The Lord (used as a proper name of God only)
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אֲדֹנָי (Adonai) is the Hebrew word for Lord — specifically, the plural-of-majesty form of adon (lord, master) used exclusively of God. It appears 445 times in the OT, concentrated especially in the Psalms, Isaiah, and Ezekiel.
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Full entry for אֲדֹנָי (H136) · Open the biblical lexicon
אֲדֹנָי (Adonai) is the Hebrew word for Lord — specifically, the plural-of-majesty form of adon (lord, master) used exclusively of God. It appears 445 times in the OT, concentrated especially in the Psalms, Isaiah, and Ezekiel.
The BSB source-word alignment has 440 aligned rows for this entry. Common renderings include the Lord (306), O Lord (55), of the Lord (22), Lord (20), am the Lord (5).
The source-word alignment first shows this entry at Genesis 15:2. Its strongest book concentrations include Ezekiel (222), Psalms (54), Isaiah (48), Amos (25).
אֲדֹנָי (Adonai) is the Hebrew word for Lord — specifically, the plural-of-majesty form of adon (lord, master) used exclusively of God. It appears 445 times in the OT, concentrated especially in the Psalms, Isaiah, and Ezekiel. Its significance lies in two overlapping realities: first, it is one of the primary titles for God as sovereign ruler; second, it became the spoken substitute for the divine name YHWH in Jewish tradition, read aloud wherever the consonants YHWH appear in the text. This means Adonai and YHWH are deeply intertwined in the OT's self-presentation of God.
Isaiah 6:1 is the central text: 'In the year that King Uzziah died I saw the Lord (Adonai) sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up; and the train of his robe filled the temple.' The throne vision establishes Adonai as the one whose sovereignty surpasses every human throne — Uzziah's death marks a political transition, but the Adonai Isaiah sees is permanently enthroned. The seraphim cry 'Holy, holy, holy is the Lord (YHWH) of hosts' (Isa 6:3) — Adonai and YHWH are interchangeable in the vision. Isaiah sees the enthroned Adonai, and the NT interprets this vision as a seeing of Christ's glory (Jhn 12:41).
Psalm 110:1 is the most cited OT verse in the NT: 'The Lord (YHWH) says to my Lord (Adonai): Sit at my right hand, until I make your enemies your footstool.' The text distinguishes two persons both called Lord: YHWH and the Adonai to whom YHWH speaks. Jesus uses this in Matthew 22:44 to ask whose son the Messiah is, arguing from the text that David calls his son 'my Lord' — a claim that only makes sense if the Messiah is more than a human descendant of David. The NT reads Psalm 110:1 as the throne-text for Christ's exaltation and session at the right hand of the Father.
Ezekiel uses the combination Adonai YHWH (Lord God) over 200 times — the concentrated assertion of God's sovereignty throughout Ezekiel's vision of judgment and restoration. The Adonai who sends Ezekiel to a rebellious house (Ezek 2:4) is the same Adonai whose glory departs the temple (Ezek 10) and whose glory returns to the restored temple (Ezek 43). The Adonai YHWH is both the Judge who drives the people into exile and the Restorer who brings them back.
For the preacher, אֲדֹנָי (Adonai) is the title that insists God is sovereign Lord before he is anything else, and that the only right posture before him is the posture of one who has a Lord.
אֲדֹנָי (Adonai) appears 445 times in the OT, making it one of the most common divine titles. The Psalms use it in prayer and worship; Isaiah concentrates it in the vision and the servant songs; Ezekiel uses the compound Adonai YHWH throughout. The title expresses sovereignty and the personal relationship of Lord-to-servant, and it carries the theological weight of both the divine name (as its spoken substitute) and the lordship claim (as the primary royal title for God).
In the year that King Uzziah died, I saw the Lord seated on a throne, high and exalted; and the train of His robe filled the temple.
The foundational throne vision: Isaiah sees Adonai enthroned. The year of Uzziah's death is a political landmark, but the Adonai Isaiah sees is on a throne that is 'high and lifted up' (ram wenissa) — exalted beyond all earthly thrones. The train (the hem of the royal robe) filling the temple expresses the fullness of divine presence — the temple cannot contain the one who fills it. The NT (Jhn 12:41) identifies the Adonai of Isaiah 6 as Christ: Isaiah saw Christ's glory and spoke of him.
The Lord said to my Lord: “Sit at My right hand until I make Your enemies a footstool for Your feet.”
The messianic throne text: YHWH addresses someone David calls Adonai — 'my Lord.' The Adonai is invited to sit at YHWH's right hand, the position of supreme honor. Jesus uses this text in Matthew 22:44 to argue that the Messiah is more than David's son: David calls his son 'Lord' (Adonai), which requires the Messiah to be divine, not merely human. The NT applies this text to Christ's exaltation at least 20 times, making Psalm 110:1 the most-cited OT verse in the NT.
O Lord, hear my voice; let Your ears be attentive to my plea for mercy.
The address of prayer: Adonai as the Lord who hears. Psalm 130 is the De Profundis — 'out of the depths I cry to you, O Lord' (v. 1 — using YHWH). Verse 2 shifts to Adonai: 'Lord (Adonai), hear my voice.' The interchangeability of YHWH and Adonai in a single psalm is typical of the OT's fluid use of the divine titles. The Adonai who hears is the sovereign one who is also near enough to hear — both transcendence (enthroned) and immanence (attentive) are held together in the address.
They are obstinate and stubborn children. I am sending you to them, and you are to say to them, ‘This is what the Lord God says.’
The prophetic formula Adonai YHWH in Ezekiel: the compound title of absolute sovereignty. Ezekiel is sent to a rebellious house, and the commission comes from Adonai YHWH — the sovereign Lord whose word must be delivered regardless of whether the hearers receive it. The compound title intensifies the claim: this is not merely a national deity but the absolute sovereign whose word stands even when his people resist it.
Surely the Lord God does nothing without revealing His plan to His servants the prophets.
The prophetic principle: Adonai YHWH acts in history, and before he acts he reveals his intention to his prophets. The sovereignty of Adonai is not arbitrary or opaque — it is communicative, disclosing its purposes to those who serve it. This is the ground of prophetic confidence: the Adonai who is enthroned and rules all things also speaks, and the prophets have been told. The preacher who stands to deliver God's word stands in this tradition of those to whom Adonai reveals his purposes.
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How English Renders ItA compact distribution from source-word alignment before the full evidence tables.
Hebrew word. Reverent substitution for YHWH in speech and reading, marking covenantal authority and personal devotion to God.
Reverent substitution for YHWH in speech and reading, marking covenantal authority and personal devotion to God.
the Lord (used as a proper name of God only) BDB: lord Usage: (my) Lord.
How this word appears across different grammatical cases and numbers.
Selected passage-level study witnesses for this word. This section is not the full occurrence list.
Showing 1 selected witness from 445 lexical occurrence verses.
אֲדֹנָי is built from this root:
Compound and idiomatic phrases that include this word. Follow a link to study the phrase and how its parts work together.
אֲדֹנָי (Adonai) establishes the fundamental relationship between God and the one who addresses him: Lord and servant. Every prayer addressed to Adonai begins with an acknowledgment that the one praying is not in charge — the one on the throne is. Isaiah 6 establishes the visual vocabulary: the Adonai Isaiah sees is high, lifted up, sovereign, filling the temple with his glory, surrounded by worshipping seraphs.
This is the calibration point for how the OT understands the one it calls Lord. The NT's use of Psalm 110:1 — YHWH addressing the Adonai who is David's Son and David's Lord — shows that the lordship title carries into the identity of Christ: the one seated at the right hand of the Father is the Adonai to whom all things are being subjected. The preacher who handles Adonai faithfully will resist the flattening of God into a helpful resource or a cosmic assistant; the title insists that God is Lord, and the human role is servant.
The practical force of this is enormous: the believer does not instruct Adonai; they inquire, petition, and receive from the one who rules. Isaiah's 'Here I am! Send me' (Isa 6:8) is the right posture before the enthroned Adonai.
Isa.6.1
אֲדֹנָי (Adonai) is the plural-of-majesty form of adon (H113, lord, master). The plural is not a numerical plural (it does not mean 'lords') but an intensifying or dignifying plural — the same grammatical construction as Elohim (God) from El. The first-person possessive suffix -ay ('my') is embedded in the form — Adonai means literally 'my Lord' or 'my Lords' in the majesty sense.
In the Masoretic text, when the consonants YHWH appear in the text, the vowel points of Adonai are written under the YHWH consonants as a reading instruction: the reader is to say Adonai, not attempt to pronounce YHWH (which Jewish tradition regards as too holy to articulate). This is the origin of the name 'Jehovah' — a hybrid of the YHWH consonants with the Adonai vowels, which was never the intended pronunciation.
The Greek NT uses Kyrios (Lord) to translate both YHWH and Adonai from the LXX, which is why 'Lord' in the NT can carry the full weight of both the divine name and the sovereignty title.
The NT's use of Kyrios (Lord) for Christ draws on both YHWH and Adonai from the OT through the LXX, which translates both as Kyrios. Philippians 2:9-11 — 'God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow... and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord (Kyrios)' — applies to Christ the divine name (YHWH/Adonai) that the OT reserves exclusively for God.
This is one of the NT's highest Christological claims: Christ receives the Adonai title in its fullest sense. Romans 10:13 quotes Joel 2:32 ('everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved') and applies it to calling on the name of Jesus — the Adonai/YHWH of Joel becomes the Jesus of the gospel. The confession 'Jesus is Lord' (Kyrios Iesous, Rom 10:9) is the NT's way of saying Jesus is Adonai — the one whose lordship stands over all creation, before whom every knee will bow.
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