Elyon vs Elyonin

[tonychanyt]

Ge 14:

18 Melchizedek king of Salem brought out bread and wine. (He was priest of God [H410 el] Most High [H5945 Elyon].)

Strong's Hebrew: 5945. עֶלְיוֹן (elyown) — 53 Occurrences

Elyon, singular, referred to the one and only true God. The term emphasized sovereignty and uniqueness. He was uniquely the highest among all other so-called gods. All 53 occurrences used the singular form, which makes good sense in terms of total ordering.

But then Daniel seemed to see partial ordering. Da 3:

Then Nebuchadnezzar came near to the door of the burning fiery furnace; he declared, “Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, servants of the Most High God, come out, and come here!”

Strong's Hebrew: 5943. עִלָּיָא (Illaya) — 10 Occurrences

H5943 was an Aramaic word. Daniel wrote in Aramaic from Dan 2:4b through Dan 7:28. H5943 was the Aramaic equivalent of the Hebrew H5945.

Dan 7:

He shall speak words against the Most High [H5943], and shall wear out the saints of the Most High [5946], and shall think to change the times and the law; and they shall be given into his hand for a time, times, and half a time.

H5946 Elyonin was in the plural form. It occurred only 4 times and only in Dan 7.

Does Elyonin imply multiple Most High Gods?

I don't think so. In a linear ordering, there can only be one most high God.

Why did Daniel use the plural 'Elyonin' at all instead of sticking to the singular 'Illaya'?

Every time that 'Elyonin' was used, it appeared in the formula "saints of the Most High".

27 And the kingdom and the dominion and the greatness of the kingdoms under the whole heaven shall be given to the people of the saints of the Most High.

This linguistic choice reinforced one of Daniel's central themes: the ultimate vindication of God's faithful people in cosmic, eschatological terms.

Why did Daniel use "Elyonin" while "Elyonim" never appear anywhere in the OT?

He used an Aramaic plural as a technical term for "saints of the Most High" to refer to the God Most High in the end times. If he had written Dan 7 in Hebrew, he would have used the singular Elyon. In any case, there is only one True Most High God.