Lexicon
עֶלְיוֹן
el.yon
H5945A
H:A Hebrew

high

23
Occurrences
12
Books
Hebrew
Language

el.yon describes what is upper or highest in location, and what is set above others in rank.

The attested use most often marks an upper or highest physical position: gates, pools, chambers, a basket, and named places are distinguished by their location. A smaller group of verses applies the adjective to elevation above others, whether Israel above nations or the LORD above all the earth.

Senses in use

  1. Upper or highest in physical location · dominant

    The masculine singular form identifies an upper gate in 2 Chronicles 27:3 and an upper outlet in 2 Chronicles 32:30; the APB renders those clauses with “upper.” Feminine forms occur with the upper pool in Isaiah 7:3 and Isaiah 36:2 and with upper chambers in Ezekiel 42:5, while Genesis 40:17 describes the basket at the highest position as “the uppermost basket.”

  2. Raised above others · occasional

    In Deuteronomy 26:19 and Deuteronomy 28:1, the adjective occurs in the promise that Israel will be set above all nations; the APB renders the relation as “high above.” In Psalm 97:9, the clause addresses the LORD as above all the earth and above all gods, rendered “most high” and “exalted far above.”

In the Anselm Project Bible: Across the spatial passages, the APB commonly uses “upper,” and Genesis 40:17 has “uppermost.” In elevation clauses it uses “high above” and “most high”; These renderings indicate the verse-level presentation rather than a fixed equivalent in every occurrence.

Passages featuring this word

Across Scripture