UBS Dictionary of the Greek New Testament

Sense 1: lineage, family line

Semantic entry: 10.24

Semantic domains: Kinship Terms

Subdomains: Kinship Relations Involving Successive Generations

Definition: persons of successive generations who are related by birth{N:001}

Notes: In biblical times the reckoning of a lineage was somewhat complex in view of certain distinctions between legal and biological relations. The focus of meaning in γένεσις [source selector 000001][b], οἶκος [source selector 000002][c], and πατριά[a] is not, however, the list of ancestors, but the lineage of successively related persons to which the reference person belongs. Some scholars, however, interpret γένεσις [source selector 000002][c] history, 33.19: γένεσις).|In some languages a successive series of ancestors is called ‘the forefathers’ or ‘those to whom one looks back’ or ‘those who have gone ahead.’ In other languages a lineage is referred to as ‘a person’s root’ or ‘a man’s trunk’ (referring to the trunk of a tree).|In RV LUK 2:4 · LV LUK 2:4 · Read together LUK 2:4 there appears to be no significant difference in meaning between οἶκος [source selector 000002] and πατριά, and in some receptor languages it would be sufficient to use a single term essentially equivalent to ‘lineage.’ The two terms appear to simply reinforce their shared meaning.

Sense 2: nation, people

Semantic entry: 11.56

Semantic domains: Groups and Classes of Persons and Members of Such Groups and Classes

Subdomains: Socio-Political

Definition: a relatively large unit of people who constitute a sociopolitical group, sharing a presumed biological descent (in many contexts πατριά[b] and φυλή [source selector 000001][b] are very similar in meaning to ἔθνος and λαός[a], 11.55: ἔθνος / 11.55: λαός)