Aramaic word · H2

אַב

'avohotana'

father

Father, but also grandfather, ancestor, founder of a line, predecessor in an office, and a respectful title. It is shared across Semitic languages with the same breadth (Hebrew ʾāb, Akkadian abu).

A Biblical Aramaic word, from the parts of the Old Testament written in Aramaic. Why Aramaic?

Appears 9 times in 7 verses of the Aramaic of the Old Testament. ·

What it means

father

Aramaic of av (אָב "father" H0001)

Abridged from Brown, Driver and Briggs, A Hebrew and English Lexicon of the Old Testament (1906), via STEPBible.org (CC BY 4.0).

In depth

From the study of Daniel 5:2

Range of meaning

Father, but also grandfather, ancestor, founder of a line, predecessor in an office, and a respectful title. It is shared across Semitic languages with the same breadth (Hebrew ʾāb, Akkadian abu).

Against the English

Most versions keep "father" (NIV and ESV footnote "ancestor" or "predecessor"). The NLT renders it "his predecessor." English "father" usually means only the biological parent.

How it drifted

Modern English rarely uses "father" for an ancestor or royal predecessor, except in set phrases like "forefathers" or "founding fathers."

Used elsewhere in the period

In the Bible: Abraham as "father" of distant descendants (Gen 17:4; Josh 24:3); "David your father" said to kings generations later (2 Kgs 18:3; 22:2). Assyrian inscriptions call Jehu "son of Omri" (properly "of the house of Omri") though he was no relative and in fact destroyed Omri's dynasty. Baruch 1:11–12 likewise pairs "Nebuchadnezzar … and Belshazzar his son." Babylonian sources (the Nabonidus Cylinder from Ur, the Nabonidus Chronicle, the Verse Account) show Belshazzar was Nabonidus's son.

From the study of Daniel 5:18

Range of meaning

Father; also grandfather or forefather, the founder of a line, and in royal usage a predecessor on the throne. It can also be used of a mentor or patron.

Against the English

Most versions say 'your father'. NLT, as elsewhere in this chapter, renders it 'predecessor' and footnotes the Aramaic 'father'. Modern readers will usually assume a biological father.

How it drifted

English 'father' is normally a narrow biological term. Ancient Semitic kinship words were broader and could express dynasty and succession.

Used elsewhere in the period

Assyrian records call Jehu 'son of Omri' (Black Obelisk of Shalmaneser III) even though Jehu wiped out Omri's dynasty. Hebrew 'āb is used of grandfathers and distant ancestors (e.g. 2 Kgs 14:3; Jer 35:6). Baruch 1:11–12 likewise pairs 'Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon' with 'Belshazzar his son'.

Where it appears

Ezra · 2

  1. Ezra 4:15 אֲבָהָתָ֗ךְ fathers your

    that a search should be made of the record books of your fathers. In these books you will discover and verify that the city is a rebellious city, harmful to kings and provinces, inciting sedition from ancient times. That is why this city was destroyed.

  2. Ezra 5:12 אֲבָהֳתַ֙נָא֙ fathers our

    But since our fathers angered the God of heaven, He delivered them into the hand of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, the Chaldean who destroyed this temple and carried away the people to Babylon.

Daniel · 7

  1. Daniel 2:23 אֲבָהָתִ֗י fathers my

    To You, O God of my fathers, I give thanks and praise, because You have given me wisdom and power. And now You have made known to me what we have requested, for You have made known to us the dream of the king.”

    Here: "My fathers" means my ancestors: Abraham, Isaac, Jacob and the generations of Israel. In exile in Babylon, Daniel names the God of his own people, not a Babylonian god.

  2. Daniel 5:2 אֲב֔וּהִי father his

    Under the influence of the wine, Belshazzar gave orders to bring in the gold and silver vessels that Nebuchadnezzar his father had taken from the temple in Jerusalem, so that the king could drink from them, along with his nobles, his wives, and his concubines.

    Here: "His father." Belshazzar's actual father was Nabonidus, so here the word probably means royal ancestor or predecessor, a common ancient usage. The chapter repeats it (vv.11, 13, 18, 22) to set Belshazzar against the king whose lesson he ignored.

  3. Daniel 5:11 אֲב֗וּךְ אֲב֔וּךְ אֲב֥וּךְ father your

    There is a man in your kingdom who has the spirit of the holy gods in him. In the days of your father he was found to have insight, intelligence, and wisdom like that of the gods. Your father, King Nebuchadnezzar, appointed him chief of the magicians, enchanters, astrologers, and diviners. Your own father, the king,

    Here: 'Your father', meaning Nebuchadnezzar. In Semitic usage 'father' can mean ancestor or royal predecessor as well as a man's biological father (see debates).

  4. Daniel 5:13 אַ֖בִי father my

    So Daniel was brought before the king, who asked him, “Are you Daniel, one of the exiles my father the king brought from Judah?

  5. Daniel 5:18 אֲבֽוּךְ׃ father your

    As for you, O king, the Most High God gave your father Nebuchadnezzar sovereignty and greatness, glory and honor.

    Here: 'Your father'. In Aramaic and wider Semitic usage the word covers biological father, ancestor and royal predecessor. It ties Belshazzar to Nebuchadnezzar's dynasty and so to his responsibility (see debates).

Word data: STEPBible.org (CC BY 4.0), main text only.