The Divine Name ADNY in the Hebrew Bible: Surprising Findings

An investigation on the distribution and characteristics of the divine name ADNY (435 occurrences in the Bible) reveals that it functions as an ordinary divine name only from Amos, Isaiah, and Kings onwards; while in the Pentateuch, Joshua, Judges, and Samuel, it is found only in citations of direct speech and is used as a term of address signifying submission, similar to the term of address adoni "sir". The address adoni is a derivative of adon, while the divine appellation Adonai is a derivative of adonim, both of which originally mean "sir". The distinction between adoni and adonai was apparently based on a theological concept.