The Lord’s Prayer in Aramaic is "ܐܒܘܢ" (Abwūn or Abwoon)

 

Here’s the breakdown of its meaning:

• "Ab" (ܐܒ) = Father

• "-oon" (ܘܢ) = our (first-person plural possessive suffix)

"Abwoon" literally means “Our Father.”

But in Aramaic, the word carries some nuances that don’t come through in the simple English translation:

1. Ab comes from the Semitic root for father, but it also carries the sense of source, origin, protector, nurturer.

2. The form Abwoon is warm and intimate, like saying “Papa/Our beloved Father.”

3. Some scholars suggest that in Galilean Aramaic, the sound could imply both father and parental source of all being—less gender-restrictive than the English "Father."

 

When Jesus said "Abwoon", it wasn’t a cold or distant title, but more like:

“O Source of Life, our loving Father-Mother, the One from whom we come.”

​

BREAKDOWN OF THE WORDS:

The first line of the Lord’s Prayer in Aramaic and break it down word by word.

 

ܐܒܘܢ ܕܒܫܡܝܐ
ʾAbwūn d’bashmayyā

Word-by-word meaning:

1. ܐܒܘܢ (ʾAbwūn)

   • "Our Father"

   • From Ab = Father, Source, Origin + -oon = our.

   • Intimate, nurturing sense, not just authority.

2. ܕ (d’)

   • A connector: “who / which / that.”

   • Functions like a relative pronoun.

3. ܒܫܡܝܐ (bashmayyā)

   • From b- = in, within

   • shmaya = heavens, skies, the cosmos, higher realms

   • Together: “in the heavens” or more spiritually, “in the shining universes / in the divine realms.”

 

The first line means:

“Our Father, who art in the heavens.”
But with the deeper Aramaic flavor, it can be rendered as:
“O Birther, Father-Mother of the Cosmos, you who dwell in the heavenly realms.”

The wording reflects both intimacy (our Father) and expansiveness (the One who fills the heavens).

The entire Lord’s Prayer in Aramaic step by step, word by word, with both literal and deeper meanings.

​

ܐܒܘܢ ܕܒܫܡܝܐ

Abwūn d’bashmayyā

• Abwūn = Our Father, Source of all life

• d’ = who, that

• bashmayyā = in the heavens (heavenly realms, cosmos, spiritual dimensions)

“Our Father, who art in the heavens.”
Or more deeply: “O Source of the Universe, dwelling in the heavenly realms.”

​

ܢܬܩܕܫ ܫܡܟ

Nethqaddash shmakh

• nethqaddash = may it be made holy, sanctified, set apart

• shmakh = your name (shem = name, essence, vibration, reputation)

“Hallowed be Thy name.”
Deeper: “May Your Name/Essence be kept holy and shine through all creation.”

​

ܬܐܬܐ ܡܠܟܘܬܟ

Tethē malkuthakh

• tethē = may it come

• malkuthakh = your kingdom (malkutha = reign, kingdom, divine rule + -kh = your)

“Thy kingdom come.”
Deeper: “May Your reign of unity and harmony unfold within us.”

​

ܢܗܘܐ ܨܒܝܢܟ

Nehwēh ṣebyanakh

• nehwēh = let it be, may it happen

• ṣebyanakh = your will, desire, intention

“Thy will be done.”
Deeper: “May Your desire and loving purpose take form.”

​

ܐܝܟܢܐ ܕܒܫܡܝܐ ܐܦ ܒܐܪܥܐ

Aykanna d’bashmayyā af b’arʿā

• aykanna = as, just as

• d’bashmayyā = in the heavens

• af = also

• b’arʿā = in the earth, material world

“On earth as it is in heaven.”
Deeper: “As above in the cosmic order, so below in the human heart and earth.”

​

ܗܒ ܠܢ ܠܚܡܐ ܕܣܘܢܩܢܢ ܝܘܡܢܐ

Hav lan lakhma d’sunqanan yawmana

• hav = give

• lan = to us

• lakhma = bread, sustenance (literal bread, but also “that which sustains life”)

• d’sunqanan = of our need, what we require

• yawmana = this day, today

“Give us this day our daily bread.”
Deeper: “Grant us the nourishment we need—physical, emotional, and spiritual—for today.”

​

ܘܫܒܘܩ ܠܢ ܚܘܒܝܢ ܐܝܟܢܐ ܕܐܦ ܚܢܢ ܫܒܩܢ ܠܚܝܒܝܢ

Washbuq lan ḥawbayn aykanna d’af ḥnan shbaqan l’ḥaybayn

• washbuq = and forgive, release, let go

• lan = us

• ḥawbayn = our debts, sins, failings (literally “what we owe”)

• aykanna = as, just as

• d’af = also

• ḥnan = we

• shbaqan = have forgiven, released

• l’ḥaybayn = to those who are indebted to us / who have wronged us

“Forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors.”
Deeper: “Release our shortcomings, just as we release the mistakes of others.”

 

ܘܠܐ ܬܥܠܢ ܠܢܣܝܘܢܐ

Wela taʿlan l’nesyona

• wela = and do not

• taʿlan = bring us into, lead us into

• l’nesyona = trial, temptation, testing

“And lead us not into temptation.”
Deeper: “Do not let us fall into the grip of trial or illusion.”

​

ܐܠܐ ܦܨܢ ܡܢ ܒܝܫܐ

Ela paṣṣan min bisha

• ela = but

• paṣṣan = deliver us, rescue us

• min = from

• bisha = evil, harm, the destructive one, confusion

“But deliver us from evil.”
Deeper: “Rescue us from what harms, from error and destructive forces.”

 

(Later doxology, not in earliest manuscripts)

Metul dilakhie malkutha wahayla wateshbukhta l’alam almin. Ameyn.

• “For thine is the kingdom, the power, and the glory forever. Amen.”
  (This line was added in later Greek tradition, not in earliest Aramaic texts.)