Foreigners usually address me using “usted” but I feel very uncomfortable when they do because I feel very old and strange. Now you know when to use el or la, but do you know exactly when to use tú or usted? It is feminine but we use “el” so it sounds better. El cura – La cura (The priest – The cure) So for example we have “el cura”, which means “the priest” and “la cura”, which means “the cure”. There are not many words that do this, but it’s important that you know. Okay, there are some words, usually words that come from Greek, that end in -o and are feminine or that end in -a and are masculine.

Despite the fact that Baal defeats Yam and claims supremacy, he is dismayed to see that he has not been given a palace like the other gods. In the Baal and Anat epic, El plays his role as the chief god and the father of Baal and Anat. Among these were Baal and Anat, and also possibly Yahweh, the god of Israel. El presided over the Canaanite pantheon, which consisted of a great many gods, each with el paso bookkeeping services a different function and backstory. El was worshipped by all the people of Canaan as the supreme being of the world (even though each kingdom within Canaan also had other national gods unique to them).

  • Ancient semitic civilizations did not write vowels and thus the A after L was missing, as well as the H.
  • Today I’ll explain when we use the articles EL and LA, I’ll show you which words are masculine and which are feminine.
  • But on the occurrence of a pestilence and mortality Cronus offers his only begotten son as a whole burnt-offering to his father Sky and circumcises himself, compelling his allies also to do the same.
  • The theological position of the Tanakh is that the names ʼĒl and `Ĕlōhîm, when used in the singular to mean the supreme god, refer to Yahweh, while the plural is interpreted to refer to other unspecified heavenly beings, such as angels.
  • Okay, there are some words, usually words that come from Greek, that end in -o and are feminine or that end in -a and are masculine.

Free resources to help you enjoy learning Spanish quickly. Baal complained to El that he didn’t have a magnificent house like so many of the other gods did. Baal was the son of El, according to many accounts, but there are also sources that say he might have been more of a distant relative. But the goddess Anat was upset and wanted the bow for herself. A story sourced from the city of Ugarit tells of Aqhat, the son of King Daniel.

It is believed that he lived on Mount Saphon, close to the ancient Syrian city of Ugarit. El was known as the supreme god of the Canaanites in the mythology of the ancient Near East. For nouns that refer to persons or animals that really have a gender, they have both versions. El is a common component in Hebrew place names like Bethel, meaning “house of god” and proper names such as Michael, which means “Who is like God?”. In the Hebrew Bible, “elim,” the plural of el, refers to idols or deities in which the Israelites do not believe, but the word El in the singular is often conflated with Elohim as a way to refer to Yahweh. However, this same term in the context of the monotheistic religion in the Hebrew Bible is usually interpreted as a superlative compliment to the only god there is.

The appellations of “eternal”, “creator” and “eternal” or “ancient creator” are “characteristic designations of ‘El in Canaanite myths and liturgies”. In a Hurrian hymn to El (published in Ugaritica V, text RS 24.278), he is called `il brt and `il dn, which Cross takes as ‘El of the covenant’ and ‘El the judge’ respectively. The Eternal One (‘Olam) has made a covenant oath with us,Asherah has made (a pact) with us.And all the sons of El,And the great council of all the Holy Ones.With oaths of Heaven and Ancient Earth. In an inscription in the Proto-Sinaitic script, William F. Albright transcribed the phrase ʾL Ḏ ʿLM, which he translated as the appellation “El, (god) of eternity”. The Egyptian god Ptah is given the title ḏū gitti ‘Lord of Gath’ in a prism from Tel Lachish which has on its opposite face the name of Amenhotep II (c. 1435 – c. 1420 BCE).

El in the Hebrew Bible

Since they’re both crucial, in the following sections, you’ll learn their differences by learning when and how to use each term. El vs él are terms with specific roles and, as such, they work with different elements and constructions. El vs él are two different words.

Sanchuniathon

  • In Spanish, el without an accent is a definite article.
  • In the Old Testament of the Bible, the creator deity is referred to as El, Elohim (a form of El), or Yahweh.
  • El was known as the supreme god of the Canaanites in the mythology of the ancient Near East.
  • Asherah has made (a pact) with us.And all the sons of El,And the great council of all the Holy Ones.
  • In return for the king’s hospitality, the craftsman god Kothar gave Aqhat his bow and arrows.

It is more likely that different locales held different views of El. Eventually, El’s cult became central to the ethnogenesis of the Iron Age Israelites, but so far, scholars are unable to determine how much of the population were El worshippers. Tribal organizations in West Semitic culture also influenced El’s portrayal as a “treaty partner” in covenants, where the clan is seen as the “kin” of the deity. Personal names including the stem ʾl are found with similar patterns in both the Amorite and Sabaic languages. However, according to the documentary hypothesis, at least four different authors – the Jahwist (J), Elohist (E), Deuteronomist (D), and Priestly (P) sources – were responsible for editing stories from a polytheistic religion into those of a monotheistic religion.

At last, with the advice of his daughter Athena and the god Hermes Trismegistus (perhaps Thoth), El successfully attacks his father Sky with a sickle and spear of iron. El is the father of Persephone and of Athena (presumably the goddess ‘Anat). El is brother to the God Bethel, to Dagon and to an unknown god, equated with the Greek Atlas and to the goddesses Aphrodite/’Ashtart, Rhea (presumably Asherah), and Dione (equated with Ba’alat Gebal). El (rendered Elus or called by his standard Greek counterpart Cronus) is not the creator god or first god.

And keep reading cause coming up next I’ll tell you something very important… But what about words that don’t follow these endings? In general, nouns that end with these terminations are masculine and use “el”. Welcome to the world of grammatical genders in Spanish! Today I’ll explain when we use the articles EL and LA, I’ll show you which words are masculine and which are feminine. I would definitely recommend Study.com to my colleagues.

Asherah has made (a pact) with us.And all the sons of El,And the great council of all the Holy Ones. In the episode of the “Palace of Ba‘al,” Ba‘al/Hadad invited the “70 sons of Athirat” to a feast in his new palace. The latter, however, is also identified as descending from the god Dagon, with Ēl is in the position of a distant clan-father. Other titles by which El or El-type gods were worshiped at Ugarit included El Shaddai, El Elyon, and El Berith. In lists of sacrificial offerings brought to the gods, El’s name is mentioned frequently and prominently, even though apparently no temple was devoted specifically to him. He may have been a desert god originally, for he reportedly built a sanctuary in the desert for himself, his wives, and their children.

The Hebrew version could mark a point at which the earlier polytheistic tradition of Israel was giving way to a monotheistic tradition whereby God no longer co-existed with other lesser deities. The passage bears striking similarities to a Canaanite text (see below) uncovered at Ugarit, describing El’s struggle against the rebellious Baal and those deities who supported him. Otherwise, one is led to the view that all of traditions and terms of the various tribes were unified as one God by the religious authorities, who combined the J, E, D, and P sources of scripture, as the Israelites organized their nation during and after the Babylonian exile.

He dwells in a tent according to some interpretations of the text, which may explain why he had no temple in Ugarit. The names of these wives are not explicitly provided, but some confusing rubrics at the beginning of the account mention the goddess Athirat, who is otherwise El’s chief wife, and the goddess Raḥmayyu (‘the one of the womb’).citation needed The Ugaritic text Shachar and Shalim tells how (perhaps near the beginning of all things) El came to the shores of the sea and saw two women who bobbed up and down. El (Father of Heaven/Saturn) and his major son, Hadad (Father of Earth/Jupiter), are symbolized both by the bull, and both wear bull horns on their headdresses. He is also called lṭpn ʾil d pʾid (‘the Gracious One, the Benevolent God’) and lṭpn wqdš (‘the Gracious and Holy One’). El is the grey-bearded ancient one, full of wisdom, malku (‘King’), ʾab šnm (‘Father of years’), ʾEl gibbōr (‘El the warrior’).

In Canaanite mythology, El was usually represented as an elderly man with a long beard. In the Old Testament of the Bible, the creator deity is referred to as El, Elohim (a form of El), or Yahweh. Add el to one of your lists below, or create a new one. (Translation of el from the PASSWORD Spanish–English Dictionary © 2014 K Dictionaries Ltd) (Translation of el from the GLOBAL Spanish–English Dictionary © 2021 K Dictionaries Ltd)

The Semitic root ʾlh (Arabic ʾilāh’, Aramaic ʾAlāh, ʾElāh, Hebrew ʾelōah) may be ʾl with a parasitic h, and ʾl may be an abbreviated form of ʾlh. For example, in the Ugaritic texts, ʾil mlk is understood to mean “El the King” but ʾil hd as “the god Hadad”. They include Ugaritic ʾilu, pl. ʾlm; Phoenician ʾl pl. ʾlm; Hebrew ʾēl, pl. ʾēlîm; Aramaic ʾl; Akkadian ilu, pl. ilānu. Later sources, including Phoenician and Hellenistic writings, sometimes equated El with other deities such as Cronus or Poseidon. Over time, in Israelite religion, Yahweh absorbed many of El’s characteristics, gradually merging their identities through a process scholars such as Francesca Stavrakopoulou call “pantheon reduction”.

Difference between él and el in Spanish (he or the)

As monotheism spread, such passages were rewritten to create the impression that all references to a high deity in the Hebrew Bible are just different ways to refer to Yahweh, the one and only God. Christians and Jews believe that Elohim refers to Yahweh, as does El. However, when Elohim is used with a verb in the singular, it is clear that it stands for the monotheistic God, rather than a generic god. The term El Elyon (God Most High) is used in the Hebrew Bible in a way that is reminiscent of the role of the Canaanite god El, as the supreme god of a polytheistic pantheon. When used in the singular, “el” is often interpreted by Christians and Jews alike as referring to Yahweh, but there is a great deal of ambiguity in many of these passages.

El, God of the Canaanites Meaning & Religion

The latter is identified by Sanchuniathon with Baalat Gebal the tutelary goddess of Byblos, a city which Sanchuniathon says that El founded. Sky and Earth are themselves children of Elyon—the “Most High.” El is the father of Persephone and Athene. The writings are thought to be compilations of inscriptions from ancient Phoenician temples dating from possibly 2000 B.C.E. Here, Ēl is called both by the name Elus and its Greek equivalent of Cronus.

Some scholars see parallels between the story of Keret and the Book of Job. In the legend of Keret, the main character, Keret, is a mortal son of El, but he suffers great misfortunes. The death god, Mot, challenges and kills Baal, but Anat avenges Baal by slaying Mot and cutting him into little pieces. Anat, Baal’s sister, beseeches El, their father, to grant Baal a palace he can call his own. Baal and Yam, the god of the sea, have a great rivalry. The mythology and stories concerning El and his wife, Asherah, are in some ways similar to other Mediterranean mythologies, such as those in ancient Greece involving Zeus and Hera.

He was often seen in the form of a bull, and he was sometimes also referred to as Shor-El, the bull god. Credit is due under the terms of this license that can reference both the New World Encyclopedia contributors and the selfless volunteer contributors of the Wikimedia Foundation. Forms include Ugaritic ’il (pl. ’lm); Phoenician ’l (pl. ’lm), Hebrew ’ēl (pl. ’ēlîm); Aramaic ’l; Arabic Al; Akkadian ilu (pl. ilāti). Some Muslim scholars contend that the word “El” found in antiquity is actually none other than Allah when pronounced according to the tradition of Semitic languages. Earlier, a ninth century B.C.E. inscription at Karatepe identifies Ēl-Creator-of-the-Earth with a form of the name of the Babylonian water god Ea, lord of the watery subterranean abyss. A bilingual inscription from Palmyra dated to the first century equates Ēl-Creator-of-the-Earth with the Greek god Poseidon.

He also fathered many gods, most importantly Baal, Yam, and Mot, each sharing similar attributes to the Greco-Roman gods Zeus, Poseidon, and Hades respectively. In Northwest Semitic use, ʼel was a generic word for any god as well as the special name or title of a particular god who was distinguished from other gods as being “the god”. Originally a Canaanite deity known as ‘El, ‘Al or ‘Il was the supreme god of the ancient Canaanite religion and the supreme god of East Semitic speakers in the Early Dynastic Period of Mesopotamia (c. 2900 – c. 2350 BCE). Ela 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.