Title

Abba

'Abba

אַבָּא

Meaning: 'Father' in Aramaic — the emphatic/definite state.
Occurrences: 3 times (Mark 14:36; Romans 8:15; Galatians 4:6)
First occurrence: Mark 14:36
Languages: Biblical Aramaic Koine Greek

Pronunciation

ah-BAH

Origin

One of the few Aramaic words preserved untranslated in the Greek New Testament, each time followed immediately by the Greek ho patēr — a bilingual liturgical formula.

Usage & scribal practice

Used in prayer at Gethsemane and in two Pauline passages about adoption.

Cross-references

Mark 14:36
'Abba, Father, all things are possible for you.'
Romans 8:15
'the Spirit of adoption as sons, by whom we cry, Abba! Father!'
Galatians 4:6
Same formula.

How translations render it

All major English Bibles'Abba, Father'The Aramaic is retained.

NLT'Abba, Father'

Peshittaܐܒܐ

Theories, myths & conspiracy claims

Each claim is stated as its proponents state it, then assessed against the manuscript and linguistic evidence.

Myth

Abba means 'Daddy'

The claim: Joachim Jeremias popularized the idea that Abba was childish baby-talk.

Assessment: Jeremias himself later retracted the strongest form of the claim. Abba was used by adult children of adult fathers; it is warm and familial, but not infantile. The 'Daddy' gloss is still repeated widely in sermons.