| (New Testament) husband of Mary and (in Christian belief) the foster father of Jesus | the male head of family or tribe |
| (Old Testament) the 11th son of Jacob and one of the 12 patriarchs of Israel; Jacob gave Joseph a coat of many colors, which made his brothers jealous and they sold him into slavery in Egypt | any of the early biblical characters regarded as fathers of the human race |
| leader of the Nez Perce in their retreat from United States troops (1840-1904) | title for the heads of the Eastern Orthodox Churches (in Istanbul and Alexandria and Moscow and Jerusalem) |
| | a man who is older and higher in rank than yourself |