Also being a patriarch, especially in places like ancient Israel, was a thankless job. One of the unspoken reasons why people work any job is to have time away from the family. . .and being a patriarch is the one job where that couldn't happen.
Because of what Adam, Eve, and the rest of us did/do on a daily basis, being a patriarch was like getting the smallest of glimpses of what God had/has to deal with on a daily basis.
