IS EL ELYON DIFFERENT FROM YAHWEH?

Recently, I came across a series of posts from a pastor whom I really respect. His opinion was very interesting because it was the first time I had encountered it. It appears that the view is not only new (at least to me), but also quite alarming. And now, let us take time to discuss the ideas presented in this view. There are three main points found in the posts:

• El Elyon is the real name of the Most High God.
• El Elyon is different from Yahweh. Yahweh is just one of the sons of God who was placed in charge of Israel.
• The Father whom Jesus was calling on was El Elyon, not Yahweh. As a result, El Elyon is actually the Father of the believers.

UNDERSTANDING EL ELYON

El Elyon is usually translated as “God Most High” in our Bibles. The word “El” may carry the idea of “to be strong” or “to be in front of” as a leader. The word “Elyon” shows El’s supremacy as a being. Since every deity had a concept of power and position, this is a generic title and could refer either to the true God or even to pagan gods. It first appeared in Genesis 14:19–20. Melchizedek, as scholars suggest, might not have been referring to the true God when he mentioned Elyon but to the well-known Canaanite god in that setting. We cannot assume that this is the actual or only name of God. But it could be one of His oldest revealed names in the Bible, which presents His strength and supremacy. His other names reveal other divine traits as well.

IS ELYON DIFFERENT FROM YAHWEH?

In Deuteronomy 32:8–9 we read: “When the Most High (Elyon) gave to the nations their inheritance, when he divided mankind, he fixed the borders of the peoples according to the number of the sons of God. But the Lord’s (Yahweh’s) portion is his people, Jacob (or Israel) his allotted heritage.” (ESV, edited).

According to this passage, the Most High/Elyon divided the nations and assigned them based on the number of the sons of God. The “sons of God” are understood by many scholars as divine beings lesser than God who are members of His divine council. According to the recent posts, Yahweh was just one of these sons of God, and Israel was assigned to Him. This view separates El Elyon from Yahweh and makes Yahweh a lesser being than God Himself. But the question is: Is that really the case? Let us consider some points: 

It is based on the ancient myth of the 70 sons of El, paralleled with the 70 nations of Genesis 10.

There was a myth in the ancient Near East that the Canaanite god El had 70 sons who were members of his divine council. Interestingly, the author of Genesis listed 70 nations in Genesis 10. Some claim there is a connection between the 70 listed nations in Genesis 10 and the 70 sons of El in the myth. They say that perhaps there were also 70 sons of God assigned to govern the 70 nations. One of them, they argue, was Yahweh, who was given Israel.
The problem with this theory is that we cannot base biblical interpretation on pagan myths! So what if the pagan god El supposedly had 70 sons? No biblical verse says the same about the Lord! We may gain insights from such myths, but they must not dictate how we understand the text. Also, the 70 nations listed in Genesis 10 were not a complete list of the nations of that time. Ancient genealogies were not meant to be detailed; they were selective, often forming patterns with numbers, such as the 70 nations (Gen 10) or the 10 generations from Adam to Noah (Gen 5) and from Noah to Abraham (Gen 11:10–26). This does not mean those were the actual numbers. If the theory were true that God also had 70 sons (like the Canaanite god El) to govern the 70 nations, what about the nations not listed? Israel itself was not even in the list!

It does not suggest that Yahweh is just one of the sons of God.

Returning to Deuteronomy 32:8–9, there is no indication that Yahweh was just one of the sons of God who happened to be assigned Israel. Even if we assume there were indeed 70 sons of God for 70 nations, since Israel was not listed in Genesis 10, we cannot conclude that it was one of the nations given to a son of God to govern. The opposite conclusion is more reasonable: Israel was not included in the list because it was not governed by any son of God! If the author truly intended us to connect the 70 sons of El with the 70 nations and assume there were 70 sons of God, the outcome would still be that Israel was not under any son of God. Therefore, Yahweh, the God of Israel, must not be seen as merely one of the sons of God but as God Himself. Even with their own reasoning, the conclusion that Yahweh is not the Most High cannot be reached.

Nowhere in Scripture suggests that Yahweh is different from Elyon.

It is wrong to assume that Yahweh is different from Elyon on the basis of Deuteronomy 32:8–9. Rather, the best interpretation is that while God gave the nations to be governed by sons of God, He kept Israel for Himself. This interpretation fits perfectly and comes directly from the text—there’s no need for strange explanations. There is no point in separating Elyon from Yahweh simply because Moses used different names/titles in the verses. If we think about it, Moses used more than just Elyon and Yahweh in this passage! In the same context, Moses also called Yahweh “El” (v.4). When he said the people rejected Yahweh who created them (v.6), he used the name “Eloha” (v.15). Many times in the song, Moses also referred to Yahweh as “Tzur” (Rock, vv. 4, 15, 18, 31). If we assume Elyon is different from Yahweh, then we would also have to assume all these other names and titles refer to different beings too!
Other passages, just like Deuteronomy 32:8–9, identify Yahweh as Elyon. For Abraham, Yahweh was the same as Elyon (Gen 14:22). For Balaam, Yahweh who gave him prophecy (Num 24:13) was the same as Elyon (v.16). There are verses that combine the two names/titles into “Yahweh Elyon” or “Lord Most High” (Ps 7:17; 47:2). In many other passages, it is clear that Yahweh and Elyon both refer to the same God (2 Sam 22:14; Ps 18:13; 83:18; 91:9; 92:1; 97:9; etc.). To assume otherwise is to misunderstand Scripture.

WAS JESUS REFERRING TO EL ELYON AND NOT YAHWEH?

Jesus was called the Son of the Most High God (Lk 1:32–33, 35; Mk 5:7, etc.). And since there is no evidence that the God Most High is different from Yahweh, Christ is rightly understood as the Son of Yahweh. The Old Testament reveals no other God besides Yahweh (Deut 4:35, 39; 6:4; 1 Kings 8:60; Isa 43:10–11, etc.); the rest are false gods. But more than that, the Bible also reveals that Christ shares divine traits with Yahweh Himself, which means He is also God (Jn 1:1–3, 18; 10:30; Col 1:15–19, etc.)! Jesus not only called God His Father but also made Himself equal with God (Jn 5:18). Since Yahweh is Christ’s Father, He is also our Father as believers. The character of Yahweh in the Old Testament is consistent with how Christ revealed Him in the New Testament. Both OT and NT affirm that God is unchanging (Mal 3:6; Heb 1:10–12; James 1:17).

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So much can be said regarding the issue, but it appears that the points mentioned are enough to refute the wrong ideas. There is nothing wrong with evaluating less popular views, because truth is not determined by popularity. But we should also note that sometimes, certain views are not widely accepted for a reason: they are very strange. Be discerning. Continue filtering everything you read and hear. Stay Curious.

Sources and Studies:

Heiser, M. S (2018). “Old Testament Terminology for the Heavenly Host” 𝘈𝘯𝘨𝘦𝘭𝘴 (pp. 1-27). Lexham Press
Walton, J. and, Keener C. (2016). “Genealogies”. 𝘕𝘐𝘝 𝘊𝘶𝘭𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘢𝘭 𝘚𝘵𝘶𝘥𝘺 𝘉𝘪𝘣𝘭𝘦. (p. 16). Zondervan
Walton, J. and, Keener C. (2016). “See footnotes for Genesis 10:2-29”. 𝘕𝘐𝘝 𝘊𝘶𝘭𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘢𝘭 𝘚𝘵𝘶𝘥𝘺 𝘉𝘪𝘣𝘭𝘦. (p. 25). Zondervan
Walton, J. and, Keener C. (2016). “See footnotes for Genesis 4:18”. 𝘕𝘐𝘝 𝘊𝘶𝘭𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘢𝘭 𝘚𝘵𝘶𝘥𝘺 𝘉𝘪𝘣𝘭𝘦. (p. 39). Zondervan
Walton, J. and, Keener C. (2016). “See footnotes for Deut 32:8”. 𝘕𝘐𝘝 𝘊𝘶𝘭𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘢𝘭 𝘚𝘵𝘶𝘥𝘺 𝘉𝘪𝘣𝘭𝘦. (p. 350). Zondervan
Heiser, M. S. (2001) 𝘋𝘦𝘶𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘰𝘯𝘰𝘮𝘺 32:8 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘚𝘰𝘯𝘴 𝘰𝘧 𝘎𝘰𝘥. LBTS Faculty Publications and Presentations
Douglas, J.D. (Gen Ed.). (1986). “El”. 𝘕𝘦𝘸 𝘐𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘯𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘢𝘭 𝘉𝘪𝘣𝘭𝘦 𝘋𝘪𝘤𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘢𝘳𝘺. (p. 298). Zondervan
McKenzie, J.L (1965). “God”. 𝘋𝘪𝘤𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘢𝘳𝘺 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘉𝘪𝘣𝘭𝘦. (p. 314). McMillian Publishing.