The International Standard Bible Encyclopedia

Lineage

lin'-e-aj (patria): Found only once in Lu 2:4 (the King James Version, the Revised Version (British and American) "family"), and signifying the line of paternal family descent. A word pregnant in meaning among the Jews, who kept all family records with religious care, as may be seen from the long genealogical records found everywhere in the Old Testament.

The International Standard Bible Encyclopedia, James Orr (1915). Public domain, from the CrossWire SWORD module.