אָדוֹן
a.don
lord
Lexicon Entry
Lexicon data from STEPBible TIPNR, Tyndale House, Cambridge. Licensed under CC BY 4.0.
What Original Readers Understood
Supported# Adon (אָדוֹן): The Hebrew Word for "Lord" The Hebrew word *adon* appears 333 times throughout the Bible and carries the fundamental meaning of "lord"—a title denoting authority and mastery. The frequency of its occurrence across biblical texts demonstrates that concepts of lordship and hierarchical authority were central to ancient Hebrew thought and religious practice. The word functioned as a designation for those holding power over others, whether in domestic, political, or divine contexts. The breadth of biblical occurrences (333 instances) suggests *adon* was used across diverse literary contexts and time periods, indicating its importance as a stable element of Hebrew vocabulary for expressing relationships of command and submission. However, the provided data does not specify the particular contexts—whether the term was applied primarily to human rulers, divine figures, or both—nor does it detail how the word's usage may have evolved or shifted meaning across different biblical periods. The definition given remains literal and functional: one who holds lordship or authority over others.
Source data & methodology
Occurrences in Scripture
333 total occurrences across the text — showing 50
He said, “Yahweh, the God of my master Abraham, please give me success today, and show kindness to my master Abraham.
Genesis 24:12He said, “Yahweh, the God of my master Abraham, please give me success today, and show kindness to my master Abraham.
Nehemiah 3:5Next to them, the Tekoites made repairs; but their nobles didn’t put their necks to the Lord’s work.
Nehemiah 8:10Then he said to them, “Go your way. Eat the fat, drink the sweet, and send portions to him for whom nothing is prepared, for today is holy to our Lord. Don’t be grieved, for the joy of Yahweh is your strength.”
Nehemiah 10:29joined with their brothers, their nobles, and entered into a curse, and into an oath, to walk in God’s law, which was given by Moses the servant of God, and to observe and do all the commandments of Yahweh our Lord, and his ordinances and his statutes;
Genesis 44:20We said to my lord, ‘We have a father, an old man, and a child of his old age, a little one; and his brother is dead, and he alone is left of his mother; and his father loves him.’
Job 3:19The small and the great are there. The servant is free from his master.
Psalms 8:1Yahweh, our Lord, how majestic is your name in all the earth! You have set your glory above the heavens!
Psalms 8:9Yahweh, our Lord, how majestic is your name in all the earth!
Psalms 12:4who have said, “With our tongue we will prevail. Our lips are our own. Who is lord over us?”
Psalms 45:11So the king will desire your beauty, honor him, for he is your lord.
Psalms 97:5The mountains melt like wax at the presence of Yahweh, at the presence of the Lord of the whole earth.
Psalms 105:21He made him lord of his house, and ruler of all of his possessions,
Psalms 110:1Yahweh says to my Lord, “Sit at my right hand, until I make your enemies your footstool for your feet.”
Psalms 114:7Tremble, you earth, at the presence of the Lord, at the presence of the God of Jacob,
Psalms 123:2Behold, as the eyes of servants look to the hand of their master, as the eyes of a maid to the hand of her mistress; so our eyes look to Yahweh, our God, until he has mercy on us.
Psalms 135:5For I know that Yahweh is great, that our Lord is above all gods.
Psalms 136:3Give thanks to the Lord of lords; for his loving kindness endures forever:
Psalms 136:3Give thanks to the Lord of lords; for his loving kindness endures forever:
Psalms 147:5Great is our Lord, and mighty in power. His understanding is infinite.
Proverbs 25:13As the cold of snow in the time of harvest, so is a faithful messenger to those who send him; for he refreshes the soul of his masters.
Proverbs 27:18Whoever tends the fig tree shall eat its fruit. He who looks after his master shall be honored.
Proverbs 30:10“Don’t slander a servant to his master, lest he curse you, and you be held guilty.
Isaiah 1:24Therefore the Lord, Yahweh of Armies, the Mighty One of Israel, says: “Ah, I will get relief from my adversaries, and avenge myself on my enemies.
Isaiah 3:1For, behold, the Lord, Yahweh of Armies, takes away from Jerusalem and from Judah supply and support, the whole supply of bread, and the whole supply of water;
Isaiah 10:16Therefore the Lord, Yahweh of Armies, will send among his fat ones leanness; and under his glory a burning will be kindled like the burning of fire.
Isaiah 10:33Behold, the Lord, Yahweh of Armies, will lop the boughs with terror. The tall will be cut down, and the lofty will be brought low.
Isaiah 19:4I will give over the Egyptians into the hand of a cruel lord. A fierce king will rule over them,” says the Lord, Yahweh of Armies.
Isaiah 19:4I will give over the Egyptians into the hand of a cruel lord. A fierce king will rule over them,” says the Lord, Yahweh of Armies.
Numbers 32:25The children of Gad and the children of Reuben spoke to Moses, saying, “Your servants will do as my lord commands.
Numbers 32:27but your servants will pass over, every man who is armed for war, before Yahweh to battle, as my lord says.”
Isaiah 22:18He will surely wind you around and around, and throw you like a ball into a large country. There you will die, and there the chariots of your glory will be, you shame of your lord’s house.
Isaiah 24:2It will be as with the people, so with the priest; as with the servant, so with his master; as with the maid, so with her mistress; as with the buyer, so with the seller; as with the creditor, so with the debtor; as with the taker of interest, so with the giver of interest.
Isaiah 26:13Yahweh our God, other lords besides you have had dominion over us, but we will only acknowledge your name.
Isaiah 36:8Now therefore, please make a pledge to my master the king of Assyria, and I will give you two thousand horses, if you are able on your part to set riders on them.
Isaiah 36:9How then can you turn away the face of one captain of the least of my master’s servants, and put your trust on Egypt for chariots and for horsemen?
Isaiah 36:12But Rabshakeh said, “Has my master sent me only to your master and to you, to speak these words, and not to the men who sit on the wall, who will eat their own dung and drink their own urine with you?”
Isaiah 36:12But Rabshakeh said, “Has my master sent me only to your master and to you, to speak these words, and not to the men who sit on the wall, who will eat their own dung and drink their own urine with you?”
Isaiah 37:4It may be Yahweh your God will hear the words of Rabshakeh, whom the king of Assyria his master has sent to defy the living God, and will rebuke the words which Yahweh your God has heard. Therefore lift up your prayer for the remnant that is left.’ ”
Isaiah 37:6Isaiah said to them, “Tell your master, ‘Yahweh says, “Don’t be afraid of the words that you have heard, with which the servants of the king of Assyria have blasphemed me.
Isaiah 51:22Your Lord Yahweh, your God who pleads the cause of his people, says, “Behold, I have taken out of your hand the cup of staggering, even the bowl of the cup of my wrath. You will not drink it any more.
Jeremiah 22:18Therefore Yahweh says concerning Jehoiakim the son of Josiah, king of Judah: “They won’t lament for him, saying, ‘Ah my brother!’ or, ‘Ah sister!’ They won’t lament for him, saying ‘Ah lord!’ or, ‘Ah his glory!’
Jeremiah 27:4Give them a command to their masters, saying, ‘Yahweh of Armies, the God of Israel says, “You shall tell your masters:
Jeremiah 27:4Give them a command to their masters, saying, ‘Yahweh of Armies, the God of Israel says, “You shall tell your masters:
Jeremiah 34:5You will die in peace; and with the burnings of your fathers, the former kings who were before you, so they will make a burning for you. They will lament you, saying, “Ah Lord!” for I have spoken the word,’ says Yahweh.”
Jeremiah 37:20Now please hear, my lord the king: please let my supplication be presented before you, that you not cause me to return to the house of Jonathan the scribe, lest I die there.”
Jeremiah 38:9“My lord the king, these men have done evil in all that they have done to Jeremiah the prophet, whom they have cast into the dungeon. He is likely to die in the place where he is, because of the famine; for there is no more bread in the city.”
Daniel 1:10The prince of the eunuchs said to Daniel, “I fear my lord the king, who has appointed your food and your drink. For why should he see your faces worse looking than the youths who are of your own age? Then you would endanger my head with the king.”
Daniel 10:16Behold, one in the likeness of the sons of men touched my lips. Then I opened my mouth, and spoke and said to him who stood before me, “My lord, by reason of the vision my sorrows have overtaken me, and I retain no strength.
Daniel 10:17For how can the servant of this my lord talk with this my lord? For as for me, immediately there remained no strength in me. There was no breath left in me.”