# abba



## Wen24

Hi~, 
I like the song of "Abba, ojcze" recently. But I still don't know the meaning of "abba" after translation.
Does anyone know it?


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## ornityna

It's from the Bible and it means 'father,' but it is not a Polish word.


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## Wen24

Aha, thank you.


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## Ben Jamin

The word _abba_ comes from the Aramaic language that was the language of common people in Palestine under the Roman rule.


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## grassy

Ben Jamin said:


> the Aramaic language that was the language of common people in Palestine under the Roman rule.



Were there more Aramaic languages?


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## MB

grassy said:


> Were there more Aramaic languages?



What'd you specifically mean?


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## NotNow

Abba does not mean father in regard to the disco group.  The name was formed by using the first letter of the first names of the group members: Agnetha, Bjorn, Benny, and Anni.  Furthermore, the word abba should not be translated as father.  It is an intimate term for a male parent.  The closest equivalents are daddy, tatus, or papa but even these do not convey the connotation of the Hebrew and Aramaic word.


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## Ben Jamin

NotNow said:


> Furthermore, the word abba should not be translated as father.  It is an intimate term for a male parent.  The closest equivalents are daddy, tatus, or papa but even these do not convey the connotation of the Hebrew and Aramaic word.


Can you quote any sources?


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## NotNow

I remember this from my theology and Hebrew courses.  You can find many sources by googling the word abba.  This is one example: Abba - Definition and Meaning, Bible Dictionary

BTW I'm having a lot of trouble with inserting quotes.  Evidently, Ben Jamin did too.


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## Ben Jamin

I am surprised to see such explanation of the word. I have always read that "abba"= father, and there is no other word, deprived of emotional conotation in Aramaic or Hebrew. I will check it with the appropriate forum.


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## Ben Jamin

Not Now:
See this
Aramaic: abba


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## wolfbm1

"Abba, Ojcze" is the expresion Jesus used in the New Testament (Mark 14:36). It teaches Jesus' followers to think of the Creator as "my Father" or "our Father", somebody close, not distant.*

* Compare this quotation from
*Abba, Father*
by Dr. Ralph F. Wilson
<It is very likely that in all Jesus' teaching about the Father -- "my Father," "your Father," etc. -- that the warm, intimate Aramaic word _´abbā´_ was the word Jesus actually used. Jesus introduced us to God as our Father in a way unheard of in the Old Testament or in Judaism.>
9. Abba, Father -- Names and Titles of God

In the music album "ABBA PATER" (Sony Music), in song number 4, you will find a similar explanation:
"For Jesus, God is not only the Father of Israel and the Father of mankind, but also his Father and my Father."
Such father does not abondon his children. So they need not be afraid of anything.


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## Ben Jamin

The question was: is Abba a special word, not used as an ordinary word for father, or is it not.
See the thread qouted in post #11. The question seems to be answered by a Yes by the posters.


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## wolfbm1

I know the word "abba" from the expression "Abba, Ojcze." That is a title of a very popular religious song in Poland. Wen24 might have heard it during the recent World Youth Day in Krakow, Poland. The word "abba" was used in the Arameic language and, as NotNow has said, in (modern ?) Hebrew.
I do not know much about Hebrew and nothing about Arameic. 
I can only say that the word "abba", for me, has a strong religious context. I explained it in my previous post.
I could add that the word "Ojcze" is also mostly used in a religious context. It shows respect. I would never address my own father as "Ojcze" in the vocative. I woud say "tato" or "tatusiu."


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## Ben Jamin

The question is not about how a Pole uses the word Abba or Ojciec, but how Aramaic Jews in Palestine used it in the 1st century CE.


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## wolfbm1

Wen24's question is:
<I like the song of "Abba, ojcze" recently. But I still don't know the meaning of "abba" after translation.
Does anyone know it?>

Wen24 did not say it, but I have a feeling that for her the two words in the expression "Abba, ojcze" were Polish. 
Ornityna, in post #2, had the same feeling and said that "abba" was not a Polish word. 

You explained the meaning of the word "abba."
I tried to explain what I think the meaning of the whole Polish expression is. I hope that Wen24 will get the meaning of the word "abba" in the Polish song  she likes.


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## Ben Jamin

I understand both "abba" and "ojcze", but I'm not sure what the meaning of the sum of them is. I have a feeling that the people that have produced this line think that "abba" has some overnatural meaning, being used in the Bible, and maybe for them it has ...


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## Majidou

I have no idea about Aramaic, but Abba means Father In Moroccan Arabic  Exactly it means oh my father, so: Ojcze in Polish!)


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## Ben Jamin

Majidou said:


> I have no idea about Aramaic, but Abba means Father In Moroccan Arabic  Exactly it means oh my father, so: Ojcze in Polish!)


Father is "OJCIEC" in Polish. OJCZE! is a vocative case.


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## Piotr_WRF

The vocative _ojcze_ is a very fitting translation for _oh my father_, wouldn't you agree?


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## Majidou

Yes, ABBA is also a vocative case in Moroccan Arabic. In Moroccan "A" is used instead of "Ya", the Classical Arabic word for the vocative. Bba is a kind of contraction of Abi, My father


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## Ben Jamin

Not quite. "Oh my father" sounds much more pompous. The correct translation of "ojcze" is "father!". By the way, "ojcze" is not a form people use everyday today, it is used mostly in theatre (mostly historical plays) and on special occasions, yet it is still a few notches on the scale from "oh my father".

Most people being at good terms with their father will say "tato" (vocative of "dad").


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