The God

OF

 Jesus

A comprehensive examination of Trinitarianism

Chapter Three

YHWH, Adonai, Adoni

YHWH, Adonai and Adoni in the Hebrew Scriptures:

       While elohim does not have intrinsic meaning of deity, the word YHWH does.  This word appears 6,828 times in the OT and is understood to be the actual name of the Creator God.  YHWH is invariably accompanied by singular personal pronouns and verbs in the singular.  YHWH is often referred to as the Tetragrammaton, which is a Greek word meaning “word of four letters.”  The Hebrew language does not have vowels but only consonants and semi-consonants. YHWH is composed of four semi-consonants. Vowels must be supplied in the speaking and writing of this language.  Between the seventh and tenth centuries A.D., a group of Jewish scribes and scholars called Masoretes began to insert “vowel points” in the Hebrew text for better clarity of meaning but left YHWH as is.  Consequently we can’t be sure how to pronounce or write this name to this very day. 

       YHWH is an English transliteration of this Hebrew name for God. A transliteration is the taking of letters in one alphabet and matching them to corresponding letters in another alphabet.  Since the vowels are missing in YHWH, all spellings of YHWH are interpretations of what the transliteration YHWH may sound like.  For example, the American Standard Bible renders YHWH as Jehovah and the New Jerusalem Bible renders YHWH as Yahweh.  Other renderings that are used include Yahveh, Yehweh and Yahvah.   

        Most English versions of the OT Scriptures don’t use the transliteration YHWH but translate YHWH as LORD.  The Septuagint and Latin Vulgate translation of the Hebrew Scriptures use their equivalent of the Hebrew YHWH.  LORD is spelled in all caps to signify its association with the word YHWH. 

       The precise meaning of YHWH is much debated.  It appears to be taken from the Hebrew root word hayah which has the meaning of “be” or “become.” YHWH came to signify self existent one or eternal one. The OT scriptures clearly identify the name of God as being YHWH.

       Exodus 3:15:  God also said to Moses, "Say to the Israelites, `The LORD, (YHWH) the God of your fathers--the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob--has sent me to you.' This is my name forever, the name by which I am to be remembered from generation to generation. 

       Isaiah 42:8: I am the LORD; (YHWH) that is my name! I will not give my glory to another or my praise to idols.

       As already mentioned, when the Masoretes began to add vowel points to the Hebrew text they left YHWH as YHWH.  However, in 134 passages where YHWH appears in the OT text, they substituted the Hebrew word Adonai (sometimes spelled Adonay) which is taken from the Hebrew root adon.  This Hebrew word, when substituted for YHWH, is translated as Lord with a capitol L to designate the one true God.  Since our English translations of the Hebrew Scriptures are often taken from Masoretic Hebrew texts, we find this combination of LORD for YHWH and Lord for Adonai in our English Bibles.  Adonai is also found in pre-Masoretic Hebrew manuscripts as a replacement for YHWH in the text and translated as Lord in the English.

       The Hebrew word adon is used multiple hundreds of times in the OT in association with Elohim, YHWH, and man.  Adon is translated as Lord or lord depending on the suffix attached to this word.  Its basic meaning is lord or master.  It is used to describe the owner of someone or something. When found as descriptive of YHWH or Elohim this word appears in the Hebrew with the suffix “ai” as Adonai.  When adon appears with the suffix “i” it becomes adoni and in this form is never used to describe deity but is applied to man. Adoni is often translated into the English word master.  For example, the servants of Abraham consistently refer to him as adoni which is translated master.  The Pharaoh of Egypt is called adoni. So are Joseph and the kings of Israel.

       Adonai is mostly seen as a reference to deity and is often found in a plural form but modified by a singular pronoun. In such cases it takes on the same meaning as the plural elohim and signifies plural of majesty. Since the root word adon can reference both God and man, the word does not have intrinsic meaning of deity as does YHWH. In its form as adonai, as is true of elohim, it is sometimes applied to an angel or a human who has attained a high status. However, adonai is used the majority of the time in association with YHWH.  Adonai is found 449 times in the OT in association with YHWH or Elohim in reference to the one true God.    

 

      In most English translations, YHWH is translated as LORD with all capitol letters and adonai is translated as Lord with a capital L followed by lower case letters instead of all caps.  Adoni is translated as lord with all lower case letters except in Psalm 110:1, where in many translations adoni is found to be translated Lord with a capitol L. This has led many to assume the Hebrew in this passage is adonai rather than adoni. This assumption has led to Psalm 110:1 being used as major scriptural support for the Trinitarian concept of Jesus being God as the Father is God.  It is believed David references both the Father and Son as God in this passage.  

 

      Psalm 110:1: The LORD says to my Lord: "Sit at my right hand until I make your enemies a footstool for your feet."

 

      The word translated LORD in Psalm 110:1 is YHWH.  Therefore, the one true God is identified by His name.  The second word Lord in this passage is adoni.  This form of the Hebrew adon is not used in the Hebrew Scriptures to identify deity but always references man in some position of authority and power and a few times references angels. Here are several examples where adoni is used to refer to man in contrast to references to God as YHWH and Elohim. 

       1 Kings 1:36-37:  Benewah son of Jehoiada answered the king, "Amen! May the LORD (YHWH), the God (Elohim) of my lord (adoni) the king, so declare it. As the LORD (YHWH) was with my lord (adoni) the king, so may he be with Solomon to make his throne even greater than the throne of my lord (adoni) King David!"

       1 Samuel 24:6: He said to his men, "The LORD (YHWH) forbid that I should do such a thing to my master (adoni), the LORD's (YHWH’s) anointed, or lift my hand against him; for he is the anointed of the LORD" (YHWH).

       Numbers 36:2:  And they said, The LORD (YHWH) commanded my lord (adoni) to give the land for an inheritance by lot to the children of Israel: and my lord (adoni) was commanded by the LORD (YHWH) to give the inheritance of Zelophehad our brother unto his daughters.      

 

      Adoni is used in reference to man and a few times to angels in every one of the 198 passages in which it occurs in the Hebrew Scriptures.  In the Septuagint translation of Psalm 110:1, adoni is translated as “ho kurios mou” which in English means “my lord.” 

       Only in Psalm 110, is adoni translated with a capitol L in many English translations. In every other passage where adoni and YHWH appear in the same context, adoni is found with a lower case L and to reference a human in contrast to YHWH God.  It is interesting to note that some English versions of the scriptures, such as the RSV, NRSV, the New American Bible (NAB), the New English Translation (NET) and the Moffatt translation, do not use the capitol L for “lord” in Psalm 110:1, but use the lower case L.  Translators of these versions apparently realized the Hebrew adoni does not mean deity and therefore should not be made to look as though it does.  In view of all this, let’s consider what Apostle Peter wrote in reference to Jesus in his quote of Psalm 110:1.

       Acts 2:34-36:  For David did not ascend to heaven, and yet he said, "`The Lord said to my Lord: "Sit at my right hand until I make your enemies a footstool for your feet."  "Therefore let all Israel be assured of this: God has made this Jesus, whom you crucified, both Lord and Christ."    

       Apostle Peter shows the prophetic nature of David’s statement and records that the lord who David referred to is none other than Christ Jesus who God has made lord and Christ. Christ (Greek: Christos, which means anointed one) is seen as being made lord and Christ by God the Father.  When Peter quotes Psalm 110:1, it must be understood that to be consistent, Peter is using Lord in the same sense as David did and David used the word adoni which is not used of deity but of man throughout the OT.  Peter is saying God has elevated Jesus to a position of lordship (having power and authority) as the promised Christ (the anointed one).  Notice also that in the quote from the Psalm, “YHWH says to adoni “sit at my right hand” which implies a separation of Beings as opposed to the non-separation Trinitarianism requires.

       In Matthew's Gospel Jesus refers to the passage from Psalm 110:1 to show the Pharisees that the adoni (lord) David calls his lord is actually Christ (the anointed one).  He is telling the Pharisees that Christ was more than the Son of David insomuch as David calls Him his lord. Jesus is not telling the Pharisees the Christ is LORD (YHWH Elohim).

       Matthew 22:42-45:"What do you think about the Christ? Whose son is he?"  "The son of David," they replied. He said to them, "How is it then that David, speaking by the Spirit, calls him `Lord'? For he says, "`The Lord said to my Lord: "Sit at my right hand until I put your enemies under your feet." ' If then David calls him `Lord,' how can he be his son?"

       We know from our analysis of David's statement in Psalm 110:1 and Peter's interpretation of this statement in Acts 2:34-36, that YHWH, the Most High God, is speaking to His servant whom He has made Lord and Christ. Jesus is the adoni (lord) of Psalm 110:1   The fact Jesus points to the adoni (lord) of this Psalm as referring to the Christ while implying He is this adoni (lord), speaks volumes as to who Jesus believed Himself to be as compared to YHWH (LORD). 

       It is also noteworthy that Peter, in stating God fulfilled what had been foretold by the prophets, sees Jesus as the Christ of God which clearly identifies Christ as a servant of God the Father.  This makes the Trinitarian concept of the Father and the Son being co-equal extremely problematical.  Jesus is identified as a prophet in the mold of Moses which shows Him to be an agent of God the Father and no more actual God than Moses was God. 

       Acts 3:18-22: But this is how God fulfilled what he had foretold through all the prophets, saying that his Christ would suffer. Repent, then, and turn to God, so that your sins may be wiped out, that times of refreshing may come from the Lord, and that he may send the Christ, who has been appointed for you--even Jesus. He must remain in heaven until the time comes for God to restore everything, as he promised long ago through his holy prophets. For Moses said, `The Lord your God will raise up for you a prophet like me from among your own people; you must listen to everything he tells you (Deuteronomy 18:15).

       Peter’s statement in Acts 3:18-22, clearly portrays Jesus as the Christ (anointed one) of God the Father and a prophet like Moses who was raised up from among the people of Israel.  While Trinitarians will argue that Jesus the Son is seen as the anointed of the Father within the Trinitarian relationship that is Father, Son and Spirit, the language of both Acts 2:34-36 and 3:18-22 in conjunction with what we see in Psalm 110:1 makes the Trinitarian position highly questionable.  The language of these passages portrays God the Father as the source of all Jesus is and all Jesus does. Jesus is seen as the servant of the Father.  The Father is seen as the head of Jesus in all things just as Apostle Paul stated in 1 Corinthians 11:3 and 15:27-28 as discussed in Chapter One. 

CHAPTER FOUR