Elohim (God or gods) is the generic term for divinity most frequently found in the Bible. It is used as a plural noun for gods of other nations and as a singular noun when applied to Israel’s God. Elohim appears as an amplification of Eloah, a poetic form that does not occur in Genesis.
Adonai (Lord) is the unique, personal name of God and the name most frequently used in the Bible. The original pronunciation of יהוה was most likely “Yahweh”, but since Jewish tradition permitted the name to be voiced only by the High Priest, it became customary, after the destruction of the Second Temple, to substitute the word Adonai (meaning “my Lord”) when reading יהוה. The Masoretes who vocalized the Hebrew text therefore took the vowels from the word Adonai (אדני) and put them with יהוה to remind the reader not to read Yahweh but Adonai. Hence, all vocalized texts of the Bible now read “Adonai”. A Christian writer of the sixteenth century who was unaware of this substitution transcribed יהוֹה as he saw it, namely, as “Jehovah”, and this has since entered many Christian Bible translations.
Jewish tradition interprets the names Elohim and Adonai as explanations of the two sides of the nature of God, the former representing the quality of justice, the latter reflecting the quality of mercy. The Midrash says that the world was originally created by God as Elohim (Gen. 1), but that afterward He is called Adonai Elohim (Gen. 2) because He saw that without the added quality of mercy creation could not have endured.
