patriarchal dispensation

Theol.: The dispensation of God's grace under which the patriarchs lived. It extended from the Fall to the call of Abraham, or to the promulgation of the Law on Sinai, when the Jewish dispensation began. Each patriarch was the priest of his own household; worship might be offered anywhere; sacrifice existed, but not the extensive and burdensome ritual of Judaism. pā-tri-arch-ate, s. [Fr. patriarch at.] 1. The office, rank, or jurisdiction of a patriarch. "They thought of nothing but to have great families, that their own relations might swell up to a patriarchate ." -Bp. Taylor: Sermons , vol. i., ser. 17. 2. The residence of a patriarch. på-tri-arch-dom, s. [English patriarch; -dom.] The office or jurisdiction of a patriarch; a patriarchate.