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Their primary wives – Sarah (wife of Abraham), Rebecca (wife of Isaac), and Leah and Rachel (the wives of Jacob) – are known as the Matriarchs.
Thus, classical Judaism considers itself to have three patriarchs and four matriarchs.
In more general terms, a patriarch is a man who exercises autocratic authority over an extended family; a man who is the head of a household. By extension, the title " Patriarch" is given to various senior bishops in certain strains of Christianity.