5 /5 מיכאל אהב: God, names of.
2. Eloah:
The singular form of the preceding name, Eloah, is confined in its use almost exclusively to poetry, or to poetic expression, being characteristic of the Book of Job, occurring oftener in that book than in all other parts of the Old Testament. It is, in fact, found in Job oftener than the elsewhere more ordinary plural Elohim. For derivation and meaning see above under 1 (2). Compare also the Aramaic form, elah, found frequently in Ezra and Daniel.
3. El:
In the group of Semitic languages, the most common word for Deity is El (el), represented by the Babylonian ilu and the Arabic Allah. It is found throughout the Old Testament, but oftener in Job and Psalms than in all the other books. It occurs seldom in the historical books, and not at all in Lev. The same variety of derivations is attributed to it as to ELOHIM (which see), most probable of which is ul, "to be strong." BDB interprets ul as meaning "to be in front," from which came ayil, "ram" the one in front of the flock, and elah, the prominent "terebinth," deriving [El] from alah, "to be strong." It occurs in many of the more ancient names; and, like [Elohim], it is used of pagan gods. It is frequently combined with nouns or adjectives to express the Divine name with reference to particular attributes or phases of His being, as El `Elyon, El-Roi, etc. (see below under III, "Attributive Names").
