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El: Another example of how pagans used one of God's biblical names to refer to their deities is found in ancient Canaanite writings. The pagan Canaanites used the name El long before Moses wrote the first five books of the Bible known as the Pentateuch. To them El referred to El the Bull, the father of the other gods, including the infamous Baal. El simply means "mighty one." Some self-proclaimed scholars have argued that it is a sin for us to use the English word "God" because the Druids used it to refer to their idols. By the same reasoning, it would also have been a sin for the authors of the Old Testament to use El and Elohim since the Canaanites used them for their pagan gods. Nevertheless, God is called El in Genesis 14:20 and in many other places. In addition, many Old Testament men of God had el as part of their names, and God expressed no displeasure in this.
Martin G. Collins
The Names of God
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