What Is Lord?
Lord is a title that covers two distinct uses in Bible translations. In the Old Testament, 'LORD' in capital letters stands in for God's personal name revealed to Moses (the four Hebrew letters YHWH); Jewish tradition, out of reverence, did not pronounce this name and read 'Adonai' (my Lord) instead, and translations inherited this practice. Lowercase 'lord' is the general term of respect meaning master or owner. In the New Testament the Greek 'kyrios' carries both uses, and the early church's shortest confession of faith became 'Jesus is Lord': according to Paul, God exalted Jesus with the name above every name, and every tongue will openly declare him Lord. In a Roman world where allegiance was pledged to other masters, this confession was a courageous testimony. The title 'Lord' thus holds together reverence for God's name and the first Christian witness to the identity of Jesus.