El (deity)
ʼĒl (/ɛl/ EL; also 'Il, Ugaritic: 𐎛𐎍 ʾīlu; Phoenician: 𐤀𐤋 ʾīl; Hebrew: אֵל ʾēl; Syriac: ܐܺܝܠ ʾīyl; Arabic: إل ʾil or إله ʾilāh; 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. The word is derived from the Proto-Semitic *ʔil-, meaning "god".
| 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 |
| Personal information | |
| Consort |
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| Children | |
| Equivalents | |
| Syrian equivalent | Dagon |
| Mesopotamian equivalent | Anu, Enlil |
| Hurrian equivalent | Kumarbi |
| Roman equivalent | Saturn |
| Part of a series on |
| Ancient Semitic religion |
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| The Levant |
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| 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 |
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| Pre-Islamic Arabian deities |
| Arabian deities of other Semitic origins |
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Specific deities known as 'El, 'Al or 'Il include the supreme god of the ancient Canaanite religion and the supreme god of East Semitic speakers in Early Dynastic Period of Mesopotamia. 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.