Do you know the definition of Adonai? This article will provide you with all of the information you need on the word Adonai, including its definition, etymology, usage, example sentences, and more!
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Kevin
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September 7, 2021
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Common Questions
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What does the word Adonai mean?
According to Christianity, the name Adonai means master or Lord, and is used in the Bible and other religious texts to show that God has sovereignty over his people. In English translations of the Bible like the KJV, this Hebrew word is often replaced by the word Lord, or the other names Yahweh or Jehovah. This is also a substitute pronunciation of the Tetragrammaton. The Jews considered the name of God so holy they would not pronounce it aloud, and therefore used other names. This word is used throughout scripture in the Old Testament and New Testament, as well as in prayer. You might see this word for the Lord god in stories about Samuel, Isaiah, Saul, Sarah, Joshua, Moses, and more.
Many other languages also contain words that mean Adonai. You may notice that some of these words look quite similar to one another. This is likely because they share a common origin. Often, cognates, which are words and phrases that look, sound and mean similar things across languages, are formed when two words have a shared ancestral language such as Latin or Greek. This list of translations of Adonai is provided by Word Sense.
- Coptic: ⲛⲟⲩⲧⲉ (nutə) (Sahidic), ⲛⲟⲩϯ (nuti) (Bohairic), ⲛⲟⲩⲛⲧⲉ (nuntə) (Akhmimic), ⲑⲉⲟ (tɛɔ), ⲑⲉⲟⲥ (tɛɔs)
- Sanskrit: देवः, सुरः, भग (neut.)
- Old English: god (masc.)
- Hebrew: אל
- Tok Pisin: got
- Swahili: bwana (sing.), mabwana (pl.) (noun 5/6), rabi (sing.) (p) (noun 9/10) , mungu (noun class 3) (noun class 4)
- Tajik: худо
- Southern Altai: кудай (kudaj)
- Zulu: uNkulunkulu
- Pashto: خدای
- Hakka: 神 (sṳ̀n)
- Aragonese: dios (masc.)
- Thai: พระเจ้า, เทพ
- Lingala: nzámbe
- Malay: dewa, tuhan
- Galician: deus (masc.)
- Albanian: zot, perëndia
- Ewe: mawu
- Ojibwe: manidoo
- Cyrillic: бог (masc.)
- Ido: deo
- Navajo: haashchʼééh
- German: Gott (masc.), Göttin (fem.), Gottheit (fem.), Götter (pl.)
- Kalmyk: бурхн
- Maltese: alla (masc.), allat (pl.)
- Norman: dùu (France), dgieu (masc.) (Jersey)
- Javanese: hyang
- Old Saxon: god (masc.)
- Hebrew: אלוהים (masc.) (can be used as (masc.) or (fem.) or (masc.) (pl.) or (fem.) (pl.)), אֵל
- Sinhalese: අමර, දෙවියා
- Vietnamese: thiên chúa, chúa
- Armenian: աստված
- Digor: хуцау
- Friulian: diu
- Sicilian: diu
- Latvian: dievs (masc.)
- Lower Sorbian: bog (masc.)
- Guaraní: ñandejára
- Egyptian Arabic: إله
- Istriot: deo
- Uzbek: xudo
- Yiddish: גאָט (masc.)
- Dhivehi: އިލާހު
- Afrikaans: god
- Uyghur: تەڭرى, خۇدا
- Syriac: ܐܠܗܐ
- Gujarati: બહગવાન (masc.)
- Venetian: dio
- Tatar: ходай, тәңре, алла
- Romanian: zeu (masc.), dumnezeu (masc.)
- Cornish: duw
- Erzya: паз
- Azeri: tanrı
- Shan: ၽြႃး (pʰraa4)
- Tuvaluan: Atua
- Polish: bóg (masc.), bóstwo (neut.)
- Sorani: خوا (xwa), خودا (xweda)
- Bulgarian: бог (masc.)
- Azeri: tanrı
- Shan: ၽြႃး (pʰraa4)
- Tuvaluan: Atua
- Polish: bóg (masc.), bóstwo (neut.)
- Sorani: خوا (xwa), خودا (xweda)
- Bulgarian: бог (masc.)
What are synonyms and antonyms for Adonai?
There are many different words that one can use in place of the word Adonai. These are called synonyms, which are words and phrases that have the same definition as another word or phrase. Synonyms are useful to know if you are trying to avoid repeating yourself as well as if you would like to expand your vocabulary. This list of synonyms for the word Adonai is provided by Power Thesaurus.
- maker
- terrestrial globe
- numen
- divineness
- diety
- divinity
- immortal
- christ
- protected interest
- dearest father
- big chief
- prime mover
- king of kings
- lord
- dear lord
- supreme being
- redeemer
- celestial being
- providence
- godhood
- pagan symbol
- eternal
- holy spirit
- alpha and omega
- demigoddess
- sacred cow
- celestial
- tutelary
- icon
- all powerful
- graven image
- elohim
- demon
- sensitive issue
- almighty father
- guardian spirit
- creator
- allah
- genius
- maker of the world
- jeez
- almighty lord
- baal
- saintly
- jesus christ
- immortal being
- power
- big man upstairs
- plurals of majesty
- el shaddai
- god almighty
- god most high
- lord god
- most high
- godliness
- king
- author
- infinite spirit
- goddess
- godhead
- gods
- everlasting
- golden calf
- world spirit
- all-father
- totem
- hero
- creator of heaven and earth
- geez
- demiurge
- master
- theology
- deity
- father
- object of worship
- divinify
- jah
- messiah
- architect
- universal life force
- spirit
- godship
- avatar
- creator of the world
- demigod
- christian god
- our lord
- dear god in heaven
- adonai
- almighty
- all knowing
- jehovah
- master of the universe
- worship
- jesus
- soul
- yahweh
- holiness
- idol
- daemon
- sheesh
- big daddy
- supernatural being
- false god
- divine being
What are other Hebrew words for God?
There are many different ways that you might see God named in texts like the Bible or the Torah. According to McGill, below is a list of numerous names you might see for God in various translations of religious texts.
- Boreh — “the Creator”.
- Kaddosh Israel — “Holy One of Israel”.
- YHWH-Tsidkenu — “The Lord our Righteousness” ( Jeremiah 23:6).
- YHWH-Rapha” — “The Lord that healeth” ( Exodus 15:26).
- Shalom
- Ha-Kaddosh, Baruch Hu — “The Holy One, Blessed be He”.
- Adoshem
- Hashem
- Elohei Avraham, Elohei Yitzchak ve Elohei Ya`aqov — “God of Abraham, God of Isaac, God of Jacob”.
- God
- El
- YHWH-Shalom — “The Lord our Peace” ( Judges 6:24).
- Adir — “Strong One”.
- Avinu Malkenu —
- Emet — “Truth”.
- YHWH-Ra-ah — “The Lord my Shepherd” ( Psalms 23:1).
- Ha Shem — “The Name”
- Ehyeh-Asher-Ehyeh
- Ehiyeh sh’Ehiyeh — “I Am That I Am”: a modern Hebrew version of “Ehyeh asher Ehyeh”.
- Yahweh
- Shekhinah
- Ro’eh Yisra’el — “Shepherd of Israel”.
- Elyon
- Adir —
- Elohim
- Boreh —
- Jehovah
- YHWH
- YHWH-Shammah — “The Lord is present” ( Ezekiel 48:35).
- Shaddai
- E’in Sof — “endless, infinite”, Kabbalistic name of God.
- Makom or Hamakom — literally “the place”, meaning “The Omnipresent”; see Tzimtzum.
- Melech ha-Melachim — “The King of Kings” or Melech Malchei ha-Melachim “King of Kings of Kings”, to express superiority to the earthly rulers title.
- Adon Olam — “Master of the World”.
- YHWH-Niss”i (Yahweh-Nissi) — “The Lord our Banner” (Exodus 17:8-15).
- Magen Avraham — “Shield of Abraham”.
- El ha-Gibbor — “God the hero” or “God the strong one”.
- Adonai
- YHWH-Yireh (Yahweh-Yireh) — “The Lord will provide” ( Genesis 22:13, 14).
- Lord
- Tzur Israel — “Rock of Israel”.
- Avinu Malkeinu — “Our Father, our King”.
Overall, the word Adonai means God. This Hebrew word is used throughout religious texts.
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