Abba

A Syriac word, signifying Father. It is more particularly used in the Syriac, Coptic, and Ethiopic churches, as a title given to the bishops. The bishops themselves bestowed the title ABBA more eminently on the bishop of Alexandria, which occasioned the people to give him the title of Baba or Papa; that is, Grandfather: a title which he bore before the bishop of Rome. It is a Jewish title of honour given to certain Rabbins called Tanaites: it is also used by some writers of the middle age for the superior of a monastery. St. Mark and St. Paul use this word in their Greek, Mar 14:36. Rom 8:15. Gal 4:6. because it was then commonly known in the synagogues and the primitive assemblies of the Christians. It is thought by Selden, Witsius, Doddridge, and others, that Saint Paul alluded to a law among the Jews which forbade servants or slaves to call their master Abba, or Father; and that the apostle meant to convey the idea that those who believed in Christ were no longer slaves to sin; but being brought into a state of holy freedom, might consequently address God as their Father.

A Syriac word, signifying Father. It is thrice used in the New Testament. Once, by the Lord Jesus, ( Mar 14:36.) and twice by his servant the apostle Paul. ( Rom 8:15. and Gal 4:6 ) It is a word of peculiar tenderness; and I could wish that the real and full meaning of it was strongly impressed on the mind of every regenerated believer. It would tend to give great confidence and comfort in a dark and trying hour. David, Levi, in his Lingua Sacra, derives it from a root, which signifies, desire, delight, complacency, satisfaction: and implying no less, special interest of relationship, as between the nearest of all connections. And agreeably to this account of the word, it is remarkable, that though the word, in its extensive sense, signifies the Ab, or Head, and Lord of a family; yet a slave, or menial servant, was never allowed to use it in addressing the Ab.

I very earnestly beg the reader not to lose sight of this view of the word Abba, but to let it possess a suitable place, equal to its importance, in his remembrance. For if it was so specially confined, among the people of the East, to the children of a family; and Jesus and his people in him, are enjoined to use it on this account; can any thing more strikingly prove their relationship? And I cannot but express my hope, that if the reader of this Poor Man’s Concordance, is enabled, by grace, to see his own personal privilege herein, and can enter into a proper apprehension of the word, in this most endearing view, he will be led to discover the sweetness and blessedness of it, and from henceforth adopt it, in all his approaches to the throne of God in Christ. And how delightfully in this sense, doth it explain to us that passage of the apostle, in his epistle to the Galatians; where he saith, "Because ye are sons, [not because ye are to be made so, but because ye are already sons] God hath sent forth the Spirit of his Son into your hearts, crying Abba, Father." Gal 4:6 .

While I am upon this word Abba, Father, I cannot forbear adding to those observations, though in a cursory manner, a remark upon the word Ammah, Mother. For it is from the same root, and is also of the like peculiarity of tenderness, in reference to the church of Jesus; which, as the apostle saith, (including both that in heaven and in earth, for they are but one and the same, ) "is the mother of us all." Gal 4:26 We meet with the several branches of the same root in Scripture, according to the several relations arising out of it; but they are all one and the same family. Ephes 3:14-15 Hence Zion is called, and by the Lord himself, the "Virgin daughter (the Almah) of Zion." Isa 37:22. So again she is spoken of as the sister (Ruhamah) Hos 2:1 And it is no uncommon thing for Christ to call his church by all these names. (See Son 4:9-10 Son 4:12 ) And when Isaiah was commissioned to proclaim to the church, the subject of the miraculous conception, he used the same word as the Lord did of Zion. "Behold, a virgin, (Almah) shall conceive." Isa 7:14 I venture to believe that if the recollection of these names, all springing as they do from one and the same source, were frequent in the believer’s remembrance, they would much refresh the soul. And I think it worthy of yet farther remark, that there is a beautiful sameness between the first cry of nature, in the infancy of our being, and this language of grace when the souls of believers are first born to God. It was said by the prophet concerning Him, whom he predicted, that "before the child should know to refuse the evil and choose the good, " the event leading to it should be accomplished. Isa 7:16 And it must be truly said, that before the cry of the soul, in the new birth of grace, goes forth in Abba, or Ammah, the apprehending union, interest, and relationship in Christ with his church, had been settled long before, even from all eternity.

Though I have already far exceeded, under this article, the ordinary limits to be observed in a work of this kind, yet I must beg to trespass a little farther, by way of confirmation of the observations made upon it.

The special and personal interest of the word Abba, derives another authority, from the customs and manners of the East. It is well known, that the ancient nations of the Arabs, retain many of the usages we read of in sacred history. And although they know nothing of the true religion of the patriarchs, yet in provincial acts and habits, they are much the same people that they were, two or three thousand years ago. Hence, among many proofs in point, which might be given in confirmation of this sameness of manners, the mode of salutation is one, in which there is nothing changed. We find among the patriarchs, the general expression was, "Peace be to you." Gen 43:23 In the days of the Judges, the salutation was the same. Jdg 19:20 So in the days of David, 1Sa 25:6 and in the days of our Lord, and by Christ himself. Joh 20:19 . In like manner the limitation of the word Abba is still the same as ever, not being brought into common use, but wholly restricted to relations, and of the nearest and tenderest kind.

One proof more. In the common acts of respect observed in the East, when servants do reverence to their masters, or superiors, it is always done by kissing the feet, or the garment. Hence the poor woman we read of, Luk 7:38. But when children meet their parents, and do reverence, they kiss the hand, or the head. Hence the father in the parable. Luk 15:20 . Moreover, the posture which is observed upon those occasions, differs materially according to the rank of the parties. From inferiors, in giving what is called the Asslem - mah, (Salutation) they always offer it, by laying their right hand upon their breast. Persons of equality, or relations, do it by kissing the hand, head, or shoulder of each other. So Dr. Shaw relates in his Travels to Aleppo, page 301. Let the reader connect this with Jacob kissing his son, and the church’s call unto Christ. Son 1:2 How beautiful and striking both cases! How little the change made in those things, in a period of near four thousand years!

From the whole of these observations, I cannot but conclude, that the word Abba hath a peculiar sweetness in it, and is intended to intimate what a nearness and dearness of affinity there is, between Christ and his church. And I venture to believe, that our holy faith, not only warrants the use of it, but enjoins it, from the personal union, and oneness, of the Lord Jesus Christ with our nature. And under such high encouragement and authority, I confess, that I feel a disposition, upon every occasion, to adopt it, considering it the peculiar privilege of all true believers in Christ, to bring it into constant use, whenever they draw nigh to a throne of grace.

See Ammi.

a Syriac word, which signifies father. The learned Mr. Selden, from the Babylonian Gemara, has proved that slaves were not allowed to use the title abba in addressing the master of the family to which they belonged. This may serve to illustrate Rom 8:15, and Gal 4:6, as it shows that through faith in Christ all true Christians pass into the relation of sons; are permitted to address God with filial confidence in prayer; and to regard themselves as heirs of the heavenly inheritance. This adoption into the family of God, inseparably follows our justification; and the power to call God our Father, in this special and appropriative sense, results from the inward testimony given to our forgiveness by the Holy Spirit. St. Paul and St. Mark use the Syriac word abba, a term which was understood in the synagogues and primitive assemblies of Christians; but added to it when writing to foreigners the explanation, father. Figuratively, abba means also a superior, in respect of age, dignity, or affection. It is more particularly used in the Syriac, Coptic, and Ethiopic churches as a title given to their bishops. The bishops themselves bestow the title abba more eminently upon the bishop of Alexandria, which occasioned the people to give him the title of baba, or papa, that is, grandfather; a title which he bore before the bishop of Rome.

Ab´ba is the Hebrew word Ab, father, under a form peculiar to the Chaldee idiom (Mar 14:36; Rom 8:15; Gal 4:6).

A Syriac word signifying father. When the Jews came to speak Greek, this word may have been retained from their ancient language, as being easier to pronounce, especially for children, than the Greek pater. It expressed the peculiar tenderness, familiarity, and confidence of the love between parent and child, {\cf11 \ul Rom 14:36}; {\cf11 \ul Rom 8:15}; {\cf11 \ul Gal 4:6}.\PAR

Ab’ba. See Ab.

The Chaldaic-Hebrew form, as ab is the Hebrew form, for the Greek pater, "father." Instead of the definite article which the Hebrew uses before the word, the Chaldee or Aramaic adds a syllable to the end, producing thus the emphatic or definitive form. It is used to express a vocative case, and therefore is found in all the passages in which it occurs in the New Testament (being in all, an invocation): Mar 14:36; Rom 8:15; Gal 4:6.

The use of the Hebrew and of the Greek appellation addressed to the one Father beautifully suggests that the Spirit of adoption from Jesus, who first used the double invocation, inspires in both Jew and Gentile alike the experimental knowledge of God as our Father, because He is Father of Jesus with whom faith makes us one, and as our God because He is Jesus’ God. Compare Joh 20:17, "ascend unto My Father and (therefore) your Father. and to My God and (therefore) your God"; Gal 3:28, "there is neither Jew nor Greek, for ye are all one in Jesus Christ"; Eph 2:18, "through Him we both have access by one Spirit unto the leather." (Especially (See ABADDON above.) "Abba" was a title not to be used by slaves to a master, nor Imma to a mistress, only by children: see Isa 8:4. "Before the child shall have knowledge to cry Abi, Immi."

(‘Αββᾶ, אִבָּא) is the Hebrew word אָב, father, under a form (the “emphatic” or definite state — the father) peculiar to the Chaldee idiom (Mar 14:36; Rom 8:15; Gal 4:6).

1. As such, it was doubtless in common use to express the paternal relation, in the mixed Aramaean dialect of Palestine, during the New Testament age. Especially would it be naturally employed from infancy in addressing the male parent, like the modern papa; hence its occurrence in the New Testament only as a vocative (Winer, Gram. of the New-Test. Diction, § 29)’. Its reference to God (comp. Jer 3:4; Joh 8:41) was common among the later Jews (Hamburger, Real-Encyklop. s.v.). To guard against the appearance of too great familiarity, however, the writers of the New Testament, instead of translating the title into its Greek equivalent, πάπα, have retained it in its foreign form — one of emphasis and dignity; but they have in all cases added its meaning, for the convenience of their merely Greek readers. Hence the phrase “Abba, father” in its two-fold form (Critica Biblica, 2:445).

2. Through faith in Christ all true Christians pass into the relation of sons; are permitted to address God with filial confidence in prayer; and to regard themselves as heirs of the heavenly inheritance. This adoption into the family of God inseparably follows our justification; and the power to call God our Father, in this special and appropriative sense, results from the inward testimony of our forgiveness given by the Holy Spirit. SEE ADOPTION.

3. The word Abba in after ages came to be used in the Syriac, Coptic, and Ethiopic churches, in an improper sense, as a title given to their bishops (D’Herbelot, Bibl. Orient. s.v.), like padre, etc., in Roman Catholic countries.’ The bishops themselves bestow the title Abba more eminently upon the Bishop of Alexandria; which gave occasion for the people to call him Baba, or Papa, that is, grandfather — a title which he bore before the Bishop of Rome.

Abba (ăb’bah), a Chaldee word signifying father (Hebrew ab), easily pronounced by infant children, and expressing the peculiar tenderness, familiarity, and confidence of the love between parent and child. Mar 14:36; Rom 8:15; Gal 4:6. Luther translated Abba, Paler, "Abba, dear Father."

[Ab’ba]

The Greek form is ἀββᾶ father: it is the same as Ab in Hebrew, but was pronounced Abba in the time of our Saviour. It occurs three times in the New Testament, and is always followed by ’father,’ and translated Abba Father; that is, the ’abba’ is transcribed and not translated: if it were translated it would be ’Father Father.’ In the Greek it stands thus: ἀββᾶ ὁ πατήρ the ’Abba’ being Aramaic, and the ’Father’ Greek. In the, Old Testament Ab was not restricted in its use to children. Elisha used it toward Elijah; servants applied it to their masters, etc.: see 2Ki 2:12 ; 2Ki 5:13; 2Ki 6:21, etc. Jehovah asked, "Hath the rain a father?" Job 38:28. In the N.T. it appears to be used in a stricter sense of relationship: "Ye have received the Spirit of adoption [or sonship] , whereby we cry, Abba Father," Rom 8:15; and "because ye are sons, God hath sent forth the Spirit of his Son into your hearts, crying, Abba Father." Gal 4:6. The only other instance is when the Lord thus addresses His Father, Mar 14:36; and the Spirit in the hearts of believers puts the very words He used into their lips. It has been suggested that in the two words the Jew and the Gentile each say ’Father’ in his own language - the Aramaic being then spoken by the Jews, and Greek the language of the Gentiles in Palestine and many other places. God had been revealed in the Old Testament as Jehovah, the Almighty, etc., but it was reserved for New Testament times for Him to be made known to believers in the relationship of Father: cf. Joh 20:17.

ABBA.—An Aramaic word preserved by St. Mark in our Lord’s prayer in Gethsemane (Mar 14:36 Ἀββᾶ ὁ πατήρ, πάντα δυνατά σοι), and given twice in the same association with ὁ πατήρ by St. Paul (Rom 8:15 ἐλάβετε πνεῦμα υἱοθεσίας ἐν ᾧ κράζομεν, Ἀββᾶ ὁ πατήρ; and Gal 4:6 ἐξαπέστειλεν ὁ Θεὸς τὸ Πνεῦμα τοῦ υἱοῦ αὐτοῦ εἰς τὰς καρδίας ἡμῶν κρᾶζον, Ἀββᾶ ὁ πατήρ). A difficulty arises both as to the spelling and the pronunciation of the word Abba, and also as to its being found in all the above passages joined to ὁ πατήρ.

1. Abba (ἁββᾶ) corresponds to the Aramaic אַבְא abbâ, which is the definite state of אַב âbh (construct state אִב abh), and means ‘Father,’ unless it is used for ‘my Father’ (אַבּ֖א for אִבֽי) as in Gen 19:34 a (Targ^{. [Note: Targum.]} of Onkelos and pseudo-Jonathan; see Dalman, Aramaisch-Neuhebräisches Wörterbuch, s.v., Gramm. p. 162, and Words of Jesus, p. 192 [Dalman says that the suffix of 1 pers. sing. is ‘deliberately avoided with אָב and is supplied by the determinative form’]). It is not, however, quite certain that the word was pronounced abbâ in Palestine in our Lord’s time. As the points were not invented till many centuries after, we cannot be sure that abbâ was then the definite state rather than abhâ as in Syriac; and we have no indication except the Greek transliteration that the b was then doubled. But the fact that, when points were first used (a.d. 700?), the daghesh was employed for the definite state of this word in the Targnmic literature, coupled with the doubling of the Β in the Greek, affords a presumption that the b was hard and doubled in this word at the beginning of our era [Dalman gives for the definite state אַבָּא Gen 44:19, or בָּא Num 25:14, or in Palestinian Targum also אִבָּא; with other pronominal suffixes we have אֲבוּהי etc., and the pl. definite state is אֲבָהָחָא]. The Syriac, on the other hand, has b aspirated throughout, ܐܰܒ abh, ܐܰܒܳܐ abhâ (pron. av, avâ, or aw, awâ), etc., and the distinction between abâ, a spiritual father, and ܐܒܼܐ avâ, a natural father, which the grammarians make, appears not to be founded on any certain basis, nor to agree with the manuscripts (Payne-Smith, Thesaurus Syriacus, s.v.). The proper name ܐܰܒܳܐ also in Syriac has always aspirated b, while Dalman (Wörterbuch) gives for Targumic אַבֽא, and says it is an abbreviation of אֲבִיָה. In Mar 14:36 (Peshitta) Pusey and Gwilliam give ܐܰܒܼܳܐ as in Massora 1 in the British Museum (Codex Additionalis 12138, Nestorianus, a.d. 899); the American edition prints ܐܲܒܵܐ (i.e. with ܒܿ) in all three NT places; but this is rather a following of the grammarians than of good manuscripts. It is very noteworthy, however, that the Harkleian version in the Markan passage spells the word ܐܰܒܒܰܐ, transliterating the Greek directly back into Syriac, rather than using the Syriac word itself.

John Lightfoot (Horae Hebraicae on Mar 14:36) remarks that the Targum, in translating the OT, never renders a ‘civil’ father, i.e. a master, prince, lord, etc., by אַבָא, but only a natural father, or a father who adopts; in the former sense they use some other word. But this throws no light on the pronunciation of Abba.

It is to be noticed that it is not certain how the Greeks of the 1st cent. themselves pronounced ἀββᾶ, whether abbâ or, as the modern Greeks pronounce it, avvâ. The word is not found in the LXX Septuagint . It passed into ecclesiastical Latin with a doubled b, and gave us such words as ‘abbot,’ ‘abbacy,’ etc.

But does it mean ‘Father’ or ‘my Father’? If it be a Jewish formula or fixed manner of beginning prayer, it may well be the latter. We must, however, note that whatever be the way of accounting for Ἀββᾶ ὁ πατήρ (see below), the originators or originator of that phrase in Greek, whether the Jews, or our Lord, or St. Paul, or the Second Evangelist, seem to have taken Ἀββᾶ to mean merely ‘Father.’ And the same is probably true of the translators of the Peshitta. The Sinaitic Syriac, however, appears to read ܐܳܒܼܝܝ my Father (see below). The Curetonian Syriac is wanting here.

2. We have next to account for the association of Ἀββᾶ in its Greek dress with ὁ πατήρ in all the three places where it occurs in NT. In Mar 14:36 the Peshitta reads ܐܰܒܼܳܐ ܐܳܒܼܝܝ ‘Father, my Father,’ and the Sinaitic Syriac has simply ܐܳܒܼܝܝ ‘my Father.’ In Rom 8:15 and Gal 4:6 the Peshitta reads ܐܰܒܳܐ ܐܰܒܰܘܢ. All these appear to be mere expedients adopted to avoid the awkwardness of repeating ܐܰܒܳܐ, and they do not really throw light on the origin of the Greek phrase.

We may first take as a supposition that our Lord, praying in Gethsemane, used the Aramaic language, and therefore said ‘Abba’ only, and that ὁ πατήρ is the Evangelist’s explanation, for Greek readers, of the Aramaic word. St. Mark undoubtedly reports several Aramaic words, and except in the case of the well-known ‘Rabbi,’ ‘Rabboni’ (Mar 9:5; Mar 10:51 etc.), explains them. But then he always uses a formula, ὅ ἐστιν (Mar 3:17, Mar 7:11; Mar 7:34) or ὅ ἐστι μεθερμηνευόμενον (Mar 5:41, Mar 15:34). It is suggested that in the case of Abba the familiarity of the word would make the connecting formula unnecessary; but the same consideration would make it unnecessary to explain it at all. Another suggestion is that the solemnity of the context would make the formula incongruous. The strongest argument for ὁ πατήρ being an addition of the Evangelist is that, whatever view we take of our Lord’s having made use of Greek in ordinary speech, it is extremely unlikely that His prayers were in that language; and if He prayed in Aramaic, He would only say ‘Abba.’ It is the common experience of bilingual countries that though the acquired language may be in constant use for commerce or the ordinary purposes of life, the native tongue is tenaciously retained for devotion and prayer. Sanday-Headlam’s supposition (Romans, in loc.), that our Lord used both words spontaneously, with deep emotion, might be quite probable if He prayed in the foreign tongue, Greek; but scarcely so if He prayed in the native Aramaic (see, however, below).

If ὁ πατήρ be due to St. Mark, it is probably not a mere explanation for the benefit of Greek readers. The suggestion that Ἀββᾶ ὁ πατήρ had become a quasi-liturgical formula, possibly even among the Jews, or more probably among the Christians, would account for its introduction in a prayer, where interpretations would be singularly out of place. And this suggestion would account for St. Paul’s using the phrase twice, in two Epistles written about the same time, indeed, but to two widely distant Churches. St. Paul is not in the habit of introducing Aramaic words (‘Maranatha’ in 1Co 16:22 is an exception), and if he were not quoting a well-known form, it is unlikely that he would have introduced one in writing to the Romans and Galatians. It is not probable, however, that he is quoting or thinking of our Lord’s words in Gethsemane, for there is nothing in the context to suggest this.

If the phrase be a liturgical formula, we may account for it in various ways. J. B. Lightfoot (Galatians, in loc.) suggests that it may have originated among Hellenistic Jews; or else among Palestinian Jews, after they had learned Greek, as ‘an expression of importunate entreaty.’ He prefers the latter view, thinking that perhaps our Lord Himself used both words. He apparently means that Jesus took the Greek word into His Aramaic prayer; and he quotes from Schöttgen a similar case where a woman entreats a judge and addresses him as מרי בירי ‘My lord, lord,’ the second word being equivalent to the first, except for the possessive suffix, and being a transliteration of κύριε. Chase (‘The Lord’s Prayer in the Early Church,’ in the Cambridge and Studies, vol. i. p. 23) has suggested another origin for the phrase, which would place its home, not among the Jews (for which there is no evidence), but among the Christians. He suggests that it is due to the shorter or Lukan form of the Lord’s Prayer (Luk 11:2 ff.). The Aramaic shorter form would begin with Abba, for the Greek begins with Πάτερ; and the hypothesis is that the early Christians in the intensity of their devotion repeated the first word of the prayer in either language. A somewhat similar phenomenon is seen in the repetitions for emphasis in Rev 9:11; Rev 12:9; Rev 20:2, where the names are given in both languages. Such a repetition is possible only in a bilingual country. That it is the shorter form of the Lord’s Prayer that is used (if Dr. Chase’s hypothesis be true), is seen from the Aramaic אַבָא Abba. If the longer form had been in question, Πάτερ ἡμῶν, the initial word of the Aramaic would have had the possessive pronominal suffix of 1 pers. pl., and would be אֲבוּנָא ăbhûnâ.

It is a confirmation of this theory that the words which follow, ‘Not what I will but what thou wilt,’ recall ‘Thy will be done’ of the Lord’s Prayer; compare especially Mat 26:42 γενηθήτω τὸ θέλημά σου, the exact words of the longer form of the Lord’s Prayer. This shows that both Evangelists had that prayer in their minds when relating the agony. The only consideration which militates against the theory is that ὁ πατήρ is used for Πάτερ. The nominative with the article is, however, often used in NT, by a Hebrew analogy, for an emphatic vocative, and the desire for emphasis may account for its use here.

A. J. Maclean.

(; Αββᾶ).

By: Kaufmann Kohler

—In Theology:

The Aramaic word for "Father," "my Father," which, together with the Greek equivalent, occurs three times in the New Testament. It is an invocation to God, expressive of a close personal or filial relation of the speaker to God. It is found in Mark, xiv. 36, the parallel passage, Matt. xxvi. 39, having only the Greek words "my Father." Paul, in Rom. viii. 15 and Gal. iv. 6, shows that, in admitting proselytes to membership in the new faith, they were declared to be the children of God while addressing Him as "Abba, Father." But there is nothing specially Christian about this. It was the formula for addressing God most familiar to Jewish saints of the New Testament times:

(Ta'anit, 23b)

"To Ḥanan, the grandson of Onias, the children came during a great drought, crying, 'Abba [Father], give us rain!' whereupon the saint prayed: 'O Ruler of the world, for the sake of these little ones who can not discriminate between the Abba [the Father] who giveth rain and the Abba [the father] who can only pray for, but can not give, rain, hear my prayer!'—and behold rain came".

Of Onias, the grandfather of Ḥanan, we read (Ta'anit, 23a) that he prayed to God, saying: "Lord, I am as a son in Thy house, and by Thy great name I beseech Thee, nor will I leave this spot until Thou hast shown mercy to Thy children and granted my request." Then Simon ben Sheṭaḥ, the leader of the Pharisees, said to Onias:

"I would excommunicate thee for thine irreverent mode of prayer, were it not that before God thou art a privileged son, who sayeth to his father, 'Abba, do this and do that for me,' and the father granteth him whatever he wisheth."

Father in Prayer.

Thus, in Tanna debe Eliyahu R.ix.Elijah addresses the Lord as "My Father in heaven." Compare the expression "My Father in heaven" in a Midrash of the Hadrianic time, Mek., Yithro, 6, and elsewhere. Likewise in Mishnah, v. 1, Bab. Gem. 30b, Ber. v. 1: "The ancient Ḥasidim spent an hour in silent meditation before the prayer so as to put their hearts in the right relation to their Father in heaven." Almost the same expression is found in the Apostolic Constitutions, vii. 24:

"Pray thrice a day, preparing yourselves beforehand, so as to be worthy of being called the children of the Father, lest when you call Him 'Father' unworthily, you be reproached by Him, as Israel, His first-born son, was told, 'If then I be a father, where is mine honor? and if I be a master, where is my fear?' (Mal. i. 6.)"

For the appellation "Father" as it occurs in the Bible with special reference to Israel (Deut. xxxii. 6; Isa. lxiii. 6, lxiv. 7; Jer. iii. 4; Mal. i. 6, ii. 10), see Fatherhood of God. For the universal Fatherhood of God, compare Wisdom, ii. 13; Ecclesiasticus, iv. 10; I John, iii. 2; Abot, iii. 28 [18]; Abot, v. 30; Sifre, Deut. 96, 1; Yoma, viii. 9; Tosef., Peah, iv. 21; see also Abinu Malkenu, and Dalman, "Die Worte Jesu," i. 156.

Father in the Apocrypha.

God is called "Father" by Josephus ("Ant." ii. 6, § 8; iv. 8, § 24); "the Father of the whole human race" by Philo ("Sacrifice of Abel," 18, and elsewhere; see Drummond, "Philo," ii. 63; Test. Patriarchs, Judah, 24; Wisdom, xii. 3; Sirach, xxvi. 1 and li. 10; and Tobit, xiii. 4). Still, as is shown by Dalman ("Die Worte Jesu," i. 150-155), the fatherly relation of God to man was only gradually recognized and expressed by the worshiper. In the Book of Wisdom, ii. 16 (compare ii. 13, 18), it is the righteous man only who claims that God is his Father and he His child; or it is the priest, whose holy ministration entitles him to the privilege of addressing God as "Father" (Test. Patriarchs, Levi, xvii. 18). Therefore it became customary to speak of God in connection with worship as the Father of the worshiper (see Tosef., Sanh. vii. 9), "Israelites lift up their eyes to their Father in heaven" (Midr. Teh. cxxi. 1), "Israel was shielded under the wings of his Father in heaven" (Mek., Amalek, i.; R. H. iii. 8). In the first century Johanan ben Zakkai referred to "the altar as establishing peace between Israel and his Father in heaven" (Tosef., B. Ḳ. vii. 6, 7); also, when referring to the mysteries of God, he said: "Blessed be the God of Israel for this son of Abraham, who has penetrated into the glories of our Father" (Tosef., Ḥag. ii. 2).

Subsequently Akiba, comforting his people in the misery after the destruction of the Temple, says: "Happy are ye, O Israel, your Fountain of Purification is your Father in heaven" (Yoma, l.c.). Likewise Simon ben Yoḥai calls God "the Father in heaven" (Sifre, Deut. xlviii.).

The paternal relation of God, while chiefly applied to Israel as the correct worshipers of God, was also applied to individuals who maintained this spiritual relationship (Soṭah, ix. 15; Ab. v. 20; Mek., Yithro, 6.; Midr. Teh. ix. 4; Ps. xii. 5, xciv. 2, cxxiii. 1). Wherefore the very invocation, "Abinu Malkenu!" (Our Father, our King!), uttered by a devout worshiper, was regarded by the people as endowed with special efficacy. The opinion expressed by Weber ("see Altsynagogale Theologie," p. 150) and others, that Jesus was the first to invoke God by the name of Father, does not rest on a solid foundation, and has already been refuted by Dalman.

Bibliography:

Zunz, Gottesdienstliche Vorträge, pp. 330, 333, 336.

ABBA is the ‘emphatic’ form of the Aram. [Note: Aramaic.] word for ‘father.’ It is found in the Gr. and Eng. text of Mar 14:36, Rom 8:15, and Gal 4:6 (in each case Abbâ, ho patçr, ‘Abba, Father’). Aram. [Note: Aramaic.] has no article, and the ‘emphatic’ affix â is usually the equivalent of the Heb. article. Both can represent the vocative case (for Hebrew see Davidson’s Syntax, § 21 f.); and abba occurs in the Pesb. of Luk 22:42; Luk 23:34 for pater. The ‘articular nominative’ is found in NT sixty times for the vocative; and so we have ho patçr for ô pater (Moulton, Gram. of NT Greek, p. 70). Jesus often addressed God as ‘Father’ or ‘my Father.’ In both cases He would probably use ‘Abba’; for ’abbâ may be used for ’âbî (Targ. on Gen 19:34). In Mar 14:36, ho patçr is perhaps a gloss added by the Evangelist, as in Mar 5:41; Mar 7:11; Mar 7:34 he adds an explanation of the Aram. [Note: Aramaic.] : but in Rom 8:15 and Gal 4:6 the Gentile Christians had learned for importunity to use the Aram. [Note: Aramaic.] word Abba; as the Jews in prayer borrowed Kyrie mou (‘my Lord’) from the Greek, and used it along with Heb. words for ‘my master,’ ‘my father’ (Schöttgen, Hor. Heb. 252).

J. T. Marshall.

(from Aramaic for father) Title given to bishops in the Syriac, Coptic, and Ethiopic Churches. With translation subjoined, it is used by Mark and Paul in the New Testament as a form of address to God. It is used as a title of honor for Hebrew scholars and forms part of many Hebrew names.

Abba is the Aramaic word for "father." The word occurs three times in the New Testament (Mark 14:36; Romans 8:15; Galatians 4:6). In each case it has its Greek translation subjoined to it, reading abba ho pater in the Greek text; abba, pater in the Latin Vulgate, and "Abba, Father" in the English version. St. Paul made use of the double expression in imitation of the early Christians, who, in their turn, used it in imitation of the prayer of Christ. Opinions differ as to the reason for the double expression in our Lord’s prayer: Jesus himself used it; St. Peter added the Greek translation in his preaching, retaining the archaic direct address; the Evangelist added the Greek translation; St. Mark conformed to an existing Christian custom of praying by way of hysteron proteron.-----------------------------------A.J. MAAS Transcribed by Joseph A. Murphy The Catholic Encyclopedia, Volume ICopyright © 1907 by Robert Appleton CompanyOnline Edition Copyright © 2003 by K. KnightNihil Obstat, March 1, 1907. Remy Lafort, S.T.D., CensorImprimatur. +John Cardinal Farley, Archbishop of New York

ab´a (ἀββᾶ,אבּא , ’abbā), Hebraic-Chaldaic, “Father”): In Jewish and old-Christian prayers, a name by which God was addressed, then in oriental churches a title of bishops and patriarchs. So Jesus addresses God in prayer (Mat 11:25, Mat 11:26; Mat 26:39, Mat 26:42; Luk 10:21; Luk 22:42; Luk 23:34; Joh 11:41; Joh 12:27; Joh 17:24, Joh 17:25). In Mar 14:36; Rom 8:15, and Gal 4:6 ὁ πατήρ, ho patḗr, is appended even in direct address, in an emphatic sense. Servants were not permitted to use the appellation in addressing the head of the house. See Delitzsch on Rom 8:15; compare G. Dalman, Gram. des jüd.-palast. Aramaisch, etc., section 40, c. 3.

Abba is the emphatic form of the Aram. word for ‘father’ (see Dalman, Aram. Gram. p. 98, for àá and its various forms; also Maclean, in Dict. of Christ and the Gospels , s.v.). It is found only in three passages in the NT, viz. Mar_14:36, Rom_8:15, Gal_4:6; in each case ὁ ðáôÞñ is subjoined to Ἀââᾶ, the whole expression being a title of address. [The use of ὁ ðáôÞñ, nominative with the article, as a vocative, is not a Hebraism, as Lightfoot thought, but an emphatic vocative not unknown to classical Greek and common in the NT: ‘nearly sixty examples of it are found in NT’; sea Moulton, Gram. of NT Greek, Edinburgh, 1906, p. 70.]

Lightfoot on Gal_4:6 argues that the bilingual expression is a liturgical formula originating with Hellenistic Jews, who, while clinging to the original word which was consecrated by long usage, added to it the Greek equivalent; but he supports an alternative theory that it took its rise among Jews of Palestine after they had become acquainted with the Greek language, and is simply an expression of importunate entreaty, and an example of that verbal usage whereby the same idea is conveyed in different forms for the sake of emphasis. As illustrations of this repetition, he quotes Rev_9:11 (Ἀðïëëýùí, Ἀâáääþí) Rev_12:9; Rev_20:2 (Óáôáíᾶò, Äéἀâïëïò). Thayer, in Hasting's Dictionary of the Bible (5 vols) (s.v.), points out that, though devotional intensity belongs to repetition of the same term (e.g. êýñéå, êýñéå), it is also expressed by such phrases as íáὶ ἀìÞí, ‘Hallelujah, Praise the Lord,’ where the terms are different. The context of each passage where ‘Abba, Father’ is found appears to prove that the Greek addition is not merely the explanation of the Aramaic word, such as, e.g., St. Peter might have added in his preaching-a custom to be perpetuated by the Evangelists, as suggested by the passage in Mk.; but is rather an original formula, the genesis of which is to be sought further back, perhaps in the actual words used by our Lord Himself. Thus Sanday-Headlam on Rom_8:15 (International Critical Commentary , 1902) remark:

‘It seems better to suppose that our Lord Himself, using familiarly both languages, and concentrating into this word of all word such a depth of meaning, found Himself Impelled spontaneously to repeat the word, and that some among His disciples caught and transmitted the same habit. It is significant however of the limited extent of strictly Jewish Christianity that we find no other original examples of the use than these three.’

Thus, the double form is due to the fact that the early Christians were a bilingual people; and the duplication, while conveying intensity to the expression, ‘would only be natural where the speaker was using in both cases his familiar tongue.’ F. H. Chase (Texts and Studies i. iii. 23) suggests that the phrase is due to the shorter or Lucan form of the Lord’s Prayer, and that the early Christians repeated the first word in the intensity of their devotion, coupling a Hellenistic rendering with the Aramaic Abba. He argues that the absence of such a phrase as ὅ ἐóôéí, or ὅ ἐóôé ìåèåñìçíåõüìåíïí, in Mar_14:36 is due to the familiarity of the formula; and that, while the Pauline passages do not recall Gethsemane, they suggest the Lord’s Prayer as current in the shorter form. Moulton (op. cit. p. 10), combating Zahn’s theory that Aramaic was the language of St. Paul’s prayers-a theory based on the Apostle’s ‘Abba, Father’-remarks that ‘the peculiar sacredness of association belonging to the first word of the Lord’s Prayer in its original tongue supplies a far more probable account of its liturgical use among Gentile Christians.’ He mentions the analogy (see footnote, loc. cit.) of the Roman Catholic ‘saying Paternoster,’ but adds that ‘Paul will not allow even one word of prayer in a foreign tongue without adding an instant translation’; and further refers to the Welsh use of Pader as a name for the Lord’s Prayer.

It seems probable (1) that the phrase, ‘Abba, Father,’ is a liturgical formula; (2) that the duality of the form is not due to a Hebraistic repetition for the sake of emphasis, but to the fact that the early Christians, even of non-Jewish descent, were familiar with both Aramaic and Greek; (3) that Abba, being the first word of the Lord’s Prayer, was held in special veneration, and was quoted with the Greek equivalent attached to it, as a familiar devotional phrase (like Maran atha [1Co_16:22], which would be quite intelligible to Christiana of Gentile origin, though its Greek translation, ὁ Êýñéïò ἐããüò [Php_4:5], was also used; cf. Did. 10. 5, where ‘Maran atha’ and ‘Amen’ close a public prayer); and (4.) that our Lord Himself, though this cannot be said to be established beyond doubt, used the double form in pronouncing the sacred Name, which was invoked in His prayer.

In conclusion, it should be noted that, while the phrase is associated with the specially solemn occasion of the Gethsemane agony, where our Lord is reported by St. Mark to have used it, both examples of its use in the Pauline writings convey a similar impression of solemnity as connected with the Christian believer’s assurance of sonship-and sonship (let it be noted) not in the general sense in which all humanity may be described as children of God, but in the intimate and spiritual connotation belonging to õἱïèåóßáí, or ‘adoption,’ into the family of God.

Literature.-See article ‘Abba’ in Hasting's Dictionary of the Bible (5 vols) , Dict. of Christ and the Gospels , and Jewish Encyclopedia , an art in Expository Times xx. [1909] 358, and the authorities cited above.

R. Martin Pope.

Abba was a common word in the Aramaic and Hebrew languages, and meant ‘father’. It was a warm and informal term used in the everyday language of family life.

Jews of Old Testament times never used abba when addressing God, but Jesus used it when praying to his Father (Mar 14:36). The early Christians also addressed God as Abba; for, through Christ, God has adopted believers as his sons and made them joint heirs with Christ of his heavenly inheritance (Rom 8:15-17; Gal 4:5-6; cf. Gal 3:26; see ADOPTION).