# What Does El Elyon Mean?

> El Elyon is God Most High, first in Genesis 14:18 where Melchizedek is priest of the most high God. Every King James verse that calls God the most High, with the Hebrew and Strong’s numbers.

- Canonical: https://apologetics.wiki/god/el-elyon
- Religions: none
- Denominations: none
- Beliefs: God
- Tags: god, names, hebrew
- Updated: 2026-10-13
- Author: [Paul Ambrose](https://apologetics.wiki/author/hi-its-paul) ([GitHub](https://github.com/hi-its-paul))


import NameSection from '../../components/NameSection.astro';
import RefTable from '../../components/RefTable.astro';
import HebrewWord from '../../components/HebrewWord.astro';
import GreekCardScript from '../../components/GreekCardScript.astro';
import GreekShare from '../../components/GreekShare.astro';
import { nameStrongs, compoundStrongs, JEHOVAH_COMPOUNDS } from '../../data/god/names';

<GreekCardScript />
<GreekShare file="src/content/articles/el-elyon.mdx" hebrew={[...nameStrongs(['el-elyon'])]} />

El Elyon (Hebrew אֵל עֶלְיוֹן) means God Most High. It first appears in [Genesis 14:18](/bible/genesis/14/18), where Melchizedek, king of Salem, “was the priest of the most high God” and blesses Abram. Elyon alone, “the most High,” runs through the Psalms, and its Aramaic counterpart is the Most High of Daniel 4 and 7.

## Key Points

- El is Strong’s H410. Elyon is Strong’s H5945, “an elevation… lofty… Supreme.” The Aramaic word in Daniel is H5943 (illay) and the related H5946. [(1)](#ref-1)
- Abram swears by “the LORD, the most high God, the possessor of heaven and earth” in [Genesis 14:22](/bible/genesis/14/22), joining the divine name to El Elyon.
- [Psalm 91:1](/bible/psalms/91/1) puts two names side by side: “the secret place of the most High… the shadow of the Almighty.”
- [Daniel 4:17](/bible/daniel/4/17) says “the most High ruleth in the kingdom of men.”
- In the New Testament the Greek is hypsistos: Jesus is “the Son of the Highest” in [Luke 1:32](/bible/luke/1/32), and [Hebrews 7:1](/bible/hebrews/7/1) quotes Genesis 14.
- Elyon also means “high” or “upper” of things, such as the upper pool; the full table keeps only the verses where it is a title of God.

## El Elyon in the Hebrew Bible

<NameSection id="el-elyon" />

## Frequently Asked Questions

### Who First Uses the Name El Elyon?

Melchizedek, in [Genesis 14:19](/bible/genesis/14/19): “Blessed be Abram of the most high God, possessor of heaven and earth.”

## Keep Reading

- [The Names of God in Hebrew](/god/names-of-god)
- [What Does El Shaddai Mean?](/god/el-shaddai)
- [What Does Adonai Mean?](/god/adonai)

## Passages Quoted on This Page

### Genesis 14:18

King James Version.

> And Melchizedek king of Salem brought forth bread and wine: and he was the priest of the most high God.

### Genesis 14:22

King James Version.

> And Abram said to the king of Sodom, I have lift up mine hand unto the LORD, the most high God, the possessor of heaven and earth,

### Psalms 91:1

King James Version.

> He that dwelleth in the secret place of the most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty.

### Daniel 4:17

King James Version.

> This matter is by the decree of the watchers, and the demand by the word of the holy ones: to the intent that the living may know that the most High ruleth in the kingdom of men, and giveth it to whomsoever he will, and setteth up over it the basest of men.

### Luke 1:32

King James Version.

> He shall be great, and shall be called the Son of the Highest: and the Lord God shall give unto him the throne of his father David:

### Hebrews 7:1

King James Version.

> For this Melchisedec, king of Salem, priest of the most high God, who met Abraham returning from the slaughter of the kings, and blessed him;

### Genesis 14:19

King James Version.

> And he blessed him, and said, Blessed be Abram of the most high God, possessor of heaven and earth:

### Genesis 14:18–22

King James Version.

> [14:18] And Melchizedek king of Salem brought forth bread and wine: and he was the priest of the most high God. [14:19] And he blessed him, and said, Blessed be Abram of the most high God, possessor of heaven and earth: [14:20] And blessed be the most high God, which hath delivered thine enemies into thy hand. And he gave him tithes of all. [14:21] And the king of Sodom said unto Abram, Give me the persons, and take the goods to thyself. [14:22] And Abram said to the king of Sodom, I have lift up mine hand unto the LORD, the most high God, the possessor of heaven and earth,

## Sources
Numbered to match the HTML References list. Item 1 is `#ref-1` under `#references`. Scripture links to the King James Version on this site.

1. [James Strong, The Exhaustive Concordance of the Bible, Hebrew and Chaldee Dictionary](https://archive.org/details/exhaustiveconcor1890stro) (1890. Public domain. The Strong’s numbers and definitions on this site’s Hebrew word pages.)
2. [Book of Genesis, 14:18–22](https://apologetics.wiki/bible/genesis/14). King James Version
3. [Book of Psalms, 91:1](https://apologetics.wiki/bible/psalms/91/1). King James Version
4. [Book of Daniel, 4:17](https://apologetics.wiki/bible/daniel/4/17). King James Version
5. [Letter to the Hebrews, 7:1](https://apologetics.wiki/bible/hebrews/7/1). King James Version

## See Also
- [The Jehovah Compound Names](https://apologetics.wiki/god/jehovah-compound-names) — Jehovah-jireh, Jehovah-nissi, Jehovah-shalom, Jehovah-tsidkenu, Jehovah-shammah, and the other names that join the divine name to a word, with the Hebrew, Strong’s numbers, and every King James verse.
- [The Names of God in Hebrew](https://apologetics.wiki/god/names-of-god) — Elohim, El, Eloah, El Shaddai, El Elyon, El Olam, El Roi, Adonai, YHWH, Yah, the LORD of hosts, and the Jehovah compound names, with the Hebrew, Strong’s numbers, meanings, first occurrences, and King James verses.
- [What Does Adonai Mean?](https://apologetics.wiki/god/adonai) — Adonai is the Hebrew title Lord, used of God alone. Every King James verse with Adonai, how Lord GOD is printed, and why Psalm 110:1 has a different word.
- [What Does El Shaddai Mean?](https://apologetics.wiki/god/el-shaddai) — El Shaddai is God Almighty, the name God gives Abram in Genesis 17:1. Every King James verse with Shaddai, its Hebrew, its Strong’s number, and where the New Testament uses Almighty.
- [What Does Elohim Mean?](https://apologetics.wiki/god/elohim) — Elohim is the ordinary Hebrew word for God, first in Genesis 1:1. It is plural in form, takes a singular verb for the God of Israel, and also means false gods, angels, or judges.

## External Links
- [Francis Brown, S. R. Driver, and Charles A. Briggs, A Hebrew and English Lexicon of the Old Testament](https://archive.org/details/hebrewenglishlex00browuoft) — The standard public-domain Hebrew lexicon (1906).