Mauro Biglino: Is El Elyon a Title or a Name?
By W.R. Selvig
When we open to Genesis 14, we encounter one of the most mysterious figures in the Bible: Melchizedek, king of Salem and priest of El Elyon. The text tells us he brought out bread and wine and was “Cohen of El Elyon.”
El Elyon as “The One Above”
Italian scholar Mauro Biglino emphasizes that El Elyon is not a personal name like “Yahweh,” but a title.
- El simply means “god.”
- Elyon means “high,” “uppermost,” or “the one above.”
El Elyon’s name is found in ancient inscriptions referring to the supreme diety in a pantheon of gods. It is Canaanite in origin, so it predates Israelite religion.
Together, El Elyon describes “the god who is above all others.” It’s an epithet, not a proper name. In this reading, Melchizedek was aligned with the highest god — distinct from Yahweh. To read about the redactions of the Old Testament and how the name Yahweh was inserted into texts that originally referenced El Elyon, see my book, The Yahweh Deception.
Melchizedek: Priest of Elyon
The Hebrew says Melchizedek was kōhēn le-’El Elyon — “priest of El Elyon.”
- Cohen means priest, but also mediator or representative. El Elyon was not personally seen, heard or known on the earth. Melchizedek served as his earthly representative.
- This priesthood was not Levitical and not tied to Yahweh’s temple system which came some 400 years later.
- Instead, it suggests an **older priesthood under a different divine authority. Well established before Yahweh comes on scene. And, if you think Yahweh is the god of Abraham because his name appears in the texts, you need to know about the smoking gun redaction - Exodus 6:2-3 where Yahweh says he was not known to the patriarchs by the name YHWH. Scholars see this as strong evidence of redactional seams between different sources (commonly referred to as the E source vs. P source in the Documentary Hypothesis). In short:
The Genesis narratives (especially in their current form) were edited later to consistently insert “YHWH,” even though the original traditions likely used El, Elyon, or El Shaddai.
The Priestly redactor in Exodus 6 tries to resolve the tension by saying: “Look, the patriarchs didn’t know this name. It’s being revealed now to Moses.”
That’s why Exodus 6:3 is often called a “smoking gun redaction”: it preserves a memory that the name YHWH was not original to the patriarchal traditions—yet we see it sprinkled all through Genesis as if it had always been there.**
And notice the distinctive sign: bread and wine. Unlike the bloody sacrifices that came later under the Levitical priesthood, Melchizedek’s offering was relational, nourishing, and communal. It was about fellowship, not appeasement.
Jesus and the Priesthood of Melchizedek
The New Testament repeatedly declares that Jesus is a priest “in the order of Melchizedek” (Hebrews 7:17). What does that mean?
- Jesus did not align Himself with the Levitical system of law and sacrifice. If He came to endorse Yahweh, why did He not come in the line of Aaron? Why was He not a Levite?
- Instead, He connected to Melchizedek’s priesthood of El Elyon — the one above.
- His central act was breaking bread and sharing wine, instituting communion. Jesus and His Father were about relationship, not ritual.
This is no accident. Jesus was deliberately echoing Melchizedek. He was pointing to a priesthood founded on relationship, communion, and direct access to the Father — not on ritual sacrifice or legal systems.
Why It Matters
If Biglino is right that Elyon is “the one above,” then Genesis 14 and the New Testament both testify to a priesthood outside of Yahweh’s system. Melchizedek and Jesus stand together as representatives of a higher order, one built on intimacy with the Most High rather than submission to legalistic structures.
I will make a note here that Biglino doesn’t say that El Elyon is or is not the Father Jesus reveals. And, in his world view, El Elyon may or may not just be another god in charge of the lesser gods. I don’t want to misrepresent any scholar and respect Mauro deeply. We all touch a different part of the elephant and have a little different view point, and that is okay.
I have had a very personal relationship with Yeshua and now His Father, “Abba” whom He has introduced me to. There is still so much to learn through both academics and experience, and I will say even personal revelation. Why personal revelation? Because Yeshua and His Father are real entities with real personalities, and if you believe they are alive and interpersonal today, would you deny them interpersonal relationship and fellowship with those who follow them? No, most people would not. If the academics can cross over their logical brain to the heart, and the heart-led people can cross over to academics… somewhere in there is a balance where we can reseach and learn more information as “knowledge increases in the earth” and our hearts connect and communicate through spirit with Yeshua and Abba.
There are still so many questions. And, I say it is okay to not have all the answers. I am going to show you a video by Mauro Biglino, a well-known Italian scholar of Hebrew. I have studied Biglino’s work and admire him for taking a stand against the accepted norms of the Catholic church. Biglino used to work for the church as an Interlinear scholar and interpreter, which is an exact profession that does not allow you to put your own spin on anything, you must interpret exactly as the etimilogical meaning There are still so many questions. And, I say it is okay to not have all the answers. I am going to show you a video by Mauro Biglino, a well-known Italian scholar of Hebrew. I have studied Biglino’s work and admire him for taking a stand against the accepted norms of the Catholic church. Biglino used to work for the church as an Interlinear scholar and interpreter, which is an exact profession that does not allow you to put your own spin on anything; you must interpret the exact etymological (most original, root-level) meaning. However Mauro does not profess to believe in God, after all he has been through does not know if he believes or not. So I encourage you to say a prayer for him, that He finds Abba and Jesus and truth to set him free. I do not agree with all of his conclusions, but his Biblical work in ancient Hebrew origin of meanings is fantastic.
Here is a video of Mauro discussing some of this content: https://youtu.be/_BohuXUx0yI?si=njPFiVcBfD1voFiK.
So the question becomes: when Jesus aligned Himself with Melchizedek - and not Yahweh’s priestly line of Levi, was He signaling that the true Father He came to reveal was El Elyon — the One Above?
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