El (deity)

El
El
Father of the Gods
	Gilded statuette of El from Tel Megiddo
Other names	Adon Ilim;
Abode	Mount Lel
Symbol	Bull
Region	Levant (particularly Canaan) and Anatolia
Personal information
Consort	Asherah/Athirat; Other wives;
Children	Anat; Ashtar; Baal; Mot; Shahar; Shalim; Shapash; Yam; (Ugarit religions) Athtart?; Hadad?; 70 Sons in Total;
Equivalents
Syrian equivalent	Dagon
Mesopotamian equivalent	Anu, Enlil
Hurrian equivalent	Kumarbi
Roman equivalent	Saturn

This article contains Ugaritic text. Without proper rendering support, you may see question marks, boxes, or other symbols instead of Ugaritic alphabet.

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-, meaning "god".^[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 noun phrases such as Ishmael, Israel, Daniel, Raphael, Michael, and Gabriel.

^ Fontenrose 1957, p. 277–279.
^ Feliu 2007, p. 301.
^ ^a ^b Güterbock 1983, p. 325–326.
^ ^a ^b Archi 2004, p. 329.
^ du Mesnil du Buisson, Robert (1969). "Le décor asiatique du couteau de Gebel el-Arak" [The Asian decor of the Gebel el-Arak knife] (PDF). BIFAO (in French). Vol. 68. Institut Français d'Archéologie Orientale. pp. 63–83. ISSN 0255-0962. Archived from the original (PDF) on 21 February 2014. Retrieved 30 October 2014.
^ "Online Phoenician Dictionary". Archived from the original on 10 August 2014. Retrieved 11 May 2022.
^ Cross 1997, p. 14.
^ Kogan, Leonid (2015), Genealogical Classification of Semitic: The Lexical Isoglosses. Berlin, Germany: De Gruyter. p. 147.
^ Matthews 2004, p. 79.
^ Gelb 1961, p. 6.

[FOOTNOTEFontenrose1957277–279-1] Fontenrose 1957, p. 277–279.

[FOOTNOTEFeliu2007301-2] Feliu 2007, p. 301.

[FOOTNOTEGüterbock1983325–326-3] Güterbock 1983, p. 325–326.

[FOOTNOTEArchi2004329-4] Archi 2004, p. 329.

[5] u Mesnil du Buisson, Robert (1969). "Le décor asiatique du couteau de Gebel el-Arak" [The Asian decor of the Gebel el-Arak knife] (PDF). BIFAO (in French). Vol. 68. Institut Français d'Archéologie Orientale. pp. 63–83. ISSN 0255-0962. Archived from the original (PDF) on 21 February 2014. Retrieved 30 October 2014.

[6] "Online Phoenician Dictionary". Archived from the original on 10 August 2014. Retrieved 11 May 2022.

[FOOTNOTECross199714-7] Cross 1997, p. 14.

[8] Kogan, Leonid (2015), Genealogical Classification of Semitic: The Lexical Isoglosses. Berlin, Germany: De Gruyter. p. 147.

[FOOTNOTEMatthews200479-9] Matthews 2004, p. 79.

[FOOTNOTEGelb19616-10] Gelb 1961, p. 6.

[1]

[2]

[3]

[4]

[5]

[6]

[7]

[8]

[9]

[10]