Difference between Lord and God
An interesting fact about the term ‘God’ is that it comes from a root where the other words ‘good’ and ‘gold’ also came from. This shows that God is, in fact, good and pure like gold. Philosophers particularly refer to ‘God’, also known as the omnipotent God, the Supreme Absolute and the Almighty, as being the cause of our universe.
Still, the term ‘god’ is used for lesser beings such as the gods of wealth, death even love. Also, the mention of several ‘gods’ is a common characteristic of many mythologies.
The term ‘lord’ in the other hand, possesses another meaning, which is: one who rules above others. Due to this the word has been loosely applied both to God and human beings. A person who rules above others can be called a Lord. The king of any kingdom, for example, is addressed by his subjects and ministers as lord.
In England, there are lords who have jurisdiction over a certain portion of the land. In Israel, however, the term ‘lord of Israel’, which the Jews coined in the 3rd Century BC, refers to ‘God of Israel’. The Hebrew term they used is ‘Adonai’, which means lord. This could probably be the reason Bible translators used the term ‘Lord’ where God’s proper name was used when translating the entire Old Testament from Hebrew.
The term ‘lord’ is also used for several other occasions. In certain countries, it is utilized to address a judge or a judiciary head. Others use it as prefix for the names of their local gods. Some even use it as mere title.