Isaiah 14:12 & Revelation 22:16
Will The Real "morning star" Please Stand Up...

Evidence from other versions

Early English versions

In approximately A.D. 1382, John Wycliffe collaborated with some others and translated the Latin Vulgate into the first Middle English Bible. Wycliffe (who, coincidentally, is called "The Morning Star of the Reformation") simply borrowed the word "Lucifer" from the Vulgate he was translating from, but like Jerome did not intend it to be taken as a proper name for Satan. This can be demonstrated by how he used "Lucifer" in his translation: Job 38:32 (Wycliffe) "Whether thou bryngist forth Lucifer, that is, dai sterre, in his tyme, and makist euene sterre to rise on the sones of erthe?" ("Whether thou bringest forth Lucifer, that is, day star, in his time, and makest evening star to rise on the sons of earth?") Isaiah 14:12 (Wycliffe) "A! Lucifer, that risidist eerli, hou feldist thou doun fro heuene; thou that woundist folkis, feldist doun togidere in to erthe." ("A! Lucifer, that rose early, how fellest thou down from heaven; thou that woundest folks, fellest down together in to earth.") Remember from above that in Job 38:32, the Vulgate has "luciferum" and the KJV has "Mazzeroth" (stars of a constellation or the zodiac, according to Strong's). Wycliffe, in the first English Bible, explicitly stated the word "Lucifer" means "day star".

John Wycliffe, coincidentally "The Morning Star of the Reformation"

Each of the following English translations each leveraged some of the work of the English translations that preceded it, and "Lucifer" became the term of choice in Isaiah 14:12 for the next few hundred years. Its meaning as "morning star" remained however, as can be seen from the following additional information:

• Coverdale's 1535 translation was done translating from Martin Luther's German Bible and the Latin Vulgate as sources. It has "morning star" in Job 38:32, where Luther has "Morgenstern ("morning star"), the Vulgate has "luciferum" and Wycliffe has "Lucifer" - the same words each of those translations used in Isaiah 14:12. In other words, Coverdale translated the same words into both "Lucifer" and "morning star".
• The second edition (1549) of Matthew's Bible says in the comments on Isaiah 14, "Lucifer, the morning star, which he calleth the child of the morning, because it appeareth only in the morning."
• The 1560 Geneva Bible has a marginal note on "O Lucifer" in Isaiah 14:12 that says, "Thou that thoughtest thyself most glorious, and as it were, placed in the heaven: for the morning star, which goeth before the sun, is called lucifer to whom Nebuchad-nezzar is compared." (see image below)
• The 1609 Douay-Rheims Bible has a note on "O Lucifer" in Isaiah 14:12 that says, "O Lucifer. . .O day star. All this, according to the letter, is spoken of the king of Babylon. It may also be applied, in a spiritual sense, to Lucifer the prince of devils, who was created a bright angel, but fell by pride and rebellion against God."
• The 1657 English translation of the 1637 Dutch States-General Version and the Dutch Annotations has "morning star" in Isaiah 14:12

Isaiah 14:12ff, with marginal note on "Lucifer", from the 1560 Geneva Bible

Other languages

While some KJV-only supporters believe that one must learn English to have "the word of God" (i.e. the KJV), others say "the word of God" is available in other languages, but only in certain versions. The following list examines some of these KJV-only accepted Bibles, and what they say on the subject:

• The Spanish Reina Valera Bible (1569 and 1909) uses the same word "Lucero" in 2 Peter 1:19 as it does in Isaiah 14:12
• Martin Luther's German Bible (1534) has "Morgenstern" ("Morning star") in Isaiah 14:12, Job 38:7, Job 38:32, 2 Peter 1:19, Rev 2:28 and Rev 22:16. Luther also stated that the Hebrew word in Isaiah 14:12 "denotes the morning star, called Lucifer and the son of Dawn"².
• The Italian Diodati Bible (1649) has "stella mattutina" ("star of the morning") in Isaiah 14:12, 2 Peter 1:19 and Rev 2:28
• The Russian Holy Synodal Bible (1876) has "денница" ("morning star" or "dawn") in Isaiah 14:12

The LXX

The Septuagint (LXX) is the ancient translation of the Old Testament, from Hebrew into Greek. Although strongly disliked by KJV-only supporters, it does demonstrate the ancient "morning star" meaning in Isaiah 14:12. According to tradition, the LXX was started in about 200 B.C. by Jewish elders because of the increase of use of the Greek language among the Jews. When Isaiah was translated into Greek and added to the Septuagint is not exactly known, but it was most likely near the time of Christ, +/- 100 years. Where the KJV has "Lucifer" in Isa 14:12, the LXX has "heôsphoros". "heôsphoros" is an alternate rendering of "phosphoros", and is the Greek name for Venus when it appears as a star in the morning. Its counterpart, "hesperos", or the evening star, was thought by the ancients to be a different star, but the well-known philosopher and mathematician Pythagoras who determined they were in fact the same object. As noted above, "phosphoros" appears also in the New Testament, in 2 Peter 1:19 (translated "day star" in the KJV).

Evidence from historical scholars

Pre-Christian philosophers

There are many instances in ancient pre-Christian writings that prove that "heôsphoros", the word in Greek Old Testaments in Isaiah 14:12, is the Greek word for the morning star, Venus. Here are just a few: Homer, Iliad book 23, line 227 - book 23, line 229 (c. 800 B.C.): "êmos d' heôsphoros eisi phoôs ereôn epi gaian, hon te meta krokopeplos hupeir hala kidnatai êôs, têmos purkaïê emaraineto, pausato de phlox." ("But at the hour when the star of morning goeth forth to herald light over the face of the earth--the star after which followeth saffron-robed Dawn and spreadeth over the sea--even then grew the burning faint, and the flame thereof died down.") Hesiod, Theogony line 381 - line 382 (c. 700 B.C.): "tous de met' astera tikten Heôsphoron Êrigeneia astra te lampetoônta, ta t' ouranos estephanôtai." ("And after these Erigeneia bare the star Eosphorus (Dawn-bringer), and the gleaming stars with which heaven is crowned.") Plato, Laws section 821c (c. 350 B.C.): "en gar dê tôi biôi pollakis heôraka kai autos ton te Heôsphoron kai ton Hesperon kai allous tinas oudepote iontas eis ton auton dromon alla pantêi planômenous, ton de hêlion pou kai selênên drôntas tauth' ha aei pantes sunepistametha." ("for I, during my life, have often noticed how Phosphorus and Hesperus and other stars never travel on the same course, but wander all ways; but as to the Sun and Moon, we all know that they are constantly doing this.") (Phosphorus is the Greek name for the planet Venus when it appears as a star in the morning, and Hesperus is the Greek name for the planet Venus when it appears as a star in the evening.) Plato, Hippias Major, Hippias Minor, Ion, Menexenus, Cleitophon, Timaeus, Critias, Minos, Epinomis div1 Tim., section 38d (c. 350 B.C.): "sômata de autôn hekastôn poiêsas ho theos ethêken eis tas periphoras has hê thaterou periodos êiein, hepta ousas onthaepta, selênên men eis ton peri gên prôton, hêlion de eis ton deuteron huper gês, heôsphoron de kai ton hieron Hermou legomenon eis [ton] tachei men isodromon hêliôi kuklon iontas, tên de enantian eilêchotas autôi dunamin: hothen katalambanousin te kai katalambanontai kata tauta hup' allêlôn hêlios te kai ho tou Hermou kai heôsphoros." ("The Moon He placed in the first circle around the Earth, the Sun in the second above the Earth; and the Morning Star and the Star called Sacred to Hermes He placed in those circles which move in an orbit equal to the Sun in velocity, but endowed with a power contrary thereto; whence it is that the Sun and the Star of Hermes and the Morning Star regularly overtake and are overtaken by one another. As to the rest of the stars, were one to describe in detail the positions in which He set them, and all the reasons therefore,") Philo, circa A.D. 30 in The Cherubim, Part I, section 7 wrote, "But their peculiar and voluntary motion is from west to east, according to which last motion we find that the periods of the seven planets have received their exact measure of time, moving on in an equal course, as the Sun, and Lucifer, and what is called Stilbon. For these three planets are of equal speed; but some of the others are unequal in point of time, but preserve a certain sort of relative proportion to one another and to the other three which have been mentioned."

Homer - no, not Simpson, the other one Plato, answering the age-old question "What's up?"

Early church Fathers and other Christian writers, up to A.D. 1000

There are also many examples from the writings of the early church that demonstrate that "Lucifer", while often believed to refer to Satan, also meant the morning star, Venus. Here are just a few:

• From A.D. 231, in Origen's Commentary on the Gospel of John, Book I, chapter 13: "But the angels also wonder at the peace which is to be brought about on account of Jesus on the earth, that seat of war, on which Lucifer, star of the morning, fell from heaven, to be warred against and destroyed by Jesus."
• From circa A.D. 380, St. Ambrose wrote near the end of his Hexaemeron, "As the cock peals forth his notes, the robber leaves his plots: Lucifer himself awakes and lights up the sky: the distressful sailor lays aside his gloom, and all the storms and tempests that have risen in fury under the winds of the evening begin to die down: the soul of the saint leaps to prayer and renews the study of the written word: and finally, the very Rock of the Church is cleansed of the stain he had contracted by his denials before the cock crew."
• From A.D. 382 - Gregory of Nyssa, Against Eunomius, Book I, chapter 22: "as the Scripture says in the description of the fall of the morning star, the mysteries on which subject are revealed by our Lord to His disciples: "I saw Satan falling like lightning from heaven."
• From A.D. 397, St. Augustine wrote, in On Christian Doctrine, Book II chapter 21: "And this is not to be wondered at, when we consider that even in times more recent and nearer our own, the Romans made an attempt to dedicate the star which we call Lucifer to the name and honour of Caesar."
• From a circa A.D. 400 hymn by Synesius, Bishop of Ptolemaïis, Ode 9: "Raising to Lord of earth and sky, The song of victory on high. And Lucifer, the guide of day, With smiling countenance was gay; And golden Hesperus afar Shot beams, the Cythereïan star. And shepherdess of right, the Moon Filled her bright crescent with festoon, And flowering wreath of liquid fire, And led her peers in joyous choir."
• From A.D. 400 - The Apology of Rufinus, Book I, chapter 34 ("Principalities and Powers"): "the Apostle means by these expressions the rebellious angels, and the prince of this world, and Lucifer who once was the morning star, over whom in the end of the age the saints must sit with Christ...the rebellious angels and the prince of this world, and Lucifer who once was the morning star"
• From circa A.D. 410, The Recognitions of Clement, Book IX, chapter 23 ("Manners of the Susidæ"): "And yet the Genesis of all the Susian women has not Venus, with Jupiter and Mars in the middle of the heaven in the houses of Jupiter. In the remoter parts of the East, if a boy be treated unnaturally, when it is discovered, he is killed by his brothers, or his parents, or any of his relations, and is left unburied. And again, among the Gauls, an old law allows boys to be thus treated publicly; and no disgrace is thought to attach to it. And is it possible, that all those who are so basely treated among the Gauls, have had Lucifer with Mercury in the houses of Saturn and the confines of Mars?"
• From St. Augustine's well-known A.D. 419 work City of God, Book VII, chapter 15 ("Concerning Certain Stars Which the Pagans Have Called by the Names of Their Gods"): "But possibly these stars which have been called by their names are these gods. For they call a certain star Mercury, and likewise a certain other star Mars. But among those stars which are called by the names of gods, is that one which they call Jupiter, and yet with them Jupiter is the world. There also is that one they call Saturn, and yet they give to him no small property besides,—namely, all seeds. There also is that brightest of them all which is called by them Venus, and yet they will have this same Venus to be also the moon:—not to mention how Venus and Juno are said by them to contend about that most brilliant star, as though about another golden apple. For some say that Lucifer belongs to Venus, and some to Juno. But, as usual, Venus conquers. For by far the greatest number assign that star to Venus, so much so that there is scarcely found one of them who thinks otherwise. But since they call Jupiter the king of all, who will not laugh to see his star so far surpassed in brilliancy by the star of Venus? For it ought to have been as much more brilliant than the rest, as he himself is more powerful. They answer that it only appears so because it is higher up, and very much farther away from the earth. If, therefore, its greater dignity has deserved a higher place, why is Saturn higher in the heavens than Jupiter? Was the vanity of the fable which made Jupiter king not able to reach the stars? And has Saturn been permitted to obtain at least in the heavens, what he could not obtain in his own kingdom nor in the Capitol?"
• From Boethius' The Consolation of Philosophy (A.D. 524), Book IV: "In just divisions of time does the evening star foretell the coming of the late shadows, and, as Lucifer, brings back again the warming light of day."
• From circa A.D. 750, in Hilary of Poitiers, John of Damascus, Book II, chapter 6 ("Concerning the Heaven"): "For there are said to be seven planets: Sol, Luna, Jupiter, Mercury, Mars, Venus and Saturn. But sometimes Venus is called Lucifer and sometimes Vesper. These are called planets because their movements are the reverse of those of the heaven. For while the heaven and all other stars move from east to west, these alone move from west to east."

Evidence from Babylonian mythology

A really really brief primer in the Babylonian/Canaanite/Ugaritic mythology⁴

The ancient Babylonians had a large pantheon of gods. One of chief Gods was "El", and his wife was "Asherah". According to the religion, El and Asherah had many children (about 70) who were gods themselves. One of these gods was "Baal", whom Asherah spent most of her time with. Scripture mentions Baal and Asherah several times. The most well-known example is perhaps in 1 Kings 18, where the prophet Elijah challenges 450 prophets of Baal and 400 prophets of Asherah. (Note the KJV translates the Hebrew "Asherah" as "groves"). Two more of El and Asherah's children were twins: Shahar and Shalim, brothers of Baal. In the Babylonian pantheon, Shahar was deemed god of the dawn, and his twin brother Shalim was god of the dusk. Shahar himself also had a son, Helel. The Babylonians believed that the planet Venus, when it appeared as a star in the morning, literally was Helel, the son of Shahar, and grandson of El. They worshipped Helel the morning star and considered him one of the more important gods. They also worshipped Shamash, the god of the sun. El, the supreme god in the Canaanite pantheon, had a palace on Mt. Zaphon (or Zephon). Mt. Zaphon is situated about 9 miles north of the Babylonian city of Ugarit, the source for our knowledge of most Babylonian/Ugaritic mythology. El's palace on Mt. Zaphon is roughly equivalent to Mt. Olympus in Greek mythology, as it was the congregating and feasting place of the gods.

Elijah "strongly disagreeing" with the prophets of Baal and Asherah

Ya, so what?

So what is the relevance of all the above information on this pagan mythology? Let's look at the Isaiah passage again, carefully:

Isaiah 14:4,11-17 (KJV) "That thou shalt take up this proverb against the king of Babylon, and say, How hath the oppressor ceased! the golden city ceased!...[11] Thy pomp is brought down to the grave, and the noise of thy viols: the worm is spread under thee, and the worms cover thee. [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! [13] For thou hast said in thine heart, I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God: I will sit also upon the mount of the congregation, in the sides of the north: [14] I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will be like the most High. [15] Yet thou shalt be brought down to hell, to the sides of the pit. [16] They that see thee shall narrowly look upon thee, and 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 destroyed the cities thereof; that opened not the house of his prisoners?"

The passage, a taunt and prophecy to the king of Babylon about his demise, is practically dripping with mocking references to his Babylonian religion:

The passage is to the king of Babylon, who considered himself god-like. He is compared to one of his gods, Heylel, the morning star. Remember, Heylel is the son of Shahar (god of the dawn): Thus, "Heylel ben Shahar" = "morning star (lucifer) son of the dawn". The king said in his heart he will ascend into "heaven", and exalt his throne above the stars of "God". The Hebrew word translated "heaven" is "shamayim", very close to "Shamash" who was the Babylonian god of the sun. The Hebrew word translated "God" is "El", the supreme Babylonian deity. Although these words are the same as the Jewish (and Christian) words for heaven and God, due most likely to commonalities between the Middle Eastern languages at that time, it is extremely improbably that a Babylonian king would hold the Jewish/Christian concepts of God and heaven. The king also said in his heart he will sit also upon "the mount of the congregation" - did the Babylonian El and the other gods have a mountian where they congregated? Yes, Mt. Zaphon. Where does Isaiah say this "mount of the congregation" is located? "in the sides of the north". Where is Mt. Zaphon in relation to Ugarit, the source for our knowledge of Babylonian/Ugaritic mythology? Directly north. And what is the Hebrew word Isaiah uses in this verse, translated "north"? "Zaphon"! (Strong's #6828) In other words, the verse reads "I will sit also upon the mount of assembly (of the gods), in the sides of Zaphon"! The king also said in his heart he will be like "the most High". Again, it is extremely improbable the Babylonian king wanted to be like the Jewish God. The Hebrew word here is "Elyown", and can literally mean "the high El".

Mt. Zaphon, Heylel's grand-pappy's home, as seen by looking north from Ugarit

Unfortunately for the king of Babylon, it didn't turn out for him like he wanted.

Summary

I think I have fairly exhaustively and conclusively proven that the "morning star" reading in Isaiah 14:12 is not only an acceptable translation, but in fact is the real meaning of "Lucifer", having centuries and even millennia of solid support, from a plethora of sources. Although the primary context of the passage is about a king of Babylon, it may also be legitimately referring to Satan as well - but if so, it is important to remember that this is an interpretational issue of the passage, not a translational issue of the single word "heylel". It is my hope that this article will help put to rest the tiresome KJV-only argument regarding Isaiah 14:12.

Footnotes:
¹ See "Lucifer" in the Encyclopedia Britannica, which says "Greek Phosphorus, or Eosphoros in classical mythology, the morning star (i.e., the planet Venus at dawn); personified as a male figure bearing a torch, Lucifer had almost no legend, but in poetry he was often herald of the dawn. In Christian times Lucifer came to be regarded as the name of Satan before his fall."
² Luther’s Works, Vol. 16, p. 140
³ P.E. Hewison (editor), Selected Writings, p. 112. Also Lancelot Andrewes Works, Sermons, Volume One, Sermons of the Nativity, Sermon 1, (Transcribed by Dr. Marianne Dorman, 2001), p. 1
⁴ A much better introduction to this subject is the Canaanite/Ugaritic Mythology FAQ at