The Father's Authority

Supremacy of the father under the patriarchal system. Under the patriarchal administration, the father is supreme in command. This authority which the father has, extends to his wife, to his children, his children's children, his servants, and to all his household, and if he is the sheik, it extends to all the tribe. Many of the Bedouin Arabs of today are under no government except this patriarchal rule. When Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob lived in tents in the Land of Promise, they were ruled by this same system. And when the law of Moses was given to Israel, the authority of the parents, and especially the father, was still recognized. One of the Ten Commandments is "Honor thy father and thy mother" (Exodus 20:12). In many ways the father was the supreme court of appeal in domestic matters. [Manners And Customs of Bible Lands]