Biblical Hebrew Forum

[Martin Shields <enkidu AT bigpond.net.au>]

Yigal,

Do we know how far back this usage can be traced?

I have heard the claim that Jesus' use of Abba should be understood  
as something equivalent to "dad", yet the Greek immediately offers  
pater (πατηρ; or more exactly ho pater ο πατηρ) as its  
"translation" of this word rather than one of the less formal Greek  
forms (such as pappas παππας). This, it seems to me, undermines  
the notion that Abba meant "dad" at this point in history. This  
prompts the question: did the "dad" meaning arise after that time?

Martin Shields,
Sydney, Australia.

On 22/07/2005, at 7:40 PM, Yigal Levin wrote:

> In Aramaic, Abba means "father". The Hebrew equivilant is Ab  
> (pronounced
> Av). However since talmudic times, Jews have been using Abba as  
> something
> like "dad", and still do today.
>
> The same, BTW, for Em (mother) and Ima (mom/mommy), Sav and Sabba
> (grandfather vs. granddad). Savta (grandmother) is pronounced the  
> same in
> Hebrew and Aramaic and so is used for both "grandmother" and  
> "grandma".