Why is 'Lord' used in the Old Testament instead of God's name?

The writers of Scripture and the Jews generally used the word Lord in place of the divine name because that name, Jehovah, was held in such awe and high esteem that the average Jew did not even want to breathe it. Thus they substituted Lord, so capitalized LORD in the Old Testament stands for Jehovah.

Les explains that all the way up through the Old Testament, the word Lord was used by the writers of Scripture and by the Jews in general in place of the name they did not feel adequate to repeat. That name was Jehovah. It was held in such awe and high esteem that the average Jew did not even want to breathe it, so they substituted Lord. Therefore, throughout the Old Testament, when you see capital L, capital O, capital R, capital D, it is Jehovah.

Why did the Jews use the word 'Lord' instead of the name Jehovah in the Old Testament?

The Jews substituted "Lord" for "Jehovah" because the divine name was held in such awe and high esteem that they did not feel adequate or worthy to repeat or even breathe it. Scripture writers and Jews generally used "Lord" in place of Jehovah, and in the Old Testament capital LORD represents Jehovah.