El | |
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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 |
Deities of the ancient Near East |
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Religions of the ancient Near East |
Part of the myth series on Religions of the ancient Near East |
Pre-Islamic Arabian deities |
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Arabian deities of other Semitic origins |
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]
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.
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