Ever since discovering the etymology of the deity's name
El (the head of a pantheon, not a one true, according to Behindthename), I've wondered about the many names in the Bible (, Torah and Qur'an, presumably)that either begin or end in -el as opposed to some prefix or suffix based on the name "
Yahweh" (or "
Allah" or some other name specifically referring to the God of
Abraham). I wonder if there's a way to tell what a name means just by looking. I thought maybe -iel vs -ael vs -uel might make a difference. It seems not (some -iels mean "of power" - el means power - whereas I have read that
Daniel, for example, means "'God' is my judge" as opposed to "judge of 'God'"). Does anyone else notice connections between -ael names (MichAEL) vs -uel names (EmmanUEL)? My other big issue with these names is
Yahweh vs
El, Matit[yahu]/Matthew (gift of Yahweh/God)vs
Nathaniel (given by El/power/a god).
Can anyone explain that to me?