Adon ( phn, 𐤀𐤃𐤍) literally means "lord." Adon has an uncertain etymology, although it is generally believed to be derived from the

Ugaritic Ugaritic () is an extinct Northwest Semitic language, classified by some as a dialect of the Amorite language and so the only known Amorite dialect preserved in writing. It is known through the Ugaritic texts discovered by French archaeolog ...

ad, “father.”

Ugaritic tradition

The pluralization of adon "my lord" is ''

adonai Judaism considers some names of God so holy that, once written, they should not be erased: YHWH, Adonai, El ("God"), Elohim ("God," a plural noun), Shaddai ("Almighty"), and Tzevaot (" fHosts"); some also include Ehyeh ("I Will Be").This i ...

'' "my lords." Otto Eissfeldt theorizes that ''adonai'' is a post positive element attested to in Ugaritic writing. He points to the myth of the struggle between

Baal Baal (), or Baal,; phn, , baʿl; hbo, , baʿal, ). ( ''baʿal'') was a title and honorific meaning "owner", " lord" in the Northwest Semitic languages spoken in the Levant during antiquity. From its use among people, it came to be applied ...

and

Yam Yam or YAM may refer to: Plants and foods *Yam (vegetable), common name for members of ''Dioscorea'' * Taro, known in Malaysia and Singapore as yam * Sweet potato, specifically its orange-fleshed cultivars, often referred to as yams in North Amer ...

as evidence. Some theorize that ''adonai'' was originally an epithet of the god

Yahweh Yahweh *''Yahwe'', was the national god of ancient Israel and Judah. The origins of his worship reach at least to the early Iron Age, and likely to the Late Bronze Age The Bronze Age is a historic period, lasting approximately fr ...

depicted as the chief antagonist of "the ''Baʿal''s" in the

Tanakh The Hebrew Bible or Tanakh (;"Tanach"
''

euphemism A euphemism () is an innocuous word or expression used in place of one that is deemed offensive or suggests something unpleasant. Some euphemisms are intended to amuse, while others use bland, inoffensive terms for concepts that the user wishes ...

to avoid invoking the deity's proper name,

. In Canaanite/Ugaritic tradition, ''ʾadn ilm'', literally "lord of gods" is an epithet of El. However, ''ʾadn'' "lord" could also be an epithet of other gods. When

is described as being at the zenith of his might, he is proclaimed ''ʾadn'' or "lord" of the gods. In some

texts the term ''ʾadn ʾilm rbm'' meaning "the Lord of the Great Gods" is used to refer to the lord and father over deceased kings. Some think that this is a reference to Baal. Other suggest this is a reference to a human necromancer, who was traveling to the land of the dead. Karel van der Toorn disagrees; he believes that it is a reference to Milku, Yaqar or

Yarikh Yarikh ( Ugaritic: , , "moon") was a moon god worshiped in the Ancient Near East. He is best attested in sources from the Amorite city of Ugarit in the north of modern Syria, where he was one of the principal deities. His primary cult center wa ...

, or possibly El.

Ugarit ) , image =Ugarit Corbel.jpg , image_size=300 , alt = , caption = Entrance to the Royal Palace of Ugarit , map_type = Near East#Syria , map_alt = , map_size = 300 , relief=yes , location = Latakia Governorate, Syria , region = ...

family households were modeled after the structure of the divine world, each headed by an '' ʾadn'' meaning in this context "master" or "patron". Generally, this was the

patriarch The highest-ranking bishops in Eastern Orthodoxy, Oriental Orthodoxy, the Catholic Church (above major archbishop and primate), the Hussite Church, Church of the East, and some Independent Catholic Churches are termed patriarchs (and in ce ...

of the family and there may be some relation between ''ʾadn'' and the Ugarit word for "father", ''ʾad''.

Etymology

The name of the Greek god

Adonis In Greek mythology, Adonis, ; derived from the Canaanite word ''ʼadōn'', meaning "lord".R. S. P. Beekes, ''Etymological Dictionary of Greek'', Brill, 2009, p. 23. was the mortal lover of the goddess Aphrodite. One day, Adonis was gored by a ...

is similar to a Semitic word—''adon'' (which means "

lord Lord is an appellation for a person or deity who has authority, control, or power over others, acting as a master, chief, or ruler. The appellation can also denote certain persons who hold a title of the peerage in the United Kingdom, or ...

"). Yet there is no trace of a Semitic deity directly connected with Adonis, though there most likely was. There is also no trace in Semitic languages of any specific

mytheme In structuralism-influenced studies of mythology, a mytheme is a fundamental generic unit of narrative structure (typically involving a relationship between a character, an event, and a theme) from which myths are thought to be constructed—a m ...

s connected with his Greek myth. Both Greek and Near Eastern scholars have questioned the connection.

Hebrew Bible

In the Hebrew Bible, ''adoni'', with the suffix for the first person possessive, means "my lord", and is a term of respect that may refer to God or to a human superior,1 Kings 1:31 or occasionally an angel, whereas ''adonai'' (literally "my lords") is reserved for God alone. In Jewish tradition, the pluralization can be used to distinguish God from earthly lords and to increase his majesty. However, many modern critical scholars see the use of a plural as a remnant of a

polytheistic Polytheism is the belief in multiple deities, which are usually assembled into a pantheon of gods and goddesses, along with their own religious sects and rituals. Polytheism is a type of theism. Within theism, it contrasts with monotheism, th ...

past, with the word only later coming to refer to

, the single god of Judaism. It is thought that at least some biblical authors used the word originally in a polytheist sense.

References

{{Names of God Ancient Semitic religions Baal Phoenician mythology West Semitic gods El (deity)

Ugaritic tradition

Etymology

Hebrew Bible

See also

References