Definitions
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.
- noun Lord. Used in Judaism as a spoken substitute for the ineffable name of God.
from The Century Dictionary.
- noun A Hebrew name of God, reverentially used in reading as a substitute for the “ineffable name” JHVH, that is, Jehovah. See
Adonist and Jehovah.
from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.
- noun A Hebrew name for God, usually translated in the Old Testament by the word “Lord”.
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.
- proper noun
YHWH , theineffable name of God, is read as Adonai ("My Lord") or asElohim . The word Adonai is normally used only in prayer, else the speaker risks taking the Lord’s name in vain. In normal speech, the wordHaShem ("The Name") is used instead.
Etymologies
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License
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Examples
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[3299] All that can be remarked on this is, that the Jews substituted the term Adonai (#D+N+aJ+) for the name Jehovah, as often as the latter occurred in the sacred text.
ANF01. The Apostolic Fathers with Justin Martyr and Irenaeus 1819-1893 2001
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The term Adonai is used in the Shema prayer that is the ultimate prayer for Jews.
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The term Adonai is used in the Shema prayer that is the ultimate prayer for Jews.
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"Adonai" is the Hebrew for "Lord" (subsituted in for YHWH when reading aloud from the Torah).
Losts in Translation Hal Duncan 2006
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"Adonai" is the Hebrew for "Lord" (subsituted in for YHWH when reading aloud from the Torah).
Archive 2006-03-01 Hal Duncan 2006
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Greenberg explains that "the word Adonai comes from a root meaning support for a pole of the tabernacle, so I often translate it as Foundation or Upholder."
Archive 2009-01-01 Rus Bowden 2009
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As to the appellation Adonai, sometimes it denotes what is nameable [3299] and admirable; but at other times, when the letter Daleth in it is doubled, and the word receives an initial
ANF01. The Apostolic Fathers with Justin Martyr and Irenaeus 1819-1893 2001
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The word Adonai signifies Sovereign Creator of all things.
The Mysteries of Free Masonry Containing All the Degrees of the Order Conferred in a Master's Lodge William Morgan
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Whenever it occurs in the Hebrew Text, they substitute the word Adonai in its place.
The Mysteries of Free Masonry Containing All the Degrees of the Order Conferred in a Master's Lodge William Morgan
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Adonai, is very emphatic, and intimates a very awful sense of God's glorious majesty and a dread of his wrath.
Commentary on the Whole Bible Volume III (Job to Song of Solomon) 1721
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