πατήρ
father
‘father’ is one of 3 main senses fuller range ↓
Full lexicon entry — Thayer's Greek Lexicon
From Thayer's Greek Lexicon
Where this word appears
See every Nominative-case word in the Greek New Testament →
Grammar key — what these labels mean
Part of speech
- Noun
- A naming word — a person, place, thing, or idea.
Case
- Nominative
- The case of the subject (and the predicate nominative).
- Genitive
- The case of source, possession, or “of” — answers “whose / from what.”
- Accusative
- The case of the direct object and of extent.
- Dative
- The case of the indirect object, means, or location — “to / for / with / in.”
- Vocative
- The case of direct address (“O Lord”).
Gender
- Masculine
- Grammatically masculine.
Number
- Singular
- One.
- Plural
- More than one.
55 verses where G3962 appears in the Nominative case in the Book of John. Filtered view — show all forms. Click any verse to open its interlinear word-by-word view. Verse text shown in the World English Bible for context — . Each verse’s Greek form is shown with its reference; the English is not keyword-highlighted, since the data carries no word-level English alignment. Use “Compare translations” on any verse to read it across multiple English versions. This concordance covers the Greek New Testament; Septuagint (Greek Old Testament) occurrences of this word are not indexed here.
John
- John 3:35 πατὴρ n nom sg masc The Father loves the Son, and has given all things into his hand.
- John 4:20 πατέρες n nom pl masc Our fathers worshiped in this mountain, and you Jews say that in Jerusalem is the place where people ought to worship."
- John 4:23 πατρὶ πατὴρ n dat sg masc n nom sg masc But the hour comes, and now is, when the true worshippers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for the Father seeks such to be his worshippers.
- John 4:53 πατὴρ n nom sg masc So the father knew that it was at that hour in which Jesus said to him, "Your son lives." He believed, as did his whole house.
- John 5:17 πατήρ n nom sg masc But Jesus answered them, "My Father is still working, so I am working, too."
- John 5:20 πατὴρ n nom sg masc For the Father has affection for the Son, and shows him all things that he himself does. He will show him greater works than these, that you may marvel.
- John 5:21 πατὴρ n nom sg masc For as the Father raises the dead and gives them life, even so the Son also gives life to whom he desires.
- John 5:22 πατὴρ n nom sg masc For the Father judges no one, but he has given all judgment to the Son,
- John 5:26 πατὴρ n nom sg masc For as the Father has life in himself, even so he gave to the Son also to have life in himself.
- John 5:36 πατὴρ πατήρ n nom sg masc n nom sg masc But the testimony which I have is greater than that of John, for the works which the Father gave me to accomplish, the very works that I do, testify about me, that the Father has sent me.
- John 5:37 πατήρ n nom sg masc The Father himself, who sent me, has testified about me. You have neither heard his voice at any time, nor seen his form.
- John 6:27 πατὴρ n nom sg masc Don't work for the food which perishes, but for the food which remains to eternal life, which the Son of Man will give to you. For God the Father has sealed him."
- John 6:31 πατέρες n nom pl masc Our fathers ate the manna in the wilderness. As it is written, 'He gave them bread out of heaven to eat.'"
- John 6:32 πατήρ n nom sg masc Jesus therefore said to them, "Most assuredly, I tell you, it wasn't Moses who gave you the bread out of heaven, but my Father gives you the true bread out of heaven.
- John 6:37 πατὴρ n nom sg masc All those who the Father gives me will come to me. Him who comes to me I will in no way throw out.
- John 6:44 πατὴρ n nom sg masc No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him, and I will raise him up in the last day.
- John 6:49 πατέρες n nom pl masc Your fathers ate the manna in the wilderness, and they died.
- John 6:57 πατὴρ πατέρα n nom sg masc n acc sg masc As the living Father sent me, and I live because of the Father; so he who feeds on me, he will also live because of me.
- John 6:58 πατέρες n nom pl masc This is the bread which came down out of heaven-- not as our fathers ate the manna, and died. He who eats this bread will live forever."
- John 8:18 πατήρ n nom sg masc I am one who testifies about myself, and the Father who sent me testifies about me."
- John 8:19 πατήρ πατέρα πατέρα n nom sg masc n acc sg masc n acc sg masc They said therefore to him, "Where is your Father?" Jesus answered, "You know neither me, nor my Father. If you knew me, you would know my Father also."
- John 8:28 πατὴρ n nom sg masc Jesus therefore said to them, "When you have lifted up the Son of Man, then you will know that I am he, and I do nothing of myself, but as my Father taught me, I say these things.
- John 8:39 πατὴρ n nom sg masc They answered him, "Our father is Abraham." Jesus said to them, "If you were Abraham's children, you would do the works of Abraham.
- John 8:42 πατὴρ n nom sg masc Therefore Jesus said to them, "If God were your Father, you would love me, for I came out and have come from God. For I haven't come of myself, but he sent me.
- John 8:44 πατρὸς πατρὸς πατὴρ n gen sg masc n gen sg masc n nom sg masc You are of your Father, the devil, and you want to do the desires of your father. He was a murderer from the beginning, and doesn't stand in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaks a lie, he speaks on his own; for he is a liar, and the father of it.
- John 8:54 πατήρ n nom sg masc Jesus answered, "If I glorify myself, my glory is nothing. It is my Father who glorifies me, of whom you say that he is our God.
- John 8:56 πατὴρ n nom sg masc Your father Abraham rejoiced to see my day. He saw it, and was glad."
- John 10:15 πατὴρ πατέρα n nom sg masc n acc sg masc even as the Father knows me, and I know the Father. I lay down my life for the sheep.
- John 10:17 πατὴρ n nom sg masc Therefore the Father loves me, because I lay down my life, that I may take it again.
- John 10:29 πατήρ πατρός n nom sg masc n gen sg masc My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all. No one is able to snatch them out of my Father's hand.
- John 10:30 πατὴρ n nom sg masc I and the Father are one."
- John 10:36 πατὴρ n nom sg masc Do you say of him whom the Father sanctified and sent into the world, 'You blaspheme,' because I said, 'I am the Son of God?'
- John 10:38 πατὴρ πατρί n nom sg masc n dat sg masc But if I do them, though you don't believe me, believe the works; that you may know and believe that the Father is in me, and I in the Father."
- John 12:26 πατήρ n nom sg masc If anyone serves me, let him follow me. Where I am, there will my servant also be. If anyone serves me, the Father will honor him.
- John 12:49 πατὴρ n nom sg masc For I spoke not from myself, but the Father who sent me, he gave me a commandment, what I should say, and what I should speak.
- John 12:50 πατήρ n nom sg masc I know that his commandment is eternal life. The things therefore which I speak, even as the Father has said to me, so I speak."
- John 13:3 πατὴρ n nom sg masc Jesus, knowing that the Father had given all things into his hands, and that he came forth from God, and was going to God,
- John 14:10 πατρὶ πατὴρ πατὴρ n dat sg masc n nom sg masc n nom sg masc Don't you believe that I am in the Father, and the Father in me? The words that I tell you, I speak not from myself; but the Father who lives in me does his works.
- John 14:11 πατρὶ πατὴρ n dat sg masc n nom sg masc Believe me that I am in the Father, and the Father in me; or else believe me for the very works' sake.
- John 14:13 πατὴρ n nom sg masc Whatever you will ask in my name, that will I do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son.
- John 14:23 πατήρ n nom sg masc Jesus answered him, "If a man loves me, he will keep my word. My Father will love him, and we will come to him, and make our home with him.
- John 14:26 πατὴρ n nom sg masc But the Counselor, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, he will teach you all things, and will remind you of all that I said to you.
- John 14:28 πατέρα πατὴρ n acc sg masc n nom sg masc You heard how I told you, 'I go away, and I come to you.' If you loved me, you would have rejoiced, because I said 'I am going to my Father;' for the Father is greater than I.
- John 14:31 πατέρα πατήρ n acc sg masc n nom sg masc But that the world may know that I love the Father, and as the Father commanded me, even so I do. Arise, let us go from here.
- John 15:1 πατήρ n nom sg masc "I am the true vine, and my Father is the farmer.
- John 15:8 πατήρ n nom sg masc "In this is my Father glorified, that you bear much fruit; and so you will be my disciples.
- John 15:9 πατήρ n nom sg masc Even as the Father has loved me, I also have loved you. Remain in my love.
- John 16:15 πατὴρ n nom sg masc All things whatever the Father has are mine; therefore I said that he takes of mine, and will declare it to you.
- John 16:27 πατὴρ n nom sg masc for the Father himself loves you, because you have loved me, and have believed that I came forth from God.
- John 16:32 πατὴρ n nom sg masc Behold, the time is coming, yes, and has now come, that you will be scattered, everyone to his own place, and you will leave me alone. Yet I am not alone, because the Father is with me.
- John 17:21 πατὴρ n nom sg masc that they may all be one; even as you, Father, are in me, and I in you, that they also may be one in us; that the world may believe that you sent me.
- John 17:24 πατήρ n nom sg masc Father, I desire that they also whom you have given me be with me where I am, that they may see my glory, which you have given me, for you loved me before the foundation of the world.
- John 17:25 πατήρ n nom sg masc Righteous Father, the world hasn't known you, but I knew you; and these knew that you sent me.
- John 18:11 πατήρ n nom sg masc Jesus therefore said to Peter, "Put the sword into its sheath. The cup which the Father has given me, shall I not surely drink it?"
- John 20:21 πατήρ n nom sg masc Jesus therefore said to them again, "Peace be to you. As the Father has sent me, even so I send you."
About this entry
At a glance — auto-summarized from this page’s data, not written by a person. Every figure links to its source below. This summary describes the numbers; it doesn’t interpret them.
πατηρ (patḗr) is a Greek noun most often rendered “father.” Scripture first uses it in Matthew 2:22. Spanning 365 verses in 26 books, it ranks among the common words of the Greek New Testament. John dominates its distribution — 111 of 365 verses. Ranging over 3 senses, it is not a single-sense word. The sections below give every sense, occurrence, and version rendering.
Gloss history
Strong's 1890 vs modern scholarship
About this word
Strong's G3962 catalogs a Greek word from the Greek New Testament.
These counts are not copied from any lexicon or concordance. They are computed here, from the morphology-tagged Greek New Testament. What Lemma adds →
- 365
- distinct verses
- The word appears in 365 distinct verses.
- 26 / 27
- NT books
- The word appears in 26 of 27 New Testament books.
- #46
- by frequency
- Top 50 most frequent Greek words (rank 46 of 5,347 Greek words by occurrence).
View all 365 occurrences in the concordance →
By section of the New Testament
By traditional corpus
Conventional, traditional groupings — biblical authorship is debated, so this is a traditional corpus grouping, not an authorship claim. Some books belong to more than one corpus (Luke is in both the Gospels and the Lukan corpus, and so on), so these shares overlap and need not total 100%. Each figure is a share of the word’s 365 distinct verses.
- Gospels 232 verses · 64%
- Johannine 131 verses · 36%
- Lukan (Luke–Acts) 81 verses · 22%
- Pauline corpus 62 verses · 17%
- General (Catholic) Epistles 25 verses · 7%
- Hebrews 8 verses · 2%
- Revelation 5 verses · 1%
How translations render this word
Counts come from each version’s own published word-to-Strong’s tagging or interlinear alignment — an approximate guide to how each version renders this word, not a word-level alignment the data otherwise carries. Because each total is that version’s own tagged count, the per-version totals vary from one another and need not match the appearance or distinct-verse counts above. These counts may also differ from a printed concordance because Lemma counts each distinctly tagged rendering and does not collapse phrase taggings into a single head-word total. This is a fixed set of word-tagged versions (KJV, ASV, BSB, ULT) and does not change with the reading translation you choose elsewhere. Each version’s license is shown beside its name below (and on Sources).
- King James Version: Father 347×, Fathers 49×, Father's 16×
- American Standard Version: Father 339×, Fathers 50×, Of 18×
- Berean Standard Bible: Father 339×, Fathers 46×, Father’s 18×
- unfoldingWord Literal Text: Father 358×, Fathers 51×, Of 38×
King James Version Public Domain
Renders G3962 across 419 tagged occurrences — most commonly:
Plus 7 renderings that appear only once — usually multi-word phrases or single function words the recovered tagging swept in, not distinct renderings.
American Standard Version Public Domain
Renders G3962 across 439 tagged occurrences — most commonly:
Plus 18 renderings that appear only once — usually multi-word phrases or single function words the recovered tagging swept in, not distinct renderings.
Berean Standard Bible Public Domain
Renders G3962 across 411 tagged occurrences — most commonly:
Plus 4 renderings that appear only once — usually multi-word phrases or single function words the recovered tagging swept in, not distinct renderings. Not rendered by a distinct English word in 3 further occurrences.
unfoldingWord Literal Text CC BY-SA 4.0
Renders G3962 across 464 tagged occurrences — most commonly:
Plus 6 renderings that appear only once — usually multi-word phrases or single function words the recovered tagging swept in, not distinct renderings.
Senses in Thayer's
The 3 senses Thayer's distinguishes for this word, in lexicon order (not ranked by frequency or importance). The full entry — with sub-senses — is in the Lexicon Entry tab.
- generator or male ancestor
- metaph.
- God is called the Father
Word origin
Origin: apparently a root word
Apparently a primary word; a father (literally or figuratively near or more remote): - father parent.
— Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance (1890), public domain.
Forms in the corpus
The 13 distinct written forms G3962 takes in the Greek New Testament, most frequent first — each parse links to that case’s occurrences in the concordance.
| Form | Parsing | Example | Uses |
|---|---|---|---|
| πατέρα patéra | Noun, Accusative, Singular, Masculine | Matthew 3:9 | 93 |
| πατὴρ patḕr | Noun, Nominative, Singular, Masculine | Matthew 5:48 | 73 |
| πατρὸς patròs | Noun, Genitive, Singular, Masculine | Matthew 2:22 | 56 |
| πατρός patrós | Noun, Genitive, Singular, Masculine | Matthew 7:21 | 44 |
| πατήρ patḗr | Noun, Nominative, Singular, Masculine | Matthew 6:4 | 38 |
| πατέρες patéres | Noun, Nominative, Plural, Masculine | Luke 6:23 | 24 |
| πατρὶ patrì | Noun, Dative, Singular, Masculine | Matthew 6:1 | 23 |
| πάτερ páter | Noun, Vocative, Singular, Masculine | Matthew 6:9 | 21 |
| πατέρων patérōn | Noun, Genitive, Plural, Masculine | Matthew 23:30 | 14 |
| πατέρας patéras | Noun, Accusative, Plural, Masculine | Luke 1:55 | 12 |
| πατρί patrí | Noun, Dative, Singular, Masculine | Matthew 6:6 | 10 |
| πατράσιν patrásin | Noun, Dative, Plural, Masculine | Acts 7:44 | 3 |
| προπάτορα propátora | Noun, Accusative, Singular, Masculine | Romans 4:1 | 1 |
Same root — word family
Other Thayer's entries built from the same root as G3962, grouped by Strong’s listed origin. These share a root / origin per the lexicon — not necessarily a shared meaning. Each links to that word’s own entry.
Derived from this word
- πατραλωας patralṓias G3964 parricide
- πατρια patriá G3965 family
- πατρικος patrikós G3967 paternal
- πατροπαραδοτος patroparádotos G3970 traditional
- πατρωος patrōios G3971 inherited
Proper names from this root
People and places named from this root — a name, not an additional meaning of the word.
Compare all same-root words → Showing 4 of 7 — not the complete family. 1 of the same-root words is a proper name (a person or place). They share a root, not necessarily a meaning.
Septuagint usage
The same Greek word πατηρ appears 1,106 times in the Greek Old Testament (Septuagint), across 944 verses in 30 books.
- 1,106
- LXX occurrences
- Tagged occurrences of this Greek word in the Septuagint.
- 944
- verses
- Distinct Septuagint verses containing this word.
- 30 / 39
- OT books
- The word appears in 30 of the 39 Old Testament books.
Sample Septuagint occurrences
- Genesis 2:24 πατήρ
- Exodus 1:1 πατήρ
- Leviticus 10:4 πατήρ
- Numbers 3:4 πατήρ
- Deuteronomy 1:8 πατήρ
- Joshua 1:6 πατήρ
- Judges 1:14 πατήρ
- Ruth 2:11 πατήρ
- 1 Samuel 1:25 πατήρ
- 2 Samuel 2:32 πατήρ
- 1 Kings 1:6 πατήρ
- 2 Kings 1:18 πατήρ
Septuagint occurrences (same lexeme)
Every verse where the same Strong’s number (G3962) appears in the Greek Septuagint — showing the first 50 of 944. Verse text shown in the World English Bible for context; the Greek form is the matched word — the English is not keyword-highlighted.
- Genesis 2:24 πατήρ Therefore a man will leave his father and his mother, and will join with his wife, and they will be one flesh.
- Genesis 4:20 πατήρ Adah gave birth to Jabal, who was the father of those who dwell in tents and have cattle.
- Genesis 9:18 πατήρ The sons of Noah who went forth from the ark were Shem, Ham, and Japheth. Ham is the father of Canaan.
- Genesis 9:22 πατήρ Ham, the father of Canaan, saw the nakedness of his father, and told his two brothers outside.
- Genesis 9:23 πατήρ Shem and Japheth took a garment, and laid it on both their shoulders, went in backwards, and covered the nakedness of their father. Their faces were backwards, and they didn't see their father's nakedness.
- Genesis 10:21 πατήρ To Shem, the father of all the children of Eber, the elder brother of Japheth, to him also were children born.
- Genesis 11:28 πατήρ Haran died before his father Terah in the land of his birth, in Ur of the Chaldees.
- Genesis 11:29 πατήρ Abram and Nahor took wives. The name of Abram's wife was Sarai, and the name of Nahor's wife, Milcah, the daughter of Haran who was also the father of Iscah.
- Genesis 12:1 πατήρ Now Yahweh said to Abram, "Get out of your country, and from your relatives, and from your father's house, to the land that I will show you.
- Genesis 15:15 πατήρ But you will go to your fathers in peace. You will be buried in a good old age.
- Genesis 17:4 πατήρ "As for me, behold, my covenant is with you. You will be the father of a multitude of nations.
- Genesis 17:5 πατήρ Neither will your name any more be called Abram, but your name will be Abraham; for the father of a multitude of nations have I made you.
- Genesis 19:31 πατήρ The firstborn said to the younger, "Our father is old, and there is not a man in the earth to come in to us after the manner of all the earth.
- Genesis 19:32 πατήρ Come, let's make our father drink wine, and we will lie with him, that we may preserve our father's seed."
- Genesis 19:33 πατήρ They made their father drink wine that night: and the firstborn went in, and lay with her father. He didn't know when she lay down, nor when she arose.
- Genesis 19:34 πατήρ It came to pass on the next day, that the firstborn said to the younger, "Behold, I lay last night with my father. Let us make him drink wine again, tonight. You go in, and lie with him, that we may preserve our father's seed."
- Genesis 19:35 πατήρ They made their father drink wine that night also. The younger arose, and lay with him. He didn't know when she lay down, nor when she arose.
- Genesis 19:36 πατήρ Thus both of Lot's daughters were with child by their father.
- Genesis 19:37 πατήρ The firstborn bore a son, and named him Moab. The same is the father of the Moabites to this day.
- Genesis 19:38 πατήρ The younger also bore a son, and called his name Ben Ammi. The same is the father of the children of Ammon to this day.
- Genesis 20:12 πατήρ Moreover she is indeed my sister, the daughter of my father, but not the daughter of my mother; and she became my wife.
- Genesis 20:13 πατήρ It happened, when God caused me to wander from my father's house, that I said to her, 'This is your kindness which you shall show to me. Everywhere that we go, say of me, "He is my brother."'"
- Genesis 22:7 πατήρ Isaac spoke to Abraham his father, and said, "My father?" He said, "Here I am, my son." He said, "Here is the fire and the wood, but where is the lamb for a burnt offering?"
- Genesis 22:21 πατήρ Uz his firstborn, Buz his brother, Kemuel the father of Aram,
- Genesis 24:7 πατήρ Yahweh, the God of heaven, who took me from my father's house, and from the land of my birth, who spoke to me, and who swore to me, saying, 'I will give this land to your seed.' He will send his angel before you, and you shall take a wife for my son from there.
- Genesis 24:23 πατήρ and said, "Whose daughter are you? Please tell me. Is there room in your father's house for us to lodge in?"
- Genesis 24:38 πατήρ but you shall go to my father's house, and to my relatives, and take a wife for my son.'
- Genesis 24:40 πατήρ He said to me, 'Yahweh, before whom I walk, will send his angel with you, and prosper your way. You shall take a wife for my son of my relatives, and of my father's house.
- Genesis 26:3 πατήρ Sojourn in this land, and I will be with you, and will bless you. For to you, and to your seed, I will give all these lands, and I will establish the oath which I swore to Abraham your father.
- Genesis 26:5 πατήρ because Abraham obeyed my voice, and kept my charge, my commandments, my statutes, and my laws."
- Genesis 26:15 πατήρ Now all the wells which his father's servants had dug in the days of Abraham his father, the Philistines had stopped, and filled with earth.
- Genesis 26:18 πατήρ Isaac dug again the wells of water, which they had dug in the days of Abraham his father. For the Philistines had stopped them after the death of Abraham. He called their names after the names by which his father had called them.
- Genesis 26:24 πατήρ Yahweh appeared to him the same night, and said, "I am the God of Abraham your father. Don't be afraid, for I am with you, and will bless you, and multiply your seed for my servant Abraham's sake."
- Genesis 27:5 πατήρ Rebekah heard when Isaac spoke to Esau his son. Esau went to the field to hunt for venison, and to bring it.
- Genesis 27:6 πατήρ Rebekah spoke to Jacob her son, saying, "Behold, I heard your father speak to Esau your brother, saying,
- Genesis 27:9 πατήρ Go now to the flock, and get me from there two good kids of the goats. I will make them savory food for your father, such as he loves.
- Genesis 27:10 πατήρ You shall bring it to your father, that he may eat, so that he may bless you before his death."
- Genesis 27:12 πατήρ What if my father touches me? I will seem to him as a deceiver, and I would bring a curse on myself, and not a blessing."
- Genesis 27:14 πατήρ He went, and got them, and brought them to his mother. His mother made savory food, such as his father loved.
- Genesis 27:18 πατήρ He came to his father, and said, "My father?" He said, "Here I am. Who are you, my son?"
- Genesis 27:19 πατήρ Jacob said to his father, "I am Esau your firstborn. I have done what you asked me to do. Please arise, sit and eat of my venison, that your soul may bless me."
- Genesis 27:22 πατήρ Jacob went near to Isaac his father. He felt him, and said, "The voice is Jacob's voice, but the hands are the hands of Esau."
- Genesis 27:26 πατήρ His father Isaac said to him, "Come near now, and kiss me, my son."
- Genesis 27:29 πατήρ Let peoples serve you, Nations bow down to you. Be lord over your brothers, Let your mother's sons bow down to you. Cursed be everyone who curses you, Blessed be everyone who blesses you."
- Genesis 27:30 πατήρ It happened, as soon as Isaac had made an end of blessing Jacob, and Jacob had just gone out from the presence of Isaac his father, that Esau his brother came in from his hunting.
- Genesis 27:31 πατήρ He also made savory food, and brought it to his father. He said to his father, "Let my father arise, and eat of his son's venison, that your soul may bless me."
- Genesis 27:32 πατήρ Isaac his father said to him, "Who are you?" He said, "I am your son, your firstborn, Esau."
- Genesis 27:34 πατήρ When Esau heard the words of his father, he cried with an exceeding great and bitter cry, and said to his father, "Bless me, even me also, my father."
- Genesis 27:36 πατήρ He said, "Isn't he rightly named Jacob? For he has supplanted me these two times. He took away my birthright. See, now he has taken away my blessing." He said, "Haven't you reserved a blessing for me?"
- Genesis 27:38 πατήρ Esau said to his father, "Have you but one blessing, my father? Bless me, even me also, my father." Esau lifted up his voice, and wept.
These are occurrences of the same Greek lexeme (G3962) in the Septuagint — not a translation of any one Hebrew word. The store carries no word-level Hebrew↔Greek alignment, so no Hebrew original is asserted here. Counts come from the recovered LXX Strong's tagging — high-frequency vocabulary is well covered, while rare or late forms may be untagged — so they reflect tagged occurrences and may slightly undercount.
