Cc: Biblical Hebrew <b-hebrew AT franklin.oit.unc.edu>
Subject: Re: Aleph Lamech
Date: Fri, 11 Jun 1999 09:42:41 +1000
The deity "El" was a very common deity in the Fertile Crescent, mostly in
Syria-Palestine. He was
viewed as the father of the pantheon of gods and his wife was Asherah. He
presided over the divine
assembly as a kind of divine president, much like Greek Zeus (though El
probably corresponds more
with Kronos). At a later stage, El was essentially supplanted by Baal as the
president deity. His
name is also used as a common noun for "god". We can compare this with "Zeus"
whose name might be
derived from an Indo-Aryan word meaning "god". (Compare the word in many
modern languages - 'Deus'.
The Roman god, Jupiter was the "Deo-Pater", the "father-god" or "godfather".)
--
:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
GEORGE ATHAS
Dept of Semitic Studies,
University of Sydney
:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
Tel Dan Inscription Website is at http://members.xoom.com/gathas/teldan.htm
:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::