In Search of the Biblical Lucifer, 1. Who Is the Son of the Morning?

The Fall of Lucifer is one of the most haunting, mysterious themes in literature, fraught with enigmatic meanings. Yet the myth from which it comes, & its origin, are themselves mysterious. In this multi-part series, I will investigate what the Bible & other ancient texts have to say about this intriguing figure. My thesis is that the Lucifer story reflects an ancient Near Eastern tradition about a fallen god-king, with possible connections to an older document, The Curse of Agade. I'll be looking at it from the point of view of archaeological, historical & literary scholarship, as well as occult symbolism.

It's commonly assumed that the Bible tells the story of Lucifer's rebellion and fall. Actually, this narrative is never given in a complete form in the Biblical text. Instead, it was pieced together retrospectively from a number of passages in different Biblical books, written at different times by different authors. It is unlikely that they were really all talking about the same thing. The story we now have is a composite -- and indeed there are multiple interpretations about where, when & how Lucifer's rebellion occurred.

First of all, it may surprise you to learn that the name "Lucifer" occurs only once in the entire Bible, in Isaiah 14:12.

"How art thou fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning! how art thou cut down to the ground, which didst weaken the nations!"
The Official King Jame Version Online, Isaiah Chapter 14:12

In fact, "Lucifer" doesn't even appear in the original text. It's a Latin name which comes from St. Jerome's Vulgate, & has been carried over into later translations.(1) The meaning is "bringer (or bearer) of light". Some sources say it is the name of a minor Roman god representing Venus as the Morning Star, son of the dawn goddess Aurora.(2) Others say that it was only a poetic epithet for Venus, or a title of one of the other light-giving deities, such Apollo, Hekate & Diana.(3)  It's possible that the word has been used in all these ways at different times.

 

Venus from space

The original Hebrew name that appears in Isaiah 14 is Helel ben Shahar. "Helel" is often translated "Daystar" or "Shining One", "ben" is a relational term, and "Shahar", which means "Dawn", is the name of a Canaanite god.(4) It's often assumed by scholars that Helel, too, was a Near Eastern god, but nobody is sure exactly who he was. From the reference to Shahar, "Dawn", Helel is often said to be the god of Venus,  the Morning Star.

Some modern translations eliminate the name "Lucifer" & just say "Daystar", "Morning Star", "Shining One" or "Venus". However,  scholars are not even sure which planet or celestial body Helel represents. .Venus is the most popular candidate, but he's also been ascribed to the Moon (Arabic hilal, new or crescent moon), Sun, Jupiter, or Halley's comet.(5)

Halley's Comet

From the Isaiah 14 passage, Biblical scholars have tried to reconstruct an earlier myth on which it may have been based. The gist of it is that a minor god, Helel, tries to usurp the place of the head honcho god, El or Elyon (names which were appropriated by the Hebrew YHWH), but fails & is cast down. However, although similar elements appear in various Near Eastern myths, no story exactly like it has ever been found. As Hugh R. Page said, "It could very well be that Isaiah 14 is…reflective of a tradition whose Canaanite prototype has yet to be discovered.” (6)

It is a sobering thought that all the literary documents from ancient times we now possess are but a tiny fraction of all those ever written, whether on papyrus, clay, stone or wax. Thousands of others have been lost in the crumbling sands of time. And our view of history has been shaped by the selection, partly deliberate & partly random, of the ones that happened to make it through.

And so, it is perhaps both fitting & hauntingly ironic that this story of a great Lost Archangel may itself be based on a lost legend.

Next: Who is the King of Babylon?

Lucifer by Liza Veronin

NOTES:

(1) More about the translation history of this word can be found on this page:
Warfare: Part Two: Chasing Lucifer by haRold Smith, a citizen of the Commonwealth
(Ephesians 2:12)

(Note that Smith's claim that Satan (as opposed to Lucifer) was never a personified character in pre-Christian Hebrew writings is not accepted by most scholars.)

(2) Lucifer (classical mythology) -- Encyclopedia Britannica

(3) The Demonization of Apollon | Beloved in Light

(4) A detailed study of the etymology is found in:
LUCIFER,  WHO  OR  WHAT? (.pdf)
ROBERT  L. ALDEN,  PH.D.

(5) THE CONTRIBUTION ANCIENT NEAR EAST BACKGROUND MATERIAL MAKES TOWARD UNDERSTANDING AND INTERPRETING ISAIAH 14:12-15
© 2004 Andy Woods

(6)  Page, Hugh R. The Myth of Cosmic Rebellion. Leiden: E. J. Brill, 1996.139-40.
quoted in Woods.