Isaiah 14:12 Who is Lucifer? (HINT: It isn't Satan)

Many Christians believe that Isaiah 14:12 refers to Satan, the fallen angel who rebelled against God, but a growing number of scholars now believe that Isaiah was talking about someone else. This video will examine the evidence for this conclusion.

[DidacticMinistriesOrg]

For those who are interested, here are the sources I used for this video:

Who is the “Morning Star” (Lucifer) who fell from heaven (14:12-14)?

The words “shining star, son of the morning” can be literally translated “shining one.” The Vulgate rendered it by the Latin term “lucifer, ” meaning “light-bringing.” Eventually the Latin word “lucifer” came to be identified as a name for Satan. There is very little evidence to commend this view. Certainly the judgments described in 14:16–21 have not happened to Satan.

Source: Robert B. Hughes and J. Carl Laney, Tyndale Concise Bible Commentary, Rev. Ed. of: New Bible Companion. 1990.; Includes Index., The Tyndale reference library (Wheaton, Ill.: Tyndale House Publishers, 2001), 262.

The Hebrew term is hê∙lēl meaning Shining One, i.e., Morning star or Day star, the planet Venus, prominent in the morning, referring to the majesty and high status of a king (Isa 14:12+), note: KJV, NKJV translates as “Lucifer, ” but it is begging the question to say this must then refer to Satan.

Source: James Swanson, Dictionary of Biblical Languages With Semantic Domains: Hebrew (Old Testament), electronic ed. (Oak Harbor: Logos Research Systems, Inc., 1997), DBLH 2122.

Many expositors hold the view that he is Satan, the ultimate personification of pride. Tertullian (ca. A.D. 160-230) and Gregory the Great (ca. 540-604) were the first to present this view, now widely accepted. Though verses 12-14 seem to support the view, little else in the chapter does. Though many hold that verses 12-14 refer to the entrance of sin into the cosmos by Satan’s fall, that subject seems a bit forced in this chapter.

Source: The Bible Knowledge Commentary (Wheaton, IL: Victor Books, 1983-c1985), 1:1061.

The words “fallen from heaven” (14:12) figuratively describe the tyrant’s loss of political prestige. The words “shining star” (hê∙lēl) can be literally translated “shining one.” The Vulgate rendered it by the Latin term “lucifer, ” meaning “light-bringing.” Eventually the Latin word “lucifer” came to be identified as a name for Satan. There is very little evidence to commend this view. Certainly the judgments described in Isaiah 14:16–21 have not happened to Satan.

Source: Tyndale Concise Bible Commentary, (Wheaton, Ill.: Tyndale House Publishers, 2001), 262.

Swanson’s Dictionary of Biblical Languages says “Son of the Dawn” (bēn šǎ∙ḥǎr) refers to someone who is an offspring of the pagan deity Shachar (Isa 14:12).

Isaiah 14:13 NIV: “I will sit enthroned on the mount of assembly, on the utmost heights of the sacred mountain”

In the ancient Near East, kings had supreme power; many were deified by their subjects. The people taunting this tyrant pictured him ascribing godlike characteristics to himself… several Semitic peoples believed that the gods lived on Mount Zaphon. “Sacred mountain” comes from the Hebrew term ṣāp̱ôn (which literally means “the north”). By ascending the mountain above... the clouds, he was seeking to make himself like God, the Most High. The language used here is hyperbolic.

Source: The Bible Knowledge Commentary (Wheaton, IL: Victor Books, 1983-c1985), 1:1062.

In the Ras Shamra texts from northern Canaan, the morning star attempts to climb beyond all other heavenly bodies to the mountain of the gods in the far north. This would challenge the supremacy of el elyon, the Monarch of the gods, and he is cast down. It seems likely that elements of the myth, probably well-known throughout Canaan, provide features of the analogy that runs through vv.12-15. Such an analogy would be particularly appropriate when applied to the polytheistic Babylonians, whose mythology had many links with that of Ugarit.

Source: Expositor’s Bible Commentary, Notes on Isaiah 14:12.

In Greek mythology, Phaethon attempted to scale the heights of heaven and as the dawn star was ever condemned to be cast down into Hades (Sheol). The name ṣāpôn (Isa 14:13) is well known in Ugaritic as the mountain of the gods.

Source: Theological Wordbook of the Old Testament, electronic ed. (Chicago: Moody Press, 1999, c1980), 217.

[keithcline]

Just back up and start at verse 1 and pay particular attention to verse 4
In the Bible context is very important which means reading what precedes and follows whatever verse or chapter you are focusing on

[AwakenedOne-qu]

Finally I'm sick of Lucifer being idealized as a knowledge giver. Everyone confuses Milton and Dante with the Bible.

[DidacticMinistriesOrg]

In Isaiah 14:12, Isaiah describes the fall of the king of Babylon, saying, “How you are fallen from heaven.” At first glance, this appears to be talking about Satan since he was cast out of heaven and no man has ascended into heaven (John 3:13), however, there is an easy explanation for this expression, and the data in Isaiah 14:15-16 shows that Isaiah 14:12-14 is discussing Belshazzar.

In Isaiah 14:12-14, the king of Babylon boasts that he will ascend to the heavens, sit on the mount of the assembly on the heights of Zaphon, and make himself like the Most High, but Isaiah declares that he will be cut down to the ground and fall from heaven. This vocabulary is consistent with the religion and mythology of the time. Mount Zaphon was the Levantine equivalent of Mount Olympus, which makes sense if the king of Babylon is Belshazzar, not Satan.

Many ancient Gentile kings claimed to be gods or the offspring of gods (e.g., the Egyptian Pharaohs and certain Roman emperors), so the boast in Isaiah 14:12-14 is consistent with that culture and time. The description of the king of Babylon ascending to heaven and falling from heaven may refer to Etemenanki (The Temple of the Foundation of Heaven and Earth), a ziggurat in Babylon dedicated to Marduk, the king of the gods of heaven and the underworld (i.e., the Most High in Isaiah 14:14).
In the 1880s, foundation cylinders from Nabopolassar were found which say, “At that time my lord Marduk told me in regard to E-temen-anki, the ziqqurrat of Babylon, which before my day was (already) very weak and badly buckled, to ground its bottom on the breast of the netherworld, to make its top vie with the heavens.”

In 1917, a Neo-Babylonian royal inscription of Nebuchadnezzar II was discovered on a stele from Babylon, which reads, “Etemenanki, Ziggurat of Babylon, I made it, the wonder of the people of the world, I raised its top to heaven, made doors for the gates, and I covered it with bitumen and bricks.”

The priest-king of Babylon was required to perform certain rituals to please the gods of Babylon. The last king of Babylon (Nabonidus) forsook the traditional gods and spent 10 years in Arabia serving Sin (the moon god) and left his son, Belshazzar in charge of the capital. When Cyrus captured the city, he gained the support of the locals by restoring the worship of the traditional gods and claimed that their gods had given him the kingship because Nabonidus was an apostate.

One could speculate that Belshazzar sought to overturn the established order in Babylon and establish himself on top of Etemenanki (in the heavens) as king of the gods, but his celestial coup d'état failed and he (figuratively) fell from those heavenly heights.

Further, Isaiah 14:15-16 specifically addresses the person making the boast by saying that he will be brought down to the grave (Hebrew, sheol) and those who look on him will ask, “Is this the man (Hebrew, ish) who shook the earth?” The Hebrew term (ish) refers to a male human being.

[Tonibolognaaintnophony]

Thank you for telling the truth through actual meanings of words & where the metaphor came from. Whatever anyone thinks God is communicating without understanding His lingo, can cause wrong conclusions & fear of a Satan who too, has been misunderstood from Hebrew to English. Studying the Hebrew Bible alongside the English Bible is a must to really know God.

[NickMartinproductions]

Revelation 22:16
ESV
"I, Jesus, have sent my angel to testify to you about these things for the churches. I am the root and the descendant of David, the bright morning star."

[johnmarkquinamot]

YES. This really confuses me many times when I study the whole selection of Isaiah 14. Same with Ezekiel 28 which speaks about the King of Tyre.

[HaroldShipley]

Isa. 14:4 identifies "Lucifer" as the king of Babylon.

[georgepalacios]

Amen!
Very good exegesis of scripture, hope this will bring clarity for so many who believe that the name lusifer and the devil are synonymous. I have heard this from believers and non believers that lusifer is the devil.
When we humble are selves and are willing to be corrected we will grow in grace and knowledge of are Lord and savior Jesus Christ.
Blessings!!!

[sepehrnafezi]

It refers to the king but the king was with Satan in his actions! So when the king lost his place satan lost it too. so I feel it refers to both sides! King and satan and is better to keep it this way in our teaching, the matter is the Bible making fun of King and Satan's boastfulness when he says morning star but thank you for your video ❤

[jeffgray]

I'm not in disagreement with the Scriptures, I asked this question earnestly: when would you link the statement of fact that the prophet said; that Lucifer was in charge of what nations, it has to be in an historical op past, also Jesus'statement has to be in an historical past; when did Lucifer fall, ? Is he that old serpent, dragon from the book of Revelation that was in the garden tempting Adam and Eve?

[DominikKoppensteiner]

We must also consider, that Bible prophecy often refers to 2 (or maybe even more) events. It has a pretty obvious meaning and also a prophetic one. For example, Hosea 11:1 says, that God called Israel, his son, out of Egypt (Exodus). Matthew also interprets this text prophetically to refer to Jesus. (Matthew 2:15)
Or the Psalm often refer to the situation of David, but also to the Messiah.

Likewise, Isaiah 14 likely does refer to the king of Babel as the type, and to Satan as the antitype.

[RochelletheRabbit-nh]

Interestingly, the story of the fallen angel only appeared in the twelfth century of the Common Era, put in by a Roman Catholic theologian, by the name of St. Gerome, who had a rival for a papal position, called St Lucifer. There is no trace of the "Fallen angel" in the Septuagint. The so-called "Old Testament" was translated from Hebrew to Greek, Greek to Latin and Latin to English. There is no reference to an "Angel" in the original Hebrew. The original Hebrew uses "Meleh Bavl", which is "King of Babylon".The Hebrew word for King is "Meleh" but the Hebrew word for angel is "Melah".

[Ptero]

Someone at Didactic Ministries uses the FreeBSD operating system on his computer. I know because he placed the FreeBSD mascot on the video thumbnail.

[SoyElZarko]

The stars ascend into heaven at night and the morning they descend there's no message about any creature

[mr.t]

He was thrown down twice on earth? Maybe multiply times, like a jo-jo, you know, those toys going up and down over and over.

[scanner_]

It's clearly referring to both, (1) He falls from heaven to earth...[Satan] (2) He is explicitly called a man...[Belshazar]. It may be Isaiahs attempt to compare mans pride to Satan fall.

[BuddyServes]

I have never heard that verse is about the satan. That is totally ridicuous.
It doesn't say Luther or whoever. Where did anyone get that.