Lord

A term properly denoting one who has dominion. Applied to God, the supreme governor and disposer of all things.

See GOD.

This glorious name is peculiarly and properly the distinguishing name of JEHOVAH, and ought to have been so hallowed and sacred, as never upon any occasion whatever to have been applied to any other, For we read that JEHOVAH is very jealous of His name, and will not allow the very mention of it, unless in a way of reverence to himself, without attaching guilt to the person that doth it. Thus we read, Thou shalt riot take the name of the Lord thy God in vain: for the Lord will not hold him guiltless that taketh his name invain." (Exod. xx. 7.) So again (Isa. xl2: 8.) "I am the Lord; that is my name, and my glory will I not give to another, neither my praise to graven images." With what reverence and sanctity, therefore, ought the glorious name of JEHOVAH, Lord, to be held? Indeed, though among men, master and lord are sometimes used from servants to their superiors, yet the incommunicable name of JEHOVAH, is never used in this way by any. It is impossible to preserve it too sacred. JEHOVAH, or Lord, is equally adapted and made use of incommon to teach us all the persons of the GODHEAD, Father, Son, and Holy Ghost. We find, it, every part of the word of God, JEHOVAH the Father, so called, (see Zech. 2: 10.) where JEHO - VAH the Father is represented as sending JEHOVAH the Son. So again we find JEHOVAH the Father speaking to JEHOVAH the Son, (Ps. cx. 1. Isa. xl2: 5 - 8.) and numberless other instances occur throughout the Bible. In like manner, God the Son is called by this glorious name, (Jer. 23. 6.) with express designation of character, and this alsoby JEHOVAH the Father, And throughout both Testaments of Scripture, God the Son possesseth in common with the Father and the Holy Ghost, the distinguishing name of Lord. And no less God the Holy Ghost, (Num. vi. 24 - 26.) where each glorious person is severally and distinctly called JEHOVAH. (2 Cor. 3: 17. 1 John v. 7.)

See God JEHOVAH.

A Saxon word signifying ruler or governor. In the Authorized translation of the Scriptures it is used without much discrimination for all the names applied to God, which cannot be helped, as our language does not afford the same number of distinguishing titles as the Hebrew. When, however, the word represents the dread name of Jehovah, it is printed in small capitals, Lord, and is by this contrivance made a distinguishing term. As the Hebrew name Jehovah is one never used with reference to any but the Almighty, it is to be regretted that the Septuagint, imitated by our own and other versions, has represented it by a word which is also used for the Hebrew ’Adonai,’ which is applied not only to God, but, like our ’Lord,’ to creatures also, as to angels (Gen 19:2; Dan 10:16-17), to men in authority (Gen 42:30; Gen 42:33), and to proprietors, owners, masters (Gen 45:8). The leading idea of the Hebrew, the Greek, and the English words, is that of an owner or proprietor, whether God or man; and it occurs in the inferior application with great frequency in the New Testament. This application is either literal or complimentary; literal, when the party is really an owner or master, as in Mat 10:24; Mat 20:8; Mat 21:40; Act 16:16; Act 16:19; Gal 4:1, etc.; or when he is so as having absolute authority over another (Mat 9:38; Luk 10:2), or as being a supreme lord or sovereign (Act 25:26); and complimentary, when used as a title of address, especially to superiors, like the English Master, Sir, as in Mat 13:27; Mat 21:30; Mar 7:28; Luk 9:54.

It cannot but be deemed desirable that, instead of the extensive use of the word Lord which we have described, discriminating terms should be adopted in translations. Apart from the Jewish superstitions which influenced the Seventy in their translation, there can be no good reason why the name Jehovah should not be retained wherever it occurs in the Hebrew. Then Lord might represent Adonai; or perhaps Sir, or Master, might be used when that word is applied to creatures; and God would very properly represent Elohim.

This name belongs to God by preeminence; and in this sense ought never to be given to any creature. Jesus Christ, as the Messiah, the Son of God, and equal with the Father, is often called Lord in Scripture, especially in the writing of Paul. The word LORD, in the English Bible, when printed in small capitals, stands always for JEHOVAH in the Hebrew. See JEHOVAH.\par

Lord. See God.

(See JEHOVAH.) In small letters and with initial capital "Lord" represents Adonai in KJV of Old Testament. In capitals "LORD" represents Jehovah, except Exo 23:17. The "LORD God", Adonai Jehovah, where it ought to be "the Lord Jehovah," and Exo 34:23. "GOD" in capitals also represents Jehovah (Gen 15:2, ’Adonay Yahweh). "God" in small letters, with initial capital, represents ’Elohiym. (See GOD.)

kyrios (G2962) Lord

despotes (G1203) Master

According to the later Greek grammarians, a man was a despotes in relation to his slavesand therefore an oikodespotes (G3617) but a kyrios in relation to his wife and children. Certainly there is a degree of truth to this distinction, since kyrios implies a limited moral authority whose wielder takes into consideration the good of those over whom it is exercised. The despotes, however, exercises a more unrestricted power and domination, with no such limitations or restraints. To address another as despota implies an element of submission not found in the title kyrie. The Greeks refused the title of despotes to any but the gods. Our own use of the terms despot, despotic, and despotism, when contrasted with our use of lord and lordship, attests that these words are colored for us as well.

Nevertheless, there were influences that tended to dissolve this distinction. Slaverythe appropriating without payment of other men's toilhowever legalized is so abhorrent to men's innate moral sense that they seek to mitigate its atrocity, in word at least. In antiquity, wherever a more humane view of slavery was present, the antithesis of despotes to doulos (G1401) was replaced by that of kyrios to doulos. The harsher antithesis might survive, but the milder existed along with it. Paul's writings contain examples that show that the distinction of the Greek grammarians was not observed in popular speech. In Paul's usage, masters are both kyrioi (Eph_6:9; Col_4:1) and despotai (1Ti_6:1-2; Tit_2:9; cf. 1Pe_2:18).

Experience has shown that sinful man cannot be trusted with unrestricted power over his fellow man, for such power will certainly be abused. When man regards God as the absolute Lord, Ruler, and Disposer of his life, however, it results in great benefits, since God's power is never disconnected from his wisdom and love. Just as the Greeks were willing to call the gods despotai, though they refused this title to any other, so in Scripture both despotes and kyrios are applied to the true God. In 2Pe_2:1 and in Jud_1:4 the term is applied to Christ as God. Erasmusperhaps because of an unconscious, latent Arianismdenied that despotes in Jud_1:4 refers to Christ; he attributed kyrios to Christ and despotes to the Father. But the fact that in Erasmus's Greek text Theon (G2316) followed despoten and was joined to it really lay at the root of his reluctance to ascribe despotes to Christ. It was really not a philological but a theological difficulty for Erasmus, regardless of how he may have sought to persuade himself otherwise.

The Christian use of despotes expresses a sense of God's absolute disposal of his creatures, of his autocratic power more strongly than kyrios. Philo found evidence of Abraham's eulabeia (G2124) when he tempered boldness with reverence and godly fear in addressing God not as the usual kyrie but as despota. As Philo elaborated, despotes is not only kyrios but a "frightful kyrios"that implies a more complete prostration of self before the might and majesty of God than does kyrios.

Lord’s Supper. The passover was instituted in the Jewish church as a perpetual reminder of their deliverance from Egypt until, as a type, it was fulfilled by the death of the Lord Jesus Christ for his people. Just before his death he instituted what is called "The Lord’s Supper," to be observed by his followers as a perpetual reminder until he comes again. As the passover was not a new deliverance, but simply a reminder and commemoration to be observed with joy and thanksgiving, so is the Lord’s Supper to be observed. There is no new sacrifice of Christ. The adoration of the bread or wafer is the grossest perversion and idolatry. "Christ was once offered to bear the sins of many." "We are sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all." "But this man, after he had offered one sacrifice for sins for ever, sat down on the right hand of God." "For by one offering he hath perfected for ever them that are sanctified." Heb 9:25-28; Heb 10:10; Heb 10:12; Heb 10:14. The connection of the passover feast with the Lord’s Supper is shown by such passages as the following. At the institution of the latter, Christ said, "With desire I have desired to eat this passover with you before I suffer. For I say unto you, I will not anymore eat thereof, until it be fulfilled in the kingdom of God," Luk 22:15-16; and, "For even Christ our passover is sacrificed for us." 1Co 5:7. The Lord’s Supper was instituted before Christ’s body was broken or his blood shed. The accounts of it given, Mat 26:26; Mar 14:22; Luk 22:14-20, are exceedingly touching, and the injunction very plain: "This do in remembrance of me." Luk 22:19; 1Co 11:24-25. It is also a continual reminder of the second coming of our Lord; "For as often as ye eat this bread, and drink this cup, ye do shew the Lord’s death till he come." 1Co 11:26. The Scripture account of it is simple. The Lord Jesus, after eating the paschal supper with his disciples, took bread and blessed it, and brake it, and gave it to the disciples and said, Take, eat, this is my body, which is broken for you: this do in remembrance of me. After the same manner also he took the cup, and gave thanks and gave it to them, saying, Drink ye all of it: for this is the new covenant in my blood, which is shed for many unto remission of sins; this do ye as oft as ye drink it in remembrance of me. Mat 26:19-30; Mar 14:16-26; Luk 22:13-20; 1Co 11:23-26. R. V. Nothing can surpass the touching simplicity and appropriateness of this memorial service.

The word usually rendered ’Lord,’ or ’my Lord,’ is Adonai (אדני). this is a special form of Adon, a word which signifies Master, and which exactly answers to the Greek Κύριος. Ad on is sometimes rendered Sir in the A. V., as in Gen 43:20; Owner, as in 1Ki 16:24; but generally Master, as in Gen 24:9. The plural form Adonim and its plural construct form Adonei are used in the same sense; but when the word is applied to God, the form Adonai is adopted. The termination of the word, as in the case of Shaddai; may mark an ancient plural form, but this is uncertain in the A. V., as in other versions, Adonai is frequently rendered ’my Lord.’ The title indicates the truth that God is the owner of each member of the human family, and that He consequently claims the unrestricted obedience of all. It is first used of God in Gen 15:2; Gen 15:8; Gen 18:3, &c. It is rare in the Pentateuch and historical Books, but frequent in the Psalms, Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, Daniel, and Amos.

The words which we read in the 110th Psalm and the first verse, if literally translated, would run thus:--’Jehovah said unto my Master [According to the present Masoretic punctuation the word is in the singular--Adoni, not Adonai.] sit thou on my right h and until I make thine enemies thy footstool;’ and our Saviour’s comment might be rendered, ’If David call him Master, how is he his Son?’

The expression ’the Lord GOD,’ which first occurs in Gen 15:2, and is frequently found in the O.T., especially in the prophetical Books, is literally ’my Lord Jehovah .’

When we meet with the title ’Lord of Lords,’ as in Deu 10:17, the words are literally ’master of masters,’ i.e. Divine master of all those who possess or obtain authority.

In the Psalms and elsewhere there is found that significant title which the apostle Thom as gave to the Lord Jesus when he had optical and sensible demonstration that He was risen from the dead. Thus in Psa 35:23, the sacred writer uses the double title Elohai and Adonai, ’my God and my Lord;’ and in Psa 38:15, we find Adonai Elohai, ’my Lord, my God.’

The claim up on man’s service which is set forth in the title Adonai is well illustrated by Mal 1:6, where Jehovah says, ’A son honoureth his father, and a servant his master (or masters); if, then, I be a father, where is mine honour ~ and if I be a master (Adonim [Some mss. here read Adonai.]), where is my reverential fear?’

1. adon, κύριος. These words are commonly translated ’lord.’ They are used as a term of respect as between man and man, as seen in the children of Heth to Abraham. Gen 23:6; between servants and masters, and once by a wife to her husband. Gen 18:12; Luk 16:3; Luk 16:5; 1Pe 3:6. The title ’Lord’ is applied to God ( Psa 90:1, Adonai ), and in the N.T. to the Lord Jesus, not only as a term of respect, but as owning His constituted lordship. Act 2:36; Php 2:11 He is emphatically the Lord as eclipsing every other for the Christian, who delights to appropriate Him as ’My Lord.’ Luk 1:43; Joh 20:13; Php 3:8. To believers collectively He is ’Our Lord Jesus Christ.’

There is also in this title the idea of administration which it is of great consequence to observe. As Man the Lord Jesus is mediator between God and men, and receives blessings for men which are administered through Him as Lord. "To us there is . . . . one Lord, Jesus Christ, through whom are all things, and we through him." 1Co 8:6. See Rom 5:1-2; Rom 5:11; Rom 5:17; Rom 5:21 and other scriptures.

The same Greek word is often used in the LXX for the Hebrew name Jehovah, and is transferred to the N.T. without the article. It stands as a proper name in the sense of Jehovah, as in Mat 1:20; Mat 1:22; Mat 1:24, etc., though the English requires it to be translated ’the Lord.’ See GOD.

2. δεσπότης, signifying ’owner, master,’ as a man who owns slaves. It is applied to God and to the Lord Jesus, Luk 2:29; Act 4:24; 2Pe 2:1; Jud 1:4; Rev 6:10; and in 2Ti 2:21 is translated ’master.’

3. ῥαββονί, a word similar to Rabbi, a term of respect among the Jews, signifying ’teacher.’ It is applied to the Lord by the blind man in Mar 10:51; and by Mary in Joh 20:16, where it is untranslated.

LORD.—This title is used as the translation of three different words in the Gr. Gospels: (1) ὁ δεσπότης. This word occurs only once in the Gospels, in the prayer of Simeon, ‘Lord, now lettest thou thy servant depart in peace, according to thy word’ (Luk 2:29). It is the proper correlative of δοῦλος. In thus addressing God, Simeon thinks of himself as His slave. (2) οἱ μεγιστᾶνες. This word also occurs but once in the Gospels, in Mar 6:21 ‘Herod … made a supper to his lords.’ It describes the chief men or nobles of a city or kingdom. (3) κύριος, ὁ κύριος. Except in the above instances, this is the word which stands for ‘Lord’ and ‘lord’ in the Gospels. It occurs with great frequency. With or without the article, it is found at least 244 times. The frequency of its use is concealed from readers of the English versions. It is sometimes translated ‘master’ (‘Yet the dogs eat of the crumbs which fall from their master’s table,’ Mat 15:27), or ‘sir’ (‘I go, sir, and went not,’ Mat 21:30), or ‘owner’ (‘the owners therefore said, Why loose ye the colt?’ Luk 19:33). Fundamentally the title describes one who has power or authority (ὁ ἔχων κῦρος) over persons or things. Strictly speaking, it implies ownership, but it is also used as a title of reverence or courtesy. In the Gospels it is applied in a wide variety of relationship.

1. It is frequently used as a name for God.—(1) In most cases as a name for God, it is used without the article. It occurs in all 59 times (17 in Matthew , 8 in Mk., 30 in Luke , 4 in Jn.). It is found in quotations from the OT, as ‘Thou shalt not tempt (the) Lord thy God’ (Mat 4:7); and in phrases of OT origin, as ‘the angel of (the) Lord’ (Mat 1:20 || Luk 1:11); ‘the law of (the) Lord’ (Luk 2:23); ‘the power of (the) Lord’ (Luk 5:17). It is noteworthy that the only instances in the Gospels where the title is used in direct address to God, are found in the prayers of Jesus: ‘I thank thee, Father, Lord of heaven and earth’ (Mat 11:25 || Luk 10:21). In both cases the title is found in exactly the same phrase. (2) The use of the name with the article is infrequent, occurring in all 11 times (twice in Mt., once in Mark , 8 times in Lk.): e.g. ‘Perform unto the Lord thine oaths’ (Mat 5:33); ‘Tell how great things the Lord hath done for thee’ (Mar 5:19); ‘Pray ye therefore the Lord of the harvest’ (Luk 10:2). In the application of this name to God, with and without the article, the Gospels follow the usage of the LXX Septuagint .

2. It is also used with great frequency as a general title of courtesy, or as a name for a master or owner. (1) Without the article, it is employed in direct address, as the salutation of a son to a father, ‘I go, sir’ (Mat 21:30); of servants to their master, ‘Sir, didst not thou sow good seed in thy field?’ (Mat 13:27); ‘Lord, let it alone this year also’ (Luk 13:8); of the Greeks to Philip, ‘Sir, we would see Jesus’ (Joh 12:21); of the Pharisees and priests to Pilate, ‘Sir, we remember that this deceiver said’ (Mat 27:63). This use of the title, as a general term of courtesy in direct address, is not found in Mk., but it occurs 9 times in Matthew , 8 times in Lk., and twice in John. As the name for a master, without the article it is found only in Mat 6:24 ‘No man can serve two masters,’ and in Luk 16:13, the parallel passage. (2) With the article, it is a frequent name for a master or owner, as ‘the lord of the vineyard’ (Mat 20:8), ‘the lord of that servant’ (Luk 12:46), ‘the servant knoweth not what his lord doeth’ (Joh 15:15). In Luk 16:8 it is the ‘lord’ of the unjust steward who commended his dishonest method of providing for himself.

3. It is most frequently of all employed as a title of courtesy in direct address to, or as a name for Jesus.

(1) Without the article, it is used (a) by His disciples, as ‘Lord, if it be thou, bid me come unto thee on the water’ (Mat 14:28). This title in direct address to Jesus by disciples is never found in Mark. It is most frequent in Jn., as is to be expected, since he records most of the private intercourse between Jesus and His disciples. (b) By others than disciples, as ‘Lord, if thou wilt, thou canst make me clean’ (Mat 8:2). In Mk. it is employed only once in this relation, by the Syrophœnician woman, ‘Yes, Lord’ (Mar 7:28). In most cases, the title as used by others than disciples is found in narratives of miracle. (c) By Jesus Himself, as ‘Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven’ (Mat 7:21). (d) It is also found in the words of the angel to the shepherds, ‘Unto you is born this day … a Saviour, who is Christ (the) Lord’ (Luk 2:11). This phrase (χριστὸς κύριος) is found in Ps-Sol 17:36. Briggs (Messiah of the Gospels, pp. 34, 35, notes) says it is probably to be interpreted on the basis of אדני Psa 110:1 (‘The Lord said unto my Lord’), but adds that Schürer, Ewald, Wellhausen, and W. R. Smith regard the phrase in Ps-Sol as a mistranslation of סשיח יהוה (‘Anointed of (the) Lord,’—a phrase which is found in Luk 2:26’ (the) Lord’s Christ’). Dalman, on the other hand (Words of Jesus, T. & T. Clark, p. 303 f.), thinks it incredible that a translator should have made such a mistake. We agree with him in regarding κύριος (Lord) as a word added by the Evangelist to interpret the Jewish title Messiah (χριστός) to his Gentile readers. (The same necessity of interpretation accounts for the phrase ‘Christ, a king’ (Luk 23:2), in the accusation made before Pilate. The claim that Jesus was ‘the Christ’ had no political significance to the Gentile governor. It had to be interpreted to him as ‘king’ before he could receive the charge as an accusation). In Act 2:36 the phrase ‘God hath made that same Jesus … both Lord and Christ’ (κύριον καὶ χριστόν), is to be explained in the same way. ‘Lord’ is an addition by the Evangelist, to interpret ‘Christ’ to Gentile Christians. We may add that the same necessity of interpreting ‘Christ’ to Gentiles accounts for the curious phrase in the address of Peter to Cornelius, which has been found so difficult—‘Jesus Christ (he is Lord of all, πάντων κύριος),’ Act 10:36. The clause in brackets is added to interpret the confessional title ‘Christ.’ It may be due to Lk., but it is more likely that it was added at the time by Peter. He was speaking to a Gentile, who, though he was ‘a devout man and one that feared God,’ may not have understood the confessional significance of the term ‘Christ.’ Without the addition of the interpretation, Cornelius might have regarded it as part of the name of Jesus. The title ‘Christ’ did become a proper name, but that use of the term did not arise till a later date. If the interpretation was given by Peter when speaking to Cornelius, it provides an interesting illustration of the way in which the first preachers of Christianity adapted themselves to the new conditions in which they found themselves, when they began to preach to Gentiles. The Saviour of the world must not have a local or national confessional title, (cf. the words of Paul and Silas to the Philippian jailer as they are given in אAB, and accepted by Westcott and Hort, Tischendorf, and other critical editors, ‘Believe on the Lord Jesus (i.e. believe on Jesus as Lord), and thou shalt be saved,’ Act 16:31. Also, ‘No man can say that Jesus is Lord but by the Holy Ghost’ (1Co 12:3), and ‘every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father,’ Php 2:11). To the Jewish Christian, Jesus was the ‘Messiah,’ to the Hellenistic Christian Jew He was ‘the Christ,’ and to the Gentile Christian He was ‘the Lord.’ The Hellenistic and Gentile terms are combined in our familiar name ‘the Lord Jesus Christ.’ The interpretation of ‘Christ’ as ‘Lord’ enables us to understand that the essential idea of the first term is that of Sovereignty or Lordship. The Saviour is the Lord, the Possessor and Ruler of the Kingdom of God.

This title readily acquired its highest significance as one of Divine honour among the Gentile Christians, especially in the East. ‘Oriental religions are fond of expressing the relationship between the divinity and the devotee, as that of the “Lord” or “Lady” to a slave’ (Deissmann). The higher significance of the title was most likely assisted also by the fact that among Hellenistic Jewish Christians κύριος was in use as a Divine title applied to God.

(2) With the article, the title is applied to Jesus (a) by Himself, directly, as ‘Ye call me Master and Lord’ (more literally, ‘the Teacher and the Lord’) (Joh 13:13), and indirectly, as ‘(The) Lord said unto my Lord (τῷ κυρίῳ μου), Sit thou on my right hand till I make thine enemies thy footstool’ (Mat 22:44). (b) The historical application of the title, with the article, to Jesus is specially significant. Tischendorf and Westcott-Hort omit the title in this form, in the only place where it is found in Mt. (Mat 28:6). It occurs twice in Mk. (Mar 16:19-20), i.e. in that part of the Gospel which is regarded by critical editors as not belonging to the original Manuscripts . Therefore it is only in the Gospels of Lk. and Jn. that the title in this form is applied historically to Jesus. This is a strong argument for the earlier composition of Mt. and Mk., for the title became so common in the Apostolic Church that its absence from these Gospels can be explained only by their early date. The title occurs 18 times in Luke , 12 times in John. Twelve of the instances in Lk. are found in passages which are peculiar to that Gospel, as ‘the Lord appointed other seventy’ (Luk 10:1). The other instances may be regarded as editorial additions (Luk 7:13; Luk 11:39; Luk 12:42; Luk 17:5-6; Luk 24:3). Three of the instances in Jn., which are found in the early part of the Gospel, are plainly editorial additions (Joh 4:1; Joh 6:23; Joh 11:2). The remaining instances are found in the last two chapters of the Gospel, and in passages which are peculiar to it. They deal with the risen life of Jesus, and were written at a time when the higher conceptions of His personality gave a deeper significance to the title, and when its confessional meaning was universally known. The adoring cry of Thomas, ‘My Lord and my God’ (ὁ κύριός μου καὶ ὁ θεός μου) Joh 20:28, is an illustration of how among Jewish Christians the title of respect addressed to a teacher became one of Divine honour. Yet, as Dalman says, ‘it must … be remembered that the Aramaic-speaking Jews did not, save exceptionally, designate God as “Lord,” so that in the Hebraic section of the Jewish Christians the expression “our Lord” was used in reference to Jesus only, and would be quite freh from ambiguity’ (p. 329).

4. In comparing parallel passages in which the title occurs, it is to be noticed that other titles are sometimes employed as equivalent terms in addressing Jesus.—

i.    Mat 8:25 (κύριε) ‘Lord, save us: we perish.’

Mar 4:38 (διδάσκαλς) ‘Teacher, earest thou not that we perish?’

Luk 8:24 (ἐπιστάτα) ‘Master (teacher), we perish.’

ii.    Mat 17:4 (κύριε) ‘Lord, it is good for us to be here.’

Mar 9:5 (Ραββεί) ‘Rabbi, it is good for us to be here.’

Luk 9:33 (ἐπιστάτα) ‘Master (teacher), it is good for us to be here.’

iii.    Mat 26:22 (κύριε) ‘Is it I, Lord?’

Mat 26:25 (Ραββει) ‘Is it I, Rabbi?’

Joh 13:25 (κύριε) ‘Lord, who is it?’

The variety in the title used in addressing Jesus is not confined to the parallel passages. It is to be seen throughout each of the Gospels. Arranging the titles in the order of preference, Mt. uses κύριος, διδάσκαλος, and Ῥαββεί; Mk. διδάσκαλος Ῥαββεί, Ῥαββουνεί, and κὐριος Lk. κὐριος, διδάσκαλος, and ἐπιστάτης; Jn. κύριος, Ῥαββεί, Ῥαββουνεί, and διδάσκαλος. Sometimes the variety of the title is seen even in the same passage. It cannot be without intention or meaning that in (iii.) Mt. represents the eleven disciples as asking, ‘Is it I, Lord?’ while Judas, the traitor, says, ‘Is it I, Rabbi?’ (Mat 26:22; Mat 26:25). Possibly Judas indicated his position of detachment or opposition by using ‘Rabbi’ instead of the title employed by the rest of the disciples. It is only by Judas that Jesus is addressed as ‘Rabbi’ in Mt. (Mat 26:25; Mat 26:49). There must also be some difference of feeling in the use of different titles in Luk 5:5 ‘Master (teacher, ἐπιστάτα), we have toiled all night’; and Luk 5:8, where Peter, after the miraculous draught of fishes, falls at the fect of Jesus with the cry, ‘Depart from me; for I am a sinful man, O Lord’ (κύριε). But it is possible that the variation of title in the parallel passages may have taken place in the process of oral transmission, or in translation from the Aramaic.

5. The variation of title in addressing Jesus suggests that in the original language of the Gospels at least two titles were employed. Of these Ῥαββεί was one, cf. ‘ye call me Master (teacher) and Lord,’ Joh 13:13, and the frequent use of ‘Rabbi’ in the Gospels. Evidently ‘teacher’ (διδάσκαλος) is a translation of ‘Rabbi’ in some of its forms (רב, רבי, רבן). In 7 places Lk. uses ἐπιστάτης as a synonym for διδάσκαλος (Luk 5:5; Luk 8:24 bis. Luk 8:45; Luk 9:33; Luk 9:49; Luk 17:13), and, without doubt, some form of רב lies behind this also. As to the title κύριος (Lord), which is used so frequently in addressing Jesus, it is most probably a translation of מָרִי or מָרַנָא. It was a common name for a master, and was used as a title of courtesy. It was used by a servant to a master, by a debtor to a creditor, and by a layman to a learned man. It is possible, however, since many of the people of Palestine were bilingual, that κύριος was used by itself when one who knew Greek spoke to Jesus.

6. We thus suggest a twofold origin of the title as applied to Jesus. First, as the translation of the Aramaic titles in use among the disciples; and second, as the substitute for χριστός with confessional meaning among Gentiles. These distinctions of origin and meaning were soon lost in the gradual but rapid adoption of the title as one expressive of Divine honour. It is possible that this use of the title first became common among Eastern Christians.

7. In regard to the application of κύριος to God, it may be said that this was entirely due to the influence of Hellenistic Judaism. It is very unlikely that it was in use among Aramaic-speaking Jews at the time of our Lord. In reading the Scriptures in the synagogue in Hebrew, the name ארני (Lord) was read wherever the sacred name יהוה was found in the text. When it became necessary to translate the Scriptures into Aramaic in public reading, ארני still took the place of the sacred name. In quoting from the Scriptures ארני was not employed for the name of God, but הַשֵׁם (‘the Name’) in Hebrew, and שְׁמָא in Aramaic. In phrases of OT origin like ‘the angel of (the) Lord,’ the name of God was entirely omitted or merely hinted at.

Literature.—Dalman, The Words of Jesus, 324; Bruce, Apologetics, 398; Naville, The Christ, 144; Somerville, St. Paul’s Conception of Christ, 295; Spurgeon, The Messiah, 649: Expository Times, vol. xii. [1901] p. 425 ff., vol. xiii. p. 236 ff., vol. xv. p. 296 ff.: Deissmann, ibid. vol. xviii. p. 195 ff.; Lexicons of Cremer and Grimin-Thayer, s.v. κύριος.

John Reid.

LORD.—The Heb. OT has three leading names for God: (1) ‘the name of four letters’ (lelragrammaton) JHWH (familiar to us in the incorrect form ‘Jehovah’; the real vocalization is almost certainly ‘Jahweh’ [see God, p. 299^b]); (2) Adonai; (3) Elohim. By a misinterpretation of Lev 24:15 the Jews shrank from uttering the first of these, and added to its four consonants, in their reading of the OT, the vowels of either Adonai or Elohim. When the vowels of the former were added, the AV [Note: Authorized Version.] and RV [Note: Revised Version.] generally translate the word by ‘Lord’; when those of the latter, by ‘God’; using small capitals in each case. If, however, Adonai is originally in the text, they represent it by ‘Lord,’ using an initial capital only. Thus in the OT ‘Lord ‘represents Jahweh when it was read as Adonai; and ‘Lord’ represents Adonai when it stands in the original text. This distinctive printing is not observed in the NT. There are several other Hebrew words in the OT expressing the general Idea of lordship, which are rendered by ‘lord’ (Gen 45:8, Jos 13:3, Ezr 8:25 etc.).

In the NT ‘Lord’ is used once as tr. [Note: translate or translation.] of Rabboni (Mar 10:51), and five times of despotçs (Luk 2:29, Act 4:24, 2Pe 2:1, Jud 1:4, Rev 6:10); in all the latter cases the RV [Note: Revised Version.] has ‘master’ in text or margin. Elsewhere it represents kyrios, applying the title (1) to God (Mat 1:20, Act 5:19 etc.); (2) to Christ (Luk 6:46, Joh 20:28 etc.). Indeed, as applied to Christ, it is the highest confession of His Person (1Co 12:3, Rom 10:9, Rev 19:16). The form ‘lord’ In NT indicates mere possession of authority (Mat 18:25, Luk 16:8 etc.).

Charles T. P. Grierson.

A title commonly used of God in the Old Testament, but commonly appropriated to Christ in the New Testament. In the Old Testament Greek version and those dependent on it, as the Vulgate in this matter, it is used in place of Jahweh (Jehovah), the proper name of God among the Israelites. The way Saint Paul and other New Testament writers use the title is one of the proofs that they regarded Christ as God. ln Acts 10:48, He is referred to as the Lord Jesus Christ.

Master, rarely used as a divine title, save when in connection with God

In the Authorized Version the word ‘lord’ generally represents the Greek êýñéïò, with the exception of Act_4:24, 2Pe_2:1, Jud_1:4, and Rev_6:10, where it stands for äåóðüôçò. In the last three passages the Revised Version renders ‘master.’ On the other hand, there are cases where êýñéïò is rendered ‘master’ both in the Authorized Version and the Revised Version -e.g. Act_16:16; Act_16:19, Eph_6:5; Eph_6:9. As a common noun the word ‘lord’ is not of very frequent occurrence. It is used of the Roman Emperor (Act_25:26); of a husband (1Pe_3:6); of the heir of a property (Gal_4:1); and of the angelic powers (1Co_8:5). But usually it is applied either to God or to Christ, and comes to be used almost as a proper name.

1. The name applied to God.-In the Septuagint êýñéïò is employed consistently to represent àַãֹðָé, which the Jews substituted in reading for the name éäåä, and hence it became the general designation of God. We meet with it frequently in the NT in this application, sometimes expanded into the title êýñéïò ὁ èåüò, or even êýñéïò ὁ èåὸò ὁ ðáíôïêñÜôùñ (Rev_4:8; Rev_11:17, etc.). God is addressed as êýñéïò in prayer (Act_1:24). The title is used predicatively of Him in Act_17:24 (‘Lord of heaven and earth’). In such phrases as ‘even as the Lord gave’ (1Co_3:5), ‘if the Lord will’ (1Co_4:19; cf. Rom_1:10; Rom_15:32), ‘chastened of the Lord’ (1Co_11:32), the reference is probably to God rather than to Christ. Naturally it is God who is referred to where the term occurs in quotations from the OT, as Act_3:22, Rom_4:8; Rom_9:28 f., 2Co_6:17 f.; though, as we shall see, there are occasions where such quotations are interpreted as referring directly to Christ. The reference is likewise to God in various phrases which recall OT associations, such as ‘the Spirit of the Lord’ (Act_5:9), ‘the fear of the Lord’ (Act_9:31), ‘the hand of the Lord’ (Act_11:21). In Rev., with one or two exceptions, the title refers to God-e.g. Act_4:8; Act_4:11, Act_11:15; Act_11:17, Act_19:1 -though on occasions Christ, in contrast to the kings of the earth, is called ‘King of kings and Lord of lords’ (Act_17:14, Act_19:16). St. Peter, St. James, and Hebrews seem to use the term indifferently for God or Christ. In the Pauline Epistles the term usually designates Christ, but there are occasional exceptions, and we must determine from the context whether God or Christ is to be understood. Thus, e.g., in the phrase ‘the word of the Lord,’ i.e. the gospel (1Th_1:6), we should certainly expect ‘the Lord’ to refer to Christ, yet the phrase recurs in the following chapter in the form ‘the word of God’ (1Th_2:13). So ‘the Lord of peace’ (2Th_3:16) corresponds to ‘the very God of peace’ (1Th_5:23); and 1Co_3:5, where some take êýñéïò to apply to Christ, is proved by 1Co_3:9 to refer to God. But indeed it is difficult to say with certainty in many cases who is intended, and sometimes St. Paul ascribes the same function now to God and now to Christ (e.g. 1Co_7:17 compared with 2Co_10:13). Some (e.g. Cremer and Godet) would lay down the rule that in the NT êýñéïò is to be understood as referring to God only in the OT quotations and references (so also Lietzmann, so far as St. Paul is concerned); but it is evident from some of the cases already quoted that such a canon cannot be consistently observed.

2. The name applied to Christ.-For the most part, however, the term is employed in the NT to designate Christ.

(1) The subjection of the believer to Christ.-The simplest instance of the use of the word ‘Lord’ for Christ is in the Gospels, where it describes the relationship of Jesus to the disciples. In this sense it occurs in Act_1:6 as a form of address of the Master, and in the phrase frequently recurring throughout the book-‘the Lord Jesus,’ e.g. Act_1:21, Act_4:33, Act_8:16. But such employment of the term is innocent of the doctrinal implication that attaches to it as generally employed in the NT. We meet with it in various forms-sometimes simply êýñéïò or ὁ êýñéïò, sometimes ὁ êýñéïò ἡìῶí, usually with the addition of Ἰçóïῦò or Ἰçóïῦò ×ñéóôüò. What is suggested by this title as assigned to Christ? The simplest answer is that it calls up the relation of king and subject, conceived in the Oriental spirit as that of lord and slave (cf. 2Ki_17:32; 2Ki_24:3 [Septuagint ]), as typical of that which obtains between Christ and the believer. St. Paul frequently calls himself äïῦëïò Ἰçóïῦ ×ñéóôïῦ (Rom_1:1, Gal_1:10, etc.); on one occasion he uses that term as a worthy designation of a faithful disciple (Col_4:12), and reminds believers that such slavery is the condition into which they have surrendered themselves (1Co_7:22).

(2) The majesty of Christ.-The title êýñéïò as applied to Christ suggests something more than the relation of subjection in which the believer stands to Him. It is deliberately selected to assign a certain lofty dignity to Christ. It was the custom in the East to call gods by the title ‘Lord’ (Deissmann, Licht vom Osten, 253ff.), and, as we have seen, the practice of the Septuagint had made this term the familiar one to the Jew for his God Jahweh. The title was deliberately transferred to Christ by the early Christians to signify that they worshipped Him as a Divine Being. In 1Co_8:5 f. St. Paul defines the Christian attitude to Christ by contrasting it with that of the worshippers of false gods. They worship many so-called gods and lords, but the Christian has but the ‘one God, the Father, of whom are all things and we unto him, and one Lord, Jesus Christ, through whom are all things, and we through him.’ Here St. Paul places Christ alongside of God as entitled to Divine honour. How such a position is compatible with the strict monotheism of the ‘one God, the Father,’ he does not discuss. It may be, as Johannes Weiss (Christus, p. 26) suggests, that he selected the title ‘Lord’ for Christ here as predicating a dignity one rank lower than that of Supreme God, and so leaving room for that relation of subordination which the Apostle elsewhere assigns to Him (2Co_1:3, Eph_1:17). It was in virtue of the Resurrection that the Church came to invest Jesus with such unique dignity. This is the standpoint of Peter in Act_2:32-36. Jesus of Nazareth, ‘a man approved of God’ (v. 22), has by the Resurrection and Exaltation been made by God ‘both Lord and Christ.’ So in Rom_1:4 St. Paul says that Jesus has been constituted (ὁñéóèÝíôïò) God’s Son in power, according to the spirit of holiness, by the resurrection of the dead (cf. also Eph_1:20 ff.). And the well-known passage Php_2:9-11 accounts for Jesus’ investment with the title ‘Lord’ along the same lines. After the humiliation of the Cross ‘God highly exalted him, and gave unto him the name which is above every name; that in the name of Jesus [i.e. whenever the name is invoked in prayer by oneself or sounded in one’s ears by others (W. Heitmüller, Im Namen Jesu, 1903, p. 66f.)] every knee should bow, of things in heaven and things on earth and things under the earth, and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.’ There is difference of opinion as to whether ‘the name which is above every name’ is the title ‘Lord.’ In view of the confession of Lordship to which the passage leads up, it seems natural to adopt this interpretation. By exalting Jesus, God has raised Him to supreme honour. He has bestowed on Him that name which He had hitherto borne Himself. The passage becomes pregnant with meaning when taken (as Weiss suggests [op. cit. p. 27]) in connexion with the Septuagint of Isa_42:8 : ἐãὼ êýñéïò ὁ èåüò, ôïῦôü ìïý ἐóôé ôὸ ὄíïìá, ôὴí äüîáí ìïõ ἑôÝñῳ ïὐ äþóù. But this name and this glory God has given to another. He has invested Jesus with the Divine name; He has given Him supreme sovereignty. All beings in heaven and earth must bow the knee before Him. He virtually takes the place of God, the monotheistic position being safeguarded in that concluding phrase, ‘to the glory of God the Father.’

The whole of the NT goes to corroborate the lofty estimate of the dignity of Christ suggested by this title. As Lord He comes in the mind of the Church to take His position alongside of God, to éxercise such functions as had been attributed to God, and to receive such reverence as had been accorded to God alone-according to an interpretation of Rom_9:5 which is linguistically unexceptionable, He is even called èåüò (cf. also 2Pe_1:1). Prayer is addressed to Him (Act_7:60, Rom_10:12, 1Co_1:2, 2Co_12:8). He is expected to judge the world (2Co_5:10 f., 2Ti_4:1; 2Ti_4:8), and is endowed with Divine omniscience (1Co_4:5). It is He who assigns their various lots to men (1Co_7:17), who grants power of service and endows with grace (1Ti_1:12; 1Ti_1:14), who stands by and strengthens in time of trouble (2Ti_4:17), and delivers out of persecutions (2Ti_3:11). All authority in the Church proceeds from Him (1Co_5:4, 2Co_10:8; 2Co_13:10). The most frequent form of benediction invokes His grace. Baptism is performed in His name (Act_8:16; Act_10:48). That name is invoked when the sick are anointed with oil (Jam_5:14); and not only on such formal occasions, but in every word and deed (Col_3:17), for that appears to be the significance of the phrase, one is to ‘do all in the name of the Lord’ (Heitmüller, op. cit. p. 69). He is the Creator of all things (1Co_8:5, Col_1:16) and Lord over all beings (Act_10:36, Rom_10:12), our only Master and Lord (Jud_1:4).

But perhaps the most striking instance of all of how Christ comes to have the value of God in the Christian consciousness is afforded by the fact that, repeatedly in the NT, quotations from the OT which manifestly refer to God are immediately applied to Christ. Thus, e.g., the exhortation of the Psalmist to taste and see that the Lord is good (Psa_34:8) is interpreted (1Pe_2:3) with reference to the experience of the believer of the salvation of Christ; and St. Paul finds an answer to the question of Isa_40:13 (Septuagint ), ‘Who hath known the mind of the Lord?’ in the triumphant declaration, ‘But we have the mind of Christ’ (1Co_2:16). Other instances of this practice will be found in Rom_10:13, 1Co_1:31; 1Co_10:22, 2Co_3:16; 2Co_3:18; 2Co_10:17, 1Pe_3:15. Such being the significance with which the title is invested, it is small wonder that St. Paul should have regarded acknowledgment of Christ’s Lordship as the mark of the true believer (Col_2:6). To confess Him as Lord with one’s mouth, and to believe in one’s heart that God has raised Him from the dead (observe the connexion between the Resurrection and Lordship), is to be assured of salvation (Rom_10:9). In cases of ecstasy such confession was the infallible sign of the presence of the Holy Spirit (1Co_12:3). The proclamation of Christ’s Lordship was the central theme of the Apostle’s preaching (2Co_4:5), the universal recognition of that Lordship the consummation of the Divine purpose (Php_2:11).

(3) The protest against Emperor-worship.-There remains to be noted one other aspect of the assertion of Christ’s Lordship-the protest implied against the worship of the Emperor under the same title. Deissmann has shown (op. cit. p. 255ff.) that already in the time of St. Paul the title was current as a form of address of the Emperor (cf. Act_25:26), if not in Rome, at any rate in the East. Caligula had ordered his statue to be erected in the Temple at Jerusalem, and required that he should be worshipped as God. Domitian is called in official reports ‘our Lord and God.’ When such was the tendency that was abroad, it is possible that even in the mouth of a man who, like St. Paul, urged subjection to the higher powers, the proclamation of the Lordship of Christ may have had a polemical nuance. In the middle of the 2nd cent. we find Polycarp laying down his life rather than say êýñéïò êáῖóáñ (Mart. Polyc. 8:2), and probably long before that time, on the lips of those who repeated it, if not by the men who first employed it, the formula ‘our Lord Jesus Christ’ was uttered with an emphasis on the word our which suggested repudiation of the claims made on behalf of the Emperor (Weinel, Die Stellung des Urchristentums zum Staat, p. 19). St. Paul could say of the Christian, ‘our state is in heaven’ (Php_3:20), and endeavour to keep his religion apart altogether from politics. But when politics invaded the sphere of religion and Caesar laid claim to the things that are Christ’s, it became the duty of the Christian to maintain the sovereignty of his Lord. Such passages as Php_2:9-11, 1Co_8:5 f. cannot fail to have been interpreted as a protest against the growing tendency to ascribe to the Emperor the reverence which belonged to Christ alone. We hear the same protest in the claim of Jud_1:4, ‘our only Master and Lord, Jesus Christ,’ and in a milder form in the subtle distinction made in 1Pe_2:17, ‘Fear God, honour the king,’ i.e. the Emperor. In Rev. the references to the Emperor-worship become more explicit (Rev_13:8; Rev_13:15; Rev_14:9; Rev_20:4), and the protest against it finds freer utterance. Christ is proclaimed King of kings and Lord of lords (Rev_17:14; Rev_19:16), while the sovereignty of this world becomes the sovereignty of the Lord and of His anointed one, and He shall reign for ever and ever (Rev_11:15).

Literature.-A. B. Bruce, Apologetics, 1892, bk. iii. ch. v.; H. Lietzmann, Die Briefe des Apostels Paulus (=Handbuch zum NT, iii. 1 [1910]), p. 53ff.; A. Deissmann, Die Urgeschichte des Christentums im Lichte der Sprachforschung, 1910, Licht uom Osten, 1908; Joh. Weiss, Christus, 1909, Das Urchristentum, 1914, ch. ii. § 5, iv. § 3, vii. § 4; H. Weinel, Die Stellung deg Urchristentums zum Staat, 1908; H. R. Mackintosh, The Person of Jesus Christ, 1912, bk. iii. ch. v.; W. Bousset, Kyrios Christos, 1913.

G. Wauchope Stewart.

This title is very widely used for many purposes and reasons. We shall enumerate some of these so that the reader may acquaint himself with the many different ways in which GOD is Lord, and in which various kinds of people, nations and rulers are lords.

The Lord:

He is GOD He is Lord of lords Deu 4:35 Deu 10:17.

He is Lord of all the earth Jos 3:11.

The Lord is King The Lord is a refuge Psa 10:16 Psa 14:6.

The Lord is my shepherd Psa 23:1.

The Lord is my light Psa 27:1.

The Lord is my salvation Psa 27:1.

The Lord is my strength Psa 28:7.

The Lord is my shield Psa 28:7.

The Lord is good Psa 34:8.

The Lord is terrible Psa 47:2.

The Lord is our defense Psa 89:18.

The Lord is upright Psa 92:15.

The Lord is merciful Psa 103:8.

The Lord is gracious Psa 103:8.

The Lord is thy keeper Psa 121:5.

The Lord is thy shade Psa 121:5.

The Lord is around us Psa 125:2.

The Lord is righteous Psa 129:4.

The Lord is nigh us Psa 145:18.

The Lord is far off Pro 15:29.

The Lord is our Maker Pro 22:2.

The Lord is that Spirit 2Co 3:17.

The Lord is at hand Php 4:5.

He is the Lord our righteousness Jer 23:6.

He is the Lord of kings Dan 2:47.

He is the Lord of the sabbath Mar 2:28.

He is Lord and CHRIST Act 2:36.

He is Lord of all Act 10:36.

He is Lord of the dead and the living Rom 14:9.

He is the Lord of glory 1Co 2:8.

He is the Lord from Heaven 1Co 15:47.

The Lord is the avenger 1Th 4:6.

The Lord is faithful 2Th 3:3.

The Lord is pitiful Jas 5:11.

This title is given to us in His Word in order that we may learn to know Him more intimately and trust Him more intelligently in the many vicissitudes of life.

For the use of ‘Lord’ among the Israelites of Old Testament times see YAHWEH. For the use of ‘Lord’ among the followers of Jesus in New Testament times see JESUS CHRIST, sub-heading ‘Jesus as Lord’.