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"The
LORD said unto my lord, Sit thou at my right hand
until I make thine enemies thy footstool".
This Old Testament
verse, from Psalm 110:1,
is quoted in the New Testament, no less than 21 times! (1) The Messianic significance attached
to it by the New Testament writers demands our attention.
It is unfortunate
that the translators of the KJV clouded the meaning of David's words by assigning
an upper case "L" to that second "lord" in the verse. This
"lapse" has unfortunate complications for those who are unable to read
the Hebrew text themselves. It fails to follow the normally expected "translators
convention" which uses an upper case "L" to distinguish between
two quite different Hebrew words, one of which always refers to
God, and the other of which never refers to God.
The error has been
perpetuated by some later versions (NKJV, NASB, NIV), but has been recognised
and corrected, by several others. (RSV, NRSV, NEB).
That upper case
"L" has led many to misuse the verse as a Trinitarian "proof text".
However as we shall see, that is not the intention of the verse at all.
MORE ABOUT THAT
"TRANSLATOR'S ERROR"
In our English Bibles,
the same word "lord" translates several distinct Hebrew words. A long
established "translators convention" uses different combinations of
upper and lower case letters ("LORD", "Lord", and "lord")
to differentiate between the original Hebrew words.
When we see "Lord"
written with an upper case "L", those of us who don't read Hebrew, rely
on the established convention that it is, most often, a translation of "Adonai". (2)
The problem is that
in this verse the original Hebrew word is not "adonai"!
In this one verse, the KJV has clouded the issue by assigning an
upper case "L" to the quite different word, "ADONI". In all
other places where this word is translated as "lord" in the KJV, it
appears with a lower case "l".
THE HEBREW LESSON
We need first to
look at the use of all the Hebrew words which are translated "lord".
The information for the following short "Hebrew lesson" has been gleaned
from Young's Concordance and recent E-mail correspondence with my good friend
Anthony Buzzard. (3)
YHWH, ADON, ADONI,
AND ADONAI
Young lists eleven
Hebrew words which are translated "lord". The four which concern us
here are those listed in the heading immediately above.
1. YHWH (Yahweh
or Jehovah)
This word is the
first "LORD" in Psalm 110:1.
It is the Divine Name considered so sacred by the Jews, that it is never
pronounced.
Instead when reading
from the Scriptures they substitute the word "Adonai". (see below)
The accepted convention
is that in English translations it always appears as either LORD,
or GOD (all upper case) thus enabling us to recognise that the original word is
"Yahweh".
2. ADON
This word is formed
from the Hebrew consonants Aleph, Dalet, Nun. It appears often in this form (without
any suffix). Apart from about 30 occasions where it refers to the Divine Lord,
all of the other occurrences refer to human lords.
In English, it always
has a lower case "l", except on those comparatively few occasions where
it refers to God. In those cases it is given an upper case "L".
It is important
to distinguish between "Adon" and three other similar, but quite distinct,
words which are formed from it by the addition of suffixes
.
3. ADONAI
"Adonai"
accounts for two of the three other words just mentioned
above. It is formed from the root word "adon"
with the addition of the suffix "AI".
In its main form,
“Adonai” is singular, always referring to God, and no one else.
The accepted "translators
convention" is that in this form, it always appears in English, as "Lord"
(with an upper case "L").
The second form
of "Adonai" has a different vowel point under the "N" to distinguish
it from the main form just described. This is a much less common form of the word.
In its plural form it appears that way only a very few times, referring to men
or angels .(Cf. Genesis 19:2,
KJV and RSV)
4. ADONI
This is formed by
adding the suffix "i" to "adon". With this suffix it means "my
lord". (It is also sometimes translated as "master".)
It appears 195 times
and is used almost entirely of human lords (but occasionally of angels). When
translated "lord", it always appears with a lower case "l"
(except for that one time in Psalm 110:1).
THE VOWEL POINTS
IN PSALM 110:1
The Hebrew text
identifies vowels by a system of "vowel points" (which, to the untrained
eye, look like random "dots" and "squiggles") placed above,
below, or alongside the appropriate consonant. This vowel pointing system was
developed by the Masoretes. (4)
Now for some more
information provided by Anthony Buzzard. (3)
As mentioned above,
the two words "ADONAI" and "ADONI" are both formed from the
root word "ADON".
They share the same
consonants - ADNY i.e. In Hebrew
..... ALEPH, DALET, NUN, YOD. The difference is in the vowel pointing:
*
"ADONAI" is formed by placing
the point "quamets"
under NUN.
*
"ADONI" is formed by placing
the point "hireq"
under NUN. (Just one tiny letter different, but an enormous
difference in meaning!)
CONFIRMATION FROM
THE SEPTUAGINT
There are some who
persist in reading the word ADONAI in this verse, instead of ADONI. This is usually
justified by claiming that the Masoretes have assigned the wrong vowel points.
However the "Greek Factor" from the Septuagint version (LXX) supports
the Masoretes. The following information was passed on to me recently by Bill
Wachtel. (5)
The Hebrew text
in Psalm 110:1 is actually LADONI.
("L"+ "adoni")
ADONI = my lord.
LADONI = TO my lord.
In the Greek of
the LXX, LADONI becomes "to kurio mou"
(= to my lord)
If the text had
read: LADONAI (= to the Divine Lord) the
Greek would have read simply
"to kurio".
Thus the LXX confirms
for us that the original Hebrew is ADONI, and that the Masoretes got it right.
THE MESSIANIC CONNECTION
Many have incorrectly
assumed that the original Hebrew word in Psalm
110:1, is ADONAI, (which always refers to God).
This has led to the further incorrect assumption that the verse is a "proof
text" for the doctrine of the Trinity.
However, we have
seen that the actual Hebrew word used is ADONI. This word refers to human
lords. It speaks of the HUMANITY of Jesus ...... not Deity.
Psalm
110:1 should be studied in the context of the many New Testament
quotations which use it.
Viewed properly,
it is clearly Messianic ..... NOT Trinitarian.
In the 21 places
where it is quoted in the New Testament, the overwhelming conclusion is that the
early Church relied very heavily on Psalm 110:1,
to prove that the MAN Jesus, who now sits at the right hand of God, is indeed
both Messiah and Son of God.
As David's descendant,
Jesus would normally be considered by Jewish tradition, to be INFERIOR in rank
to David.
But through His
miraculous Divine paternity, the impossible has happened!
Although Jesus is
both totally Human, and descended from David, He nevertheless
OUTRANKS him by right of birth.
As "Son of
David", Jesus has inherited David's throne. (Luke 1:32-33) But as "Son of God", Jesus
has also been "highly exalted to receive the name which is above every
name". (Philippians 2:9-11)
In
accordance with the Scriptures,
Jesus
is forever both man and Messiah.
His
throne is for ever.
His
name is above David's name for ever.
He
is David's King for ever !
THAT
is why David calls Him "lord"!
Footnotes
1. Psalm 110:1 is quoted by:
*
Jesus:
Matthew 22:44, Matthew 26:64, Mark 12:36, Mark 14:62, Mark 16:19,
Luke 20:42-43; Luke 22:69,
Revelation 3:21.
*
Peter:
Acts 2:33-34, Acts 5:31,
1 Peter 3:22.
*
Stephen:
Acts 7:55-56.
*
Paul:
Romans 8:34, 1 Corinthians 15:25, Ephesians 1:20, Colossians 3:1,
Hebrews 1:3, Hebrews 1:13,
Hebrews 8:1, Hebrews 10:12-13, Hebrews 12:2.
2. On
about 30 occasions the word "adon" is also
translated with an upper case "L". However it should be noted that "adon" much more often refers to a human lord, and then
it is translated with a lower case "l".
3. Sir Anthony F. Buzzard , Bt., M.A., (Oxon.), M.A. Th., A.R.C.M.,
teaches at the Atlanta Bible College of the Church of God General Conference.
4. THE MASSORETIC VOWEL POINTS
The
following information on the Masoretes and their work has been condensed from
various books, encyclopedias and Internet sources.
The
ancient Hebrew texts were comprised of consonants only. There were no vowels or
punctuation marks. The Masoretes were Hebrew scholars who over several centuries,
established a system of vowel markings to indicate the traditional pronunciation
and intonation. We call these the "vowel points".
This
work was not completed until several centuries after the beginning of the Christian
era.
One
sometimes encounters people whose determination to retain Psalm 110:1 as
a Trinitarian "proof text" leads them to (selectively) discount the
reliability of the Masoretic vowel pointing system, in favour of some other personal
preference, especially when it suits their particular theological bias. However
unless there is compelling documented evidence for changes of this kind, they
are seldom helpful. We must be very cautious about introducing arbitrary changes
of this kind, lest we leave ourselves open to accusations of "intellectual
dishonesty".
The
following summary will provide a brief introduction to the Masoretes:
*
The
work of the Masoretes was done principally in the period AD 500-900.
*
Although
there were different schools of Masoretes, their differences seem to have left
us very few variations in the meaning of the Hebrew consonantal text.
*
It
was the goal of the Masoretes to preserve the traditional meaning of the Hebrew
text. This was perceived as necessary, because ancient Hebrew is a strictly consonantal
language, and therefore prone to error in transmission.
*
One
of the ways they did this was to develop a system of vowel pointing, which indicates
the traditional pronunciation and meaning of the text.
*
Since
Hebrew is a consonantal language, there are many places where the same consonants
are used for quite different words.
(Note: That is no different
to English! Often the same consonants form different words when associated with
different vowels. Often the same combination of consonants and vowels, has a different
pronunciation, and a different meaning. When that happens, we use context
and tradition to interpret the intended meaning. )
*
The
Masoretic vowel pointing indicates the traditional meaning, understanding, and
pronunciation which had formerly been passed
down from generation to generation, by oral tradition, through their teachers.
*
In
cases where identical groups of consonants were traditionally understood to be
different words, with different meanings attached, the pointing system made that
clear and preserved it for future generations.
*
Our
current English translations all rely heavily on the pointed text.
As a
LAYMAN, I conclude that what we have now is the work of dedicated Jewish Scholars,
which reflects the best consensus about what was ALREADY accepted as the traditional
understanding of the text, over many centuries.
Consequently
when the Masoretes reported "adoni" instead
of "adonai", in Psalm 110:1, they
were following the oral tradition. As we have already seen above, the LXX which
predates the pointed text by centuries, supports this conclusion.
The
Masoretes knew that in the unpointed text for that verse, the word "ADNY"
was properly read and understood as a human lord, "ADONI", and not the
divine Lord, "ADONAI".
And
in the providence of God, they inserted vowel points which preserved it that way
for us (and our English translators).
5. Bill
Wachtel has an M.A. in New Testament from Wheaton College, Wheaton, Illinois.
He was an instructor at the former Oregon Bible College of the Church of God General
Conference, from 1962 to 1968, and president from 1963 to 1968. At OBC he taught
Greek classes, as well as other subjects
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