Today’s blog is about The Morning Star and the origins of the term lucifer.
The term lucifer first appeared in the Vulgate. According to wikipedia the Vulgate is:
“The Vulgate, also called Biblia Vulgata (Bible in common tongue), is a late-4th-century Latin translation of the Bible. The Vulgate is largely the work of Jerome who, in 382 AD, had been commissioned by Pope Damasus I to revise the Vetus Latina Gospels used by the Roman Church. Later, on his own initiative, Jerome extended this work of revision and translation to include most of the books of the Bible. The Vulgate became progressively adopted as the Bible text within the Western Church. Over succeeding centuries, it eventually eclipsed the Vetus Latina. By the 13th century it had taken over from the former version the designation versio vulgata (the “version commonly used”) or vulgata for short. “
When translating the Old and New Testaments into Latin, Jerome utilized the Greek word (1.) Ἑωσφόρος (heōsphoros), “bringer of dawn”, the Ancient Greek name for the morning star and the Hebrew word הֵילֵל בֶּן-שָׁחַר (Helel ben Shachar, Hebrew for “shining one, son of the morning”), who is addressed as הילל בן שחר (Hêlêl ben Šāḥar), The title “Hêlêl ben Šāḥar” refers to the planet Venus as the morning star, and that is how the Hebrew word is usually interpreted.
(1.) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lucifer
Jerome translated morning star into Latin using two roots, one from lux (genitive lucis) “light” and the other, ferre “to carry, bear,”.
Why is this important you might ask? Because he used scriptural source words from not one, but two different languages to translate the term morning star, bringer of the dawn, into Latin. In both source languages the reference was to the planet Venus which was considered the morning star, the brightest light in the morning sky right before dawn.
The term Lucifer only occurs once in the KJV Bible and is found in Isaiah 14:12. In order to fully understand the reference to lucifer in this passage the entire chapter must be taken in context not just Isaiah 14:12-15. In the Hebrew Bible the entire chapter reads as follows:
Isaiah 14:
1 For Adonai will have compassion on Ya‘akov — he will once again choose Isra’el and
resettle them in their own land, where foreigners will join them, attaching themselves to the
house of Ya‘akov.
2 Peoples will take and escort them to their homeland, and the house of Isra’el will possess
them in the land of Adonai as male and female slaves. They will take their captors captive and
rule over their oppressors.
3 Then, when Adonai gives you rest from your suffering and trouble and from the hard service
imposed on you,
4 you will take up this taunt-song against the king of Bavel:
“At last the oppressor is stilled, his arrogance is ended.
5 Adonai has broken the staff of the wicked,
the scepter of the rulers,
6 which furiously struck down peoples
with unceasing blows,
angrily beating down nations
with relentless persecution.
7 The whole earth is at rest and quiet.
They break into song.
8 The cypresses rejoice over you,
with the cedars of the L’vanon —
‘Now that you are laid low,
no one comes to cut us down.’
9 “Sh’ol below is stirred up
to meet you when you come.
It awakens for you the ghosts of the dead
who were leaders on earth;
it makes all the kings of the nations
arise from their thrones.
10 They all greet you with these words:
‘Now you are as weak as we are,
you have become like us!
11 Your pride has been brought down to Sh’ol
with the music of your lyres,
under you a mattress of maggots,
over you a blanket of worms.’
12 “How did you come to fall from the heavens,
morning star, son of the dawn?
How did you come to be cut to the ground,
conqueror of nations?
13 You thought to yourself, ‘I will scale the heavens,
I will raise my throne above God’s stars.
I will sit on the Mount of Assembly
far away in the north.
14 I will rise past the tops of the clouds,
I will make myself like the Most High.’
15 “Instead you are brought down to Sh’ol,
to the uttermost depths of the pit.
16 Those who see you will stare at you,
reflecting on what has become of you:
‘Is this the man who shook the earth,
who made kingdoms tremble,
17 who made the world a desert,
who destroyed its cities,
who would not set his prisoners free?’
18 “All other kings of the nations, all of them,
lie in glory, each in his tomb.
19 But you are discarded, unburied,
like a loathed branch,
clothed like the slain who were pierced by the sword,
then fall to the stones inside a pit,
like a corpse to be trampled underfoot.
20 You will not be joined with those kings in the grave,
because you destroyed your own land,
you have brought death to your own people.
The descendants of evildoers will be utterly forgotten.
21 Get ready to slaughter his sons
for the iniquity of their fathers;
so they won’t arise, take over the earth
and cover the world with their cities.”
22 “I will arise against them,”
says Adonai-Tzva’ot.
“I will cut off from Bavel name and remnant,
offshoot and offspring,” says Adonai.
23 “I will make it a haunt for hedgehogs,
it will become a swampy waste,
I will sweep it with the broom of destruction,”
says Adonai-Tzva’ot.
24 Adonai-Tzva’ot has sworn,
“Just as I thought it, it will occur;
just as I planned it, so it will be.
25 I will break Ashur in my land,
I will trample him down on my mountains.
Then his yoke will fall off them,
his burden be removed from their shoulders.”
26 This is the program planned for all the earth,
this is the hand stretched out over all the nations.
27 Adonai-Tzva’ot has made his decision.
Who is there that can stop him?
He has stretched out his hand.
Who can turn it back?
28 In the year that King Achaz died, this prophecy came:
29 Do not rejoice, P’leshet, any of you,
that the rod which struck you is broken;
for out of the snake’s root will come a viper,
and his offspring will be a flying fiery serpent.
30 While the firstborn of the poor graze
and the needy lie down in safety,
I will kill off your root with famine
and slaughter the rest of you.
31 Howl, gate! Cry, city!
Melt away, P’leshet, all of you!
For a smoke is coming from the north,
with not a straggler in its ranks.
32 And what is one to answer
the messengers of the nation?
That Adonai founded Tziyon,
and there the poor of his people will find refuge.
https://www.studylight.org/bible/eng/cjb/isaiah/14.html
This chapter in Isaiah is a written Prophesy by God through Isaiah to the King of Bavel (Babylon). God is putting the King of Babylon on notice, He will return the land back to the Israelites, restoring Israel. According to many scholars the verses 14:12-15 refer to the fall of the King of Babylon. This taunt was directed at the recently fallen King of Babylon after the fall of Assyria.
The following paragraphs are found in the article below titled “Jesus and the Morning Star” br Dr. Michael Heiser.
“Many have endeavored to see Satan as the Day Star and the theory is not without merit. The early church fathers nearly all thought of Satan as the reference to the Day Star in Isaiah 14. However, the Day Star was usually a foreign deity, such as Inanna (Babylonian) or Ishtar(Assyrian & Canaanite). In the oracle, it’s clearly referring to the human king, however, it’s tapping into ANE imagery. Another reason why people see this passage as being about Satan is because it’s in past tense (“How you HAVE fallen….”). However, this is because God directed Isaiah to deliver the taunt after Assyria falls. Hence, the taunt is mocking the recently fallen king.
The reference to the heavens and being “cut” down to earth is important to the taunt. The word “cut” in English hardly captures the full meaning of the Hebrew. The Hebrew word is “נִגְדַּ֣עְתָּ” which is usually translated as “cut down”. But Hebrew has other words for “cut” and for “down”. The word used in Isaiah specifically refers to the act of hewing; that is, cutting rock. In modern language we just say “mining”. The reason why this is important is because the king who is being cut down is said to be on a mountain, in verse 13, which is the object that is being cut down. God is saying that the king was “hewn” from the mountain down to earth, not “cast” down.”
Below is another article that goes into an in depth study titled “Isaiah 14 and Ezekiel 28 Are Not about Satan” by Justin Holmes who has an M.Div focusing on Biblical languages and OT. It is a very interesting read.
So you have an accounting in Isaiah referencing the day star which was the planet Venus, and you have fallen Canaanite deities directly compared to the fallen King of Babylon. Nothing to do with Satan. Then you have Jerome translating the day star into the Latin word lucifer in 382 AD. Translated approximately 1000 years after Isaiah. So based on that premise the word lucifer, which only occurs once in the Bible, has no grounds to mean Satan. It was later associated with the meaning after centuries of erroneously linking it to Isaiah 14. Day star is mentioned 1 time in the KJV and it references Jesus in 2nd Peter 1:19
2 Pe 1:19 We have also a more sure word of prophecy; whereunto ye do well that ye take heed, as unto a light that shineth in a dark place, until the day dawn, and the day star arise in your hearts:
Morning Star is referenced twice to reference Jesus, both in Revelation:
Rev 2:28 And I will give him the morning star.
Rev 22:16 I Jesus have sent mine angel to testify unto you these things in the churches. I am the root and the offspring of David, and the bright and morning star.
The Bible is the Truth so you can’t have the meaning be both Satan and Jesus and scripture proves scripture. In context Isaiah 14 morning star references a fallen King of Babylon written 700 years before Christ. Lucifer, the Latin translation for the day star or morning star was associated with the the planet Venus. Because the word in Latin means light bringer or light bearer, in early associations it was also used in early Christian prayer to mean Jesus Christ as well as being in the New Testament in Revelation and Peter where Jesus Christ IS the bringer of light, the light of the world.
Joh 8:12 Then spake Jesus again unto them, saying, I am the light of the world: he that followeth me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life.
A good example of this is found in the Exsultet written over 1200 years ago draws from the Latin translation of lucifer. The Exsultet is a lengthy proclamation delivered before the paschal candle, ideally by a deacon, during the Easter Vigil in the Roman Rite of Mass. The entire text in both English and Latin can be found here:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Exsultet
The sections in question, the last few verses have been quite the controversy as there is a misunderstanding about the origin of the word lucifer. Given in context here is the Latin followed by the English translation. You will see that the word lucifer refers to the light of the world, the bringer of light, Jesus Christ and not Satan.
Orámus ergo te, Dómine,
ut céreus iste in honórem tui nóminis consecrátus,
ad noctis huius calíginem destruéndam,
indefíciens persevéret.
Et in odórem suavitátis accéptus,
supérnis lumináribus misceátur.
Flammas eius lúcifer matutínus invéniat:
ille, inquam, lúcifer, qui nescit occásum.
Christus Fílius tuus,
qui, regréssus ab ínferis, humáno géneri serénus illúxit,
et vivit et regnat in sæcula sæculórum.
Amen
Therefore, O Lord,
we pray you that this candle,
hallowed to the honour of your name,
may persevere undimmed,
to overcome the darkness of this night.
Receive it as a pleasing fragrance,
and let it mingle with the lights of heaven.
May this flame be found still burning
by the Morning Star:
the one Morning Star who never sets,
Christ your Son,
who, coming back from death’s domain,
has shed his peaceful light on humanity,
and lives and reigns for ever and ever.
Amen.
“by the Morning Star:
the one Morning Star who never sets,
Christ your Son,”
Punctuation counts even in Latin. By the Morning Star colon (:), the one Morning Star who never sets comma, Christ your Son. Clearly this indicates that Christ your Son was the one Morning Star that never sets, not Satan/Lucifer. A colon often precedes an explanation, a list, or a quoted sentence. In this case it precedes an explanation “Christ your Son is the one Morning Star that never sets.” It is preceded in the beginning of the verse with “Therefore, O Lord, we pray you that this candle,” It would make absolutely no sense if it read “by the Lucifer: the one Lucifer who never sets, Christ your Son,” because it clearly states the it is referencing that Christ is the Lord’s Son.
This Exsultet was written over 1200 years ago and no more than 400 years after the Vulgate was written. These are facts. It stands to reason that the term lucifer was still being used at that time to reference the Day Star or Morning Star (Jesus not Satan) in many writings, not just Isaiah. In the case of Isaiah it is readily apparent that it is connecting the Day Star or Venus to the fallen King of Babylon.
But here we have a video snippet from Jonathan Kleck using the premise that the Latin word, as I have gone over in the text above, lucifer, means Satan. It definitely has that connotation now, but in context as to when it was being used, it had no such meaning. This Exsultet was written over 1200 years ago. You can NOT apply the modern meaning of a word that was written so long ago. There is a lot to be considered. How was the word used, context, cultural understandings of the time, idioms, slang, etc. All of these things factor in to the true meaning of a word or phrase. Jonathan disregards this fact to further his vitriol against the very church he seems to get the foundation for his doctrine from such as the Pistis Sophia and the Acts of Peter.
I am no lover of Catholicism but to vilify a religious group based on a mistranslated word to further an agenda of a doctrine based on cherry picked scripture and Gnosticism is just as evil as the organization you are trying to prove is. But isn’t that scriptural as well?
Exodus 20:16
16 Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbour.
Proverbs 19:9
9 A false witness shall not be unpunished, and he that speaketh lies shall perish.
Matthew 19:18
18 He saith unto him, Which? Jesus said, Thou shalt do no murder, Thou shalt not commit adultery, Thou shalt not steal, Thou shalt not bear false witness,
Blessings Jim,
I really enjoyed and did recieve, just to let you know The video keeps cutting out. Lol hewn cutting down to the ground and cast down, the subtilty of our minds should be corrupted from the simplicity that is in Christ…
Paul’s fear of false teachers
” But I fear, lest by any means, as the serpent beguiled Eve through subtilty, so your minds be corrupted from the simplicity that is in Christ.
For if he that cometh preached another Jesus, whom we have not preached, or if ye, recieve another spirit, which ye have not excepted, he might bear with him. 2 Corinthians 11: 3,4
Thank you for this word concerning Lucifer and the morning star truly enlightening I had a hard time retaining this until now, thank you for your time. Another place I can point to for rest food and drink.
Looking forward to hearing from you again. 11,11,11 🙂
Much love to you and your house, may your peace be multiplied in Jesus’s name.
Kelly,
Thank you for your kind words. There are so many side roads to explore when studying the origin of the term and usage. This particular blog could have been two or three times longer, lol.
I do hope in the end though, that people will understand the difference between Eisegesis and Exegesis because it matters how and who you get your information from. A person should not get their understanding of the Bible from someone who has their own agenda and slants understanding to prove out their interpretation.
Wiki: Eisegesis is the process of interpreting text in such a way as to introduce one’s own presuppositions, agendas or biases. It is commonly referred to as reading into the text. It is often done to “prove” a pre-held point of concern, and to provide confirmation bias corresponding with the pre-held interpretation and any agendas supported by it.
Wiki: Exegesis; from the Greek ἐξήγησις, from ἐξηγεῖσθαι, “to lead out”) is a critical explanation or interpretation of a text. Traditionally, the term was used primarily for work with religious texts, especially the Bible. In modern usage, exegesis can involve critical interpretations of virtually any text, including not just religious texts but also philosophy, literature, or virtually any other genre of writing. The phrase biblical exegesis is now used to distinguish studies of the Bible from other critical textual explanations.
God Bless,
Jim
Blessings Jim,
You may of heard of me … 🙂 Thank you for sharing this giving your time to defend the knowledge of God…
” For wisdom is defence, and money is a defence: but the excellency of knowledge is, that wisdom giveth life to them that have it.”
Ecclesiastes 7
Paul’s fear for false teachers…
” But I fear, lest by my means, as the serpent beguiled Eve through his subtilty, so your minds should be corrupted from the simplicity that is in Christ.
For if he that cometh preaching another Jesus, whom we have preached, or if ye receive another spirit, which ye have not received, or another gospel, which ye have not accepted, he might bear with it. ”
2 Corinthians 11: 3,4
Thank you for clearing this up concerning Lucifer and the Morning Star I was confused here! So I patiently waited for word and here I am 🙂 looking forward to hearing from you much love hope to talk soon.
Much love, Kelly
God bless you and your house, may your peace be multiplied in Jesus’s name
Thank you, Jesus