Biblical Hebrew Forum

[Chavoux Luyt <chavoux AT gmail.com>]

Hi every-one

I have read in various (archaeological) sources that the "chief god"
of the Canaanite pagans were called "El" with the implication that
"El" was a personal name rather than being the generic word for "god".
Of course in the Hebrew religion of the Bible, there was only one God
and it would be legitimate to simply call Him "God" as a "personal
name" of sorts. It seems to me however, the in the Hebrew Scriptures
the term "Ha-Elohim" ("the Gods", but with singular verbs) is normally
used instead of only "El" and that when "El" is used as a personal
name it is normally as part of a compound name (e.g. El Shaddai, El
Gibor, El Elyon etc.).

My question is basically this: is there any evidence that the Hebrews
used "El" on its own as a personal name? Or is it rather used as the
generic term for "God" only? Can this be considered as a semantic
difference between Hebrew and Canaanite usage or may the
interpretation of "El" as a personal name instead of a generic term
for "god" in ANE archaeology simply be mistaken?

Regards
Chavoux Luyt