'ABBA. – 1. Aramaic term, emphatic state of 'ab, “father,” which occurs in the vocative sense in the New Testament, always followed by ὁ πνεῦρ, in Rom. 8:5 and Gal. 4:6; Mk. 14:36 (v. 'AB). The meaning of 'abbá is “my father,” in accordance with Aramaic usage (G. Dalman, P. Joüon), reflected in the Fourth Gospel (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 oral catechesis and later reported by St. Mark; others regard it as a gloss by the evangelist, but in that case it would have been introduced by an explanatory formula, as in Jn. 7:34 (cf. 5:41).
The abbá (ὁ πνεῦρ), which is found in St. Paul, according to Th. Zahn, would be a reference to the official prayer of the Pater noster, recited in Aramaic in the earliest period. The origin of the formula may be attributed either to the influence exerted by the usage that prevailed in the Gentile-Christian churches, which added the corresponding Greek term to the name Jesus gave to God, or to the surge of tenderness toward Him who adopts us as his children: “Father, you who are the Father!” M.-J. Lagrange regards it as a traditional ejaculation of Christians.
2. Title preceding the name of certain doctors of the Mišnah, and to be translated “father” or “my father.” According to Maimonides, it is equivalent to Rabbi (my teacher). It also occurs as a proper name both in the period of the Tannaim (v.) and in the subsequent period of the Amoraim (v.). In Babylonia it is often contracted with the title Rabbi (teacher), giving rise to forms such as Rabá, Rabbá. According to W. Bacher, the term would have arisen as an abbreviation of Abraham; a scarcely probable hypothesis in view of expressions such as “father in wisdom” or “father in years.”