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Isaiah 14:12–17
14:12 Look how you have fallen from the sky,
O shining one, son of the dawn!23
You have been cut down to the ground,
O conqueror24 of the nations!25
14:13 You said to yourself,26
“I will climb up to the sky.
Above the stars of El27
I will set up my throne.
I will rule on the mountain of assembly
on the remote slopes of Zaphon.28
14:14 I will climb up to the tops29 of the clouds;
I will make myself like the Most High!”30
14:15 But you were brought down31 to Sheol,
to the remote slopes of the pit.32
14:16 Those who see you stare at you,
they look at you carefully, thinking:33
“Is this the man who shook the earth,
the one who made kingdoms tremble?
14:17 Is this the one who made the world like a desert,
who ruined its34 cities,
and refused to free his prisoners so they could return home?” ’35
23 | tn The Hebrew text has הֵילֵל בֶּן־שָׁחַר (helel ben-shakhar, “Helel son of Shachar”), which is probably a name for the morning star (Venus) or the crescent moon. See HALOT 245 s.v. הֵילֵל. sn What is the background for the imagery in vv. 12–15? This whole section (vv. 4b–21) is directed to the king of Babylon, who is clearly depicted as a human ruler. Other kings of the earth address him in vv. 9ff., he is called “the man” in v. 16, and, according to vv. 19–20, he possesses a physical body. Nevertheless the language of vv. 12–15 has led some to see a dual referent in the taunt song. These verses, which appear to be spoken by other pagan kings to a pagan king (cf. vv. 9–11), contain several titles and motifs that resemble those of Canaanite mythology, including references to Helel son of Shachar, the stars of El, the mountain of assembly, the recesses of Zaphon, and the divine title Most High. Apparently these verses allude to a mythological story about a minor god (Helel son of Shachar) who tried to take over Zaphon, the mountain of the gods. His attempted coup failed and he was hurled down to the underworld. The king of Babylon is taunted for having similar unrealized delusions of grandeur. Some Christians have seen an allusion to the fall of Satan here, but this seems contextually unwarranted (see J. Martin, “Isaiah,” BKCOT, 1061). |
24 | |
25 | |
26 | tn Heb “you, you said in your heart.” |
27 | sn In Canaanite mythology the stars of El were astral deities under the authority of the high god El. |
28 | sn Zaphon, the Canaanite version of Olympus, was the “mountain of assembly” where the gods met. |
29 | |
30 | sn Normally in the OT the title “Most High” belongs to the God of Israel, but in this context, where the mythological overtones are so strong, it probably refers to the Canaanite high god El. |
31 | |
32 | tn The Hebrew term בּוּר (bor, “cistern”) is sometimes used metaphorically to refer to the place of the dead or the entrance to the underworld. |
33 | tn The word “thinking” is supplied in the translation in order to make it clear that the next line records their thoughts as they gaze at him. |
34 | tc The pronominal suffix is masculine, even though its antecedent appears to be the grammatically feminine noun “world.” Some have suggested that the form עָרָיו (’arayv, plural noun with third masculine singular suffix) should be emended to עָרֶיהָ (’areha, plural noun with third feminine singular suffix). This emendation may be unnecessary in light of other examples of lack of agreement a suffix and its antecedent noun. |
35 |
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