What does the Hebrew word Olam mean in the name El Olam?
In the name El Olam, Olam means “everlasting,” so El Olam is God, the everlasting God. Yet in common Hebrew usage, Olam always refers to things hidden, pointing to God’s sovereign ability to hide things. It is a distinct divine name from Jehovah and El Shaddai.
Les explains that the English text says “the everlasting God,” but in the Hebrew this is a totally different word from the Jehovah God of Genesis chapter 4 or El Shaddai in chapter 17, which means the God of fruitfulness. Here the name is El Olam. Les notes that in common Hebrew usage, Olam always refers to things hidden; it refers to God’s sovereign ability to hide things. So the name carries the sense of God, the everlasting God, while also emphasizing His sovereign hiding.
And Abraham planted a grove in Beersheba, and called there on the name of the LORD, the everlasting God.