Why is the name of King Lucifer used by Christians as that of Devil?
score:1
Lucifer was not the name of the king in Isaiah 14. As your linked Wikipedia article mentions, it's debated which king of Babylon is referenced in the passage. It names Nebuchadnezzar, Nabonidus, and several Assyrian kings as possibilities. So where does "Lucifer" come from?
So where did "Lucifer" come from? Let's look at Isaiah 14:12 in a literal English translation of the Hebrew:
How hast thou fallen from the heavens, O shining one, son of the dawn! Thou hast been cut down to earth, O weakener of nations.
In the original Hebrew, "shining one" is הֵילֵל. When the Bible was translated into Latin, that was rendered "Lucifer." For some reason, the translators of the KJV carried that translation over as though it were a proper noun, when it simply means "shining one" or "morning star" literally, a possible reference to Venus.
So why have Christians applied the verse to Satan if it was about the king of Babylon? No one disputes that it is about the king of Babylon -- who is not named Lucifer -- but some believe that God's rebuke to the king of Babylon is identifying him allegorically with Satan. Not that he is Satan, but that as an evil one, he can be identified with Satan. They point out two New Testament verses (in Luke 10 and Revelation 12) speak of Satan "falling" from heaven. They also point out that verses 13 and 14 sound similar to the devil's words in Genesis 3: "You shall be as God."
Not all Christians believe Isaiah 14 refers to the devil in any capacity. John Calvin and Martin Luther both spoke out against that interpretation.
So to sum up:
Lucifer is not really a name to begin with.
It has nothing to do with cruelty.
People think Isaiah 14 has to do with Satan because of its talk of pride and of falling from heaven.
"Lucifer" is a Latin translation of a Hebrew word.
Upvote:2
In the Bible, Lucifer is not actually a king, and the suggestion that he was real is just speculation. Lucifer is mentioned by Isaiah when he speaks of how God will have revenge on humanity, and that even Babylon will fall. According to Isaiah's vision, the king of Babylon shall be taunted. The key verse here is Isaiah 14:12, which describes that the King of Bablyon "morning star, sun of the dawn" will have fallen from grace/heaven. "Morning star" is translated to "Lucifer" in Latin. Because the Devil also fell from grace, this verse came to be associated with the Devil. The cruelty of Babylon has nothing to do with the cruelty of the Devil.
More post
- 📝 Queen Victoria and the Tsar’s faberge egg
- 📝 How long would it take for a young lady in victorian England to walk this distance?
- 📝 What are the counterarguments to calling German nazism a right-wing movement?
- 📝 Is there a reason for a Queen's husband not to be referred to as King?
- 📝 Inquiry into the nature and roots of the temporal power of the Roman Catholic Pope:
- 📝 Why didn't France and the UK invade Germany in September 1939?
- 📝 Why do French houses have exterior window shutters?
- 📝 Why did meat and dairy drop out of the working people in Britain's diet during the industrial enclosures period?
- 📝 Why were universities created in the 11th-12th century?
- 📝 Were slings used for throwing hand grenades? If not, why?
- 📝 Why is there no Islamic architecture with glass in windows before the 18th century?
- 📝 Did any relevant Mexican authority ever acknowledge the secession of Texas before the start of the Mexican-American War?
- 📝 What organization/agency/unit wore this uniform?
- 📝 What is this pin?
- 📝 Did Japan have any continental colonies before modern times?
- 📝 Were bicycles widespread in the Soviet Union?
- 📝 What was the cleanest war ever fought?
- 📝 How did Porfirio Diaz leave Mexico for Europe?
- 📝 Are there notable incident(s) where Russia/SU was wrongfully accused by Western powers in the 20th century?
- 📝 Nymphodorus of Syracuse
- 📝 What was the Soviet plan to respond to a nuclear first strike post WW 2?
- 📝 Could ancient Egyptians have done origami with papyrus?
- 📝 How common was travelling before the invention of the steam engine?
- 📝 Why did the USSR preserve the national republics?
- 📝 Are there incidents of ronin travelling outside Japan as soldiers of fortune?
- 📝 Is every major culture in the same year?
- 📝 Is there an edition of Gibbon's *Decline and Fall* that has been annotated by a modern historian?
- 📝 Are there known completely sealed chambers in Egyptian pyramids?
- 📝 Is there an instance where Rome adopted a weapon to win a war?
- 📝 Where was Carl Sagan working on a plan to detonate a nuke on the Moon? Where was he applying when he leaked it?
Source: stackoverflow.com
Search Posts
Related post
- 📝 Why is the name of King Lucifer used by Christians as that of Devil?
- 📝 Why is it that the maiden name is traditionally dropped when a woman is getting married?
- 📝 Why is the name "Tecumseh" used for US Navy ships?
- 📝 When was King John of England given the name 'Dollheart', and who first used it?
- 📝 Why is the consensus that WW2 started on September 1, 1939 and not July 7, 1937?
- 📝 Why did the Soviet Union name their strongest bomb Tsar Bomba?
- 📝 Why did the Royal Society in 1771 believe that a continent further south than Australia should exist?
- 📝 Why does the King of Spain still claim defunct titles like the King of Hungary?
- 📝 Why weren't army snipers used at the Munich massacre?
- 📝 Why did Peter the Great name Saint Petersburg, Russia with a foreign styled name?
- 📝 What is the name of the theory that says an early discovery can stop technological development?
- 📝 Is there a historical source that might explain why so many countries use 35 as a minimum age for the president / the highest office person?
- 📝 Why were balls used on the Medici coat of arms?
- 📝 Why did Stephen Ambrose believe that the election of Aaron Burr would have led to the end of the USA?
- 📝 Why did Kabila discard the name and flag of Zaire?
- 📝 Why did the states that were born out of the Louisiana purchase adopt a common law system, and not a civil law system?
- 📝 Why didn't King Ferdinand take over Portugal during the Spanish Reconquista?
- 📝 In World War II, why was the ratio of killed to wounded of the Royal Navy twice that of the US Navy?
- 📝 What is the name of the color used by the SBB (Swiss Federal Railway) in the 1920s to paint their locomotive?
- 📝 How is it that King Philips War devastated the colonists so much, but the Colonists were not driven out?
- 📝 Why are baseball pitches that miss the strike zone called "balls"?
- 📝 Why were Muslims in Western Thrace and Christians in Constantinople excluded from the population exchange?
- 📝 Why were the ship names "Scharnhorst" and "Gneisenau" used together?
- 📝 Why did South Korea (and the UN) accept an armistice line that put Seoul in artillery range of North Korea?
- 📝 Was the name 'Valerie' used during the Regency Era (1811-1836)?
- 📝 Why did Mettius Fufetius not join the Veiites in directly attacking the Roman King Tullus Hostilius?
- 📝 Why didn't the European Christians take back Constantinopole?
- 📝 Why was there a 2nd version of the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact that gave Lithuania to USSR?
- 📝 Considering what was known about Hitler in 1933, why would German bishops declare that Catholics could cooperate with the new State?
- 📝 Why did Stephen II of Blois (father of King Stephen of England) abandon the First Crusade in 1098 knowing how much he would lose by doing so?