Hebrew word · H364

אֵיל פָּארָן

paran

El-paran

'êl / 'ayil can mean 'ram', 'strong one/leader', 'doorpost', and, related to 'ēlâ / 'ēlôn, 'great tree (terebinth, oak)'. In place names it is usually understood as a sacred or landmark tree. 'Paran' is the wilderness of the eastern Sinai and southern Negev.

Appears 2 times in 1 verses of the Hebrew Old Testament. ·

What it means

§ El-paran = "palm of Paran"

town and harbour at tip of Gulf of Aqaba on the Red Sea

Abridged from Brown, Driver and Briggs, A Hebrew and English Lexicon of the Old Testament (1906), via STEPBible.org (CC BY 4.0).

In depth

From the study of Genesis 14:6

Range of meaning

'êl / 'ayil can mean 'ram', 'strong one/leader', 'doorpost', and, related to 'ēlâ / 'ēlôn, 'great tree (terebinth, oak)'. In place names it is usually understood as a sacred or landmark tree. 'Paran' is the wilderness of the eastern Sinai and southern Negev.

Against the English

English versions transliterate 'El-paran', and the hyphen and capital make it look like a divine title ('God of Paran'). This word is not 'ēl, 'God'. The vowel and spelling differ (אֵיל, not אֵל).

How it drifted

Transliteration hides the meaning, and the look-alike 'El' invites readers to take it as a reference to God.

Used elsewhere in the period

The Septuagint translates it 'the terebinth of Pharan' (τῆς τερεμίνθου τῆς Φαραν). Many scholars identify El-paran with Elath/Eloth on the Gulf of Aqaba (Deut 2:8; 1 Kgs 9:26), a name also understood as 'tree(s)'. Others place it at an oasis inside the Paran wilderness nearer Kadesh.

Where it appears

Genesis · 2

  1. Genesis 14:6 אֵ֣יל פָּארָ֔ן El, Paran

    and the Horites in the area of Mount Seir, as far as El-paran, which is near the desert.

    Here: This is the first half of the place name. It is not the word 'El' meaning 'God'. It is most likely 'êl/'ayil, a big tree such as a terebinth or oak, so the name means something like 'Great Tree of Paran'. A tree like this would have been a well-known landmark or oasis marker.

Word data: STEPBible.org (CC BY 4.0), main text only.