El Elyon
El Elyon is one of the names of God that means “God Most High” or “The Most High God.”
- This name is first mentioned in Genesis 14:18:
“And Melchizedek the king of Salem brought out bread and wine; now he was a priest of [a]God Most High.”
And again, it’s mentioned several times after Melchizedek first shows himself to Abraham. Genesis 14:19-22:
And he blessed him and said,
“Blessed be Abram of God Most High, Possessor of heaven and earth; And blessed be God Most High, Who has handed over your enemies to you.”
And he gave him a tenth of everything. Then the king of Sodom said to Abram, “Give the people to me and take the possessions for yourself.” But Abram said to the king of Sodom, “I have sworn to the Lord God Most High, Possessor of heaven and earth…
This is the highest name of God. It’s also so fascinating to me that this name first shows up in scripture when describing the high priest Melchizedek who is said to be the “pre-incarnate” Christ. Hebrews 7:1-3 even says that Melchizedek was “made like the Son of God” with no beginning and no end and no father or mother or genealogy. He was a high priest in the old testament who was not of the Levitical tribe, but of the tribe of Judah. He was the only one of his kind in the entire Bible.
I love that the one who revealed this name of God first to the world was actually Jesus Christ. The revelation of God most High, possessor of heaven and earth came to Abraham through the Son to reveal a higher nature of the Father. Beautiful.
- by Jared Larson, missionary at Overland Missions
jared@overlandmissions.com