Adon

Adon (Phoenician: ) literally means "lord." Adon has an uncertain etymology, although it is generally believed to be derived
from the Ugaritic ad, “father.”[1]: 531

Contents
Ugaritic tradition
Etymology
Hebrew Bible
See also
References

Ugaritic tradition
The pluralization of Adon "my lord" is Adonai "my lords."[2] 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 and Yam as evidence.[1]: 531 Some theorize that Adonai
was originally an epithet of the god Yahweh depicted as the chief antagonist of "the Ba`als" in the Tanakh. Only later did the epithet
come to be used as aneuphemism to avoid invoking the deity's proper name,Yahweh.

In Canaanite/Ugaritic tradition, ʾadn ilm, literally "lord of gods" is an epithet of El.[1]: 532 However, ʾadn "lord" could also be an
epithet of other gods. When Yam is described as being at the zenith of his might, he is proclaimed ʾadn or "lord" of the gods.[1]: 532

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[1]: 532[3] Some think that this is a reference to Baal. Other suggest this is a reference to a human necromancer
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[1]: 532 Ugarit 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.[4]

Etymology
The name of the Greek god Adonis is similar to a Semitic word—adon (which means "lord").[5] Yet there is no trace of a Semitic
deity directly connected with Adonis,[6] and no trace in Semitic languages of any specific mythemes connected with his Greek myth;
[7]
both Greek and Near Eastern scholars have questioned the connection.

Hebrew Bible
In the Hebrew Bible, adoni (“my lord”) is always a non-deity title usually referring to a human superior or occasionally an angel,
whereas adonai (literally "my lords") is reserved for God alone. In Jewish tradition, the pluralization is used to distinguish God from
earthly lords and to increase his majesty.[2] 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
[1]: 531
biblical authors used the word originally in a polytheist sense.

See also
Adonaist
References
1. K. van der Toorn, Bob Becking, Pieter Willemvan der Horst, eds. (1999).Dictionary of Deities and Demons in the
Bible DDD (https://books.google.com/books?id=yCkRz5pfxz0C&printsec=frontcover&dq=dictionary+of+deities+and+
demons+in+the+bible&hl=en&sa=X&ei=xbpiVLq2N8vmsA TYsoGYCg&ved=0CB0Q6AEwAA#v=onepage&q=lord&f=f
alse). Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing.
2. Leo Rosten (2010) [1968].The New Joys of Yiddish: Completely Updated (https://books.google.com/books?id=V04I
RE3SwmgC&pg=PA3&dq=Adonai+my+lords&hl=en&sa=X&ei=KrViVJ_bJ6THsQTLrIH4Bg&ved=0CEcQ6AEwCA#v
=onepage&q=Adonai%20my%20lords&f=false) . Crown Publishing Group. p. 3.
3. Cyrus H. Gordon, Gary A. Rendsburg, and Nathan H. Winter
, eds. (1987). Eblaitica: Essays on the Ebla Archives
and Eblaite Language, Volume 1. Eisenbrauns. p. 211.
4. Stephen L. Cook, Jane Morse, Corrine L. Patton, James W
ashington Watts, eds. (2001). The Whirlwind: Essays on
Job, Hermeneutics and Theology in Memory of Jane Morse. Bloomsbury Academic. pp. 48–49.ISBN 978-1-84127-
243-6.
5. "Britannica Library" (http://library.eb.com/levels/referencecenter/article/3772). library.eb.com. Retrieved 2017-02-02.
6. R. S. P. Beekes, Etymological Dictionary of Greek, Brill, 2009, p. 23.
7. Burkert, p 177 note 6 bibliography

Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Adon&oldid=848181588

"

This page was last edited on 30 June 2018, at 08:09(UTC).

Text is available under theCreative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License ; additional terms may apply. By using this
site, you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. Wikipedia® is a registered trademark of theWikimedia
Foundation, Inc., a non-profit organization.