The Patriarchs

Concept

The patriarchs are the founding fathers of Israel — Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob — to whom God bound himself by covenant promise, repeatedly identifying himself as "the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob" (Exodus 3:6; Matthew 22:32). Through three generations God renewed a single promise of land, descendants, and blessing to the nations (Genesis 12:1–3). In a broader sense the term also embraces Jacob’s twelve sons, the heads of the tribes (Acts 7:8).

The three patriarchs

Abraham — called from Ur and reckoned righteous by faith; the one to whom the covenant of promise was first given (Genesis 15:6).

Isaac — the child of promise born to Abraham and Sarah in old age, bound on Mount Moriah and heir of the covenant (Genesis 21:1–3).

Jacob — renamed Israel after wrestling with God; his twelve sons became the tribes of the nation (Genesis 32:28).