11. By what form of address to God did Abraham show the relationship that he had with him, and how do some translators render the Hebrew expression used by Abraham?

¹¹ Abraham acknowledged the Most High God as his Sovereign Lord. After he had returned victorious from battle with four marauder kings and had been blessed by Melchizedek the priest of the Most High God, the divine word came to Abraham, saying: “Do not fear, Abram. I am a shield for you. Your reward will be very great.” In response to this, Abraham showed who was his Supreme Master by the way in which he addressed God, saying: “Sovereign Lord Jehovah, what will you give me?” When God promised to give him the land to which God had led him, Abraham showed the relationship in which he considered himself to be by saying: “Sovereign Lord Jehovah, by what shall I know that I shall take it in possession?” (Gen. 15:1, 2, 8) In his own language, Hebrew, the patriarch Abraham used, in addressing God here, the words: A·do·nayʹ Y^eho·wihʹ. Some Bible translators, in order to avoid using God’s personal name, translate this expression as “Lord God.” The Bible Concordance producer Young renders it “Lord Jehovah.” But The Jerusalem Bible translates it “My Lord Yahweh.” So does The Emphasised Bible by Rotherham.

12. What is the significance of the Hebrew word A·do·nay,ʹ as shown in the New World Translation?

¹² However, the Hebrew word A·do·nayʹ does not mean “My Lord.” It is understood to be the old form of A·do·nimʹ, literally meaning “lords.” So when the word is applied to an individual it takes on the sense of excellence or grandeur; it means a lord in an excellent way, a lord of grandeur. This old Hebrew word is applied in the Bible to no one but Jehovah or Yahweh. For that reason the New World Translation renders the Hebrew title A·do·nayʹ as “Sovereign Lord.”a In agreement with this, Hebrew translations of Acts 4:24 use the word A·do·nayʹ with the significance of “Sovereign Lord.”​—Acts 4:24, New World Translation.