I. Name

The title ʾādôn, Aramaic maraʾ, ‘lord’, is used of men and of gods and denotes one’s authority (not: ownership; this notion is more attributed to the word Baal). Usually it concerns the relation between a lord and his subordinates. Its etymology is uncertain (see for a survey of the many options Jenni 1971:31). Most likely seems to be a connection with Ugaritic ad, ‘father’ (Eissfeldt 1973:63; DLU, I, 8–9).

Heb. ʾădōnāy exclusively denotes the god of Israel. It is attested about 450 times…