Ancient naming practices
Recent archaeological, biblical, and extrabiblical research have led scholars working in the middle east of the origins of Israelite religion to assert rather boldly and confidently that the original God of Israel was and ancient Near East deity El. Our first clue is in the name of Israel herself. Isra-el, which translates: “May El persevere.” El was seen as the chief god in the formative years of Israel’s religious practices. In fact, the etiological story explaining the origin of the name Israel occurs in Genesis 35:9-15, where Jacob obtains this name through the blessing of El Shaddai, that is “El of the Mountain.”
is not a Yahwistic name. El is the name of the deity invoked in the name Isra-el, which translates: “May El persevere.” El was seen as the chief god in the formative years of Israel’s religious practices.
אֵל ʾēl: God, god, mighty one, hero. This is one of the most ancient terms for God, god, or deity. It appears most often in Genesis, Job, Psalms, and Isaiah and not at all in some books. The root meaning of the word mighty can be seen in Job 41:25[17] and Micah 2:1. This word is used occasionally of other gods (Ex. 34:14; Deut. 3:24; Ps. 44:20[21]; Mal. 2:11) but is most often used to mean the one true God (Ps. 5:4[5]; Isa. 40:18). It expresses various ideas of deity according to its context. The most common may be noted briefly: the holy God as contrasted to humans (Hos. 11:9); the High God El (Gen. 14:18; 16:13; Ezek. 28:2); the Lord (Yahweh) as a title of Israel according to the Lord’s own claim (Gen. 33:20; Isa. 40:18); God or god in general (Ex. 34:14; Deut. 32:21; Mic. 7:8); the God of Israel, the Lord (Num. 23:8; Ps. 118:27); God (Job 5:8).
This word is used with various descriptive adjectives or attributes: ʾēl is God of gods (Ps. 50:1); God of Bethel (Gen. 35:7); a forgiving God (Ps. 99:8). He is the holy God (Isa. 5:16). Especially significant are the assertions declaring that ʾēl is with us, Immanuel (Isa. 7:14); and He is the God of our salvation (Isa. 12:2); a gracious God (Neh. 9:31); a jealous God (Ex. 20:5; 34:14). The closeness of this God is expressed in the hand of God (Job 27:11).
In the human realm, the word also designates men of power or high rank (Ezek. 31:11); mighty men (Job 41:25[17]); or mighty warriors (Ezek. 32:21). The word is used to designate superior and mighty things in nature, such as mighty or high mountains (Ps. 36:6[7]), lofty, high cedars, or stars (Ps. 80:10[11]; Isa. 14:13).
In conjunction with other descriptive words, it occurs as ʾēl šaday, “God Almighty” (7706) (Gen. 17:1; 28:3; Ex. 6:3) or ʾēl ʿelyôn, “God Most High” (5945) (Gen. 14:18, 19; Ps. 78:35). Used with hand (yāḏ) in some settings, the word conveys power, strength (Gen. 31:29; Deut. 28:32; Prov. 3:27), or ability.
Warren Baker and Eugene E. Carpenter, The Complete Word Study Dictionary: Old Testament (Chattanooga, TN: AMG Publishers, 2003), 50–51.
עֶליוֹן ʿelyôn: A masculine noun meaning Most High, the Highest. Used 31 times in the Hebrew Bible (OT) and serves as an epithet for God. Genesis 14:18–20: Melchizedek was priest of God Most High -ʾEl ʿElyôn, so the term in context defines the God whom he served. But in this same passage, Abraham equated the God Most High with the Lord his God, the Creator of heaven and earth (Gen. 14:20). In Numbers 24:16, this epithet stands in parallel to the epithet God and Shaddai; it depicts the God who gave Balaam his knowledge and visions. The term also stands in parallel with other names of God, such as the LORD (Deut. 32:8; 2 Sam. 22:14; Ps. 18:13[14]); and God (Ps. 46:4[5]; 50:14).
עֶלְיוֹן ʿelyôn: An Aramaic masculine adjective meaning Most High God. This term always appears in the plural of majesty, comparable to the Hebrew word ʾelōhiym (430). Furthermore, it always occurs in the construct with qaddiyš (6922), meaning the holy ones or saints of the Most High God, and in the context of Daniel’s interpretation of Nebuchadnezzar’s dream of the four beasts, where four kingdoms were represented (Dan. 7:18, 22, 25, 27).
Warren Baker and Eugene E. Carpenter, The Complete Word Study Dictionary: Old Testament (Chattanooga, TN: AMG Publishers, 2003), 837–838.
שַׁדַּי šadday: A masculine noun and name for God meaning Shaddai, Almighty. The word occurs only forty-eight times in the Hebrew Bible, thirty-one times in the book of Job. This is a name for the Lord—the Old Testament people of faith referring to Him as El Shaddai, God Almighty. The term is found in the passages that report God’s promises of fertility, land, and abundance to them, indicating that He, the Almighty, could fulfill His promises (Gen. 17:1; 28:3; 35:11). The Lord appeared to Abraham when he was ninety-nine years old and identified himself as El Shaddai, God Almighty (Gen. 17:1). All three patriarchs knew Him by this name (Gen. 28:1–3; 35:11); as did Joseph (Gen. 48:3; cf. Ex. 6:3); Ezekiel the prophet knew the tradition of Shaddai as well (Ezek. 10:5). Balaam, Naomi, the psalmist, Joel, and Isaiah employed the term Shaddai, Almighty (Num. 24:4; Ruth 1:20; Ps. 68:14[15]; Isa. 13:6; Joel 1:15). But it is especially Job who uses the term appropriately as a non-Israelite (Job 5:17; 13:3; 24:1; 37:23), since it is a universal term for God. It is always found in poetic sections of material. The book of Job also uses the name the LORD, Yahweh, twenty-seven times, and it is found all but five times in the prose sections (Job 1–2; 42:7–17; see concordance for specific references).
Warren Baker and Eugene E. Carpenter, The Complete Word Study Dictionary: Old Testament (Chattanooga, TN: AMG Publishers, 2003), 1106.