Adon ( phn, 𐤀𐤃𐤍) literally means "lord." Adon has an uncertain etymology, although it is generally believed to be derived from the
Ugaritic 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 is th ...
'' "my lords."
theorizes that ''adonai'' is a post positive element attested to in Ugaritic writing. He points to the myth of the struggle between
Baal 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 depicted as the chief antagonist of "the ''Baʿal''s" in the
Tanakh. Only later did the epithet come to be used as a
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,
Yahweh.
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
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 ...
is described as being at the zenith of his might, he is proclaimed ''ʾadn'' or "lord" of the gods.
In some
Ugaritic 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, or possibly
El.
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 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 is similar to a Semitic word—''adon'' (which means "
lord"). 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 mi ...
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 past, with the word only later coming to refer to
Yahweh, the single god of Judaism. It is thought that at least some biblical authors used the word originally in a polytheist sense.
See also
*
Adonaist
References
{{Names of God
Ancient Semitic religions
Baal
Phoenician mythology
West Semitic gods
El (deity)