![cover image](https://wikiwandv2-19431.kxcdn.com/_next/image?url=https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/5c/El%252C_the_Canaanite_creator_deity%252C_Megiddo%252C_Stratum_VII%252C_Late_Bronze_II%252C_1400-1200_BC%252C_bronze_with_gold_leaf_-_Oriental_Institute_Museum%252C_University_of_Chicago_-_DSC07734.JPG/640px-thumbnail.jpg&w=640&q=50)
El (deity)
Northwest Semitic word for 'god' / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
ʼĒl (/ɛl/ EL; also 'Il, Ugaritic: 𐎛𐎍 ʾīlu; Phoenician: 𐤀𐤋 ʾīl;[6] Hebrew: אֵל ʾēl; Syriac: ܐܺܝܠ ʾīyl; Arabic: إل ʾil or إله ʾilāh[clarification needed]; cognate to Akkadian: 𒀭, romanized: ilu) is a Northwest Semitic word meaning 'god' or 'deity', or referring (as a proper name) to any one of multiple major ancient Near Eastern deities. A rarer form, 'ila, represents the predicate form in the Old Akkadian and Amorite languages.[7] The word is derived from the Proto-Semitic *ʔil-.[8]
El | |
---|---|
Father of the Gods | |
![]() Gilded statuette of El from Tel Megiddo | |
Other names | |
Abode | Mount Lel |
Symbol | Bull |
Region | Levant (particularly Canaan) and Anatolia |
Genealogy | |
Consort |
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Children | |
Equivalents | |
Syrian equivalent | Dagon[1][2] |
Mesopotamian equivalent | Anu, Enlil[3][4] |
Hurrian equivalent | Kumarbi[3][4] |
Roman equivalent | Saturn |
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/0/0d/Gebel_el-Arak_Knife_back_side.jpg/640px-Gebel_el-Arak_Knife_back_side.jpg)
Specific deities known as 'El, 'Al or 'Il include the supreme god of the ancient Canaanite religion[9] and the supreme god of East Semitic speakers in Early Dynastic Period of Mesopotamia.[10] Among the Hittites, El was known as Elkunirsa (Hittite: 𒂖𒆪𒉌𒅕𒊭 Elkunīrša).
Although ʼĒl gained different appearances and meanings in different languages over time, it continues to exist as -il or -el in compound proper noun phrases such as Ishmael, Israel, Samuel, Daniel, Raphael, Michael, and Gabriel.