H136 — אֲדֹנָי (Adonai)¶

Core Data¶

Strong's: H136
Original: אֲדֹנָי
Transliteration: Adonai (Strong's: ʼĂdônây)
Pronunciation: ad-o-noy
Part of Speech: Masculine noun (used as divine title)
Root / Related: H113 אָדוֹן (adon) — "lord, master"; H136 is the emphatic / honorific form reserved for God
Occurrences: 430 unique verses (446 tokens) across 25 books
First Occurrence: Gen 15:2 — "And Abram said, Lord GOD, what wilt thou give me, seeing I go childless..."
Hapax Legomenon: No

Lexicon Definition¶

Strong's: "an emphatic form of [H113 adon]; the Lord (used as a proper name of God only): — (my) Lord."

The form is morphologically a plural of majesty (pluralis majestatis) of H113 אָדוֹן (adon, "lord, master") with a first-person singular suffix — literally "my lords" but functioning as a singular honorific title. By the post-exilic period, אֲדֹנָי was treated as a proper divine title distinct from ordinary adon (H113), which is used of human masters.

Qere Perpetuum — Oral Substitute for YHWH¶

Adonai's most distinctive function in the Masoretic tradition is as the qere perpetuum ("perpetual read-aloud") substitute for the Tetragrammaton יהוה (H3068 YHWH). To avoid pronouncing the divine name, Jewish readers orally substituted אֲדֹנָי whenever the text wrote יהוה. The Masoretes signaled this by pointing יהוה with the vowels of אֲדֹנָי (shewa-holem-qamets), yielding the familiar hybrid pointing Yəhōwāh.

When Christian readers of the later medieval period combined the consonants of יהוה with these Adonai vowels — ignoring the qere convention — the artificial Latinized form "Iehouah / Jehovah" was produced. "Jehovah" is thus a vowel-point hybrid: YHWH consonants + Adonai vowels, not an authentic pronunciation of either word.

When יהוה and אֲדֹנָי stood together in the text (אֲדֹנָי יהוה), reading יהוה as "Adonai" would produce "Adonai Adonai"; to avoid this, the Masoretes pointed the second word with the vowels of אֱלֹהִים (Elohim), and the reader said "Adonai Elohim." This is why KJV renders such compounds "Lord GOD" (with GOD in small caps).

Translation Distribution (KJV)¶

Translation	Count	%
the Lord	296	68.8%
O Lord	42	9.8%
Lord	25	5.8%
of the Lord	20	4.7%
The Lord	15	3.5%
my Lord	7	1.6%
of the LORD / the LORD / O LORD	7	1.7%
Other (and my Lord, our Lord, etc.)	18	4.2%

KJV consistently renders H136 as "Lord" (mixed case), distinct from "LORD" (all caps) used for H3068 YHWH. When H136 and H3068 occur together (Adonai YHWH), KJV uses "Lord GOD."

Distribution by Book¶

Book	Count	Per 100 Verses
Ezekiel	215	16.9
Amos	24	16.4
Lamentations	13	8.4
Obadiah	1	4.8
Isaiah	48	3.7
Malachi	2	3.6
Daniel	9	2.5
Psalms	55	2.2
Zephaniah	1	1.9
Habakkuk	1	1.8
Jeremiah	13	1.0
Nehemiah	4	1.0
Micah	1	1.0
2 Samuel	6	0.9
Zechariah	2	0.9
Joshua	5	0.8
1 Kings	5	0.6
Judges	4	0.6
Genesis	8	0.5
Hosea	1	0.5
Exodus	5	0.4
2 Kings, Deuteronomy, Numbers, Job	7	<0.3

The distribution is heavily prophetic — Ezekiel alone accounts for half of all occurrences, driven by his signature formula "saith the Lord GOD" (Adonai YHWH). Amos shares the same high density. In the Torah, Adonai is rare and concentrated in direct address to God (Abraham, Moses, Joshua). Psalms clusters the vocative uses in laments and petitions.

Semantic Categories¶

1. Vocative Address to God in Prayer¶

Most early occurrences are on human lips addressing God directly — expressing dependence, reverence, and the speaker's servant-status before a sovereign master.

Gen 15:2 — "And Abram said, Lord GOD (Adonai YHWH), what wilt thou give me..."
Gen 15:8 — "And he said, Lord GOD (Adonai YHWH), whereby shall I know that I shall inherit it?"
Gen 18:3 — "My Lord (Adonai), if now I have found favour in thy sight, pass not away..." (Abraham to the three visitors)
Exo 4:10 — "And Moses said unto the LORD, O my Lord (Adonai), I am not eloquent..."
Deu 3:24 — "O Lord GOD (Adonai YHWH), thou hast begun to shew thy servant thy greatness..."
Neh 1:11 — "O Lord (Adonai), I beseech thee, let now thine ear be attentive..."

2. Sovereign Enthroned — Divine Majesty¶

The title emphasizes God as cosmic ruler and owner, often in visions of the throne or the heavenly court.

Isa 6:1 — "I saw also the Lord (Adonai) sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up..."
Isa 6:8 — "Also I heard the voice of the Lord (Adonai), saying, Whom shall I send..."
Psa 2:4 — "He that sitteth in the heavens shall laugh: the Lord (Adonai) shall have them in derision."
Psa 8:1 — "O LORD (YHWH) our Lord (Adonai), how excellent is thy name in all the earth!"
Psa 110:1 — "The LORD (YHWH) said unto my Lord (Adon, H113)..." (note: v.1 uses H113; v.5 uses H136)
Psa 110:5 — "The Lord (Adonai) at thy right hand shall strike through kings..."
Josh 3:11 — "the ark of the covenant of the Lord (Adonai) of all the earth"

3. Prophetic Messenger Formula — "Thus saith the Lord GOD"¶

In Ezekiel and Amos the compound "Adonai YHWH" anchors the prophetic oracle formula, asserting divine authority behind the prophet's words.

Eze 2:4 — "Thus saith the Lord GOD (Adonai YHWH)"
Amos 3:7 — "Surely the Lord GOD (Adonai YHWH) will do nothing, but he revealeth his secret unto his servants the prophets."
Amos 3:8 — "The lion hath roared, who will not fear? the Lord GOD hath spoken, who can but prophesy?"
Isa 7:7 — "Thus saith the Lord GOD, It shall not stand, neither shall it come to pass."
Oba 1:1 — "Thus saith the Lord GOD concerning Edom..."

4. Judge and Warrior — Day of the Lord Contexts¶

The title appears in judgment oracles where God acts as master exacting covenant obligation or fighting on Israel's behalf.

Isa 3:17-18 — "the Lord will smite with a scab... In that day the Lord will take away the bravery..."
Isa 10:12 — "when the Lord hath performed his whole work upon mount Zion..."
Zep 1:7 — "Hold thy peace at the presence of the Lord GOD: for the day of the LORD is at hand"
Lam 2:1 — "How hath the Lord covered the daughter of Zion with a cloud in his anger"

5. Covenant Confession and Doxology¶

In Psalms and prayers of confession, Adonai marks personal acknowledgment of God's mastery.

Psa 16:2 — "thou hast said unto the LORD, Thou art my Lord (Adonai)"
Psa 86:12 — "I will praise thee, O Lord (Adonai) my God, with all my heart"
Psa 130:3 — "If thou, LORD, shouldest mark iniquities, O Lord (Adonai), who shall stand?"
Dan 9:3-4 — "And I set my face unto the Lord (Adonai) God... O Lord (Adonai), the great and dreadful God..."

6. Compound "Adonai YHWH" (Lord GOD)¶

The pairing of H136 with H3068 appears ~300 times and is one of the most frequent divine-name constructions. The qere-perpetuum rule reads this as "Adonai Elohim."

Gen 15:2, 15:8 — earliest uses, Abraham's covenant dialogue
Deu 3:24; 9:26 — Moses' intercession
2 Sam 7:18-29 — David's prayer, seven times
Ezekiel — over 200 times as the prophetic-messenger formula

Common Collocations¶

Word	Strong's	Co-occurrences	Typical Pattern
אָמַר amar — say	H559	202x (47%)	"and he said, O Lord..." / "thus saith the Lord"
כֹּה koh — thus	H3541	144x (33%)	"Thus saith the Lord GOD" (prophetic formula)
נְאֻם neum — declaration	H5002	94x (22%)	"saith the Lord GOD" (oracle closing formula)
יְהֹוָה YHWH	H3068	51x (12%)	Compound "Adonai YHWH" (when not replaced by qere)
יִשְׂרָאֵל Israel	H3478	73x (17%)	Addressee of Adonai's oracles
בּוֹא bo — come/go	H935	52x (12%)	Days of judgment coming from the Lord
נָתַן nathan — give	H5414	50x (12%)	"the Lord gave..." / "I will give, saith the Lord"
אֶרֶץ erets — land/earth	H776	49x (11%)	Lord of all the earth (Josh 3:11; Mic 4:13)
יָד yad — hand	H3027	43x (10%)	Power/authority imagery
דָבַר dabar — speak	H1696	40x (9%)	Divine speech formulas
פָּנִים panim — face/presence	H6440	38x (9%)	Standing before / hidden from the Lord

Word Family / Cognates¶

H113 אָדוֹן (adon) — "lord, master" (human or divine); the base lexeme from which H136 is formed. 335 occurrences; used of husbands, kings, owners, and occasionally of God (Ex 23:17; Psa 114:7). H136 is the honorific / emphatic form reserved for God.
H3068 יְהֹוָה (YHWH) — the Tetragrammaton; H136 functions as its oral substitute (qere perpetuum) and pairs with it in the "Adonai YHWH" compound.
H3069 יְהֹוִה (Yehovih) — the same Tetragrammaton repointed with Elohim vowels, used specifically after H136 so readers say "Adonai Elohim" instead of "Adonai Adonai."
H3050 יָהּ (Yah) — short form of YHWH, also a divine name; shares the "Lord" translation in KJV.

Easily Confused Words (KJV overlap: "Lord" / "the Lord")¶

Word	Strong's	Shared KJV Translation	Key Difference
יְהֹוָה (YHWH)	H3068	"the LORD" (all caps in KJV) vs "the Lord" for H136	YHWH = personal covenant name; Adonai = sovereign title. KJV typography distinguishes: LORD = H3068, Lord = H136.
אָדוֹן (adon)	H113	"lord" (often of humans)	H113 is the base noun used of human masters/husbands/kings and occasionally of God; H136 is the honorific plural-of-majesty form used exclusively of God.
יָהּ (Yah)	H3050	"the LORD"	Shortened form of YHWH; liturgical (Hallelu-Yah); not a title like Adonai.
יְהֹוִה (Yehovih)	H3069	"GOD" in "Lord GOD"	The YHWH Tetragrammaton pointed with Elohim vowels when following H136, signaling "read Elohim."
גְּבִיר (gebir)	H1376	"lord"	Human ruler/master; no divine use.
מָרֵא (mare)	H4756	"lord" (Aramaic)	Aramaic counterpart, used of God and kings in Daniel.

Easily Confused Words (LXX overlap: Greek κύριος)¶

Word	Strong's	Shared LXX Rendering	Key Difference
κύριος (kyrios)	G2962	Standard LXX equivalent for both H136 and H3068	The LXX collapses the Adonai/YHWH distinction into a single Greek word. This enabled NT writers to apply OT YHWH passages directly to Jesus (e.g., Phil 2:11 quoting Isa 45:23), since every "Lord" in the Greek Bible looked identical.
δεσπότης (despotes)	G1203	Occasional LXX rendering of Adonai	Emphasizes absolute ownership/mastery. Used of God in vocative prayer (Luke 2:29; Acts 4:24).

LXX Mapping¶

Greek Equivalent	Strong's	Co-occ	PMI	Notes
κύριος (kyrios)	G2962	419	1.87	Primary equivalent; renders both H136 and H3068. The Greek Bible's collapse of the two into one word (κύριος) is the bridge by which the NT applies "LORD" texts to Jesus.
λέγω (legō)	G3004	231	2.77	Co-occurrence via the prophetic "saith the Lord" formula, not a translation of Adonai itself.
δεσπότης (despotes)	G1203	5	4.04	Rare but semantically significant — used for "Sovereign Lord" addresses (e.g., LXX Gen 15:2, 15:8 renders Adonai Despota). Emphasizes mastery/ownership.
προφητεύω (prophēteuō)	G4395	15	3.06	Contextual co-occurrence in prophetic formulas.
Γώγ (Gog)	G1136	6	4.85	Contextual — Ezekiel's Gog oracles use Adonai YHWH densely.

Historical / Theological Notes¶

Pluralis majestatis: The plural form אֲדֹנָי with first-person singular suffix ("my lords") is usually analyzed as an honorific plural, analogous to Elohim. Some grammarians read the qamets as a distinguishing marker separating the divine form from the human "my lords" (which would take patach).
Second Temple usage: By the late Second Temple period, Adonai had fully taken over as the spoken divine name in synagogue reading. The Qumran scrolls show scribes writing the Tetragrammaton in paleo-Hebrew or substituting אדני to avoid profanation.
"Jehovah" origin: The word Jehovah first appears in 13th-century Christian Latin texts (Raymundus Martini, Pugio Fidei, ~1270), formed by combining the consonants YHWH with the Adonai pointing (shewa-holem-qamets → e-o-a). It is a reading error of the qere-perpetuum convention, not an ancient pronunciation.
NT kyrios: Because the LXX rendered both H3068 and H136 as κύριος, the NT's Christological use of "Lord" for Jesus inherits the full semantic weight of both — YHWH's exclusive identity and Adonai's sovereign-master role — without formal distinction.

UBS Semantic Domains¶

Code	Domain Label	Notes
003001017	Titles	Divine and human titles; honorific designations — Adonai classified alongside other sovereign/titular vocabulary

No synonyms or antonyms returned by SDBH — expected for a proper divine title with no functional equivalent.