What is the difference between Adonai and Jehovah?

Adonai is a title: “Lord”. Jehovah (or Yahweh, YHWH) is God's personal name. Out of reverence, Jewish readers said Adonai where YHWH was written — and the form Jehovah was born from that combination.

Is Adonai a name of God?

It is a title used as a name: it refers only to God and expresses his lordship. The personal name of God in the Old Testament is YHWH and its compound forms.

Hebrew word · Strong H136

What does Adonai mean?

Adonai means “Lord” — literally “my lords”, a form of respect used only for God. To call God Adonai is to acknowledge him as the master and ruler of one's life. The King James translates it “Lord”, with only the first letter capitalized — unlike LORD, which marks the name YHWH.

אֲדֹנָי

ʼĂdônây · transliteration · ad-o-noy' · pronunciation

In Strong’s lexicon: the Lord (used as a proper name of God only)
In the King James: Lord417
Appears in: 419 verses

See the full H136 entry →

The meaning of Adonai in the Bible

Adonai is an emphatic form of adon (H113), the ordinary word for a human lord or master. In the form Adonai, however, it appears in more than 400 verses of the Old Testament and refers only to God. Its first occurrence is Abraham's prayer: “Lord GOD, what wilt thou give me, seeing I go childless?” (Genesis 15:2).

In time, Jewish readers began to read “Adonai” in place of the name YHWH, out of reverence — which is why so many Bibles print LORD where the name of God stands. When the two appear together, as in Genesis 15:2, the King James writes “Lord GOD”. Isaiah uses it when he sees God's glory in the temple: “I saw also the Lord sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up” (Isaiah 6:1).

Where Adonai appears

Genesis 15:2

And Abram said, Lord GOD, what wilt thou give me, seeing I go childless, and the steward of my house is this Eliezer of Damascus?

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Isaiah 6:1

In the year that king Uzziah died I saw also the Lord sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up, and his train filled the temple.

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Exodus 4:10

And Moses said unto the LORD, O my Lord, I am not eloquent, neither heretofore, nor since thou hast spoken unto thy servant: but I am slow of speech, and of a slow tongue.

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Frequently asked questions

What is the difference between Adonai and Jehovah?: Adonai is a title: “Lord”. Jehovah (or Yahweh, YHWH) is God's personal name. Out of reverence, Jewish readers said Adonai where YHWH was written — and the form Jehovah was born from that combination.
Is Adonai a name of God?: It is a title used as a name: it refers only to God and expresses his lordship. The personal name of God in the Old Testament is YHWH and its compound forms.

The meaning of Adonai in the Bible

Where Adonai appears

Genesis 15:2

Isaiah 6:1

Exodus 4:10

Frequently asked questions

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