Lord
Easton's Bible Dictionary
There are various Hebrew and Greek words so rendered.
Heb. ‘adon, means one possessed of absolute control. It denotes a master, as of slaves (Gen 24:14, 27), or a ruler of his subjects (45:8), or a husband, as lord of his wife (18:12).
The old plural form of this Hebrew word is ’adonai. From a superstitious reverence for the name “Jehovah,” the Jews, in reading their Scriptures, whenever that name occurred, always pronounced it ’Adonai.
Greek kurios, a supreme master, etc. In the LXX. this is invariably used for “Jehovah” and ”‘Adonai.”
Heb. ba’al, a master, as having domination. This word is applied to human relations, as that of husband, to persons skilled in some art or profession, and to heathen deities. “The men of Shechem,” literally “the baals of Shechem” (Judg 9:2, 3). These were the Israelite inhabitants who had reduced the Canaanites to a condition of vassalage (Josh 16:10; 17:13).
Heb. seren, applied exclusively to the “lords of the Philistines” (Judg 3:3). The LXX. render it by satrapies. At this period the Philistines were not, as at a later period (1 Sam 21:10), under a kingly government. (See Josh 13:3; 1 Sam 6:18.) There were five such lordships, viz., Gath, Ashdod, Gaza, Ashkelon, and Ekron.
International Standard Bible Encyclopedia
Master
mas'-ter ('adhon, ba`al, rabbi; despotes, didaskalos, kurios, rhabbi): "Master," when the translation of 'adhon, "ruler," "lord" (Sir), often translated "lord," denotes generally the owner or master of a servant or slave (Ge 24:9, etc.; 39:2, etc.; Ex 21:4, etc.; De 23:15 bis; 2Sa 9:9,10 twice; Pr 30:10); elsewhere it is rather "lord" or "ruler" (often king, e.g. 1 Sam 24:6; 1 Sam 24:8; 1 Sam 26:16); in the plural 'adhonim, it is, as the rule, used only of God (but see Gen 19:2; Gen 19:18; Deut 10:17; Ps 136:3, "Lord of lords"; Isa 26:13, "other lords"; 19:4 (Hebrew "lords"); 24:2). Ba`al, "lord," "owner," is translated "master": "the master of the house" (Exod 22:8; Judg 19:22; Judg 19:23); "the ass his master's crib" (Isa 1:3). We have it also translated "masters of assemblies" (Eccl 12:11). See ASSEMBLIES, MASTERS OF. Compare Ecclesiasticus 32:1, "master (of a feast)," the Revised Version (British and American) "ruler"; John 2:9, "ruler of the feast"; [rabh] (Dan 1:3; Jonah 1:6, "shipmaster"); rabh, Aramaic, "great," "mighty," "elder" (Dan 4:9; Dan 5:11," master of the magicians"); also [sar], "head" or "chief" (Exod 1:11, "taskmasters"; 1Ch 15:27, "master of the song," the Revised Version margin "the carrying of the ark, Hebrew the lifting up"); `ur, "to call," "to awake," is also rendered "master" in the King James Version, "The Lord will cut off the man that doeth this, the master and the scholar," margin "him that waketh and him that answereth," the Revised Version (British and American) as the King James Version margin (Mal 2:12).
The verb "to master" does not occur in the Old Testament, but we have in Apocrypha (The Wisdom of Solomon 12:18) "mastering thy power" (despozon ischuos), the Revised Version (British and American) "being sovereign over (thy) strengh."
In the New Testament despotes answers to 'adhon as "master" (1 Tim 6:1; 1 Tim 6:2; 2 Tim 2:21), rendered also "Lord" (Luke 2:29,etc.); kurios, is "Master," "Lord," "Sir," used very frequently of God or of Christ (Matt 1:20; Matt 1:22; Matt 1:24), translated "Master" (Matt 6:24; Matt 15:27; the King James Version Mark 13:35; Rom 14:4, etc.); kathegetes, a "leader," is translated "Master" (Matt 23:8 (the King James Version),10); didaskalos, a title very often applied to our Lord in the Gospels, is "Teacher," translated "Master" in the King James Version Matt 8:19; Matt 9:11; Mark 4:38; Luke 3:12, etc.; the Revised Version (British and American) "Teacher"; also John 3:2; John 3:10; Jas 3:1, "be not many masters," the Revised Version (British and American) "teachers"; rhabbi, rhabbei ("Rabbi") (a transliterated Hebrew term signifying "my Teacher") is also in several instances applied to Jesus, the King James Version "Master" (Matt 26:25; Matt 26:49; Mark 9:5; Mark 11:21; John 9:2 (the Revised Version (British and American) leaves untranslated) Mark 10:51, "Rabboni," the King James Version "Lord"; John 20:16 ("Rabbouni"), the Revised Version (British and American) "Rabboni," which see).
For "master" the Revised Version (British and American) has "lord" (1 Sam 26:16; 1 Sam 29:4; 1 Sam 29:10; Amos 4:1; Mark 13:35; Rom 14:4); "master" for "lord" (Gen 39:16; 2 Pet 2:1; Rev 6:10); for "good man of the house" (Matt 24:43; Luke 12:39), "master of the house"; in Eph 6:5, the Revised Version margin gives "Gr lords" (in 6:9, "their Master and yours" is also Greek kurios); instead of "the only Lord God and our Lord Jesus Christ" (Jude 1:4), the Revised Version (British and American) reads "our only Master and Lord, Jesus Christ," margin "the only Master, and our Lord Jesus Christ"; for "overcame them" (Acts 19:16), "mastered both of them."
W. L. Walker
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