ABBA. — I. Aramaic term, emphatic form of *’ab*, “father,” which occurs in the vocative in the New Testament, always followed by the Greek ὁ πατήρ, in Rom 8:15 and Gal 4:6; Mk 14:36 (see ’AB). The sense of *’abbā* is “my father,” in accordance with Aramaic usage (G. Dalman, P. Joüon), reflected also in the Fourth Gospel (Jn 8:18 ff.; 14:6. 11. 20). The Greek term (in the nominative) is the literal translation of the Aramaic. According to J. Knabenbauer, the Greek interpretation was added by St. Peter in his oral catechesis, later reported by St. Mark; others see it as a gloss by the evangelist, though in that case it would be introduced by an explanatory formula such as in Jn 7:34 (cf. 5:41).
The *’abbā* (ὁ πατήρ) found in St. Paul, according to Th. Zahn, would be a reference to the official recitation of the Pater noster in Aramaic in early times. The origin of the formula may be attributed either to the influence exercised by the usage that spread in the Gentile-Christian churches, which added the corresponding Greek to the name Jesus gave to God, or to the impulse of tenderness toward Him who adopts us as His children: “Father, You who are the Father!” M.-J. Lagrange considers it a traditional ejaculatory prayer among Christians.
2. Title prefixed to the name of certain doctors of the Mishnah, to be translated “father” or “my father.”
According to Maimonides, it is equivalent to *Rabbi* (“my master”). It also occurs as a proper name in the Tannaitic period (see) and in the subsequent period of the Amoraim (see). In Babylonia it is often contracted with the title *Rabbi* (“master”), giving rise to forms such as *Rabbi Abba*, *Rab Abba*. According to W. Bacher, the term would have arisen from an abbreviation of *Abraham*; an unlikely hypothesis in view of expressions such as “father by wisdom” or “father by years.”