BHC Power Bible Studies

LORD or Lord or Something Else? By Jim Myers

Psalm 110:1 has been part of many discussions between readers of English translations. One reason for that interest is Jesus quoted it in a discussion with a scribe at the Temple. Below are the words of Jesus:

“How is it that the scribes say that the Christ is the Son of David? For David himself said by the Holy Spirit: ‘The LORD said to my Lord, “Sit at my right hand till I make your enemies your footstool.”’ (New King James Version Mark 12:35-36)

Today we are going to focus on two words in that quote: “LORD / Lord.” We will answer this question: Do they refer to the same thing?

A good Bible reading habit to develop is use the Parallel Hebrew-English Bible when you are reading verses of the Jewish Scriptures (Old Testament) and the Parallel Greek-English Bible when reading verses of the New Testament. We looked up Psalm 110:1 in the Parallel Hebrew-English Bible and this is what we discovered. Pay close attention to capitalized letters in the different English translations:

● LORD / Lord (King James Version & Noah Webster Bible)

● Lord / Lord (Bible in Basic English & Douay Rheims Bible)

● Jehovah / Lord (American Standard Bible, Darby’s English Translation & Young’s Literal Translation)

● Yahweh / Lord (World English Bible)

All of the translators chose “Lord” as the translation of the second word. However, we find three different choices for the first word -- LORD, Jehovah and Yahweh. Do they mean the same thing to you? How many Bible readers make distinctions between LORD and Lord?

When we examined those words in the Hebrew text, this is what we discovered – YHVH and adonai.

● YHVH is a name of God (Yahweh and Jehovah are two versions of that name).

● adonai means “my Lord / my Master.”

Now let’s expand the context to include the opening phrase of Psalm 110. Pay attention to the underlined word.

BIBLICAL HERITAGE CENTER, INC. ● PO BOX 714 ● CLEBURNE TX 76033-0714 Page 1 http://biblicalheritage.org BHC Power Bible Studies

● A Psalm of David. The LORD said unto my Lord (King James Version & Noah Webster Bible)

● A Psalm. Of David. The Lord said to my lord (Bible in Basic English)

● The Lord said to my Lord (Douay Rheims Bible)

● Jehovah saith unto my Lord (American Standard Bible)

● {Psalm of David.} Jehovah said unto my Lord (Darby’s English Translation)

● Psalm by David. Yahweh says to my Lord (World English Bible)

● A Psalm of David. The affirmation of Jehovah to my Lord (Young’s Literal Translation)

Below is a literal translation of the Hebrew words of that phrase:

“A Psalm to David. A whispering of YHVH to my Lord. . . .”

The Hebrew word ne’um was translated said / saith / says / affirmation by the translators above. It is a technical term used in prophetic speech and in combination with other formulas, which originally meant whispering (Holladay’s Lexicon p. 223b). Be sure to note that “Yahweh is whispering to David;” “David is not speaking to Yahweh.”

The modern popularity of the phrase “Jesus is Lord” has added a new layer of theological confusion to old discussions. In many Christian groups the words “Jesus and Lord/LORD” are viewed as synonyms – but they are not. SHALOM!

BHC Power Bible Studies are designed to fit in busy schedules. Use them at home, when you travel, in the workplace, at church, over lunch, on social media with friends, etc.

Let us know if you like this study by liking our Facebook Page.

Subscribe to our mail list to receive notices when new BHC Power Bible Studies are posted online – they are free and we encourage you to share them with others!

BIBLICAL HERITAGE CENTER, INC. ● PO BOX 714 ● CLEBURNE TX 76033-0714 Page 2 http://biblicalheritage.org