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Eli

Eli may refer to:

  • Eli (אלי) (pronounced el-ee or ay-lee) is a variant on the name of God (see El (god)) as spoken in Hebrew and Aramaic. (The "i" suffix indicates first person singular possession, i.e., "my El".)
    • In Semitic languages, the "al" and "el" sounds are often merged, (as in "ael") thus the Aramaic "Eli" is directly related to the Arabic Allah and identical to Hebrew "El". It is related also to similar Semitic words in Assyrian (ilu), Phoenician, Aramaic, Arabic, and Ethiopic.
    • El (Disambiguation page)

  • Eli is also a common first name in Hebrew, however, there is a distinction between Eli spelled with an aleph א, which is a diminutive form of Eliahu (Elijah), Eliezer, etc. and Eli spelled with an 'ayin ע, which is the name of the high priest in the Books of Samuel. See List of Hebrew names.


  • A name eli may have been derived from El, a Canaanite storm god.

  • "Eli, Eli" (my God, my God), words spoken by King David in Book of Psalms 22:2-3- : "...My God, my God, why hast Thou forsaken me, and art far from my help at the words of my cry? O my God, I call by day, but Thou answerest not; and at night, and there is no surcease for me..." [1]

  • "Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani" supposedly said by Jesus on the cross which means "My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me", words that also comprise the beginning of the Twenty-Second Psalm, although some debate what exactly Jesus' last words were.

  • Eli, Eli is the name of an old Yiddish language movie about an old Jewish immigrant couple neglected by their Americanized children.



See also

Last updated: 08-22-2005 19:55:42
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