ἀββα

In the NT the word is composed into a formula αββα ὁ πατήρ [abba ho patér] (3x in the NT: Mark 14:36; Rom 8:15; Gal 4:6), in which God is addressed as the Father, who is not distant from humans. The phase could be literally translated as “father, father.” Thus, God is addressed in the same way, with respect to the content. However, using different words in such a manner points to emphasize the fact of the content. The use of the Aramaic word אַבָּא [abba] is not an exhortation to any infantile addressing of God. Therefore, there is no way to prove the popular tendency to translate this word as a daddy or dad (as Joachim Jeremias suggests, while James Barr and Ernst Haenchen refute).