The term ʿelyôn in the Hebrew Bible primarily functions in two ways: as an adjective meaning "higher" or "upper" and as a noun, most significantly as a divine title meaning "Most High." As an adjective, it describes physical locations such as upper gates, upper pools, and upper cities, and also denotes superior status, as in the "highest king."

As a noun, ʿelyôn serves as a crucial epithet for the God of Israel, emphasizing His supreme authority and exalted nature. It frequently appears in parallelism with other divine names like ʾēl, yhwh, and ʾĕlōhîm, reinforcing the concept of God's supreme status. Compound divine titles such as ʾēl ʿelyôn ("God Most High") and yhwh ʿelyôn ("YHWH Most High") further illustrate this usage. The phrase "YHWH is ʿelyôn over all the earth" directly applies this concept of supreme height to God's dominion.

Interestingly, ʿelyôn is also used in the phrase bənê ʿelyôn ("sons of the Most High"), which is interpreted as referring to rulers or angel-princes, indicating a connection to beings of high status. Linguistically, ʿelyôn has cognates in other ancient Near Eastern languages like Ugaritic (ʿly) and Aramaic (ʿlyn), and is related to the Phoenician Elioun and the Greek Hypsistos, suggesting a widespread ancient concept of a "highest" deity. While some sources propose that ʿelyôn might have originally been a distinct deity, within the Old Testament, it primarily functions as a powerful epithet of the God of Israel, highlighting His transcendence and supreme position. The Septuagint consistently translates ʿelyôn as Hypsistos, underscoring this understanding of the term.

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