ANCESTORS

an'-ses-ters (ri'shonim, "first ones"): The word ancestor appears in the English Bible only once (Leviticus 26:45). The Hebrew word, the ordinary adjective "first," occurs more than 200 times, and in a few places might fairly be rendered ancestors (e.g. Deuteronomy 19:14 Jeremiah 11:10). In speaking of ancestors the Old Testament ordinarily uses the word for "fathers" ('abhoth).