New International Dictionary of New Testament Theology

ἀββά

ἀββά (abba), father (5).

OT 1. In Aram. ʾabbāʾ is originally, like the feminine equivalent ʾimmāʾ, a word derived from baby language (like our “dada”). Already in the pre-Christian era the word underwent a considerable extension of meaning, replacing not only the older form of address common to biblical Heb. and Aram., ʾābî, my father, but also the Aram. terms for “the father” and “my father.” In other words, ʾabbāʾ as a form of address to one’s father was no longer restricted to children but was also used by adult sons and daughters. The childish character of the word (“daddy”) thus receded, and ʾabbāʾ acquired the warm, familiar ring that we may feel in such an expression as “dear father.”

2. Nowhere in the entire wealth of devotional literature produced by ancient Jud. do we find ʾabbāʾ used as a way of addressing God. The pious Jew knew too much of the great gap between God and humanity (Eccl. 5:1) to be free to address God with the familiar word used in everyday family life. The literature of rab. Jud. contains only one indirect example of ʾabbāʾ used in reference to God (b. Taanith 23b).

NT abba occurs in the NT only 3x: Mk. 14:36; Rom. 8:15; Gal. 4:6. In each case it is used in calling on God in prayer. In the other Gk. literature of early Christianity abba is found only in quotations of these passages.

1. It seems clear from the Gospel tradition—indirectly confirmed in Rom. 8:15 and Gal. 4:6 (see below)—that Jesus addressed God in his prayers as “my Father.” In so doing, he made use of the warm, familiar term ʾabbāʾ, used in the everyday life of the family. The only exception is the cry of dereliction from the cross (Mk. 15:34 par.), which is a quotation from Ps. 22:1.

(a) The invocation ʾabbāʾ is expressly attested in the Markan text of Jesus’ prayer in Gethsemane (Mk. 14:36). But in the other prayers of Jesus recorded by the Evangelists (→ patēr, 4252), there is good reason to argue that the Aram. ʾabbāʾ underlies, either directly or indirectly, the various Gk. versions of his invocation of the Father.

2. The early church took over the use of ʾabbāʾ in prayer. Note esp. Rom. 8:15 and Gal. 4:6, where Paul may have been thinking of the Lord’s Prayer. In the oldest version of this prayer (Lk 11:2–4), the invocation reads patēr, “[dear] Father,” and suggests ʾabbāʾ as the Aram. original. Thus, when Jesus gave his disciples the Lord’s Prayer, he gave them authority to follow him in addressing God as ʾabbāʾ and so granted them a share in his status as Son (cf. Jn. 1:12). Accordingly, Paul sees in the invocation “Abba” clear evidence of our adoption as sons through Christ and of the eschatological possession of the Spirit (Rom 8:14–17; Gal 4:4–7). The fact that the church, like Jesus, may say “Abba” is a fulfillment of God’s promise: “I will be a Father to you, and you will be my sons and daughters” (2 Cor. 6:18; cf. 2 Sam. 7:14; also Jub. 1:24–25).

(b) This use, unthinkable for the pious Jew, of the familiar term ʾabbāʾ in prayer denotes the unique relationship of Jesus to God. It expresses not only his attitude of trust and obedience toward the Father (Mk. 14:36 par.), but also his incomparable authority (Matt 11:25–27 par.).

See also patēr, father (4252).