'Father' in the Bible

He did what was right in the sight of the Lord, and walked in the ways of David his father (forefather) and did not turn aside either to the right or to the left.

For in the eighth year of his reign, while he was still young (sixteen), he began to seek after and inquire of the God of his father David; and in the twelfth year he began to purge Judah and Jerusalem of the high places, the Asherim, and the carved and cast images.

Now Jeshua became the father of Joiakim, Joiakim of Eliashib, Eliashib of Joiada,

and Joiada became the father of Jonathan, and Jonathan of Jaddua.

He was the guardian of Hadassah, that is Esther, his uncle’s daughter, for she had no father or mother. The young woman was beautiful of form and face; and when her father and mother died, Mordecai took her in as his own daughter.

“Among us are both the gray-haired and the aged,Older than your father.

If I call out to the pit (grave), ‘You are my father’;And to the worm [that feeds on decay], ‘You are my mother and my sister [because I will soon be closest to you],’

“I was a father to the needy;I investigated the case I did not know [and assured justice].

(But from my youth the orphan grew up with me as with a father,And from my mother’s womb I have been the widow’s guide),

“Has the rain a father?Or who has begotten the drops of dew?

In all the land there were found no women so fair as the daughters of Job; and their father gave them an inheritance among their brothers.

Although my father and my mother have abandoned me,Yet the Lord will take me up [adopt me as His child].

A father of the fatherless and a judge and protector of the widows,Is God in His holy habitation.

“He will cry to Me, ‘You are my Father,My God, and the rock of my salvation.’

Just as a father loves his children,So the Lord loves those who fear and worship Him [with awe-filled respect and deepest reverence].

My son, hear the instruction of your father,And do not reject the teaching of your mother.

For those whom the Lord loves He corrects,Even as a father corrects the son in whom he delights.

Hear, O children, the instruction of a father,And pay attention [and be willing to learn] so that you may gain understanding and intelligent discernment.

When I was a son with my father (David),Tender and the only son in the sight of my mother (Bathsheba),

The proverbs of Solomon:A wise son makes a father glad,But a foolish [stubborn] son [who refuses to learn] is a grief to his mother.

A wise son makes a father glad,But a foolish man despises his mother.

He who becomes the parent of a fool [who is spiritually blind] does so to his sorrow,And the father of a fool [who is spiritually blind] has no joy.

A foolish son is a grief and anguish to his fatherAnd bitterness to her who gave birth to him.

A foolish (ungodly) son is destruction to his father,And the contentions of a [quarrelsome] wife are like a constant dripping [of water].

He who assaults his father and chases away his motherIs a son who brings shame and disgrace.

Whoever curses his father or his mother,His lamp [of life] will be extinguished in time of darkness.

Listen to your father, who sired you,And do not despise your mother when she is old.

The father of the righteous will greatly rejoice,And he who sires a wise child will have joy in him.

Let your father and your mother be glad,And let her who gave birth to you rejoice [in your wise and godly choices].

He who keeps the law [of God and man] is a wise and discerning son,But he who is a companion of gluttons humiliates his father [and himself].

He who robs his father or his motherAnd says, “This is no sin,”Is [not only a thief but also] the companion of a man who destroys.

A man who loves [skillful and godly] wisdom makes his father joyful,But he who associates with prostitutes wastes his wealth.

The eye that mocks a fatherAnd scorns a mother,The ravens of the valley will pick it out,And the young vultures will devour it.

For when those riches are lost in bad investments and he becomes the father of a son, then there is nothing in his hand [for the support of the child].

When a man takes hold of his brother in the house of his father, saying,“You have a robe, you shall be our judge and ruler,And this pile of ruins will be under your control,”

for before the boy knows how to say, ‘My father’ or ‘My mother,’ the riches of Damascus (Aram’s capital) and the spoil of Samaria (Israel’s capital) will be carried away by the king of Assyria.”

For to us a Child shall be born, to us a Son shall be given;And the government shall be upon His shoulder,And His name shall be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God,Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.

Then a Shoot (the Messiah) will spring from the stock of Jesse [David’s father],And a Branch from his roots will bear fruit.

“And I will clothe him with your tunic [of distinction]And tie your sash securely around him.I will entrust him with your authority;He will become a father to the inhabitants of Jerusalem and to the house of Judah.

“Go and say to Hezekiah, ‘For the Lord, the God of David your father says this, “I have heard your prayer, I have seen your tears; listen carefully, I will add fifteen years to your life.

“It is the living who give praise and thanks to You, as I do today;A father tells his sons about Your faithfulness.

“Your first father [Jacob] sinned,And your spokesmen [the priests and the prophets—your mediators] have transgressed against Me.

“Woe (judgment is coming) to him who says to a father, ‘What are you fathering?’Or to a woman, ‘With what are you in labor?’”

“Look to Abraham your fatherAnd to Sarah who gave birth to you in pain;For I called him when he was but one,Then I blessed him and made him many.”

Then you will take pleasure in the Lord,And I will make you ride on the high places of the earth,And I will feed you with the [promised] heritage of Jacob your father;For the mouth of the Lord has spoken.”

For [most certainly] You are our Father, even though Abraham [our ancestor] does not know usAnd Israel does not acknowledge us.You, O Lord, are [still] our Father,Our Redeemer from everlasting is Your name.

Yet, O Lord, You are our Father;We are the clay, and You our Potter,And we all are the work of Your hand.

Who say to a tree, ‘You are my father,’And to a stone, ‘You gave me birth.’For they have turned their backs to Me,And not their faces;But in the time of their trouble they will say,‘Arise [O Lord] and save us.’

“Will you not just now call out to Me,‘My Father, you were the guide and companion of my youth?

“Then I said,‘How [gloriously and honorably] I would set you among My childrenAnd give you a pleasant land—a wonderful heritage,The most beautiful inheritance of the nations!’And I said, ‘You shall call Me, My FatherAnd not turn away from following Me.’

“For even your [tribal] brothers and the household of your father,Even they have dealt treacherously (unfaithfully) with you;Indeed they are [like a pack of hounds] howling after you.Do not believe them, although they may say kind words and promise you good things.”

People will not offer food to the mourners, to comfort anyone [as they grieve] for the dead, nor give them a cup of consolation to drink for anyone’s father or mother.

Cursed be the man who brought the newsTo my father, saying,“A son has been born to you!”Making him very glad.

For thus says the Lord in regard to Shallum (Jehoahaz) the [third] son of Josiah, king of Judah, who reigned instead of Josiah his father and who went from this place, “Shallum will not return here anymore;

“Do you think that you become a king because you have much more cedar [in your palace than Solomon]?Did not your father [Josiah], as he ate and drank,Do just and righteous acts [being upright and in right standing with God]?Then all was well with him.

“They will come with weeping [in repentance and for joy],And by [their] prayer [for the future] I will lead them;I will make them walk by streams of waters,On a straight path in which they will not stumble,For I am a Father to Israel,And Ephraim (Israel) is My firstborn.”

But they said, “We will not drink wine, for Jonadab the son of Rechab, our father, commanded us: ‘You shall not drink wine, neither you nor your sons, forever.

We have obeyed the words of Jonadab the son of Rechab, our father, in all that he commanded us, in all our days we have never drunk wine, nor have our wives, our sons, or our daughters,

Indeed, the sons of Jonadab the son of Rechab have observed the command of their father which he gave them, but this people has not listened to Me.’”’

Then Jeremiah said to the house of the Rechabites, “Thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, ‘Because you have obeyed the command of Jonadab your father and have kept all his commands and have done according to all that he commanded you,

they even sent and took Jeremiah out of the court of the guardhouse and entrusted him to Gedaliah [a prominent citizen], the son of Ahikam [who had once saved Jeremiah’s life], the son of Shaphan, to take him home [with him to Mizpah]. So Jeremiah [was released and] lived among the people.

and say, ‘Thus says the Lord God to Jerusalem (all of Israel), “Your [spiritual] origin and your birth are from the land of the Canaanite; your [spiritual] father was an Amorite and your [spiritual] mother a Hittite.

You are the daughter of your mother, who loathed her husband and her children. You are the sister of your sisters, who loathed their husbands and their children. Your [spiritual] mother was a Hittite and your [spiritual] father an Amorite.

Behold (pay close attention), all souls are Mine; the soul of the father as well as the soul of the son is Mine. The soul who sins will die.

“Now behold, if this [wicked] man has a son who has observed all the sins which his father committed, and considers [thoughtfully what he has observed] and does not do like his father:

he keeps his hand from [oppressing] the poor, does not receive interest or increase [from the needy], but executes My ordinances and walks in My statutes; he shall not die for the sin (guilt) of his father; he shall certainly live.

As for his father, because he practiced extortion, robbed his brother, and did that which is not good among his people, behold, he shall die for his sin.

“Yet do you say, ‘Why should the son not bear the punishment for the father’s sin?’ When the son has practiced justice and righteousness and has kept all My statutes and has done them, he shall certainly live.

The person who sins [is the one that] will die. The son will not bear the punishment for the sin of the father, nor will the father bear the punishment for the sin of the son; the righteousness of the righteous shall be on himself, and the wickedness of the wicked shall be on himself.

In you they have treated father and mother lightly. They have oppressed the stranger among you; and in your presence they have wronged the fatherless and the widow.

They shall not go to a dead person to defile themselves; except for father or for mother, for son or for daughter, for brother or for sister who has had no husband; they may defile themselves.

Belshazzar, as he tasted the wine, gave a command to bring in the gold and silver vessels which his father Nebuchadnezzar had taken out of the temple which was in Jerusalem, so that the king and his nobles, his wives and his concubines might drink from them.

There is a man in your kingdom in whom is a spirit of the holy gods; and in the days of your father, illumination, understanding and wisdom like the wisdom of the gods were found in him. And King Nebuchadnezzar, your father—your father the king, appointed him chief of the magicians, enchanters, Chaldeans and diviners.

Then Daniel was brought in before the king. And the king said to Daniel, “Are you that Daniel who is one of the sons of the exiles of Judah, whom my father the king brought from Judah?

O king, the Most High God gave Nebuchadnezzar your father a kingdom and greatness and glory and majesty;

“I kept lookingUntil thrones were set up,And the Ancient of Days (God) took His seat;His garment was white as snowAnd the hair of His head like pure wool.His throne was flames of fire;Its wheels were a burning fire.

“These who pant after (long to see) the dust of the earth on the head of the helpless [as sign of their grief and distress]Also turn aside the way of the humble;And a man and his father will go to the same girlSo that My holy name is profaned.

For the son dishonors the father and treats him contemptuously,The daughter rises up [in hostility] against her mother,The daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law—A man’s enemies are the men (members) of his own household.

Yes, [you are to build a temple of the Lord, but] it is He who shall build the [ultimate] temple of the Lord, and He shall bear the honor and majesty [as the only begotten of the Father] and sit and rule on His throne. And He shall be a Priest on His throne, and the counsel of peace shall be between the two offices [Priest and King].”’

And if anyone still [appears as a prophet and falsely] prophesies, then his father and his mother who gave birth to him will say to him, ‘You shall not live, for you have spoken lies in the name of the Lord’; and his father and his mother who gave birth to him shall pierce him through when he prophesies.

“‘A son honors his father, and a servant his master. Then if I am a Father, where is My honor? And if I am a Master, where is the [reverent] fear and respect due Me?’ says the Lord of hosts to you, O priests, who despise My name. But you say, ‘How and in what way have we despised Your name?’

Do we not all have one Father? Has not one God created us? Why do we deal treacherously with one another, profaning the covenant of our fathers [with God]?

Abraham was the father of Isaac, Isaac the father of Jacob, and Jacob the father of Judah and his brothers [who became the twelve tribes of Israel].

Judah was the father of Perez and Zerah by Tamar, Perez was the father of Hezron, and Hezron the father of Ram.

Ram was the father of Aminadab, Aminadab the father of Nahshon, and Nahshon the father of Salmon.

Salmon was the father of Boaz by Rahab, Boaz was the father of Obed by Ruth, and Obed the father of Jesse.

Jesse was the father of David the king.David was the father of Solomon by Bathsheba who had been the wife of Uriah.

Solomon was the father of Rehoboam, Rehoboam the father of Abijah, and Abijah the father of Asa.

Asa was the father of Jehoshaphat, Jehoshaphat the father of Joram, and Joram the father of Uzziah.

Uzziah was the father of Jotham, Jotham the father of Ahaz, and Ahaz the father of Hezekiah.

Hezekiah was the father of Manasseh, Manasseh the father of Amon, and Amon the father of Josiah.

Josiah became the father of Jeconiah [also called Coniah and Jehoiachin] and his brothers, at the time of the deportation (exile) to Babylon.

After the deportation to Babylon: Jeconiah became the father of Shealtiel, and Shealtiel the father of Zerubbabel.

Zerubbabel was the father of Abihud, Abihud the father of Eliakim, and Eliakim the father of Azor.

Azor was the father of Zadok, Zadok the father of Achim, and Achim the father of Eliud.

Eliud was the father of Eleazar, Eleazar the father of Matthan, and Matthan the father of Jacob.

Jacob was the father of Joseph the husband of Mary, by whom Jesus was born, who is called the Messiah (Christ).

But when he heard that Archelaus was ruling over Judea in place of his father Herod [the Great], he was afraid to go there. Then being warned by God in a dream, he left for the region of Galilee,

And going on [further] from there He noticed two other brothers, James the son of Zebedee, and his brother John, in the boat with their father Zebedee, mending their nets; and He called them [to follow Him as His disciples].

Immediately they left the boat and their father, and followed Him [becoming His disciples, believing and trusting in Him and following His example].