El (אל) is a Hebrew divine name meaning "Mighty" or "Power," and, as a noun, simply "god." It is the most ancient Semitic term for deity found in the Hebrew Bible, used hundreds of times both as a generic reference and as a proper name for the supreme God of Israel. Etymologically, it derives from a root meaning "to be strong" or "to be first," and cognates exist across all Semitic languages—from Akkadian ilu to Arabic Allah.

Position on the Tree of Life

El is the God-name assigned to Chesed (Mercy), the fourth sephirah, on the Pillar of Mercy. The present entry places it at the same sephirah in the world of Assiah (the material world of action). In the arrangement of Liber 777, this corresponds to the 29th path of the Tree (though the God-name is itself a Chesed attribution, not a path). As the divine name of Mercy, El governs the expansive, loving aspect of the divine—the outpouring of grace without limit.

Historical context

The name El (אל) appears in the earliest strata of Hebrew writing, often in parallel with יְהוָה (YHWH). In Genesis, the compound El Shaddai ("God Almighty") and El Elyon ("God Most High") preserve the ancient title. At Ugarit (Ras Shamra), El was the supreme creator god, father of the gods, characterized by wisdom and benevolence—traits that directly informed the Hebrew conception of Chesed: loving-kindness, mercy, and covenantal loyalty.

The phrase אֵל רַחוּם וְחַנּוּן ("El, compassionate and gracious")—from Exodus 34:6—became a central Jewish liturgical formulation of God's mercy, the exact attribute of Chesed. In the Kabbalistic tradition, El represents the chesed aspect specifically directed toward creation: the power that sustains and expands all things. The Bahir describes it as the great kindness that precedes judgment.

In the Zohar, Chesed is called "the Great Name" (שמא רבה), a wordplay on Gedulah (greatness) and El, whose numerical value (31: א=1, ל=30) corresponds to the threefold divine name of thirteen attributes of mercy. This connection to the number 13 (the value of Echad, "one") further reinforces its unitive, merciful function.

Position in Liber 777

In the table row for God-Names in Assiah (Libri 777, Column V), El is the divine name of Chesed at scale step 4, and again at paths 17, 21, and 23 in the same column. It appears multiple times because many of the 32 paths share the same sephirotic attribution. In Assiah—the densest, most material world—El conveys the idea that mercy itself has a physical dimension: lawful kindness, expansion, and the binding power of covenant, made manifest in concrete forms.