Adonai

Hebrew: Adonai, “My Lords.” See Shma.

When Jews encounter God’s most holy name YHWH, out of reverence they do not pronounce it, but instead substitute Adonai. We Catholics do the same in liturgical uses. The Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments, in its Letter to the Bishops Conferences on the Name of God June 29, 2008, prohibits Catholic use of the Hebrew name of God, represented by the Tetragrammaton, in the liturgy. We correctly pronounce YHWH as Adonai.

Many Jews do not pronounce any of God’s names except in prayer or study. At other times they substitute syllables so that Adonai becomes adoshemElohim becomes elokim, etc.

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