What does Abba mean?
“Abba! Abba!” Origins of abba Of Aramaic origin (seen in Dan 5:2, 11, 13, 18), abba parallels the Hebrew word av from where abba, or “father,” is derived.1 Some scholars consider it to be a colloquial term of familiarity that a young child would have used, similar to how American children use “papa” or “daddy.” Joachim Jeremias, a German Lutheran theologian, held that abba is a “children’s word used in the everyday talk” and that it expressed the heart of Jesus’ relationship to God. He writes: “[Jesus] spoke to God as a child to its father: confidently and securely, and yet at the same time reverently and obediently.”2 But is that the meaning of abba? Abba in the New Testament The term “abba” is only found in the New Testament three times—in Mark 14:36, Romans 8:15, and Galatians 4:6—and is used only by Jesus and Paul. In each instance, abba is transliterated into Greek and accompanied by the Greek translation of “father,” ho patēr.3 Paul’s use Paul used abba ho patēr when d...