H0410 H0410
God (El); generic Semitic deity word; also 'mighty one, power'; in divine epithets (El Shaddai, El Elyon).
El is the oldest and most elemental word for God in the Semitic languages, attested in Akkadian (ilu), Ugaritic, Phoenician, and Arabic (ilah) long before its Hebrew biblical usage. In the Hebrew Bible it functions primarily as a name or title for the one true God of Israel, often in poetic and archaic contexts where the more common 'Elohim might feel too prosaic. El appears in some of Scripture's most exalted compound epithets — El Shaddai ('God Almighty,' Gen 17:1), El Elyon ('God Most High,' Gen 14:18-22), El Olam ('the Everlasting God,' Gen 21:33), El Roi ('the God who sees,' Gen 16:13). Yet the word also retains an older, more generic force: it can mean 'a god' in general, 'mighty one' applied to powerful humans or angels, or simply 'power, strength' in poetic parallelism. The multilingual evidence shows that most languages use their primary word for God (Arabic Allah, Korean 하나님, Swahili Mungu) for sense 1, but shift to power or might vocabulary when the non-divine sense surfaces — a split visible already in the earliest Semitic inscriptions.
3. a god, deity (generic) — A god or deity in the generic sense — 9 occurrences referring to foreign gods, false deities, or the concept of divinity abstractly. The rhetorical question 'Who is like you among the gods?' (Exod 15:11) and the warning against a 'strange god' (Ps 81:9) use 'el without specific reference to YHWH. Deut 32:12 declares 'no foreign 'el was with him,' and Deut 32:21 speaks of provoking God with 'a non-god' (lo-'el). Arabic ilah (indefinite, versus Allah the proper name), Korean 신 ('a god,' versus 하나님 'God'), and Swahili mungu (lowercase, versus Mungu) all mark the generic-versus-proper distinction that Hebrew achieves through context rather than morphology. 9×
AR["إِلى-إِلهٍ","إِلَهِ","إِلٰهًا","إِلٰهٌ","إِلٰهٍ","إِلٰهِي","بَيْنَ-الْآلِهَةِ","لِإِلَهٍ","لِإِلٰهٍ"]·ben["আমার-দেবতা","ঈশ্বর","ঈশ্বরকে","ঈশ্বরের","ঈশ্বরের-কাছে","দেবতা","দেবতাদের-মধ্যে","দেবতার-জন্য","প্রতি-ঈশ্বর"]·DE["el","gott","unter-der-Goetter","zu","zu-Gott","zu-ein-Gott","zu-mir","zu-zu"]·EN["El-of","among-the-gods","el","god","into-a-god","my-god","to-a-god","to-god"]·FR["dieu","el","parmi-le-dieux","vers","vers-moi","à-dieu","à-vers"]·heb["אל","אלי","ב-אלים","ל-אל"]·HI["एल","एल-को","के-लिए-देवता","देवता-को","देवता-मेरा","देवताओं-में","ले-एल"]·ID["Allah","Allah-ku","allah","di-antara-allah-allah","kepada-allah","menjadi-allah"]·IT["a","a-a","a-dio","a-me","dio","el","fra-il-dèi"]·jav["Gusti-Allah","Gusti-Allah-ipun","allah-kula","dhateng-dewa","dhateng-gusti-allah","dhumateng-allah","déwa","kanggé-allah","wonten-ing-antawis-para-déwa"]·KO["-하나님-에게","나의-신이니라","신","신(접)","신들-중에","신에게","신으로"]·PT["a-deus","deus","deus-meu","entre-os-deuses,","o-Deus-dos","para-deus"]·RU["Бога","Элю","бог-мой","бога","богом","богу","в-бога","к-богу","среди-богов"]·ES["Dios-de","a-dios","como-dios","dios","entre-los-dioses","mi-dios"]·SW["Mungu","kuwa-mungu","kwa-mungu","miongoni-mwa-miungu","mungu","mungu-wangu"]·TR["el'e","elahimsin","ilahlarda","ilahın","tanrı","tanrıya","tanrıyla"]·urd["خدا","خدا-کی-طرف","خدا-کے-لیے","لِ-ایل","معبود","معبودوں-میں","میرا-خدا","کو"]
▼ 4 more senses below
Senses
1. God, the true God — The one true God of Israel, used as a divine name or title — 223 of 245 occurrences, the overwhelming majority. This covers El as a standalone divine designation in poetry (Ps 18:31, 'Who is El besides YHWH?'), in compound epithets (El Shaddai, Gen 17:1; El Elyon, Gen 14:18; El Olam, Gen 21:33; El Bethel, Gen 35:7), with possessive suffixes ('my God,' 'your God'), and in attributive constructions ('a jealous God,' Exod 34:14; 'a merciful God,' Deut 4:31). Arabic Allah, Korean 하나님, Hindi परमेश्वर, Swahili Mungu, and Spanish Dios all consistently deploy their primary monotheistic God-term here. The poetic register is notable: El dominates in Job, Psalms, and Isaiah far more than in historical prose. 223×
AR["إِلَهٌ","إِلٰهٌ","إِلٰهُ","إِيلَ","إِيلُ","الإِلٰهُ","الإِلٰهِ","اللّٰهُ","الْإِلَهِ","اَللّٰهُ","يَا-إِلَهَ"]·ben["ঈশ্বর","ঈশ্বরের","শক্তিশালী"]·DE["El","Gott","Gott-","bist-ein-Gott-","ein-Gott"]·EN["El","God","a-God"]·FR["Dieu","El","un-Dieu"]·heb["אל"]·HI["-आकाश-में","ईश्वर","ईश्वर-का","ईश्वर-ने","एल","परमेश्वर","हे-एल","हे-परमेश्वर"]·ID["Allah","ya-Allah"]·IT["Dio","El","un-Dio"]·jav["Allah","Gusti Allah","Gusti-Allah","dèwa"]·KO["신이","전능의-하나님이","하나님","하나님-의","하나님-이","하나님이다","하나님이시니","하나님이시다","하나님이여"]·PT["'El","Deus","El"]·RU["Бог","Бога","Богу","Боже"]·ES["Dios","El","dios"]·SW["Mungu","Mungu-anafanya-hivi","mungu"]·TR["El","Tanrı","Tanrı'nın","Tanrı'sı","Tanrı'sın","Tanrı'yım","ey-Tanrı","tanrı"]·urd["خدا","خدا-نے","خدایا"]
2. mighty one, power — Might, power, or capacity — a non-divine substantival or adjectival use meaning 'strength' or 'in the power of' — 10 occurrences. Laban tells Jacob 'it is in the power of my hand' (le-'el yadi, Gen 31:29); Deuteronomy warns 'there is no power in your hand' (Deut 28:32). In Ps 29:1 the bene 'elim are 'sons of might' (heavenly beings). Arabic qudra ('power'), Korean 힘 ('strength'), and Spanish poder ('power') all select non-theistic vocabulary, confirming a genuine lexical distinction from the divine-title sense. Ezek 31:11 uses 'el of the nations' for a mighty human ruler. The semantic bridge between 'God' and 'power' runs through the idea that deity is the ultimate locus of might. 10×
AR["أَقْوِيَاءُ","الآلِهَةِ","اللهِ","الْأَقْوِيَاءُ","الْأَقْوِيَاءِ","فِي-قُدْرَةِ","لِ-إِلَهٍ","لِ-قُدْرَةِ","لِ-قُوَّةِ"]·ben["-এর-কাছে-শক্তি","-শক্তিতে","ঈশ্বরের-কাছে","ঈশ্বরের-জন্য","দেবতাদের","শক্তি-","শক্তিশালীদের","শক্তিশালীরা"]·DE["Gott","der-Gott","in-Macht-von","in-der-Macht-","zu-zu"]·EN["gods","in-power-of","in-the-power-of","mighty-ones-of","the-mighty","the-mighty-ones","to-El","to-power-of"]·FR["Dieu","dans-puissance-de","pour-vers","vers-moi","zu-vers","à-Dieu"]·heb["אלי","אלים","ל-אל"]·HI["ईश्वर-के","एल-के-लिए","देवताओं-के","परमेश्वर-की","शक्ति-के-लिए","शक्ति-में","शक्तिशाली","शक्तिशाली-के"]·ID["dalam-kuasa","kekuatan","kuasa","kuasa-Allah","para pahlawan","pemimpin","segala-allah","yang-ilahi"]·IT["Dio","a-El","a-a","a-verso","in-potenza-di"]·jav["ing-kakiyatan","ing-kakuwatan","ing-tangan","kakiyatan","kangge-kakiyatan","para-allah","para-déwa;","para-ingkang-kuwaos","para-ingkang-kuwasa","para-pangageng"]·KO["(전)-힘이","~의-힘이","강한-자들-의","강한-자들이","능력자들-의","신들의","에게-힘-이","에게-힘이","용사들이","힘-이"]·PT["ao-poder-de","chefes-de","de-poderosos","deuses","no-poder-de","para-Deus","poder-de","poderosos"]·RU["богов","в-силе","вожди","для-силы","могущественных","силы","сильные","у-Бога"]·ES["a-El","al-poder-de","dioses","los-poderosos-de","para-poder-de","poder-de","poder-en","poderosos"]·SW["Mungu","kwa-nguvu-ya","nguvu","nguvu-ya","nguvu-ya-Mungu","wa-miungu","wa-nguvu-za","wenye-nguvu"]·TR["Tanrı-için","de-Tanrı'nın","gücü","gücü-","gücünde-","güçlüler","güçlüleri","güçlülerin","ilahların"]·urd["ایلوں-کے","بڑے-بڑے","خدا-کے-لیے","طاقت","طاقت-میں-","طاقت-کو","طاقتور","طاقتوروں","قدرت-میں","معبودوں-کے"]
4. El (in proper names) — The theophoric element El as a component in proper names or as a standalone name designator — 2 occurrences where El functions as part of a personal or cultic name rather than as a common noun or divine title. At Judg 9:46 the 'house of El-Berith' names a specific Canaanite temple deity; at 2 Sam 2:30 'Asahel' embeds El as a name element. Spanish, French, and German all transliterate rather than translate (El-, not 'Dios-'), confirming that the proper-name function is cross-linguistically recognized as distinct from the appellative use. 2×
AR["إِل","وَعَسَائِيلَ"]·ben["অসাহেল","এল"]·DE["El","El-"]·EN["El","El-"]·FR["El-","Él"]·heb["אל"]·HI["()असाहेल","एल"]·ID["Asahel","El-"]·IT["El","El-"]·jav["Asahèl","El"]·KO["[이름]","신-"]·PT["'El-","'el"]·RU["Эла","эль"]·ES["El","El-"]·SW["Asaheli","El-"]·TR["El"]·urd["اِیل","ایل"]
5. sense 5 — A single occurrence at Isa 57:5 where 'el appears in the phrase 'under every green tree,' traditionally rendered 'among the oaks' or 'among the terebinths,' possibly reflecting a homonymous root meaning 'terebinth' or 'great tree' (cf. Hebrew 'elah, 'allah). The multilingual evidence is split — English 'among the oaks,' Spanish 'entre las encinas' treat it as a tree term, while French Dieu and German Gott read it as 'God.' The ambiguity may be deliberate polemical wordplay: Israel worships among the 'el-trees instead of worshipping El. BDB lists this under a separate root, but the contextual echo between deity and sacred tree is part of the prophetic rhetoric. 1×
AR["بِ-الْأَصْنَامِ"]·ben["ওকগাছগুলির-মধ্যে"]·DE["Gott"]·EN["among-the-oaks"]·FR["Dieu"]·heb["ב-אלים"]·HI["बलूतोंके-बीच"]·ID["di-antara-pohon-pohon-terebint"]·IT["Dio"]·jav["ing-wit-terebinth"]·KO["상수리-나무들-사이에서-"]·PT["com-os-deuses"]·RU["среди-дубов"]·ES["entre-las-encinas"]·SW["katika-mialoni"]·TR["agaclarla-"]·urd["بلوطوں-میں"]
Related Senses
G3588 1. definite article (18298×)H0853 1. definite direct object marker (10915×)G2532 1. (8312×)H3068 1. YHWH (the divine name) (6522×)H5921a 1. upon, on, over (spatial) (5443×)H0413 1. directional: to, toward (5366×)H1121a 1. son, male offspring, descendant (4914×)H0834a 1. relative pronoun (who/which/that) (4839×)H3808 1. simple negation (not) (4839×)H3588a 1. causal: because, for (3498×)G1161 1. and (2806×)H4428 1. king, human ruler (2518×)H3478 1. Israel (proper name and nation) (2507×)H0430 1. God (of Israel) (2502×)G1722 1. locative: in, within (2442×)H1004b 1. house, dwelling, building (2015×)H6440 1. before, in front of (spatial) (1870×)G4771 1. you (plural address) (1853×)G3756 1. not (negation particle) (1635×)H3027 1. physical hand (body part) (1596×)
BDB / Lexicon Reference
II. אֵל n.m. (also, in n.pr. אֶל, אֱלִי; Sam. אל, Ph. אל, אלן (i.e. prob. אֵלֹן), Sab. אל, DHM Or. Congr. Leiden, 1883, As. ilu, DlW; perhaps also Arabic, Aramaic. cf. Nöl.c.; on goddess אלת Ph. Palm. Nab. Sab. (also אלהת) DHMl.c., Arabic إِلَاهَة) (pl. إِلَاهَات) FlKl.Schr. i. 154, Assyrian Allatu Jr 66, Syriac ܐܰܠܳܗܳܬܳܐ,, cf. also BaeRel 58, 90, 97, 271, 297) god, but with various subordinate…