El Elyon

El Elyon (אֵל עֶלְיוֹן) means 'God Most High' — El, 'God', plus the adjective elyon, 'highest', from a root meaning 'to ascend'. The name first appears in Genesis 14, where Melchizedek, the priest-king of Salem, comes out to bless Abraham after his rescue of Lot: 'Blessed be Abram by El Elyon, maker of heaven and earth' (Genesis 14:19). Abraham picks up the same name in reply when refusing the king of Sodom's reward (Genesis 14:22). The title goes on to feature in the Psalms and in the prophetic books as a way of asserting God's sovereignty not merely over Israel but over every nation: 'When the Most High gave to the nations their inheritance…' (Deuteronomy 32:8). The same emphasis runs through Daniel, where pagan kings — Nebuchadnezzar, Darius — are brought to acknowledge the Most High. Where YHWH is the covenant name and Elohim the name of power in creation, El Elyon is the name of universal rule.