H410 — אֵל (ʼêl)¶

Core Data¶

Strong's: H410
Original: אֵל
Transliteration: ʼêl
Pronunciation: ale
Part of Speech: Masculine noun (singular)
Root: Shortened form related to אוּל (ul, "to be strong") / אַיִל (ayil, "mighty one"); cognate to the Semitic root for strength/power
Occurrences: 234 unique verses, 271 tokens in OT
First Occurrence: Gen 14:18 — "Melchizedek king of Salem... was the priest of the most high God (ʼêl)"
Hapax Legomenon: No

Lexicon Definition¶

Shortened from a root meaning "strength"; as adjective, mighty; especially the Almighty (but used also of any deity). KJV: God (god), goodly, great, idol, might(-y one), power, strong. Compare compound names ending in -el.

The word is grammatically singular — the masculine singular noun for "god" or "mighty one." It stands in contrast to H430 אֱלֹהִים (ʼĕlôhîm), which is the same semantic field but formed with the plural ending -îm. H433 אֱלוֹהַּ (ʼĕlôahh) is the alternative singular form (36x, mostly in Job).

Translation Distribution (KJV)¶

Translation	Verses	%
God (capitalized, of YHWH)	129	55.1%
of God / the God / my God / unto God / O God etc. (bound/constructive uses for YHWH)	~63	~27%
god / a god / my god (lower-case, pagan or generic deity)	~15	~6%
mighty / the mighty / mighty one / goodly / great / strong	~11	~5%
power (in "in the power of my hand")	~4	~2%
idols (Isa 57:5) / gods	~2	~1%
Compound proper names (Elbethel, Elelohe-Israel)	2	1%

Roughly 82% of occurrences render "God" for YHWH; another ~11% refer to pagan/false deities or generic "god"; ~7% function as an appellative for "mighty one" or "power."

Distribution by Book¶

Book	Count	Per 100 Verses
Malachi	3	5.5
Job	56	5.2
Psalms	73	3.0
Jonah	1	2.1
Nahum	1	2.1
Micah	2	1.9
Isaiah	22	1.7
Deuteronomy	14	1.5
Hosea	3	1.5
Genesis	19	1.2
Nehemiah	4	1.0
Numbers	10	0.8
2 Samuel	5	0.7
Lamentations	1	0.6
Daniel	2	0.6
Exodus	6	0.5
Joshua	3	0.5
Ezekiel	4	0.3
Judges	1	0.2
Jeremiah	2	0.1
Proverbs	1	0.1
1 Samuel	1	0.1

Patterns: Overwhelmingly concentrated in poetic and archaic-poetic literature — Job (56x, highest density of any major book), Psalms (73x, largest raw count), and prophetic poetry (Isaiah, Malachi, Micah, Nahum, Hosea). Genesis concentration is in the patriarchal narratives and Balaam oracles. Sparse in legal/historical prose (Exodus, Joshua, Samuel, Kings, Chronicles largely absent). The pattern matches what is typical of an archaic/elevated divine title preserved especially in liturgy and poetry, while prose narrative prefers H430 (ʼĕlôhîm) and H3068 (YHWH).

Semantic Categories¶

1. God of the Patriarchs / Ancient Divine Title¶

Gen 14:18-22 — "the most high God" (ʼêl ʻelyôn), four times in the Melchizedek narrative
Gen 16:13 — "Thou God seest me" (ʼêl rŏʼî)
Gen 17:1; 28:3; 35:11; 43:14; 48:3; Exo 6:3 — "God Almighty" (ʼêl Shadday) across the patriarchal revelation cycle
Gen 21:33 — "the everlasting God" (ʼêl ʻôlām)
Gen 31:13 — "I am the God of Bethel" (ʼêl Bêyth-ʼêl)
Gen 33:20 — altar named "El-elohe-Israel" (ʼêl ʼĕlōhê-Yiśrāʼēl, "El, God of Israel")
Gen 35:7 — place named "El-bethel" (ʼêl Bêyth-ʼêl)

2. Compound Divine Titles / Epithets¶

Distinct construct formations with ʼêl as the governing noun: - ʼêl ʻelyôn — "God Most High" (Gen 14:18, 19, 20, 22; Ps 78:35) - ʼêl Shadday — "God Almighty" (Gen 17:1; 28:3; 35:11; 43:14; 48:3; Exo 6:3) — H410 collocates with H7706 (Shadday) 23x - ʼêl ʻôlām — "everlasting God" (Gen 21:33) - ʼêl rŏʼî — "God that seeth" (Gen 16:13) - ʼêl ʼĕlōhê Yiśrāʼēl — "El, God of Israel" (Gen 33:20) - ʼêl qannāʼ — "jealous God" (Exo 20:5; 34:14; Deut 4:24; 5:9; 6:15; Josh 24:19; Nah 1:2) - ʼêl raḥûm — "merciful God" (Deut 4:31) - ʼêl emûnāh — "God of truth" (Deut 32:4) - ʼêl gādôl — "great God" (Deut 7:21; 10:17; Neh 1:5; 9:32; Ps 77:13; 95:3; Jer 32:18; Dan 9:4) - ʼêl gibbôr — "mighty God" (Isa 9:6; 10:21) - ʼêl ḥāy — "living God" (Josh 3:10; Hos 1:10; Ps 42:2; 84:2) - ʼêl qādôsh — "holy God" (Isa 5:16) - Immanu-El — "God with us" (Isa 8:10 "for God is with us" — immanu-ʼêl phrase; cf. Isa 7:14)

3. God as Strength / Mighty One (appellative of power)¶

Gen 31:29 — "It is in the power (ʼêl) of my hand to do you hurt"
Deut 28:32 — "no power (ʼêl) in thine hand"
Neh 5:5 — "neither is it in our power (ʼêl)"
Prov 3:27 — "when it is in the power (ʼêl) of thine hand to do it"
Mic 2:1 — "because it is in the power (ʼêl) of their hand"
Job 41:25 — "the mighty (ʼêlîm) are afraid"
Ezek 32:21 — "The strong (ʼêlê) among the mighty (gibbôrîm)"
Ps 29:1; 89:6 — "sons of the mighty" (bĕnê ʼêlîm), a divine-council formula

4. Pagan Gods / Foreign Deities¶

The same word is applied to false or foreign gods, confirming it is a generic deity-term, not exclusively for YHWH: - Exo 15:11 — "Who is like unto thee, O LORD, among the gods (ʼêlîm)?" - Exo 34:14 — "thou shalt worship no other god (ʼêl)" - Deut 32:12 — "no strange god (ʼêl nēkār) with him" - Deut 32:21 — "that which is not God (ʼêl)" - Ps 44:20; 81:9 — "a strange god (ʼêl zār)" - Isa 44:10, 15, 17; 45:20; 46:6 — idolater "maketh a god (ʼêl)" from wood or metal - Isa 57:5 — "with idols (ʼêlîm)" - Dan 11:36 — "magnify himself above every god (ʼêl)" - Mal 2:11 — "the daughter of a strange god (ʼêl nēkār)" - Judg 9:46 — "the house of the god (ʼêl) Berith" (a Canaanite deity)

5. God as Rock, Refuge, Deliverer (poetic confessions)¶

2 Sam 22:31-33, 48 — "As for God (ʼêl), his way is perfect... God (ʼêl) is my strength and power... It is God (ʼêl) that avengeth me"
Ps 18:30, 32, 47 (parallel)
Ps 42:9 — "I will say unto God (ʼêl) my rock"
Ps 68:20 — "He that is our God (ʼêl) is the God (ʼêl) of salvation"
Isa 12:2 — "Behold, God (ʼêl) is my salvation"
Isa 45:22 — "I am God (ʼêl), and there is none else"

6. God of the Heavenly Sanctuary / Cosmic God¶

Ps 19:1 — "The heavens declare the glory of God (ʼêl)"
Ps 29:3 — "the God (ʼêl) of glory thundereth"
Ps 50:1 — "The mighty God (ʼêl ʼĕlōhîm YHWH)"
Ps 82:1 — "God (ʼĕlōhîm) standeth in the congregation of the mighty (ʼêl)"
Isa 14:13 — "above the stars of God (ʼêl) will I exalt my throne"

Common Collocations¶

Word	Strong's	Co-occurrences	Typical Pattern
יְהֹוָה YHWH	H3068	58x (25%)	Parallel pairing — "YHWH ... ʼêl" in poetic couplets; identification of the covenant name with the generic deity term
אֱלֹהִים ʼĕlôhîm	H430	50x (21%)	Double-title compound "ʼêl ʼĕlôhîm" (Josh 22:22; Ps 50:1) or paired in poetic parallelism — confirms the two are used as coordinate designations
לֹא lōʼ	H3808	48x (21%)	Negations: "not like any god" / "no other god" / "no God but me"
אָמַר ʼāmar	H559	42x (18%)	Speech formulas introducing divine utterance or quoting address to God
שַׁדַּי Shadday	H7706	23x (10%)	The fixed compound title "ʼêl Shadday" (God Almighty)
עָשָׂה ʻāśāh	H6213	22x (9%)	"God made / did / worked" in creation and providence
יָד yād	H3027	20x (9%)	"hand of God" and "power (ʼêl) of my hand" idiom
פָּנִים pānîm	H6440	18x (8%)	"face/presence of God"
אָב ʼāb	H1	13x (6%)	"God of the fathers / God of thy father"
חֶסֶד ḥesed	H2617	12x (5%)	Covenant-loyalty formulas — the "great and terrible God" who keeps mercy

Word Family / Same Semantic Field¶

H430 אֱלֹהִים (ʼĕlôhîm) — plural form (same root/field), 2,600+ occurrences; the default prose term for "God"
H433 אֱלוֹהַּ (ʼĕlôahh) — alternative singular form, 57x (36 in KJV lookup), concentrated in Job
H426 אֱלָהּ (ʼĕlâhh) — Aramaic cognate, used in Daniel and Ezra
H352 אַיִל (ʼayil) — "ram, mighty one, leader" (shares root sense of strength)
H193 אוּל (ʼûl) — "body, strength"
H457 אֱלִיל (ʼĕlîl) — "idol, worthless thing" (diminutive/pejorative formation)
Proper names ending in -el — e.g., Isra-el, Immanu-el, Beth-el, Dani-el, Gabri-el, Micha-el, Samu-el — hundreds of names preserve the singular ʼêl element

Synonyms¶

אֲדֹנָי — reverential divine title "Lord," overlapping with ʼêl in direct address and worship language.
H430 אֱלֹהִים (ʼĕlôhîm) — broader/common noun counterpart; the normal prose designation in the same semantic field.
H433 אֱלוֹהַּ (ʼĕlôahh) — alternate singular form, especially in Job and elevated poetry.
H3068 יְהֹוָה (YHWH) — covenant name often paired with ʼêl in identification formulas and poetic parallelism.
H7706 שַׁדַּי (Shadday) — divine title paired with ʼêl in the fixed expression ʼêl Shadday.

Word	Strong's	Shared Translation	Key Difference
אֱלֹהִים ʼĕlôhîm	H430	"God" (699v)	Plural-form noun, prose default; ʼêl is the singular archaic/poetic form
אֱלוֹהַּ ʼĕlôahh	H433	"God" (36v)	Alternative singular, largely confined to Job
אֱלָהּ ʼĕlâhh	H426	"God" (17v)	Aramaic cognate in Daniel/Ezra
יְהֹוָה YHWH	H3068	occasionally rendered "God"	Proper name, not a common-noun deity term
יְהֹוִה Yĕhōvih	H3069	"God" (290v, usually "Lord GOD")	Pointed Tetragrammaton variant
גִּבּוֹר gibbôr	H1368	"mighty" (shared 2v with ʼêl)	"Mighty man/warrior"; ʼêl as "mighty" foregrounds divine power
אָבִיר ʼâbîyr	H46	"mighty" (1v)	"Mighty one" (esp. "Mighty One of Jacob") — near-synonym for ʼêl as appellative

Antonyms¶

H120 אָדָם (ʼâdâm) — humanity over against deity; cf. Hos 11:9, "I am God (ʼêl), and not man."
H376 אִישׁ (ʼîysh) — ordinary human man, contrasted with God's transcendence and strength.
בֶּן־אָדָם — "son of man," creaturely and mortal in contrast to the divine title.
גָּבֶר — strong man/warrior; even peak human strength remains categorically beneath ʼêl.

UBS Semantic Domains¶

Code	Domain Label	Notes
001001001	Deities	Core field for ʼêl as "God/god."
003001004	Names of Deities	Fits compound divine titles such as ʼêl Shadday, ʼêl ʽelyôn, and ʼêl qannāʼ.
002001001001	Able	Reflects the strength/power nuance behind uses like "in the power of my hand."
002001001034	Large	Secondary intensifying field behind "mighty/great" usages.

search_relationships.py also surfaced broader classifier noise; the domains above are the clearest lexical matches for H410.

LXX Mapping (Hebrew → Greek)¶

Greek Equivalent	Strong's	Co-occ	PMI	Notes
θεός (theós)	G2316	157	2.51	Primary rendering — standard LXX equivalent; "God / god"
ἰσχυρός (ischyrós)	G2478	18	3.96	"Mighty, strong"; used when ʼêl is rendered as descriptor of power (e.g., ʼêl gibbôr)
παντοκράτωρ (pantokrátōr)	G3841	12	3.03	"Almighty"; used in compound titles, esp. ʼêl Shadday contexts
ὕψιστος (hupsistos)	G5310	10	4.17	"Most High"; renders ʼêl ʻelyôn
ζηλωτής (zēlōtḗs)	G2207	6	6.60	"Zealous/jealous"; renders ʼêl qannāʼ
οἰκτίρμων (oiktírmōn)	G3629	5	5.11	"Compassionate"; renders ʼêl raḥûm
ἐλεήμων (eleḗmōn)	G1655	4	4.43	"Merciful"
μακροθυμώς (makrothymṓs)	G3116	4	4.60	"Longsuffering"
στερέωμα (steréōma)	G4733	4	4.21	"Firmament, stronghold" — for "ʼêl" as rock/strength

Observation: The LXX treats ʼêl almost identically to ʼĕlôhîm at the generic level (θεός), but preserves the semantic nuance of strength/might through alternative renderings (ἰσχυρός, παντοκράτωρ, στερέωμα) when the Hebrew foregrounds power rather than deity. The epithet-renderings (ζηλωτής, οἰκτίρμων, ἐλεήμων) indicate that Greek translators often absorbed the compound title into a single descriptor of God.

Key Verses¶

Gen 14:18 — first occurrence; ʼêl ʻelyôn; Melchizedek/Abram context
Gen 17:1 — ʼêl Shadday self-revelation to Abram
Gen 33:20 — altar "El, God of Israel" (ʼêl ʼĕlōhê Yiśrāʼēl) — singular + plural forms side by side
Exo 6:3 — programmatic statement distinguishing ʼêl Shadday from the name YHWH
Exo 15:11 — ʼêl plural (ʼêlîm) applied to other gods, contrasted with YHWH
Deut 10:17 — "God of gods (ʼĕlōhê hāʼĕlōhîm)... a great God (ʼêl gādôl)"
Josh 22:22 — "ʼêl ʼĕlōhîm YHWH" — all three divine designations stacked
Ps 50:1 — "ʼêl ʼĕlōhîm YHWH" again in opening invocation
Ps 82:1 — ʼĕlōhîm judging in the council of ʼêl — divine-assembly language
Isa 9:6 — Messianic "ʼêl gibbôr" ("mighty God")
Isa 45:22 — "I am ʼêl, and there is none else" — monotheistic climax using the singular
Hos 11:9 — "I am ʼêl, and not man" — ontological contrast
Mal 2:10 — "hath not one ʼêl (God) created us?"

Notes for Divine-Names Study¶

This entry supplies the reference data; the interpretive work belongs to the downstream study. Raw observations from the data:

ʼêl is morphologically singular. It takes singular verb agreement and has its own plural (ʼêlîm). The plural ʼĕlôhîm is not formed from ʼêl directly but is a distinct lexeme with the plural ending -îm.
ʼêl and ʼĕlôhîm collocate in the same verse 50 times (21% of ʼêl's occurrences), often stacked as coordinate titles (e.g., Josh 22:22; Ps 50:1) — i.e., they are used as equivalent designations, not as distinct deities.
Both ʼêl and ʼĕlôhîm are applied to false gods (Exo 15:11; Deut 32:21; Isa 44:10; etc.) in the same grammatical constructions used for YHWH.
The plural ʼêlîm exists and is used both for pagan gods and within divine-council imagery (Exo 15:11; Ps 29:1; 89:6) — so a plural of the singular base form is attested and is not treated as a "plural of majesty."
Compound proper names preserve the singular form (Isra-el, Immanu-el, Dani-el, Micha-el, etc.) — the onomastic evidence shows ancient Israelites treated ʼêl as a singular personal-deity term.