Beloved Names of God.... Adonai

Beloved Names of God

Adonai

"But Abram said, "Sovereign LORD, what can you give me since I remain childless and the one who will inherit my estate is Eliezer of Damascus?"

Genesis 15:2 NIV

 

• Name of God the Father
• The word Adonai doesn't actually appear in the Bible. The translation, "Sovereign Lord," appears 296
• Adonai is actually a plural or emphatic version of Adon, meaning "Lord." The word Adonai is used as a substitute for the tetragrammaton "YHWH."
• When Abram heard the world of the Lord promising to be his very great reward, it is the first time in the Bible that God is addressed as Adonai.

So why use the plural term Adonai when the singular, Adon, means "Lord"?

 

For an earthly example of this we might look to the United Kingdom where the kind ore queen never refers to themselves as I. As sovereign Queen Elizabeth II uses the royal plural, as in, "We think that would be an excellent idea!" In doing so, she emphasizes the fact that she speaks no only as an individual but also as the nation she represents. It would be nice to think of God speaking for Himself- and for all of Creation (as He surely does).

 

For God to by known  by a name that signifies more than one lord doesn't mean there is more than one God. It means that He is much more than just a lord.

 

Perhaps it's a way of saying "Lord of lords." Or it may, as scholars think, refer to all the aspect of God: i.e., Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.