'Family' in the Bible

“Therefore, this is the declaration of the Lord, the God of Israel:‘Although I saidyour family and your ancestral housewould walk before Me forever,the Lord now says, “No longer!”I will honor those who honor Me,but those who despise Me will be disgraced.

“‘Look, the days are coming when I will cut off your strength and the strength of your ancestral family, so that none in your family will reach old age.

You will see distress in the place of worship, in spite of all that is good in Israel, and no one in your family will ever again reach old age.

Any man from your family I do not cut off from My altar will bring grief and sadness to you. All your descendants will die violently.

Anyone who is left in your family will come and bow down to him for a piece of silver or a loaf of bread. He will say: Please appoint me to some priestly office so I can have a piece of bread to eat.’”

On that day I will carry out against Eli everything I said about his family, from beginning to end.

I told him that I am going to judge his family forever because of the iniquity he knows about: his sons are defiling the sanctuary, and he has not stopped them.

Therefore, I have sworn to Eli’s family: The iniquity of Eli’s family will never be wiped out by either sacrifice or offering.”

As for the donkeys that wandered away from you three days ago, don’t worry about them because they’ve been found. And who does all Israel desire but you and all your father’s family?”

Then David responded, “Who am I, and what is my family or my father’s clan in Israel that I should become the king’s son-in-law?”

So David left Gath and took refuge in the cave of Adullam. When David’s brothers and his father’s whole family heard, they went down and joined him there.

The king sent messengers to summon Ahimelech the priest, son of Ahitub, and his father’s whole family, who were priests in Nob. All of them came to the king.

But the king said, “You will die, Ahimelech—you and your father’s whole family!”

Then David said to Abiathar, “I knew that Doeg the Edomite was there that day and that he was sure to report to Saul. I myself am responsible for the lives of everyone in your father’s family.

Therefore swear to me by the Lord that you will not cut off my descendants or wipe out my name from my father’s family.”

Then say this: ‘Long life to you, and peace to you, to your family, and to all that is yours.

Now consider carefully what you must do, because there is certain to be trouble for our master and his entire family. He is such a worthless fool nobody can talk to him!”

David and his men stayed with Achish in Gath. Each man had his family with him, and David had his two wives: Ahinoam of Jezreel and Abigail of Carmel, Nabal’s widow.