Hebrew Nuggets, Lesson 6: Abba (Part 2)

Articles Leave a Comment

Abba is an Aramaic word meaning "the father." This word was borrowed by Hebrew speakers and used in the sense of "Daddy." In lesson six, the word Abba is used to teach another Hebrew letter.

Revised: 23-Aug-2015
A knowledge of Hebrew is central to understanding the Hebraic background of Jesus’ life and teaching. Previous installments of “Hebrew Nuggets” presented the three letters and three vowel symbols that form the name יֵשׁוּעַ (ye·SHU·a‘). In Lessons Six, Seven and Eight we will learn the two new letters and one new vowel symbol found in the word abba.

Hebrew NuggetsThe two letters that comprise the word abba, ’A·lef and bet, happen to be the first two letters of the Hebrew alphabet. In Hebrew, the word for “alphabet” is alef-bet, which comes from coupling the names of these two letters.

The English word “alphabet” is derived from the names of the first two letters of the Greek alphabet, alpha and beta. Although Greek, the names of these letters sound like Hebrew. That is because the Greeks learned to write from the seafaring Phoenicians,[1] who spoke a Semitic language very similar to Hebrew. The Greeks borrowed their alphabet—its symbols and the names for its symbols—to write the sounds of the Greek language.

Paid Content
Premium Members and Friends of JP must be logged in to access this content:

If you do not have a paid subscription, please consider registering as a Premium Member starting at $10/month (paid monthly) or only $5/month (paid annually): Register

One Time Purchase Rather Than Membership
Rather than purchasing a membership subscription, you may purchase access to this single page for $1.99 USD. To purchase access we strongly encourage users to first register for a free account with JP (
Register), which will make the process of accessing your purchase much simpler. Once you have registered you may login and purchase access to this page at this link:

Login & Purchase
In Lesson Seven we will learn the next letter of the word אבא. To read the next lesson, click here.

For the transliteration system used in this series, click here.

This article originally appeared in issue 6 of the Jerusalem Perspective magazine. Click on the image above to view a PDF of the original magazine article.

  • [1] The Phoenicians belonged to the larger Canaanite people group.

Leave a Reply

  • David N. Bivin

    David N. Bivin
    Facebook

    David N. Bivin is founder and editor of Jerusalem Perspective. A native of Cleveland, Oklahoma, U.S.A., Bivin has lived in Israel since 1963, when he came to Jerusalem on a Rotary Foundation Fellowship to do postgraduate work at the Hebrew University. He studied at the Hebrew…
    [Read more about author]

  • JP Content

  • Suggested Reading

  • Hospitality Heritage of the ChurchPetros Petra WordplayHistorical Jesus a Tanna FIDeliver Us From Evil6 Stone Water JarsEnemies of the HarvestWere Women Segregated?Luke 9-51-56—A Hebrew FragmentUnlocking the Synoptic ProblemNew Portrait of SalomeInsulting God's High PriestLoving BothMedieval JargonBeating the (Thorny) Bushes title 2Gergesa, Gerasa, or GadaraPG‘Everything Written…in the Psalms About Me’ (Luke 24-44)And OR In Order To RemarryAnti-Jewish TendenciesScribal ErrorsAllegro to ZeitlinTwena With All Due RespectTorah in the Sermon on the MountBethsaida 002Flusser Times of the GentilesIf Your Eye Be Single cover imageIntro to SynopticStewards of God's KeysBy the Finger of GodPower of ParablesTrees of LifeBest Long-TermFlusser Parables of Ill ReputeNew International JesusReich Design and MaintenanceSafrai Synagogue CenturionNun GergesaSabbath BreakersNeot KedumimWealth of Herod the GreatGood Morning, ElijahMiraculous CatchSalted With FireJewish Laws of Purity in Jesus' DayMidrash in the New TestamentAesop's Fables and the Parables of the SagesJesus’ Temptation and Its Jewish BackgroundOstracon From Qumran FlusserOrigins of Jesus' Dominical TitleDid Jesus Make Food Clean?Evidence of Pro-Roman Leanings in the Gospel of MatthewA Body, Vultures & SoMBinding and Loosingספר פתרון תורהPilgrimage in the Time of Jesus cover