El Olam Meaning: What the Name Means in the Bible
Updated October 22, 2026. Counts from the full KJV and World English Bible text.
El Olam (Hebrew אֵל עוֹלָם) means the everlasting God. Strong's Hebrew dictionary lists it as H410 (el) and H5769 (owlam). In the King James Version text, the everlasting God appears 3 times in 3 verses.
The first verse in the King James Version text that matches is Genesis 21:33.
What El Olam means
Abraham calls on El Olam at Beersheba in Genesis 21:33 after making peace with Abimelech. Olam is a word for time out of mind, stretching to the farthest past or future, so the name says that God is not bounded by time. Isaiah 40:28 repeats the thought: "the everlasting God, the LORD, the Creator of the ends of the earth".
| Hebrew | אֵל עוֹלָם |
|---|---|
| Transliteration | El Olam (ʼēl ʻôlām) |
| Literal meaning | the everlasting God |
| English Bibles print it as | the everlasting God |
| Strong's | H410 אֵל (el): God, god, mighty one H5769 עוֹלָם (owlam): properly, concealed, i.e. the vanishing point; time out of mind, i.e. (practically) eternity |
Source: Strong's Exhaustive Concordance of the Bible (1890), Hebrew dictionary, public domain. Every Hebrew form, transliteration and definition on these pages was read against the matching Strong's entry on Biblehub on 2026-10-22. Verse text is the King James Version and the World English Bible, both public domain.
Where El Olam appears in the Bible
English text can only follow the translation: the KJV prints everlasting God and eternal God, and the World English Bible uses the same two, so both phrases are counted. Romans 16:26 has the same English for the Greek, so the Old Testament split matters.
| English text searched | KJV | WEB |
|---|---|---|
| the everlasting God | 33 verses (2 OT, 1 NT) | 22 verses |
| the eternal God | 11 verse | 22 verses (1 OT, 1 NT) |
All 3 verses (KJV, the everlasting God): Genesis 21:33, Isaiah 40:28, Romans 16:26.
First use of El Olam
And Abraham planted a grove in Beer-sheba, and called there on the name of the LORD, the everlasting God.
Abraham planted a tamarisk tree in Beersheba, and called there on the name of Yahweh, the Everlasting God.
Hast thou not known? hast thou not heard, that the everlasting God, the LORD, the Creator of the ends of the earth, fainteth not, neither is weary? there is no searching of his understanding.
Haven’t you known? Haven’t you heard? The everlasting God, Yahweh, The Creator of the ends of the earth, doesn’t faint. He isn’t weary. His understanding is unsearchable.
Names related to El Olam
- El Elyonאֵל עֶלְיוֹן: God Most High
- El Shaddaiאֵל שַׁדַּי: God Almighty
- Elohimאֱלֹהִים: God, the general Hebrew word for deity
- Jehovahיְהוָה: LORD, the personal name of God
See all names: the names of God and their meanings.
Common questions
What does El Olam mean?
El Olam means "the everlasting God" or "the eternal God". Olam (Strong's H5769) is time out of mind, eternity.
Where is El Olam in the Bible?
Genesis 21:33 is the verse: Abraham plants a tree at Beersheba and calls on the name of the LORD, the everlasting God.
How many times is El Olam in the Bible?
Searching the full King James Version text for the everlasting God finds 3 times in 3 verses, 2 in the Old Testament and 1 in the New. The World English Bible has 2 times. English Bibles translate Hebrew names, so a count in English counts the translation, not the Hebrew word.
Sources
Source: H410, H5769 via biblehub.com/hebrew, read 2026-10-22. Hebrew meanings: Strong's Exhaustive Concordance of the Bible (1890), Hebrew dictionary, public domain. Verse text: King James Version and World English Bible, public domain. Counts: Bible Says About, 2026-10-22.
Verses on our topic pages: Bible verses about eternal life, Bible verses about faithfulness, Bible verses about worship. Word counts: God, Lord and Bible names and their meanings.
Counted by Bible Says About from the full public-domain text of the King James Version (1769 edition) and the World English Bible. Verse text only: headings and psalm titles are left out. A word is a run of letters: a hyphenated name like Beer-sheba counts as two, and an apostrophe stays inside its word (LORD'S is one). Matching ignores capital letters. Data compiled 2026-10-22.