It has always been common for Jews to refer to their patriarchs, especially Abraham, as "our father Abraham" or "Abraham our father." This custom was especially common in the time of Jesus, and we find many examples in Jewish literature of the period: "our father Abraham" (Luke 16:24, 30; John 8:53; Acts 7:2; Rom 4:12); "our father Jacob" (John 4:12); "our father David" (Mark 11:10; Acts 4:25); "Abraham our father" (Luke 1:73; Rom 4:1; Jas 2:21); "Isaac our father" (Rom 9:10).
One should realize that the Hebrew word for "father" is also the word for "forefather" or "ancestor." So when a Hebrew speaker uses "our father Abraham" he is not using "father" as an honorific title but is referring to Abraham as an arch-ancestor of the nation. It is unlikely that Jesus intended to prohibit the use of "father" in this sense.
Abba, which literally means "the father" in Aramaic, but also can mean "our father" or "my father," was brought into Hebrew and used in the endearing sense of "Daddy." It also became a personal name, as in the case of Barabbas, a Greek transliteration of the Hebrew or Aramaic bar Abba, that is, son of Abba. Abba also came to be used to respectfully address a sage, a practice which Jesus opposed. This usage probably developed because of the special relationship in which the sage became like a father to his disciple. (See my "First-century Discipleship," JP 13 (Oct. 1988): 1-2.) Later, apparently after the time of Jesus, Abba bec
| To view the remainder of this article, please log in at the top of this page. | OR | |
OR
If you are not yet a Premium Content subscriber, please consider this amazing tool for Bible study. Premium Content membership gives you access to hundreds of articles, written by many of the best New Testament scholars in Israel and abroad, which illuminated Jesus' sayings. (Read our free sample articles!)
New articles are continually being added to this database of knowledge. Articles are searchable by keyword, category or scripture reference.