Biblical Hebrew Forum

[Yigal Levin <Yigal.Levin AT biu.ac.il>]

But that's just the debate. Literally, "el-'elyon" simply means "most high 
god". Now since the deciphering of Ugaritic literature in the 1930's, we are 
aware that El (or Illu) was also the "name" of the chief god at Ugarit, and 
presumably (but not really proven) in Canaan as well, and that "elyon" 
(alyan? - who really knows?) was a common epithet for that god. It was also 
used for Baal. So here's the thing. Up until the 20th century, it was assumed 
that Gen. 14 meant to say that Melchizedek was a king-priest of God, the same 
God worshipped by Abraham. This is certainly the interpretation picked up by 
the Psalmist in 110, and in later Jewish and Christian literature. But now we 
know that there's another possibility - that Gen. 10 meant to contrast 
Melchizedek's "most high god" with Abraham's "YHWH el-'elyon" in verse 22. 
Possible. But which interpretation makes more sense in the context of Gen. 
14. If you ask me, I'd go for the "old" interpretation, that the whole point 
of the story is to claim that (Jeru-)Salem was a place of "YHWH el-'elyon" 
worship even in the days of Abraham. If the author had any knowledge of the 
Ugaritic (and Canaanite) "el-'elyon", he was subverting the title for his own 
use.

(I don't have an iPad or iAnything either)

Yigal Levin

-----Original Message-----
From: b-hebrew-bounces AT lists.ibiblio.org 
[mailto:b-hebrew-bounces AT lists.ibiblio.org] On Behalf Of Donald Vance
Sent: Wednesday, August 10, 2011 9:40 AM
To: George Athas
Cc: B-Hebrew
Subject: Re: [b-hebrew] El = God?

Darn tootin' it's debated. I don't see how Gen 14:18 can be anything but a 
reference to the Canaanite deity.

Sent from my iPad
Donald R. Vance
dvance AT oru.edu
donaldrvance AT mac.com

On Aug 9, 2011, at 8:05 AM, George Athas <George.Athas AT moore.edu.au> wrote:

> Karl is correct, that the word אל is a common noun for 'deity'. However, it 
> is often used practically as a Proper Name for the president or father of 
> the gods in the Canaanite pantheon. This is confirmed in Ugaritic, for 
> example. However, in Hebrew, it is very rarely used that way, if ever (it's 
> occasionally debated, though).
> 
> 
> GEORGE ATHAS
> Director of Postgraduate Studies,
> Moore Theological College (moore.edu.au)
> Sydney, Australia
> 
> 
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