Abba

Occurrences in Scripture

The word Abba occurs three times in the New Testament. In each case it is paired with the Greek word for "father," forming the phrase "Abba, Father."

• Mark 14:36: In the prayer in Gethsemane, Jesus addresses God as "Abba, Father" and asks that "this cup" be taken from him. He then prays that not his own will but the Father's be done.
• Romans 8:15: Paul writes that believers have not received "the spirit of bondage again to fear" but "the Spirit of adoption," by which they cry, "Abba, Father."
• Galatians 4:6: Paul writes that God has sent forth the Spirit of his Son into the hearts of believers, so that they cry, "Abba, Father."

Among Korean Bible translations, the Korean Revised Version transliterates the word as aba, while the New Korean Revised Version and the New Korean Standard Version render it as appa, the colloquial Korean word for "dad."

The Word and Its Background

Aramaic was the everyday language of Palestinian Jews in the time of Jesus. The Gospel of Mark contains several passages in which Jesus' Aramaic words are transliterated and followed by a translation. Examples include Talitha cumi (Mark 5:41) and Ephphatha (Mark 7:34); Abba is another. Paul left the word untranslated when writing to the Greek-speaking churches in Rome and Galatia. On this basis, many scholars hold that the word was widely used in the prayer and worship of the early church.

Meaning in the Broader Biblical Context

The Old Testament also calls God the Father of the people of Israel as a whole (Deuteronomy 32:6; Isaiah 63:16; Hosea 11:1). Instances of an individual addressing God directly as "Father" in prayer, however, are rare. Jesus called God Father and taught his disciples a prayer beginning "Our Father which art in heaven" (Matthew 6:9; the Lord's Prayer). Paul connected this form of address with the work of the Holy Spirit, using it to express that believers, through the Spirit, have come to share in the relationship the Son has with the Father.

Interpretation and Points of Debate

• How intimate is the term? The German New Testament scholar Joachim Jeremias held that Abba was an intimate form of address derived from the speech of young children. He further argued that Jesus' addressing God in this way was virtually without precedent in the Judaism of his day. In response, the Old Testament scholar James Barr argued that adult children also used Abba in addressing their fathers, and that it was a term combining intimacy and respect rather than a form of baby talk. Scholars today generally acknowledge that it is an intimate form of address but are cautious about treating it solely as a child's word, like the Korean appa.
• Denominational emphases: The Reformed tradition, including Presbyterianism, draws on Romans 8:15 in explaining the doctrine of adoption set forth in the Westminster Confession of Faith. Traditions shaped by Wesleyan theology, such as the Methodist and Holiness churches, emphasize Romans 8:15–16 as a basis for the witness of the Spirit and assurance of salvation.
• Popular explanations: Because Abba sounds similar to the Korean word appa ("dad"), preachers sometimes connect the two. The two words, however, are etymologically unrelated. The claim that Abba is "the first word a baby learns" is also widely repeated, but it derives from the scholarly debate described above and is not something the biblical text itself states.

In the Korean Church

In Korean churches, addressing God as "Abba, Father" is common in prayer, and the phrase appears in the lyrics of a number of gospel and praise songs. Preachers frequently cite it when explaining what it means to become a child of God, the intimate relationship believers have with God, and the obedience Jesus displayed in Gethsemane.