ʾădōnāy

Semantic range

1. 1lord, master (of people)
2. 2the Lord, as a reverent substitute for the divine name

Literally "my lords" — again a plural form used of one. The KJV prints this word as "Lord" with only the L capitalised, in contrast to the small-capital "LORD" that stands for YHWH. The distinction is easy to miss and it is worth training the eye to it: Isaiah 6:1, "I saw also the Lord sitting upon a throne," is ʾădōnāy, while Isaiah 6:3's "Holy, holy, holy, is the LORD of hosts" is YHWH.

See also

• יהוהYHWH (Yahweh)
• κύριοςkyrios