Reflection: https://christianheritagecentre.com/media/advent-antiphons-o-adonai/
The word “Adonai” is a particular Hebrew term for “Lord”. Yet it is
retained in the original Latin antiphon, rather than being translated to
“Dominus”. The term is only used twice in the Vulgate (Latin) Bible.
The only explanation for its usage in the antiphon is the author’s
intended acrostic (see here)!
The
first time “Adonai” is used in the Bible is when God reveals His name
as “the LORD” to Moses. And so this second antiphon points us to the
second essential thing that we, with our Jewish ancestors, can say about
God: He is the Lawgiver.
The Latin words that refer to the Lord’s
appearance in the burning bush are not taken directly from Exodus, but
are a literal quotation from St Stephen’s speech in the Acts of the
Apostles. Thus a discrete reference is inserted to the New Testament and
to Christ.
The words either side of that phrase – referring to
the leader of Israel and the Law on Sinai – are not found directly
anywhere in the Old Testament, although they refer to Israel’s exodus
from Egypt and to the Covenant formed with them. Equally, the last
phrase, “Come and save us…” seems to refer to Moses’ song of
thanksgiving after the crossing of the Red Sea.
So how does all
this relate to Christmas? According to ancient Christian tradition, the
revelation of the Old Testament was considered to be the Revelation,
however veiled, of the Son, the Second Person of the Trinity. The God
Who spoke to our ancestors spoke through His Word, Who becomes incarnate
in the Christmas mystery. Hence Catholic theology has always seen a
spiritual prefigurement or foreshadowing of the New Testament in the
physical events of the Old Testament.
The leader of Israel, the
One Who sets us free from the land of slavery, Who leads us through the
waters of Baptism that wipe away all evil, and Who forms an irrevocable
covenant in His blood on the mount, is Christ the Lord: the One Whose
coming we await.
