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).

From the International Standard Bible Encyclopedia
Edited by James Orr, published in 1939 by Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co.