In each case it is used with reference to the heavenly Father, Jehovah.

The word ʼab·baʼʹ in Aramaic means “father” and corresponds to the Hebrew ʼav (father) but is the emphatic or definite form of ʼav = “the father.” It was the intimate name used by children for their father and combines some of the intimacy of the English word “papa” while retaining the dignity of the word “father,” being both informal and yet respectful. It was, therefore, an endearing form of address rather than a title and was among the first words a child learned to speak. According to the Jewish Gemara, household slaves were not permitted to use the expression ʼab·baʼʹ when addressing the head of the house.

Mark records that Jesus used the term when praying to Jehovah God in Gethsemane shortly before his death, saying: “Abba, Father, all things are possible to you; remove this cup from me. Yet not what I want, but what you want.” (Mark 14:36) Here is the fervent appeal of a son to a beloved father, followed quickly by an assurance that, in any event, he would remain obedient. The two other occurrences are in Paul’s letters, at Romans 8:15 and Galatians 4:6. In both places the word is used in connection with Christians called to be spirit-begotten sons of God and indicates the intimacy of their relationship with their Father. While they are “slaves to God” and “bought with a price,” yet they are also sons in the house of a loving Father, and they are made positively aware of this status by holy spirit through their Lord Jesus. (Rom. 6:22; 1 Cor. 7:23; Rom. 8:15; Gal. 4:6) Rather than as just a translation from Aramaic into Greek, some see in the use of both ʼAb·baʼʹ and “Father” together, first, the trust, confidence and submissiveness of a child, followed by a mature appreciation of the filial relationship and its responsibilities. It seems evident from these texts that, in apostolic times, the Christians made use of the term ʼAb·baʼʹ in their prayers to God.

The word ʼAb·baʼʹ came to be applied as a title of honor to the Jewish rabbis in the early centuries of the Common Era and is found as such in the Babylonian Talmud. The “vice-president” of the Jewish Sanhedrin already held the title of ʼAv or ‘Father of the Sanhedrin.’ In later periods the title was also applied to the bishops of the Coptic, Ethiopic and Syrian churches and, more particularly, became the title of the Bishop of Alexandria, thereby making him the “papa” or “pope” of that part of the Eastern church. Our English words “abbot” and “abbey” are both derived from the Aramaic ʼab·baʼʹ. Jerome, the translator of the Latin Vulgate, objected to the use of the title “abbot” as applied to the Catholic monks in his time and did so on the basis that it violated Jesus’ instructions at Matthew 23:9: “Moreover, do not call anyone your father on earth, for one is your Father, the heavenly One.”

ABDA

(Abʹda) [servant].

1. The father of Adoniram. (1 Ki. 4:6) His son, Adoniram, was a prince over those conscripted for forced labor during David’s and Solomon’s reigns, and is evidently the Adoram or Hadoram referred to in other texts. (2 Sam. 20:24; 1 Ki. 12:18; 2 Chron 10:18) Hence, Abda probably was a contemporary of King David.

2. A descendant of Jeduthun, of the tribe of Levi. (Neh. 11:17, 18) Abda the Levite is evidently the same as the “Obadiah” mentioned at 1 Chronicles 9:16. He was among the exiles to return to Jerusalem from Babylon.

ABDEEL

(Abʹde·el) [servant of God].

Father of Shelemiah, one of three men sent by King Jehoiakim to seize the prophet Jeremiah and his secretary Baruch.—Jer. 36:26.

ABDI

(Abʹdi) [probably, a contracted form of “servant of Jah”].

1. A Levite of the house of Merari. He was the father of Kishi and probably a contemporary of Saul whose reign ran from 1117 to 1077 B.C.E.—1 Chron. 6:31, 33, 39, 44.

2. Also a Levite of the house of Merari. He was the father of Kish. (2 Chron. 29:12) Because of the similarity of their sons’ names some Bible dictionaries represent this Abdi and the one described above as being the same person. However, the fact that this second Abdi’s son, Kish, lived in the time of King Hezekiah some 250 years after David’s time, makes such a conclusion illogical. This second Abdi was probably a contemporary of Kings Jotham and Ahaz, whose reigns cover the period from 777 B.C.E. to 745 B.C.E.

3. One of six sons of Elam who lived in postcaptivity times. (Ezra 10:26) They were among those Israelites who had taken foreign wives but who put them away in response to Ezra’s exhortation following his return to Jerusalem in the seventh year of King Artaxerxes I (468 B.C.E.).—Ezra 7:8; 10:1-4, 10-12, 26, 44.

ABDIEL

(Abʹdi·el) [servant of God].

The son of Guni and the father of Ahi, of the tribe of Gad. (1 Chron. 5:15) He lived in the region of Gilead and Bashan in Transjordan, an area prominent for cattle raising.—Vs. 16.

ABDON

(Abʹdon) [servile].

1. A judge, the son of Hillel the Pirathonite of Ephraim. (Judg. 12:13-15) According to Josephus, his rule of eight years was one of peace, and the Bible record gives no mention of wars during that period. Abdon’s forty sons and thirty grandsons all “rode on seventy full-grown asses,” a sign of considerable wealth and rank at that time. At the end of his judgeship Abdon was buried in his native Ephraim.

Some would connect Abdon with “Bedan,” mentioned at 1 Samuel 12:11; however, Bedan is more likely identified with Barak, whose name appears in this text in both the Septuagint and the Syriac Peshitta Version.

2. A Benjamite, firstborn son of Jeiel and evidently a brother of Ner, Saul’s grandfather.—1 Chron. 8:30; 9:36, 39.

3. An official in King Josiah’s court (2 Chron. 34:20), called Achbor at 2 Kings 22:12.—See ACHBOR No. 2.

4. A son of Shashak of the tribe of Benjamin; a headman dwelling in Jerusalem.—1 Chron. 8:23-28.

5. One of four cities in the territory of Asher given to the Levites of the family of Gershon. (Josh. 21:27-30; 1 Chron. 6:71-74) It is identified with Khirbet ʽAbdeh about four miles (6.4 kilometers) E of Achzib. Abdon lies on the N side of the Wadi Qarn and at the foot of the hills of Galilee, and hence near the northern end of the plain of Asher.

ABEDNEGO

(A·bedʹne·go) [servant of Nego, the Chaldaic Mercury].

The name given to Azariah, one of the youths of the Jewish royalty or nobility taken captive by Nebuchadnezzar in 617 B.C.E. (Dan. 1:3, 4, 7) Some authorities believe “Nego” to be an intentional corruption of the name Nebo, a Babylonian god, so as not to offend Azariah. The name “Azariah” means “Jah Has Helped,” and, among themselves, it appears that these Hebrews continued to use their original names. (Dan. 2:17) In Babylon he, along with Daniel, Hananiah and Mishael, passed, with high honors, a three-year training course and a regal examination personally conducted by Nebuchadnezzar, after having first demonstrated religious integrity in matters of food and drink. (Dan. 1:4, 5, 8-20) Later, at Daniel’s request, the king made Azariah and his two companions administrators over the jurisdictional district of Babylon.—Dan. 2:49.

Abednego (Azariah), along with his two Hebrew companions, was subsequently denounced before the king by certain Chaldeans for refusing to bow down