What does Abba mean in the Bible?
Abba is Aramaic for "father" — the warm address of a child within the family, though not babyish ("daddy" overstates it; grown children used it too). It appears exactly three times in the New Testament, and all three times the Greek text couples it with the translation: "Abba, Father."
The first is Jesus Himself, at the point of deepest anguish:
“And he said, Abba, Father, all things are possible unto thee; take away this cup from me: nevertheless not what I will, but what thou wilt.”Mark 14:36 (KJV)
The other two are Paul, making the astonishing claim that this same address is now given to believers by the Spirit:
“For ye have not received the spirit of bondage again to fear; but ye have received the Spirit of adoption, whereby we cry, Abba, Father.”Romans 8:15 (KJV)
“And because ye are sons, God hath sent forth the Spirit of his Son into your hearts, crying, Abba, Father.”Galatians 4:6 (KJV)
The logic is deliberate: the Spirit puts the Son's own word for His Father into the mouths of adopted children. What Jesus said in Gethsemane, the least believer may say.
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