El Elyon

Biblical Text

El Elyon is a title formed from El ("God") and Elyon ("highest"). The Korean Revised Version renders it "지극히 높으신 하나님" ("God Most High"); the KJV has "the most high God." The title first occurs in Genesis 14:18-22. When Abram (Abraham) returned after rescuing his nephew Lot, who had been carried off by four kings, Melchizedek, king of Salem, came out to meet him with bread and wine. The text introduces Melchizedek as "the priest of the most high God." Melchizedek blessed Abram in the name of "the most high God, possessor of heaven and earth," and Abram gave him a tenth of all he had gained. Abram then swore an oath before the king of Sodom, lifting up his hand "unto the LORD, the most high God, the possessor of heaven and earth."

Elyon appears both in combination with other titles and on its own. The Korean Revised Version renders it "지존하신 하나님" in Psalm 78:35 (KJV "the high God") and "지존자" in Psalm 91:1 (KJV "the most High"). It also appears in Balaam's oracle in Numbers 24:16, in Deuteronomy 32:8, and in Isaiah 14:14. The Aramaic portion of Daniel repeatedly uses an equivalent term, as in the statement that "the most High ruleth in the kingdom of men" (Daniel 4:17).

Terminology and Background

El is the common word for a deity in the ancient Semitic languages. In the Bible it is also used to designate the God of Israel (see Elohim). Elyon derives from a verb meaning "to go up" and means "upper" or "highest"; it is also used as an ordinary adjective, as in "the upper pool" and "the upper gate." The Septuagint translated it with the Greek hypsistos ("the Most High"). Salem, where Melchizedek reigned, stands in parallel with Zion in Psalm 76:2 and has traditionally been identified with Jerusalem.

Significance in Scripture as a Whole

The title shows that God is not merely the deity of a particular people but the sovereign over heaven and earth and over all nations. Deuteronomy 32:8 states that the Most High set the boundaries of the peoples, and Psalm 91 celebrates him as a refuge. The New Testament carries this forward with the expression "the Most High." The angel calls Jesus "the Son of the Highest" (Luke 1:32), and a demon-possessed man likewise calls him "Son of the most high God" (Mark 5:7). Stephen declares that "the most High dwelleth not in temples made with hands" (Acts 7:48). Hebrews 7 cites Genesis 14, calling Melchizedek "priest of the most high God," and uses the passage to explain the eternal priesthood of Christ.

Interpretation and Debated Questions

• Melchizedek's God and the LORD: The traditional interpretation holds that Melchizedek, though outside Abraham's family line, served the same true God. In support, it points to Genesis 14:22, where Abram addresses the LORD by the same title. Some historical-critical scholars note that El and Elyon were also used as divine names in the surrounding Canaanite culture, and some regard Israel as having applied existing titles to the LORD.
• Deuteronomy 32:8-9: The manuscripts differ in their readings of this passage. Some scholars read "the Most High" and the LORD as distinct figures, while the traditional interpretation regards them as the same God.
• Isaiah 14:14: In its context, "I will be like the most High" belongs to a taunt song directed at the king of Babylon (Isaiah 14:4). Since the early church, however, there has also been a tradition of reading the verse as describing the fall of Satan; this reading should be distinguished from what the text itself says.

In the Korean Church

In the Korean church, the title is frequently presented alongside El Shaddai, Jehovah-jireh, and others in sermons and Bible studies on the names of God. The expressions "God Most High" and "the Most High God" are also common in prayer.