FATHER’s HOUSE, FATHERS’ HOUSE (בֵּית אָב, בֵּית עָבﯴת, οἶκος τοῦ πατρός). In the OT, while the word “house” by itself basically means a dwelling in which people live, in conjunction with “father” it indicates at least a family home (Gen 12:1; 31:14, 30; 1 Sam 18:2), that is, the head of a family and his dependents—or a household. The term also refers to the head of a family, his sons and their wives and children, and the slaves (Gen 46:31; Exod 12:3). The term was also used of the main divisions of each tribe (Num 3:15, 20), and for the whole tribe (17:2). When used in the pl. (fathers’ houses), it means the clan or a tribe (Exod 6:14; Num 3:20; 7:2).

In the NT it may mean a number of things: (1) a home, as in Acts 7:20, where it is said that Moses was brought up for three months in his father’s house, and in Luke 16:27, where the rich man tells Abraham to send someone from the place of burning to his father’s house to warn his brothers; (2) the Temple in Jerusalem, as when Jesus says in John 2:16, “You shall not make my Father’s house a house of trade”; (3) heaven, as when Jesus says (John 14:2), “In my Father’s house are many rooms.” See also Heaven.

Bibliography R. de Vaux, Ancient Israel (1961), 19-23.