Quote:
And your point is... what? That if Christians thought it for a long time, it must be right? Like Lucifer = Satan is "correct"?
vanjan1
Um, Lucifer= Satan, I would say that is correct.
Hmm. The tricky bit:
Isaiah 14:12 (KJV): "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!"
Isaiah 14:12 (NIV): "How you have fallen from heaven,
O morning star, son of the dawn! You have been cast down to the earth, you who once laid low the nations!"
Lucifer is the Latin name given to Venus, the "morning star", which, in a literal sense, "brings light"--appears before and heralds the dawn. These words, though, are in reference to the king of Babylon in Isaiah 14:3 and do not refer to Satan....
My knowledge is a bit wanting, but I don't believe those responsible for the KJV used the original Hebrew texts, but rather a Latin translation of them. I do think, though, that if one were to look at the verse in Hebrew, the expression used to refer to the Babylonian king would be something along the lines of what is written in the NIV--a reference to a morning star or something similar, something bright, accounting for the Latin translation "Lucifer" and acting as a fitting image and "taunt" (14:3) for one who thought himself powerful (Venus is quite bright in comparison to other stars), but found himself wanting against the power of the Lord (just as all stars in the sky are outshone by the sun).
A king fallen, an angel fallen--somewhere along the lines the verses were assigned to Satan. Odd, I think, considering that the term "morning star" is used in reference to Jesus in several other verses ( perhaps most notably in Revelation 22:16--"'I, Jesus, have sent my angel to give you this testimony for the churches. I am the Root and the Offspring of David, and the bright Morning Star.'" ).
Not quite on topic, but it does, I think, serve as an example of how meaning can be lost or twisted in translation--an issue that comes up often with the discussion at hand.