THE FULL ARTICLE — from the International Standard Bible Encyclopedia

The International Standard Bible Encyclopedia (1915), general editor James Orr — public domain, printed whole.

an'-ses-ters (ri'shonim, "first ones"): The word ancestor appears in the English Bible only once (Le 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. De 19:14; Jer 11:10). In speaking of ancestors the Old Testament ordinarily uses the word for "fathers" ('abhoth).