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doi:10.1017/CBO9780511781285.002

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Published online by Cambridge University Press: 05 June 2012

Ian A. McFarland ,

David A. S. Fergusson ,

Karen Kilby and

Iain R. Torrance

Edited by

Ian A. McFarland ,

David A. S. Fergusson ,

Karen Kilby and

Iain R. Torrance

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Ian A. McFarland: Affiliation:
Emory University's Candler School of Theology
David A. S. Fergusson: Affiliation:
University of Edinburgh
Karen Kilby: Affiliation:
University of Nottingham
Iain R. Torrance: Affiliation:
University of Aberdeen
Ian A. McFarland: Affiliation:
Emory University, Atlanta
David A. S. Fergusson: Affiliation:
University of Edinburgh
Karen Kilby: Affiliation:
University of Nottingham
Iain R. Torrance: Affiliation:
Princeton Theological Seminary

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Summary

Abba The biblical record indicates that abba, the Aramaic word for ‘father’, was the form of address used by Jesus for God (see, e.g., Matt. 11:25–6; 26:39, 42; Luke 23:34, 46; John 11:41; 12:27–8; 17:5, 11, 21, 24–5). This usage appears to have been regarded as significant enough that it is one of the few pieces of Aramaic that is preserved untranslated in the Gospels (Mark 14:36). Jesus commended the same form of address to his disciples (Matt. 6:9; Luke 11:2; cf. John 20:17), and, again, its significance was such that it appears to have been preserved even among Greek-speaking communities in its Aramaic form (Rom. 8:15; Gal. 4:6).

While scholars disagree over whether or not Jews customarily addressed God as ‘Father’ before Jesus' time (cf. Isa. 63:16; Jer. 3:19), there seems little question that Jesus' use of the term was regarded by his followers as distinctive. The canonical evangelists understand Jesus' use of ‘Father’ as correlative of his own status as ‘Son’ (Matt. 11:27; John 17:1; cf. Matt. 3:17; 17:5 and pars.). From this perspective, later developed explicitly in the doctrine of the Trinity, God's identity as ‘Father’ does not refer to a generic relationship between Creator and creature, but rather to a unique relationship with God's own co-eternal Word (John 1:1; see Logos), who, as ‘Son’, enjoys an intimacy with God that has no creaturely parallel (John 1:18).

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Type: Chapter
Information: The Cambridge Dictionary of Christian Theology , pp. 1 - 50

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9780511781285.002 [Opens in a new window]

Publisher: Cambridge University Press

Print publication year: 2011

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