el

el
el1
/el/, n.
[by shortening]
el2
/el/, n.
ell1.
el3
/el/, n.
the letter l.

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I
Chief deity of the western Semites.

In ancient texts from Ras Shamra in Syria, El was the husband of the mother goddess Asherah and father of all the gods except Baal. He was often depicted as an old man with a white beard and wings. The writers of the Hebrew scriptures used El as a synonym for Yahweh (the God of Israel) or as a general term for deity.
II
(as used in expressions)
Abd el Krim
Amarna Tell el
Ben Ali Zine el Abidine
El Cid
Cordobés El
El Alamein Battles of
Republic of El Salvador
El Inca
El Chaco
Greco El
Hodna Chott el
Lissitzky El
El Lisitsky
El Hajj Malik El Shabazz
Nimeiri Gaafar Mohamed el
Rif El
Sadat Muhammad Anwar el
Ferdinand the Catholic Spanish Fernando el Católico
Popular Front for the Liberation of Saguia el Hamra and Río de Oro

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▪ Semitic deity
      the general term for “deity” in Semitic languages as well as the name of the chief deity of the West Semites. In the ancient texts from Ras Shamra (ancient Ugarit) in Syria, El was described as the titular head of the pantheon, husband of Asherah, and father of all the other gods (except for Baal). His most common epithet was “the Bull,” but he was also sometimes called “Creator/Possessor of Heaven and Earth.” Although a venerable deity, he was not active in the myths, which primarily concerned his daughters and sons.

      He was usually portrayed as an old man with a long beard and, often, two wings. He was the equivalent of the Hurrian god Kumarbi and the Greek god Cronus. In the Old Testament, El is commonly used as a synonym for Yahweh and less commonly as the general term for “deity.”

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Universalium. 2010.

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