📖 Biblical Definition
A primary Hebrew title for God meaning Lord, Master, Owner, used hundreds of times in the Old Testament. Adonai is plural in form (a plural of majesty) and emphasizes God's sovereign authority and proprietary right. By reverent Jewish reading tradition, Adonai is spoken aloud whenever the Tetragrammaton (YHWH) appears in the text, since the divine Name itself is held in too high reverence to pronounce. Lord in small caps in English Bibles signals YHWH; Lord in normal capitalization signals Adonai.
📜 Webster 1828 Definition
ADONAI, n.
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A scriptural divine title; in Hebrew, “my Lord; Master.”
📖 Key Scripture
Genesis 15:2 — "Lord God, what wilt thou give me, seeing I go childless?"
Psalm 8:1 — "O Lord our Lord, how excellent is thy name in all the earth!"
Isaiah 6:1 — "I saw also the Lord sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up."
Malachi 1:6 — "A son honoureth his father, and a servant his master: if then I be a father, where is mine honour? and if I be a master, where is my fear?"
⚠️ Modern Corruption
Modern Christianity calls God “friend” without first calling Him Adonai.
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Adonai is the Hebrew word for owner, master, lord. In Malachi 1:6 the Lord asks pointedly: if I be a master, where is my fear? The address Adonai presupposes ownership: the slave acknowledges the master's right to command. Christ Himself takes the title in Luke 6:46: why call ye me, Lord, Lord, and do not the things which I say?
Modern Christianity often jumps directly to the friendship and love of God without first acknowledging His mastery. The friendship is genuine; the order matters. Adonai first, then Friend. The slave who calls his Master Adonai and obeys becomes a friend (John 15:14-15); the man who calls Him friend without first calling Him Adonai has invented his own god.
🔗 Greek & Hebrew Roots
Hebrew/Greek roots below.
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H136 — Adonai — Lord; Master
H113 — adon — lord, master
Usage
"Modern Christianity calls God “friend” without first calling Him Adonai."
"Adonai presupposes ownership; the slave acknowledges the Master's right to command."
"Adonai first, then Friend; the order matters."