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1. Lord: Adonai, Adoni, Adon
(1) Adonai: Among the three words, the most well-known word is probably “Adonai.” “Adonai” is literally “my lords” as it is a combination of the plural construct (= /ʾªdōnê/) of the word “Adon,” meaning “lord”) and the pronominal suffix, 1st person singular (= /ai/ as in sky). But in biblical Hebrew, a plural form of a word does not always indicate its number but often its greatness of power, depth, width, etc. So in such cases, plural nouns are translated as a singular word. One of the most prominent examples might be Elohim, which is in form plural but often indicates the God of Israel, only one god. (But of course, it can be “gods” as well) And the word Adonai also is the same case. Adonia means “my lords,” but it most often means “my Lord.” What should be noted, however, is that this expression has indicated the God of Israel so often and long that Adonia itself became to mean just “the Lord,” rather than “my Lord(s).” Among the three words listed above, Adonia has the absolute majority of the occurrences to indicate Israel’s God.
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