G0005 G0005
Abba (Aramaic vocative 'father'); transliterated address to God expressing intimate filial relationship
An Aramaic word transliterated directly into Greek, preserving Jesus's and early Christians' prayer language. It appears in Mark 14:36 (Jesus in Gethsemane), Romans 8:15, and Galatians 4:6 (believers adopted as children). Always paired with Greek πατήρ ('Father'), it signals both continuity with Jesus's own prayers and the Spirit-enabled intimacy of adopted sonship. The term carries familial warmth—not formal 'sir' but 'papa,' though not merely casual.
Senses
1. sense 1 — Preserves the Aramaic vocative that Jesus used addressing God, now adopted by Spirit-filled believers. The transliteration across all languages (Spanish 'Abbá,' French/German/English 'Abba') maintains its special status—not merely translated but transferred as a Christian technical term. Paul's dual formula ('Abba! Father!') bridges Aramaic-speaking and Greek-speaking worship, marking the universal access of adopted children to cry out as Jesus did in his agony and trust. 3×
AR["أبّا", "أَبَّا"]·ben["আব্বা", "আব্বা!"]·DE["Abba"]·EN["Abba"]·FR["Abba"]·heb["אַבָּא"]·HI["अब्ब!", "अब्बा"]·ID["Abba", "Abba!"]·IT["Abba", "abba"]·jav["Abba", "Abba!"]·KO["아바", "아바!", "아빠"]·PT["Aba", "Aba!"]·RU["Авва"]·ES["Abbá", "Abbâ"]·SW["Aba", "Abba"]·TR["Abba"]·urd["ابا", "ابّا", "ابّا!"]
Related Senses
H0376 1. man, person, human male (2130×)H0251 1. brother (blood sibling) (573×)H0120 1. man, human being (individual/generic) (527×)H0802 1. woman, female person (519×)H0802 2. wife, spouse (255×)H0517 1. mother, female parent (217×)G0435 1. man, male person (202×)G1135 1. woman, adult female (190×)H2233 1. offspring, descendants (172×)H0001 2. ancestor, forefather (146×)H5288 1. Youth, young man (122×)H0269 1. sister (female sibling) (113×)H1755 1. generation, contemporaries (96×)G5043 1. child, offspring (89×)G0444 2. people, humankind (86×)H3206 1. child, boy, youth (86×)H2145 1. male (human being) (79×)G3384 1. mother (77×)H6485a 1. Qal passive participle: numbered ones, enrollment (76×)H1397 1. man (strong/mighty) (65×)
BDB / Lexicon Reference
Transliteration of Hebrew אַב 'father' [H0002]. Not in LSJ.