AB. – The fifth month of the Hebrew calendar, consisting of 30 days. It began with the new moon of July. The name, corresponding to the Assyrian *abu*, does not appear in the Bible. It is mentioned in the Mishnah (Pesahîm IV, 5) and by the lexicographer Hesychius (ed. Schmidt, Jena 1848, p. 1). In Flavius Josephus it is said to correspond to the month of *A606*. After the exile, a fast was observed on the 9th day of the 5th month (Zech. 7:2, 5; 8:19) in memory of the destruction of the Temple (2 Kings 25:8; Jer. 52:12).
The Mishnah attributes four other sorrowful commemorations to the 9th of *’Ab*: “Five sad events befell our fathers on the 17th day of the month of Tammuz and as many on the 9th of *’Ab*” (Taanith, tr. Surenhuis, II, p. 385). In the synagogues on this day the *Megillah* (v.) of Lamentations is read. Another mourning is observed on the 10th of *’Ab* for the death of Aaron, whose anniversary falls “at the beginning of the month which the Athenians call Hecatombaeon, the Macedonians Loos, and the Hebrews Abba (Aramaic form)” (Flavius Josephus, *Antiquitates Judaicae* IV, 4, 7). Instead, the 15th of *’Ab* was a day of popular rejoicing; in ancient times maidens sang and danced in the vineyards; wood was offered for the fire on the altar (Taanith IV, 5; 8; Megillah Taanith V): it was the feast of the Xylophoria (Flavius Josephus, *Bellum Judaicum* II, 17, 6). The “corvée” of the wood, however, was distributed over nine days, by families. The Syrians and Christian Arabs, except the Copts, now call *’Ab* the month of August.
Antonino Romeo
'AB. – Hebrew and Aramaic term (v. 'ABBA'), a root common to all Semitic languages, meaning “father.”
In the Old Testament *’ab* (plural *’abhôtah*; in the El-Amarna texts *abûti*) assumes many derived meanings, based on the notions of origin, nurture, and authority connected semantically with fatherhood: 1) grandfather (Gen. 28:13), ancestor (1 Kings 15:11, 24; pl. freq.: Gen. 15:15; Num. 14:18; etc.), whence *’abhôtahnu* “our fathers” (Ecclus. 44:1), frequent in Jewish prayers (cf. Berakoth IX, 1), equivalent to “Israel.” 2) Head of a people (Gen. 10:21; 17:5; 19:37; 36:9, 43), founder of a craft or art (Gen. 4:20-21). 3) Creator (Job 38:28; cf. Jer. 2:27), hence God (Deut. 2:6; Isa. 63:16; Ecclus. 51:10). 4) Benefactor (Job 29:16), one who takes care of others (Isa. 9:5; 22:21). 5) Master (a title of honor given to priests and prophets even by kings: 2 Kings 6:21; 8:9; 13:14; Judg. 17:10; 18:10), as in the title of the tractate *Aboth* (v.): hence the master often calls the disciple “son” (Prov. 4:10, 20; 5:1, 20; 6:1, 3; 7:1, 24; Ps. 45:11; Ecclus. [Heb.] 3:8, 12, 17; 4:1, 20; etc.). 6) Advisor (Gen. 45:8; Egyptian usage according to H. K. Brugsch), as in Esth. 3:13, 8: “I am, I am not a son” (Septuagint addition); in Alikar 55 (ed. Nau) the king’s advisor is called “father of all Assyria.” 7) More generally: chief, superior, master (2 Kings 5:13); whence the titles: *’ab beth-din* (“president of the tribunal”), πανταρχος πρυτανεων (*’ab hak-kunest*), which recurs in Jewish inscriptions of Rome.
*’Ab* enters into the composition of many Hebrew proper names, mostly in the construct state *’âb’* with the connective *yod* (Abram and Abiram, Abner and Abiner, Abishai and Abishai, Absalom and Abishalom; but *’âb’* = “my father,” hence ambiguity of meaning: Abimelech = “father of the king” or “my father is king”), or at the beginning as subject (Abiel, Abiah and Abiu = “my father is God, Jahweh”), or at the end as predicate (Eliab, Joab = “God, Jahweh is father”) or determination (*Oholiab* = “tent of the father”). In such compounds *’ab* can indicate possession of a quality (Abinoam = “father of beauty” or “handsome”; Abihail = “father of strength” or “valiant”; Abinadab = “father of nobility” or “noble”; Abiezer = “father of help” or “helper”). But often the meaning remains uncertain: Abner = “the father is light” or “father of light” (luminous), Abigail, Abishag, Abishai, etc.
Such names are often theophoric: as in Abiram (Abram) “my father is exalted,” “father” and equivalent to God (Abimelech, El-Amarna *Abi-milkî* and *Milkilî*; Abner, Abiezer, etc.), and it indicates (as *’ab* “brother”) kinship with God; the child is thus designated as belonging to a family that has God as origin, patron, and protector.
This use of *’ab* in theophoric names, prevalent among the earliest Assyro-Babylonians (*abû-tim* = Abishai), persisted among all Semites from the beginning of the 2nd millennium B.C., as is shown by the names of Asiatic princes in Egyptian proscription texts of the 12th Dynasty and in the texts of Ras Shamra. The usage continued among the ancient Arabs (Sabaean inscriptions: *Abijada’a* = “my father [God] knows” alongside *Ilijada’a* = “my God knows”). In the various Semitic languages, proper names with *’ab* correspond to those with *ben* (“son”) referring to God (Aramaic *bar*, e.g.: *Bar-Rekub*; Assyro-Babylonian *apil*, e.g.: *Apil-Sin*).