![]() Scholars have surmised that these names may reflect the Semitic culture of the early patriarchs or that the god El played an important part in the religion of the patriarchs. ![]() In the patriarchal narratives, the name El was used together with other epithets of God to designate the God the patriarchs worshiped. Since El was worshiped as a high god by many of the people in the Ancient Near East during the second millennium B.C., it is probable that El became part of Israel’s history, not by accident, but as a result of the cultural practices of the early Israelites or because of the ancient Israelite traditions in which El was used as a generic name of the deity. ![]() El was the father of the gods in the Canaanite pantheon. Most of our knowledge about the god El comes from Canaanite literature found at Ugarit dated to the Late Bronze Age. According to these scholars, the incorporation of El’s characteristics into Yahweh helps to explain the presence of the name El in the worship of the patriarchs. Many scholars believe that Yahweh, the God of the Hebrews, was a manifestation of the high god of the Canaanites, who appeared to Moses on Mount Sinai as the God of Israel. The presence of El in the Hebrew Bible raises questions about the religion of the patriarchs. El was the supreme god of the Canaanites. The word El is found throughout the Old Testament except in the book of Leviticus.Įl could designate the name of any god, but it was also used as the name of a particular god in the Canaanite pantheon. In the Hebrew Bible, the word El is used in the most general way as a designation of a deity, whether of the true God or of the false gods, even of the idols used in pagan worship. The etymology of the word is uncertain, but it seems to designate power or might. The word El was used not only in the Hebrew Bible but also in Akkadian, Phoenician, and many Semitic languages. The word El was used in the West Semitic world to refer to a god or a deity. I have also written a post on “ The Name of God: Jehovah” and several posts on “Pronouncing the Divine Name” (Part 1 here, Part 2 here, and Part 3 here). The list on that post was only a small sample of the ways God was described and experienced in the Bible. ![]() In a previous post, “ The Titles of God in the Hebrew Bible,” I listed several of the many names and titles by which the people of Israel experienced God. This is the name God revealed to Moses and Israel on Mount Sinai and this is the name by which God himself said people should remember him: “This is my name forever this is how I am to be remembered generation after generation” (Exodus 3:15). I think that the expression as it appears in the song deserves a post in itself in order to explain its meaning, but that will come later.Įl Shaddai is one of the many names by which the God of the Old Testament was known. The song also introduces the unintelligible “Erkamka na Adonai,” an expression that many Christians delight in using to praise God, but one which they have no idea of what it means. This name has been popularized by a contemporary Christian song entitled “El Shaddai.” The first words of this song, “El Shaddai, El Shaddai, El-Elyon na Adonai,” introduces three names by which God is known in the Old Testament: El Shaddai, El-Elyon, and Adonai. One of the names by which God is known in the Hebrew Bible is El Shaddai. ![]()
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