The name Elpaal combines El (God) and paal (work, deed, maker), meaning "God is maker" or "the work of God." It appears in 1 Chronicles 8:11–12 as a Benjaminite leader, father of the builders of Ono and Lod — towns that would later play a role in the post-exilic restoration of Israel.
That a man named "God is maker" fathered builders of cities is a beautiful correspondence between name and vocation. The theology embedded in Elpaal reflects the biblical conviction that all human creative work is derivative — we build because we are made in the image of the God who builds. Bezalel the craftsman was Spirit-filled to build the tabernacle (Exodus 31:3); Nehemiah rebuilt Jerusalem's walls under divine commission. Human constructive work, when done for God's glory, participates in divine making.