever speaks evil of father or mother must surely die.’

• Matthew 15:5

  But you say, ‘Whoever says to his father or mother, “Whatever you would have gained from me is an offering to God,”

• Matthew 15:6

  will certainly not honor his father.’ And you have nullified the word of God for the sake of your tradition.

• Matthew 15:13

  But he answered and said, “Every plant that my heavenly Father did not plant will be uprooted.

• Matthew 16:17

  And Jesus answered and said to him, “Happy are you, Simon Bar-Jonah, because flesh and blood did not reveal this to you, but my Father who is in heaven.

• Matthew 16:27

  For the Son of Man is going to come in the glory of his Father with his angels, and then he will repay each one according to his conduct.

• Matthew 18:10

  See that you do not despise one of these little ones; for I tell you that their angels in heaven always see the face of my Father who is in heaven.

• Matthew 18:14

  So it is not the will of your Father who is in heaven that one of these little ones should perish.

And 373 more times.