ʼĒl is believed to have been the central and ruling divinity of the ancient Canaanite pantheon, as its creator deity. It is from the name of this particular Canaanite deity (אֵל) that the general Hebrew term for God evolved — אֱלֹ, pronounced "el." Because the actual name Yahweh (called the Tetragrammaton in its written form) was considered too holy to speak aloud, titles like "Adonai" or "Elohim", which was originally a general term for any deity descended from ʼĒl, were used instead. Additionally, this is where many names and phrases in the Hebrew Bible come from, including Ezekiel ("God will strengthen"), Samuel ("God heard"), and Israel ("who struggles with God"). During the very early stages of Yahwism, it is believed that Yahweh and ʼĒl were considered to be separate deities, and that the general meaning of Elohim was lost as it became a title associated with Yahweh in particular. The Canaanites worshipped ʼĒl as their supreme deity, while at some point the Hebrews branched off and began prioritizing Yahweh.