Wikipedia's first sentence called it “northwest semitic word and name translated into english as either 'god' or 'god' or left untranslated as el”. Today it says “northwest semitic word meaning ' god ' or 'deity'”. The one-line description Wikipedia serves to search engines and AI systems read “Northwest Semitic word for "god" Gebel al-Arak knife Possible depiction of El with two lions, B.C. 3450”. It now reads “Northwest Semitic supreme deity”.
Found by software in Wikipedia's own edit history. Not yet read by hand. The quoted words are Wikipedia's.
Compared with the live article on 2026-08-04.
We saved snapshots of this article over twenty years; you are reading the 2005 one. Red dashes: removed from Wikipedia since.Pale dots: rewritten; the numbered note shows what it says now.Red text: written in or rewritten since the previous snapshot.1 tap a number or a side note to jump between them
The opening as it read in 2005
Ēl is a northwest Semitic word and name translated into English as either 'god' or 'God' or left untranslated as El , depending on the context. The Hebrew form (אל) appears in Latin letters in Standard Hebrew transcription as El and in Tiberian Hebrew transcription as ʾĒl .1
This is Wikipedia's own text, saved in our repository. Their copy of it is revision 15952698.
The opening as it stood in 2010 2 passages from the previous snapshot no longer appear
El depicted with two lions on the back of the handle of the Gebel el-Arak Knife ʾĒl (written aleph - lamed , i.e. אל , 𐤀𐤋 , 𐎛𐎍 etc.) is the Northwest Semitic word for " deity ", cognate to Akkadian ilum .In the Canaanite religion , or Levantine religion as a whole, Eli or Il was the supreme god, the father of humankind and all creatures and the husband of the goddess Asherah as recorded in the tablets of Ugarit .The word El was found at the top of a list of gods as the Ancient of gods or the Father of all gods, in the ruins of the Royal Library of the Ebla civilization, in the archaeological site of Tell Mardikh in Syria dated to 2300 BC.He may have been a desert god at some point, as the myths say that he had two wives and built a sanctuary with them and his new children in the desert.El had fathered many gods, but most important were Hadad , Yam , and Mot .
Red text was written in or rewritten since the previous snapshot. Their copy is revision 370054629.
The opening as it stood in 2015 5 passages from the previous snapshot no longer appear
He receives gifts from a priest or king or lesser deity. ʾĒl (or 'Il, written aleph - lamed , e.g. , , , , or إله , cognate to ) is a Northwest Semitic word meaning " god " or " deity ", or referring (as a proper name) to any one of multiple major Ancient Near East deities.A rarer spelling, "'ila", represents the predicate form in Old Akkadian and in Amorite .The word is derived from the Proto-Semitic archaic biliteral ʔ-L , meaning "god".Specific deities known as El or Il include the supreme god of the Canaanite religion , the supreme god of the Mesopotamian Semites in the pre-Sargonic period, and the God of the Hebrew Bible .
Red text was written in or rewritten since the previous snapshot. Their copy is revision 667825872.
The opening as it stood in 2020
Northwest Semitic word meaning "god" or "deity", or referring (as a proper name) to any one of multiple major ancient Near Eastern deities ʼĒl (or ʼIl , ; ; ; ; or إله ; cognate to ) is a Northwest Semitic word meaning " god " or " deity ", or referring (as a proper name) to any one of multiple major ancient Near Eastern deities. A rarer form, ʼila , represents the predicate form in Old Akkadian and in Amorite . The word is derived from the Proto-Semitic archaic biliteral ʼ‑l , meaning "god". Specific deities known as ʼEl or ʼIl include the supreme god of the ancient Canaanite religion and the supreme god of East Semitic speakers in Mesopotamia's Early Dynastic Period .
Red text was written in or rewritten since the previous snapshot. Their copy is revision 961400867.
The opening as it stood on October 6, 2023
Northwest Semitic word for "god" Gebel al-Arak knife Possible depiction of El with two lions, B.C. 3450 ʼĒl (also ' Il , ʾīlu ; ʾīl ; ʾēl ; ʾīyl ; ʾīl or إله ʾilāh ; cognate to ) is a Northwest Semitic word meaning "god" or " deity ", or referring (as a proper name) to any one of multiple major ancient Near Eastern deities. A rarer form, ' ila , represents the predicate form in Old Akkadian and in Amorite . The word is derived from the Proto-Semitic *ʔil- , meaning "god". Specific deities known as ' El , ' Al or ' Il include the supreme god of the ancient Canaanite religion and the supreme god of East Semitic speakers in Mesopotamia's Early Dynastic Period . Among the Hittites , El was known as Elkunirsa ( Elkunīrša ).
Red text was written in or rewritten since the previous snapshot. Their copy is revision 1178563738.
The opening as it stood in 2025
Northwest Semitic supreme deity This article contains Ugaritic text.Without proper rendering support , you may see question marks, boxes, or other symbols instead of Ugaritic alphabet . El is a Northwest Semitic word meaning 'god' or ' deity ', or referring (as a proper name) to any one of multiple major ancient Near Eastern deities . A rarer form, ' ila , represents the predicate form in the Old Akkadian and Amorite languages. The word is derived from the Proto-Semitic *ʔil- . Originally a Canaanite deity known as ' El , ' Al or ' Il the supreme god of the ancient Canaanite religion and the supreme god of East Semitic speakers in the Early Dynastic Period of Mesopotamia (c. 2900 – c. 2350 BCE).Among the Hittites , El was known as Elkunirša ( Hittite : 𒂖𒆪𒉌𒅕𒊭 Elkunīrša ).Although El gained different appearances and meanings in different languages over time, it continues to exist as El- , -il or -el in compound proper noun phrases such as Elizabeth , Ishmael , Israel , Samuel , Daniel , Michael , Gabriel (Arabic: Jibra'il), and Bethel .Monotheism and Yahweh's Appropriation of Baal .The Mother of the Lord .Yahweh and the Gods and Goddesses of Canaan .The Storm-god in the Ancient Near East .The Invention of God .In Longman III, Tremper; Enns, Peter (eds.).The Literature of the Jewish People in the Period of the Second Temple and the Talmud, Volume 1 Mikra: Text, Translation, Reading and Interpretation of the Hebrew Bible in Ancient Judaism and Early Christianity .Studi epigrafici e linguistici sul Vicino Oriente antico (v. 24).The Book of Daniel .
Red text was written in or rewritten since the previous snapshot. Their copy is revision 1297584269. This is our newest snapshot; the live article may have moved again since.
Today
Wikipedia's first sentence called it “northwest semitic word and name translated into english as either 'god' or 'god' or left untranslated as el”. Today it says “northwest semitic word meaning ' god ' or 'deity'”. The one-line description Wikipedia serves to search engines and AI systems read “Northwest Semitic word for "god" Gebel al-Arak knife Possible depiction of El with two lions, B.C. 3450”. It now reads “Northwest Semitic supreme deity”. Read the current article and compare.
2005
2010
2015
2020
Oct '23
2025
Counts in the opening at each snapshot. Green: the word gained ground. Red: it was cut. Grey: no change.
What Wikipedia says this is
Every article opens by defining its subject. This one was redefined since 2005, and today's defining sentence is their current revision.
Then
northwest semitic word and name translated into english as either 'god' or 'god' or left untranslated as el
Now
northwest semitic word meaning ' god ' or 'deity'
Sections that no longer exist
This section existed on October 6, 2023. It is gone today. The current article has no similar heading in its place, and the article is shorter overall. So this is not a heading that got renamed, and it is not a topic that got folded into a bigger section. 1 section of 400 characters or more gone since October 6 2023, with the article 69 characters shorter.
Hebrew Bible
Struck red text is no longer in the article; dotted amber text was rewritten. Every revision id links to Wikipedia's copy; the text shown is our own saved copy. Data: /data. Wikipedia text is CC BY-SA; quoted for the record; not affiliated with Wikipedia.