Abba

Abba (אַבָּא in Hebrew script, ἀββᾶ as transliterated by the Greek New Testament) is the Aramaic word for 'father' — the everyday word a child of any age would use in the household. It survives untranslated in three New Testament passages, all preserved as a kind of relic of Jesus' own speech. In Gethsemane Jesus prays, 'Abba, Father, all things are possible to you; remove this cup from me' (Mark 14:36). Paul, writing in Greek to churches who knew little or no Aramaic, twice tells believers that the Spirit cries out in their hearts, 'Abba! Father!' (Romans 8:15; Galatians 4:6) — making the same intimate address a mark of adoption into God's family. Early scholarship overstated the case (claiming Abba meant something close to 'Daddy'); more careful work notes it was used by adult sons as readily as by children, but the warmth and familiarity remain unmistakable.