Adonai (אדני) is a Hebrew divine title meaning "my Lord." It is the standard substitution used in Jewish practice when the Tetragrammaton (יהוה) appears in scripture and is not to be pronounced, rendering it a spoken surrogate for the ineffable Name. The plural form Adonim with the first-person suffix imbues it with a sense of supreme authority and ownership, yet it carries an intimate, possessive tone absent in more abstract divine names.

Position on the Tree of Life

In the column of God-Names in Assiah, Adonai corresponds to Malkuth (the tenth Sephirah) at scale step 32 bis. Malkuth is the Kingdom, the material world, and the final vessel of the divine outpouring. This placement identifies Adonai with the active, manifest presence of God in the physical realm—the Lord who is directly accessible in the world of action (Assiah). Whereas the Tetragrammaton remains transcendent, Adonai is the regal designation invoked when the Creator interacts with creation.

Historical context

Adonai appears throughout the Hebrew Bible as a standard reading for the Tetragrammaton. In Jewish tradition, the name is so sacred that it is only spoken in liturgical contexts, and, for centuries, scribes would substitute the vowels of Adonai into the consonants of the Tetragrammaton to produce the hybrid form Yehowah. Kabbalistic texts treat Adonai as the Shekinah, the divine presence dwelling within the material world—an emanation of the singular source that becomes the queen consort of the Sephiroth. In the Zohar, Adonai is associated with the feminine aspect of divinity, ruling over the lower sephiroth and gathering the soul's ascent. Medieval magicians in the Western esoteric tradition, drawing on the Key of Solomon, used Adonai as a powerful name for subduing spirits and consecrating tools, crediting it with dominion over the elemental kingdoms.

In the table of Liber 777, at the 32 bis step in the God-Names in Assiah column, Adonai stands as the divine designation for the material world—the Lord of the Kingdom, the officiating presence invoked when the magician works in the sphere of the earth and the elements.