the lineage of David, but scarcely of his family.  The blessing of Abraham is

to flow out to all kindreds of the earth, rather than to all families.

Patria is a word in common use in the LXX, where we read many times of

`the house of the fathers', as in Exodus 12:3, and in Numbers 1:2, we read that

the census of Israel was to be taken `after their families, by the house of

their fathers'.  As late as the prophet Zechariah, the people of Israel were

still spoken of as `the family of the house of David' or `the family of the

house of Nathan' (Zech. 12:12 -14), but it must be noted that the Greek word

used here is not patria but phule `tribe'.  The word family is more domestic in

its implications than the word house, lineage or race.  We speak of a

respectable family, or of the royal family, but we speak of an illustrious

house and of the house of Bourbon or of Hanover.

Strictly speaking, it is not too happy a thought that the One Father has

many families, and so while we must acknowledge that the translators of the

A.V.  knew very well that the words pasa patria must mean `every' patria, not

`the whole' patria, yet, because they chose to use the word `family' they

sacrificed the grammar to the higher claims of truth.  If we do not use the

word `family' here, but use something more in line with the LXX usage like

lineage, kindred, father's house, we shall be nearer to the intention of the

apostle in Ephesians 3:15.

`Of Whom'.  This expression can refer to the Father, or to the Lord Jesus

Christ, and commentators are divided in their opinion.  As no one can be a

child of God apart from redemption, and no one can call God `Father' apart from

Christ, we incline to the interpretation that the words `of Whom' refer to

Christ, although of course, ultimately, even though through Him, all fatherhood

must go back to the Father Himself.  In Deuteronomy 18:8, we find the word

`patrimony', a word that translates the Hebrew al ha aboth `concerning the

father's (clans)' or kata patrian of the LXX.  An allied term, patronymics,

deals with the name of a clan or tribe; in Greek, this was indicated by the

ending ides, as Tydides -- the son of Tydeus; in English by the word son, as

Johnson -- the son of John.  NormanFrench patronymics are often formed by the

prefix Fitz as Fitzwilliam; Irish and Scotch by Mac., Mc and O'.  It is utterly

impossible to incorporate all this into a translation of Ephesians 3:15 but

something of this meaning is implicit in the wording.

The epistle to the Colossians not only speaks of Christ as the Head of

the Church, but of all principality and power (Col. 1:18; 2:10), reconciliation

is applied to things in heaven as well as things on earth (Col. 1:20,21).  Dr.

Lightfoot cites a Rabbinical authority, saying, `The mother's family is not to

be called a family', hence the genealogies of Scripture come through the male

line.  Wetstein cites passages from Rabbinical writings to show that the Jews

spoke of angels as the upper family and His people on the earth as His lower

family.  All of whatever race, rank or sphere, bear the name of their Head.  We

append a note given in The Companion Bible on page 1771 as a supplement:

`1.  The word "family" is an unfortunate rendering of the Gr. patria.

Our English word takes its derivation from the lowest in the household,

famulus, the servant, or slave.  The Latin familia was sometimes used of

the household of servants, and sometimes of all the members of a family

under the power of a paterfamilias.  But the idea of patria is Hebrew, a

group or class of families all claiming descent from one pater (father),

e.g. the twelve tribes of Israel.  "Joseph was of the house and lineage

(family, Gr. patria) of David" (Luke 2:4).  The word occurs only in Luke