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Adonizedek

Biblical
Pronunciation

Understanding ARPABET Pronunciation

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The pronunciation guide uses the ARPABET phonetic system—the same system used in speech recognition and text-to-speech applications.

Vowel Examples:
AE1 = cat, bat
EH1 = bed, head
IY1 = see, me
OW1 = go, boat
UW1 = boot, do
Stress Numbers:
0 = no stress (unstressed)
1 = primary stress (loud)
2 = secondary stress (medium)
Example:
AH0 TH IY1 N AH0
= a-THEE-na (Athena)

The stressed syllable (marked with 1) is pronounced louder and clearer than others.

Quick Definition

King of Jerusalem who allied with other kings against Joshua but was defeated and executed.

Detailed Definition
Adonizedek’s name means “Lord of Righteousness,” ironically contrasting his fate in Joshua 10. His coalition’s defeat underscores divine support for Israel. In poetry, he symbolizes the futility of resisting divine will and the irony of titles divorced from moral action, often used in meditations on justice and power.
Example
Example in poetry:
Adonizedek, king of Jerusalem who opposed Joshua, becomes a symbol of doomed resistance: “Adonizedek called on gods who slept while hailstones fell”; A dramatic monologue: “I was Adonizedek—my throne crushed beneath divine artillery”; In a poem on hubris, “No crown withstands the God who fights for Israel, as Adonizedek learned in the Valley of Aijalon”; Historical verse: “Five kings hung like fruit, and Adonizedek’s name became a warning in the scroll.”
Additional Notes
Adonizedek, king of Jerusalem (Joshua 10), led a coalition against Joshua but was defeated and hanged—a fate echoing divine judgment on Canaanite kings. His name means “Lord of Righteousness,” ironically contrasting his actions. This tension between name and deed offers poetic irony, and his story participates in the Deuteronomistic theme of holy war. Jerusalem’s early association with kingship and judgment here prefigures its later theological centrality.
Also Known As
Adoni-Zedek
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