Despite all this, however, there remains throughout the Old Testament a certain reserve about the father metaphor for God.10 There are nearly half a million words in the Hebrew Bible, yet God is only portrayed as a father some fifteen times.11 It is almost as if these rare instances of the God of Israel being called (or calling Himself) “father” are placeholders, awaiting some unforeseen future revelation that will cause them to take on a new resonance. When we turn to the New Testament, we immediately