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!
12. O Lucifer; son of the morning ] In his splendour he is likened to the morning star; which was worshipped by the Babylonians under the name of Istar, and is described in Assyrian by an epithet, mustilil (shining star), which seems to correspond to the word here used (Schrader, Cuneiform Inscriptions, on this verse). The translation “Lucifer” (light-bearer) is quite correct, and is needlessly abandoned by the R.V. By some of the fathers the passage was applied to the fall of Satan (cf. Luk 10:18); hence the current use of Lucifer as a name of the devil.
For weaken, read lay prostrate.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
12 15. The third strophe contains the prophet’s reflection on the sudden fall of the king of Babylon. That he should go to Sheol at all was a fate never contemplated by his soaring and self-deifying pride.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
How art thou fallen from heaven – A new image is presented here. It is that of the bright morning star; and a comparison of the once magnificent monarch with that beautiful star. He is now exhibited as having fallen from his place in the east to the earth. His glory is dimmed; his brightness quenched. Nothing can be more poetic and beautiful than a comparison of a magnificent monarch with the bright morning star! Nothing more striking in representing his death, than the idea of that star falling to the earth!
Lucifer – Margin, Day-star ( heylel, from halal, to shine). The word in Hebrew occurs as a noun nowhere else. In two other places Eze 21:12; Zec 11:2, it is used as a verb in the imperative mood of Hiphil, and is translated howl from the verb yalal, to howl or cry. Gesenius and Rosenmuller suppose that it should be so rendered here. So Noyes renders it, Howl, son of the morning! But the common translation seems to be preferable. The Septuagint renders it, Heosphoros, and the Vulgate, Lucifer, the morning star. The Chaldee, How art thou fallen from high, who wert splendid among the sons of men. There can be no doubt that the object in the eve of the prophet was the bright morning star; and his design was to compare this magnificent oriental monarch with that. The comparison of a monarch with the sun, or the other heavenly bodies, is common in the Scriptures.
Son of the morning – This is a Hebraism (see the note at Mat 1:1), and signifies that that bright star is, as it were, the production, or the offspring of morning; or that it belongs to the morning. The word son often thus denotes possession, or that one thing belongs to another. The same star in one place represents the Son of God himself; Rev 21:16 : I am – the bright and morning star.
Which didst weaken the nations – By thy oppressions and exactions, rendering once mighty nations feeble.
Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
Verse 12. O Lucifer, son of the morning] The Versions in general agree in this translation, and render heilel as signifying Lucifer, , the morning star, whether Jupiter or Venus; as these are both bringers of the morning light, or morning stars, annually in their turn. And although the context speaks explicitly concerning Nebuchadnezzar, yet this has been, I know not why, applied to the chief of the fallen angels, who is most incongruously denominated Lucifer, (the bringer of light!) an epithet as common to him as those of Satan and Devil. That the Holy Spirit by his prophets should call this arch-enemy of God and man the light-bringer, would be strange indeed. But the truth is, the text speaks nothing at all concerning Satan nor his fall, nor the occasion of that fall, which many divines have with great confidence deduced from this text. O how necessary it is to understand the literal meaning of Scripture, that preposterous comments may be prevented! Besides, I doubt much whether our translation be correct. heilel, which we translate Lucifer, comes from yalal, yell, howl, or shriek, and should be translated, “Howl, son of the morning;” and so the Syriac has understood it; and for this meaning Michaelis contends: see his reasons in Parkhurst, under halal.
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible
From heaven; from the height of thy glory and royal majesty. As kings are sometimes called gods in Scripture, so their palaces and thrones may be fitly called their heavens.
O Lucifer; which properly is a bright and eminent star, which ushers in the sun and the morning; but is here metaphorically taken for the high and mighty king of Babylon. And it is a very usual thing, both in prophetical and in profane writers, to describe the princes and potentates of the world under the title of the sun or stars of heaven. Some understand this place of the devil; to whom indeed it may be mystically applied; but as he is never called by this name in Scripture, so it cannot be literally meant of him, but of the king of Babylon, as is undeniably evident from the whole context, which certainly speaks of one and the same person, and describes him as plainly as words can do it.
Son of the morning: the title of son is given in Scripture not only to a person or thing begotten or produced by another, but also in general to any thing which is any way related to another; in which sense we read of a son of stripes, Deu 25:2, the son of a night, Jon 4:10, a son of perdition, Joh 17:12, and, which is more agreeable to the present case, the sons of Arcturus, Job 38:32.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
12. Lucifer“day star.”A title truly belonging to Christ (Re22:16), “the bright and morning star,” and thereforehereafter to be assumed by Antichrist. GESENIUS,however, renders the Hebrew here as in Eze 21:12;Zec 11:2, “howl.”
weaken“prostrate”;as in Ex 17:13, “discomfit.”
Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
How art thou fallen from heaven,…. This is not to be understood of the fall of Satan, and the apostate angels, from their first estate, when they were cast down from heaven to hell, though there may be an allusion to it; see Lu 10:18 but the words are a continuation of the speech of the dead to the king of Babylon, wondering at it, as a thing almost incredible, that he who seemed to be so established on the throne of his kingdom, which was his heaven, that he should be deposed or fall from it. So the destruction of the Roman Pagan emperors is signified by the casting out of the dragon and his angels from heaven, Re 12:7 and in like manner Rome Papal, or the Romish antichrist, will fall from his heaven of outward splendour and happiness, of honour and authority, now, possessed by him:
O Lucifer, son of the morning! alluding to the star Venus, which is the phosphorus or morning star, which ushers in the light of the morning, and shows that day is at hand; by which is meant, not Satan, who is never in Scripture called Lucifer, though he was once an angel of light, and sometimes transforms himself into one, and the good angels are called morning stars, Job 38:7 and such he and his angels once were; but the king of Babylon is intended, whose royal glory and majesty, as outshining all the rest of the kings of the earth, is expressed by those names; and which perhaps were such as he took himself, or were given him by his courtiers. The Targum is,
“how art thou fallen from on high, who was shining among the sons of men, as the star Venus among the stars.”
Jarchi, as the Talmud c, applies it to Nebuchadnezzar; though, if any particular person is pointed at, Belshazzar is rather designed, the last of the kings of Babylon. The church of Rome, in the times of the apostles, was famous for its light and knowledge; its faith was spoken of throughout all the earth; and its bishops or pastors were bright stars, in the morning of the Gospel dispensation:
how art thou cut down to the ground; like a tall tree that is cut down, and laid along the ground, and can never rise and flourish more, to which sometimes great monarchs and monarchies are compared; see
Isa 10:18 and this denotes that the king of Babylon should die, not a natural, but a violent death, as Belshazzar did, with whom the Babylonish monarchy fell, and never rose more; and this is a representation of the sudden, violent, and irrecoverable ruin of the Romish antichrist, Re 18:21:
which didst weaken the nations! by subduing them, taking cities and towns, plundering the inhabitants of their substance, carrying them captive, or obliging them to a yearly tribute, by which means he weakened them, and kept them under. So the Romish antichrist has got the power over many nations of the earth, and has reigned over the kings of it, and by various methods has drained them of their wealth and riches, and so greatly enfeebled them; nay, they have of themselves given their power and strength unto the beast, Re 17:12. Several of the Jewish writers observe, that the word here used signifies to cast lots; and so it is used in the Misna d, and explained in the Talmud e; and is applied to the king of Babylon casting lots upon the nations and kingdoms whom he should go to war with, and subdue first; see Eze 21:19. The Targum is,
“thou art cast down to the earth, who killedst the people:”
a fit description of antichrist, Re 11:7.
c T. Bab. Cholin, fol. 89. 1. Gloss. in Pesachim, fol. 94. 1. & Chagiga, fol. 13. 1. d Misn. Sabbat, c. 23. 2. & Maimon. & Bartenora in ib. e T. Bab. Sabbat, fol. 149. 2.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
“How art thou fallen from the sky, thou star of light, sun of the dawn, hurled down to the earth, thou that didst throw down nations from above?” is here the morning star (from halal , to shine, resolved from hillel , after the form , Jer 13:10, , Psa 119:113, or rather attaching itself as a third class to the forms , : compare the Arabic sairaf , exchanger; saikal , sword-cleaner). It derives its name in other ancient languages also from its striking brilliancy, and is here called ben – shachar (sun of the dawn), just as in the classical mythology it is called son of Eos, from the fact that it rises before the sun, and swims in the morning light as if that were the source of its birth.
(Note: It is singular, however, that among the Semitic nations the morning star is not personified as a male ( Heosphoros or Phosphoros ), but as a female (Astarte, see at Isa 17:8), and that it is called Naghah , Ashtoreth, Zuhara, but never by a name derived from halal ; whilst the moon is regarded as a male deity ( Sin), and in Arabic hilal signifies the new moon, which might be called ben- shacar (son of the dawn), from the fact that, from the time when it passes out of the invisibility of its first phase, it is seen at sunrise, and is as it were born out of the dawn.)
Lucifer, as a name given to the devil, was derived from this passage, which the fathers (and lately Stier) interpreted, without any warrant whatever, as relating to the apostasy and punishment of the angelic leaders. The appellation is a perfectly appropriate one for the king of Babel, on account of the early date of the Babylonian culture, which reached back as far as the grey twilight of primeval times, and also because of its predominant astrological character. The additional epithet cholesh al – goyim is founded upon the idea of the influxus siderum :
(Note: In a similar manner, the sun-god ( San) is called the “conqueror of the king’s enemies,” “breaker of opposition,” etc., on the early Babylonian monuments (see G. Rawlinson, The Five Great Monarchies, i. 160).)
cholesh signifies “overthrowing” or laying down (Exo 17:13), and with al , “bringing defeat upon;” whilst the Talmud (b. Sabbath 149 b) uses it in the sense of projiciens sortem , and thus throws light upon the cholesh (= purah , lot) of the Mishnah. A retrospective glance is now cast at the self-deification of the king of Babylon, in which he was the antitype of the devil and the type of antichrist (Dan 11:36; 2Th 2:4), and which had met with its reward.
Fuente: Keil & Delitzsch Commentary on the Old Testament
Verse 12-20: THE FALL OF LUCIFER
1. Inquiry is made as to why Lucifer (whose name means “day star”), son of the morning, has been cut down, (Verse 12).
a. Though the words are addressed to the fallen king of Babylon, it is evident that its ultimate throughst is at Satan himself, by whom the king was manipulated into rebellion against the Most High.
b. It should be understood that this is a prophecy, though the moral fall is of great historical significance, and reveals the origin and originator of sin.
c. The ultimate casting down of Satan awaits fulfillment -since he presently has access to the very presence of God as the “accuser of the brethren”, (Job 2:1-8; Rev 12:9-12; Luk 10:18; Jud 1:6).
2. Sin had its origin in the heart of the “shining one” who, in proud rebellion and arrogant willfullness, declared his independence and announced his ambitious goal of self-exaltation, (Verse 13-14; comp. Eze 28:11-19).
a. “1 WILL ASCEND INTO HEAVEN-!” (Eze 28:2).
b. “I WILL exalt my throne above the stars of God!” (Dan 5:22; Dan 8:10; cf. 2Th 2:4).
c. “I WILL sit also upon the mount of the congregation, in the sides of the north!”
d. “I WILL ascend above the heights of the clouds!”
e. “I WILL be like the Most High!”
(It was this same willful selfish rebellion against the divine order and authority that Satan was able to implant in the hearts of mother Eve (Genesis 3), and the king of Babylon.)
3. The end of Satanic rebellion (Verse 15) will be “sheol” – the bottomless pit, (Eze 28:8; cf. Rev 20:13); and, ultimately, the lake of fire, (Rev 20:10).
4. Men will be amazed at the fall of the kingdom of Babylon, as they contrast the proud arrogance of his reign with the shame and disgrace of His fall, (Verse 16-17; Eze 28:18-19).
5. Though most of earth’s kings are given an honorable burial, the carcass of the king of Babylon, who has been the destruction of his own land and people, will be cast out and trodden under foot, (Verse 18-20).
Fuente: Garner-Howes Baptist Commentary
12. How art thou fallen from heaven! Isaiah proceeds with the discourse which he had formerly begun as personating the dead, and concludes that the tyrant differs in no respect from other men, though his object was to lead men to believe that he was some god. He employs an elegant metaphor, by comparing him to Lucifer, and calls him the Son of the Dawn; (220) and that on account of his splendor and brightness with which he shone above others. The exposition of this passage, which some have given, as if it referred to Satan, has arisen from ignorance; for the context plainly shows that these statements must be understood in reference to the king of the Babylonians. But when passages of Scripture are taken up at random, and no attention is paid to the context, we need not wonder that mistakes of this kind frequently arise. Yet it was an instance of very gross ignorance, to imagine that Lucifer was the king of devils, and that the Prophet gave him this name. But as these inventions have no probability whatever, let us pass by them as useless fables.
Casting the lot upon the nations, or weakening the nations. (221) Translators have mistaken the meaning of this clause, by rendering the participle הולש ( holesh) passively, Thou art become weak, for its signification is active. But as the verb from which it is derived signifies to cast a lot, and as the preposition על, ( gnal,) upon, is here added, it is best to take it in this meaning, that, as the ruler and disposer of all countries, he directed them by lot, or held them as his own possessions. And yet I do not reject the other meaning, that he weakened the nations
(220) Son of the morning. — Eng. Ver
FT212 Which didst weaken the nations. — Eng. Ver.
FT213 For the origin and application of this “proverb,” see Com. on the Gospel according to John, vol. 1 p. 223, note 1 : — Ed
FT214 Upon the mountain of the congregation. — Eng. Ver.
FT215 “In the outer court, that is, in the part which was chosen for the north side; as it is said, (Lev 1:11,) on the side of the altar northward. ” — Jarchi
FT216 “ I will ascend above the heights of the thick cloud. My lofty rank does not permit me to dwell with men. I will make for me a small cloud in the air, and will dwell in it.” — Jarchi
FT217 “It is curious that the Welsh language still preserves this meaning of the word beth, a last home; for it is the appropriate term in that language for a grave. ” — Stock
FT218 עולם ( gnolam) is derived from עלם, ( gnalam,) to hide, and is defined by the lexicographers to mean “an age, a time hidden from men, either unlimited and eternal or limited.” Our author treats it as capable of meaning either time past or time to come. — Ed
FT219 For the bittern. — Eng. Ver. ὥστε κατοικεῖν ἐχίνους, so that hedgehogs shall dwell in it. — Sept
FT220 And I will make it an iheritance for the porcupine. — Lowth. “ The porcupine, which grows to a great size in the islands at the mouth of the Euphrates, as Strabo remarks, b. 16.” — Rosenmuller
FT221 The Hebrew word here used by Isaiah is פלשת ( Phelesheth,) from which was derived the word Philistia, afterwards changed to Palestina. An early genealogy informs us that the Philistim, or Philistines, were descendants of Mizraim, a son of Ham. (Gen 10:14.) — Ed
FT222 Palestina. — Eng. Ver.
FT223 See page 148
FT224 And none shall be alone (or, he shall not be alone) in his appointed times, (or, assemblies.) — Eng. Ver.
FT225 “Jonathan interprets it thus: There will be no one to cause delay in his time in the military forces whom God will assemble to come against you; there will be no one to retard their progress, that he may be solitary, that he may come alone; but all will come at once with prodigious violence.” — Jarchi
FT226 Shall trust in it, (or, betake themselves unto it.) — Eng. Ver.
(221) Bogus footnote
Fuente: Calvin’s Complete Commentary
b. DEPOSED
TEXT: Isa. 14:12-20
12
How art thou fallen from heaven, O day-star, son of the morning! how art thou cut down to the ground, that didst lay low the nations!
13
And thou saidst in thy heart, I will ascend into the heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God; and I will sit upon the mount of congregation, in the uttermost parts of the north;
14
I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will make myself like the Most High.
15
Yet thou shalt be brought down to Sheol, to the uttermost parts of the pit.
16
They that see thee shall gaze at thee, they shall consider thee, saying, Is this the man that made the earth to tremble, that did shake kingdoms;
17
that made the world as a wilderness, and overthrew the cities thereof; that let not loose his prisoners to their home?
18
All the kings of the nations, all of them, sleep in glory, every one in his own house.
19
But thou art cast forth away from thy sepulchre like an abominable branch, clothed with the slain, that are thrust through with the sword, that go down to the stones of the pit; as a dead body trodden under foot.
20 Thou shalt not be joined with them in burial, because thou hast destroyed thy land, thou hast slain thy people; the seed of evil-doers shall not be named for ever.
QUERIES
a.
What is a day-star? Who is the day-star?
b,
Why would he not be joined with them in burial ?
PARAPHRASE
O how you have fallen from the highest place, you brilliant Star! how you are cut down to the ground, you who overpowered nations! However, you said: I will climb as high as the heavens; above the stars of God I will place my throne. I will enthrone myself at the top of the mountain of the gods which is far away in the north. You said: I will climb above the clouds and make myself equal to the Most High. In truth, however, you will be thrust down to the abode of the dead, Sheol, the uttermost abyss. Everyone there will stare at you and ask, Can this be the Star who shook the earth and the kingdoms of the world? Can this be the one who devastated the earth and made it into a desolation and demolished its greatest cities and had no mercy on his enemies? All the kings of the nations like in stately glory in their graves, but your body is thrown out like a broken stick; it lies in an open grave, covered with the dead bodies of those slain in war; it lies as a carcass in the road, trampled and mangled by horses hoofs. You will not be entombed with the other kings in stately glory for you have destroyed your nation and slain your people. Your offspring will be known as evil because of you.
COMMENTS
Isa. 14:12-14 KINGS BOAST: The Babylonian king, a brilliant star on the stage of human political history, had boasted (Cf. Dan. 4:28 ff). This is an occupational hazard of kings and other rulers! (Cf. Dan. 8:10). They are sorely tempted to exalt themselves into various forms of god and savior and ruler of mankind instead of servant. Herod allowed himself this luxury (Act. 12:20-23) and died an excruciating death for it. Many of the Roman Caesars arrogated to themselves the title, god. Here Isaiah is predicting the king of Babylons exaggerated estimate of himself. Daniel writes down the actual historical fulfillment of the kings boasting some 150 years after Isaiah predicts it. Day-star in Hebrew is helel ben shachar, means literally son of morning dawn. From the highest of political heights, high as the heaven, where he had shone in glory and splendor, he has tumbled to disgrace to the lowest of the low. He boasted he would make himself equal with the highest of the gods and he would enthrone himself at the top of the mount of congregation (which is the Semitic counterpart to Mount Olympus of the Greeks and lay in the remote, mythological regions of the north).
Early church fathers and some modern expositors have referred this to the fall of Satan (Cf. Luk. 10:18), but the context indicates it is to be applied primarily to the king of Babylon. There may be here a symbolical or typical allusion to the history of Satan the god of this world since ancient world rulers were sometimes considered personifications of the prince of the power of the air (Cf. our comments on Daniel, ch. 10, College Press). The word Lucifer is not in the original text. It is a Latin interpolation. Certainly the Babylonian kings pride reaches satanic proportions. And here is represented the fall of all Satans earthly helpers who dare to resist God, and presume to sit in places of heavenly authority (Cf. 2Th. 2:2-12).
Isa. 14:15-20 KINGS BANISHMENT: The estimate of the king of Babylonia by his long-since-dead predecessors is quite different than that of the kings own self-estimate! When Almighty God deposes the king of Babylon and gives the Babylonian empire over to another people (Cf. Jer. 27:5 ff) and the king of Babylon dies and goes to Sheol, the residents of Sheol scrutinize and stare at him in amazement. They reflect, So this is what the worlds great braggart comes toso this is the man that made the earth to tremble and shook kingdoms? The downfall is to be to the uttermost. The one who was so glorified, so powerful, who even attempted to deify himself, has been thrust down so low. It seems almost incredible. Only Almighty God could do it! He is not only deposed, he is despised and humiliated. His carcass will lie like a vile corpse on the earth. He will be cast out upon the ground like a dead and useless branch.
Other kings may have done evil, but not like this one. In his greed and egotism he wasted his nation, both the people in wars and the resources in selfishness. He will not be buried. His body will be trampled by men and horses. For him there is to be no grave, no monument which will cause his name to be remembered. His demise will be so complete that all remembrance of the seed of evildoers will be forgotten forever,
The utter downfall and degradation of the king of Babylon reminds one of tyrants (Hitler, Mussolini, et. al.) whose opposition to God and truth and justice brought about their death and shame. Their bodies were burned and hanged in humiliating defeat.
QUIZ
1.
What is an occupational hazard of kings and rulers?
2.
Why is the king of Babylon called day-star?
3.
To whom does this text referSatan?
4.
Why is Lucifer not a good translation?
5.
Have other despots been shamed and degraded like this?
Fuente: College Press Bible Study Textbook Series
(12) How art thou fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning!The word for Lucifer is, literally, the shining one, the planet Venus, the morning star, the son of the dawn, as the symbol of the Babylonian power, which was so closely identified with astrolatry. Lucifer etymologically gives the same meaning, and is used by Latin poets (Tibull. i., 10, 62) for Venus, as an equivalent for the phsphoros of the Greeks. The use of the word, however, in medival Latin as a name of Satan, whose fall was supposed to be shadowed forth in this and the following verse, makes its selection here singularly unfortunate. Few English readers realise the fact that it is the king of Babylon, and not the devil, who is addressed as Lucifer. While this has been the history of the Latin word, its Greek and English equivalents have risen to a higher place, and the morning star has become a name of the Christ (Rev. 22:16).
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
12. Fallen from heaven A new image is now introduced, but felicitously appropriate, on account of the early date of Babylonian culture, reaching into far primeval times, and of a predominant astrological character.
From heaven That is, from the sky.
Lucifer, son of the morning The epithet “Lucifer,” coupled with a phrase which defines it, is from a verb which means to shine, to give forth, to radiate; hence its proper meaning is light-bearer, radiant one, son of the morning dawn, so called, probably, in virtue of Babylon’s having, from ages immemorial, shone forth in the dawn of the world’s history with surprising lustre, first in culture as the world’s teacher, then in perverted power.
Cut down to the ground Literally, hewn down. As if this Babel-power were the impersonation of the impurest idolatry, whose asherah, or groves, need an utter cutting up.
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
Isa 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!
Ver. 12. How art thou fallen from heaven, O Lucifer! ] That is, not O Belzeebub, as some ancients, but, O Belshazzar rather, called Lucifer here, or the morning star, for his beauty and brightness; and as much wonder it was to see the Chaldean monarch at such an under, as to have seen Lucifer, the sun’s constant companion, fallen from heaven. He was the terror of the world, and, as he thought, superior to fortune; yet a sudden and dismal change befell him. In the chariot of the Roman triumpher, there hung up a little bell and a whip, to put him in mind he might one day be whipped as a slave, or as an offender lose his head. Nemo confidat mimium secundis. Let no one rely on the least favours.
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
Lucifer = Morning-star. Worshipped by the Assyrians as male at sunrise, female at sunset. A name of Satan.
weaken = subdue.
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
Isa 14:12-14
Isa 14:12-14
“How art thou fallen from heaven, O day-star, son of the morning! how art thou cut down to the ground, that didst lay low the nations! And thou saidst in thy heart, I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God; and I will sit upon the mount of the congregation, in the uttermost parts of the north; I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will make myself like the Most High.”
We are glad that our version (American Standard Version) leaves the word “Lucifer” out of this rendition, because it was the cause of misunderstanding based on Luk 10:18 and Ezekiel 28. Satan does not enter into this passage as a subject at all! Kelley approvingly quoted some scholars who believe that Isaiah here made use of a mythological story from Canaanite religion to illustrate the fall of the king of Babylon. This tale, largely an invention by critics, tells how a minor god of the Canaanites “sought to ascend to heaven and sit on the mount of the assembly of the gods, but was cast down to Sheol.
How ridiculous critical commentators make themselves when they resort to ancient mythology to explain Bible texts. This alleged Canaanite myth is an invention. Kidner flatly stated that, “If such a tale ever existed, it has not come to light.” The same author also pointed out that, “The idea of storming heaven, however, was certainly connected with Babylon, Babel (Genesis 11).” It was the avowed purpose of the rulers of Babel (Babylon) to build a tower high enough to reach heaven itself (Gen 11:4). Thus God’s Word substantiates Babylonian ambition, and it needs no supplement from Canaanite mythology.
Barnes pointed out that the true meaning of the passage in Gen 11:4 is that, “the king of Babylon did not intend to acknowledge any superior either in heaven or earth, but designed that himself and his laws should be regarded as supreme.
Isa 14:12-14 KINGS BOAST: The Babylonian king, a brilliant star on the stage of human political history, had boasted (Cf. Dan 4:28 ff). This is an occupational hazard of kings and other rulers! (Cf. Dan 8:10). They are sorely tempted to exalt themselves into various forms of god and savior and ruler of mankind instead of servant. Herod allowed himself this luxury (Act 12:20-23) and died an excruciating death for it. Many of the Roman Caesars arrogated to themselves the title, god. Here Isaiah is predicting the king of Babylons exaggerated estimate of himself. Daniel writes down the actual historical fulfillment of the kings boasting some 150 years after Isaiah predicts it. Day-star in Hebrew is helel ben shachar, means literally son of morning dawn. From the highest of political heights, high as the heaven, where he had shone in glory and splendor, he has tumbled to disgrace to the lowest of the low. He boasted he would make himself equal with the highest of the gods and he would enthrone himself at the top of the mount of congregation (which is the Semitic counterpart to Mount Olympus of the Greeks and lay in the remote, mythological regions of the north).
Early church fathers and some modern expositors have referred this to the fall of Satan (Cf. Luk 10:18), but the context indicates it is to be applied primarily to the king of Babylon. There may be here a symbolical or typical allusion to the history of Satan the god of this world since ancient world rulers were sometimes considered personifications of the prince of the power of the air (Cf. Daniel, ch. 10). The word Lucifer is not in the original text. It is a Latin interpolation. Certainly the Babylonian kings pride reaches satanic proportions. And here is represented the fall of all Satans earthly helpers who dare to resist God, and presume to sit in places of heavenly authority (Cf. 2Th 2:2-12).
Fuente: Old and New Testaments Restoration Commentary
son of the morning
Isa 14:12-14 evidently refer to Satan, who, as prince of this world-system (see “World,” Joh 7:7 (See Scofield “Rev 13:8”) is the real unseen ruler of the successive world- powers. Tyre, Babylon, Medo-Persia, Greece, Rome, etc. (see Eze 28:12-14 Lucifer, “day-star,” can be none other that Satan. This tremendous passage marks the beginning of sin in the universe. When Lucifer said, “I will,” sin began. See Scofield “Rev 20:10”.
See other instances of addressing Satan through another, Gen 3:15; Mat 16:22; Mat 16:23.
Fuente: Scofield Reference Bible Notes
How art thou fallen: Isa 13:10, Isa 34:4, Eze 28:13-17, Luk 10:18, 2Pe 2:4, Rev 12:7-10
Lucifer: or, day-star, 2Pe 1:19, Rev 2:28, Rev 22:16
weaken: Isa 14:4-6, Jer 50:23, Jer 51:20-24
Reciprocal: Psa 46:6 – kingdoms Isa 13:11 – and I will cause Isa 13:19 – Babylon Isa 37:38 – his god Jer 51:53 – mount Lam 1:1 – How doth Lam 2:1 – and cast Lam 4:1 – How is the gold Eze 26:17 – How art Eze 28:14 – upon Eze 28:15 – till iniquity Dan 5:20 – when Oba 1:4 – among Oba 1:5 – how 1Ti 3:6 – the condemnation 1Pe 5:8 – as Rev 2:5 – thou art Rev 8:10 – a great Rev 9:1 – a star Rev 12:9 – into
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
Isa 14:12-14. How art thou fallen from heaven From the height of thy glory; O Lucifer Lucifer is properly a bright star, that ushers in the morning; but is here metaphorically taken for the mighty king of Babylon, who outshone all the kings of the earth by his great splendour. Son of the morning The title of son is given in Scripture, not only to a person or thing begotten or produced by another, but also to any thing which is related to it, in which sense we read of the son of a night, Jon 4:10, a son of perdition, Joh 17:12, and, which is more agreeable to the present case, the sons of Arcturus, Job 38:32. How art thou cut down to the ground Thou, whose power raised thee, in the estimation of men, even to heaven itself? Thou, who didst trample on, and destroy all the nations! For thou hast said in thy heart Which lay open to Gods inspection; I will ascend into heaven I will advance myself above the state of weak and mortal men. I will exalt my throne above the stars of God Above all other kings and potentates; or, above the most eminent persons of Gods church. I will sit upon the mount of the congregation I will establish my royal throne upon mount Zion, where the Jews meet together to worship God: in the sides of the north This is added as a more exact description of the place of the temple; it stood upon mount Moriah, which was northward from the hill of Zion, strictly so called. I will be like the Most High In the uncontrollableness of my power, and the universal extent of my dominion. By putting these and such like words into the mouths of the kings of Babylon, the prophet means to show their excessive pride, and the confidence which they entertained, that they should perpetually reign over the Jews.
Fuente: Joseph Bensons Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
14:12 How art thou fallen from heaven, O {h} Lucifer, son of the morning! [how] art thou cut down to the ground, which didst weaken the nations!
(h) You who thought yourself most glorious and as it were placed in the heaven for the morning star that goes before the sun, is called Lucifer, to whom Nebuchadnezzar is compared.
Fuente: Geneva Bible Notes
In the third strophe the scene shifts from the underworld to heaven and back to Sheol. This personification of Babylon’s pride led Babylon’s king to exalt himself to the position of God Himself. The five "I wills" in Isa 14:13-14 express the spirit of the Babylonian rulers, not that any one of them ever said these precise words. He claimed to be as Venus, the morning star, the brightest light in the night sky. However, like Venus when the sun arose, he was no longer visible when God arose in His sovereignty. Mt. Zaphon to the north of Palestine was the mythical residence of the gods (as Mt. Olympus was the mythical residence of the gods to the Greeks; Isa 14:13; cf. Psa 48:2). Rather than being king of the gods, Babylon’s king proved to be only human, albeit having weakened nations through his domination of them. Even though he had exalted himself to near deity status, he would die and go to Sheol like every other proud person (cf. Gen 3:5; Gen 3:22; Gen 11:1-9).
"A popular interpretive tradition has seen in the language of Isa 14:12-15 an allusion to the fall of Satan. [Note: E.g., Archer, p. 622; The New Scofield . . ., p. 725; and Wiersbe, p. 24. For a history of interpretation of these verses, see Gerald Keown, "A History of the Interpretation of Isaiah 14:12-15," (Ph.D. dissertation, Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, 1979).] However, this subject ’seems a bit forced in this chapter.’ [Note: J. Martin, p. 1061.] The object of this taunt is clearly "the king of Babylon" (Isa 14:4 a). Instead the language and imagery seem to have their roots in Canaanite mythology, which should not be surprising in a quotation ostensibly addressed by ancient pagan kings to another pagan king (the quotation of the kings’ words is most naturally extended through Isa 14:15) [Cf. Isa 24:21-22; Isa 25:8; Isa 27:1]." [Note: Chisholm, A Theology . . ., pp. 319-20. See also idem, Handbook on . . ., pp. 50-51; Dyer, in The Old . . ., pp. 540, 542; John Calvin, Calvin’s Commentaries, 7:442; and Delitzsch, 1:311-12. ]
Though some expositors have applied this description of self-exaltation and judgment to Satan, it is clearly the pride and destruction of a human ruler’s tyrannical reign that is in view, not only in Isa 14:12-15 but in the immediate context (Isa 14:4-21) and in the larger context (chs. 13-23). Satan may have rebelled against God in a fashion similar to what Isaiah wrote here, but this passage probably does not describe his rebellion.
"A suggested summary of the story would be: Helel son of Schachar was a great hero who determined to make himself the equal of a god, El Elyon. His ambition was to raise himself above the clouds, above all the stars of god, to the very mountain in the farthest north where gods gather and there to reign as king over the universe, including the gods. But the conclusion of this ill-advised ambition was his precipitous fall into Sheol, perhaps after a battle with El Elyon himself." [Note: Watts, p. 209.]
"Who was the historical king of Babylon referred to here? If the prophecy anticipates the fall of Babylon in 539 B.C. (as I argue below), then the king of Babylon taunted here may be Nabonidus (the official king of Babylon when it fell), Belshazzar (who was functioning as king at the time; see Dan 5:1), or even Nebuchadnezzar, who ruled from 605-562 B.C. and made Babylon a world power. However, it is unnecessary to put a specific name and face with the king described here. Perhaps the ’king of Babylon’ simply symbolizes Babylonian power as embodied in her successive kings, beginning with Nebuchadnezzar or his predecessor Nabopolassar." [Note: Chisholm, Handbook on . . ., p. 51.]
"It is a strange paradox that nothing makes a being less like God than the urge to be his equal, for he who was God stepped down from the throne of his glory to display to the wondering eyes of men the humility of God (Php 2:5-8)." [Note: Grogan, p. 106.]