El (deity)

El
Father of gods
Gilded statuette of El from Ugarit
Other names	Adonai Ilim
Venerated in	Ancient Semitic religion
Abode	Mount Lel
Symbol	Bull
Region	Levant (particularly Canaan) and Anatolia
Genealogy
Consort	Asherah/Athirat Other wives
Children	Anat Ashtar Baal Mot Shahar Shalim Shapash Yahweh Yam (Ugarit religions) Athtart? Hadad? 70 Sons in Total
Equivalents
Syrian	Dagon
Mesopotamian	Anu, Enlil
Hurrian	Kumarbi
Roman	Saturn

Levantine mythology
Part of a series on Ancient Semitic religion
Deities
Adonis Anat Arsay Asherah Astarte Atargatis ʿAṯtar Azizos Baʿalat Gebal Baʿal Baʿal Berith Baʿal Ḥammon Baʿal Marqod Baʿal Ṣapon Baʿalshamem Chemosh Dagan El Eshmun Haddu Kotharat Kothar-wa-Khasis Melqart Milcom Misor Mot Nikkal Qedesh Qos Resheph Sakkun Shadrafa Shahar Shalim Shapshu Sydyk Tanit Yam Yahweh Yarikh
Religions of the ancient Near East Canaan Mesopotamia Arabia

Deities of the ancient Near East
Ancient Egyptian Amun Anubis Apis Atum Buchis Geb Horus Isis Montu Nephthys Nut Osiris Ptah Qetesh Ra Set Shu Tefnut Thoth
Arabian Allah Aglibol Abgal al-Lat al-Qaum al-‘Uzzá Atarsamain ʿAṯtar Baalshamin Bēl Dhul Khalasa Dushara Gad Hubal Malakbel Manaf Manāt Nasr Nuha Orotalt Ruda Suwa' Theandrios Wadd Ya'uq Yaghūth Yarhibol Yatha
Eblaite Adamma Aštabil Dagan Hadabal Hadad Ḫalabatu Išḫara Kura Ninkarrak Saggar Shalash
Elamite Humban Inshushinak Ishmekarab Jabru Kiririsha Lagamar Manzat Nahhunte Narundi Napir Napirisha Pinikir Ruhurater Simut
Hurrian and Hittite Allani Aštabi Hayya Ḫepat Hutena and Hutellura Išḫara Kubaba Kumarbi Kušuḫ Lelluri Mitanni dynastic deities (Indra, Mitra, Varuna) Nabarbi Ninatta and Kulitta Nupatik Pirengir Shalash Šarruma Šauška Šimige Šuwala Takitu Tašmišu Teshub Tilla
Levantine (Canaanite and Ugaritic) Adonis Anat Arsay Asherah Ashima Astarte Atargatis ʿAṯtar Azizos Baʿal Baʿal Marqod Baʿal Ṣapon Baʿalshamem Baʿalat Gebal Chemosh Dagan El Eshmun Haddu Kotharat Kothar-wa-Khasis Melqart Milcom Misor Mot Nikkal Qedesh Qos Resheph Sakkun Shadrafa Shahar Shalim Shapshu Sydyk Yam Yahweh Yarikh
Mesopotamian Adad/Ishkur Amurru An/Anu Asarluhi Ashur Aya Belet Nagar Dumuzi Enki/Ea Enlil Ereshkigal Gibil Inanna/Ishtar Ishtaran Manungal Marduk Nabu Nammu Nanaya Nisaba Shala Šumugan Nanna/Sin Nergal Ninazu Ninegal Ningal Ningishzida Ninhursag Ninisina Ninlil Ninshubur Pabilsag Papsukkal Sarpanit Sebitti Tishpak Utu/Shamash Wer Zababa
Religions of the ancient Near East

Pre-Islamic Arabian deities
Part of the myth series on Religions of the ancient Near East
'Amm A'ra Abgal Al-Lat Al-Qaum Almaqah Anbay ʿAṯtar Basamum Dhu l-Khalasa Dhu Samawi Dushara Haukim Hubal Isāf and Nā'ila Kahl Manaf Manāt Nasr Nuha Quzah Rahmanan Ruda Sa'd Shams, Samas Syn Suwa' Ta'lab Theandrios al-‘Uzzá Wadd Ya'uq Yaghūth Yatha
Arabian deities of other Semitic origins
Aglibol (Palmyrene) Astarte Atargatis (Syrian) Baalshamin (Canaanite and Palmyrene) Bēl (Palmyrene) Bes (Egypt) Ēl / Ilah (NW Semitic) Inanna/Ishtar Malakbel (Palmyrene) Nabū, Nebo Nergal Yarhibol (Palmyrene)

El 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-.

Originally a Canaanite deity known as 'El, 'Al or 'Il 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 Elkunirša (Hittite: 𒂖𒆪𒉌𒅕𒊭 Elkunīrša).

Although El gained different appearances and meanings in different languages over time, it continues to exist as El-, -il or -el in compound proper noun phrases such as Elizabeth, Ishmael, Israel, Samuel, Daniel, Michael, Gabriel (Arabic: Jibra'il), and Bethel.