EL (God): Who is your God?

In my earlier article on the twenty-two Hebrew letters, we looked briefly at how the Hebrew alphabet developed from ancient pictorial forms into the letters we recognize today. But what happens when those letters begin to come together and form words?

Let us begin with perhaps one of the biggest words of all: God.

One Hebrew word translated as God is El, אֵל. It is formed with only two letters, Alef (א) and Lamed (ל).

In the earliest alphabetic forms, Alef was represented by the head of an ox, an animal associated with strength and power. Lamed was represented by a shepherd’s staff or goad, something used to guide and direct animals.

This is where I like to begin with the plain historical meaning. When we go back to the ancient pictorial forms of the letters, we are looking at the recognizable images from which the alphabet developed. In the written form of El, Alef gives us the picture of strength and Lamed the picture of one who leads and directs. Together, they present a striking ancient picture: strength joined with the power to lead and direct.

And El raises an important question.

Who has power and authority over you?

The Hebrew word el does not always refer specifically to YHWH. Depending on the context, Scripture can use the word when speaking about God, other gods, or one who is mighty or powerful. This is why the question is not simply whether we believe that a god exists. The more searching question may be: Who is your god?

The Bible itself opens with another closely related Hebrew word, Elohim, אֱלֹהִים:

בְּרֵאשִׁית בָּרָא אֱלֹהִים (B'reshit bara Elohim)

“In the beginning God (Elohim) created (bara) …” Genesis 1:1

Elohim is plural in form, yet here it refers to the one God. We know this not simply from the word itself, but from the grammar around it. The Hebrew verb bara, “created,” is singular. In other contexts, elohim can refer to multiple gods and is then understood as plural.

Before we are told about Abraham, Israel, the Law, or the Temple, Scripture introduces God as Creator. The first chapter of the Bible does not begin with humanity searching for God. It begins with God already there, speaking creation into being.

Throughout human history, people have searched for the divine. Civilizations have built temples, carved images, offered sacrifices, worshiped forces of nature, and sought contact with the spiritual world. Religions and philosophies have offered many different answers to humanity’s questions about who or what lies beyond us.

But there is an important distinction.

Not every encounter with the spiritual is an encounter with the Creator.

The Bible itself speaks about angels, spiritual beings, idols, false gods, and powers. Something being supernatural or spiritual does not automatically make it God. The question Scripture continually brings us back to is one of identity:

Who is this God?

The Hebrew Scriptures introduce us to Someone very particular: YHWH, יהוה.

He is the God who reveals Himself. He speaks to Abraham. He calls to Moses from the burning bush. When Moses asks His name, God answers, “I AM WHO I AM.”

The Bible does not introduce YHWH merely as another powerful being among many competing gods. It presents Him as the Creator of heaven and earth, the One who existed before creation and from whom all creation receives its life.

And once you begin to recognize El, you start hearing it in names that may already be familiar to you.

Isra-el. Dani-el. Samu-el.

There are many more. Hebrew names often carry meaning, and El appears again and again within them. We will come back to some of these names another time.

But recognizing El in ancient names is one thing. Recognizing what has become el in our own lives is another.

Human beings have always been drawn to power, and we still are.

Our gods today may not stand in temples made of stone. They may look much more ordinary. Money can become a god when it determines our security and our decisions. Success can become a god when our worth depends upon achieving it. Fame, recognition, relationships, intellect, pride, even our own desires can quietly take the highest place in our lives.

This is where those ancient images behind Alef and Lamed make me stop and think.

If Alef brings to mind strength, and Lamed brings to mind guidance and direction, then perhaps El leaves us with a very personal question:

What has enough power in my life to lead me?

We all follow something. We all give something the power to shape our decisions, our priorities, our fears, and our hopes.

So perhaps the question is not only, “Do you believe in God?”

It is much closer to the heart than that.

Who is your God?

Is it power, success, recognition, pride, fear, or the approval of others?

Or is it YHWH, the God who created you, knows you, and still speaks today?

Two ancient letters form one very small Hebrew word: El.

And that small word leaves us with a very big question:

Who has the power to lead your life?

Grace and Shalom,

Veronica N. Khavah

© 2026 by Voice of the Garden. All rights reserved.

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