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From: deb5@ellis.uchicago.edu (Daniel von Brighoff)
Subject: Lucifer DOES NOT equal Satan! (Re: Do Zeus and Jupiter derive from..)
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Date: Mon, 10 Jul 1995 23:35:02 GMT
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In article <3ts2o2$l08@gazette.tandem.com>,
Matthew Rabuzzi <rabuzzi@patch.tandem.com> wrote:
>
>Daniel von Brighoff (deb5@ellis.uchicago.edu wrote:
>: Kyle Gryphon <UJZA56B@prodigy.com> wrote:
>: >I don't have much problem with "light" standing for evil.
>: 
>: I do!  Name one mythology or folklore where "light" is a common
>: symbol for evil.  There aren't that many absolute universals in
>: human symbolism, but "light, warmth, day, life" = good and "darkness,
>: cold, night, death" = bad is just about the most basic one on earth.

[Mr. Rabuzzi's response deleted]

An excellent, excellent post.  Thought-provoking, well-composed,
copiously referenced--in short, a pure pleasure to read.  Just one
niggardly little problem:	

>Finally, let's note that although now he is Prince of Darkness,
>Satan was originally Lucifer, "light-bearer".

This may be the third time in that I personally have had to debunk this
tenacious idea (not to speak of the work of Mssrs. Messinger, Odegard, 
Daly, et al.).  "Lucifer" was a Latin name for the Morning Star (i.e.,
Venus).  In the Vulgate, it is used to translate the Hebrew "Heylel ben
Shachar", that is, "Brightness, son [of] Dawn," a poetic term for the 
same.  In Isaiah 14:12, the name refers to a prideful king of Assyria 
(traditionally taken to be Nebuchadnezzar).  From the New Oxford Anno-
tated Bible (RSV, 1977):

12 How you are fallen from heaven, O Day Star, son of Dawn!  How you
are cut to the ground, you who laid the nations low!  13 You said in
your heart, "I will ascend to heaven; above the stars of God I will
set my throne on high; I will sit on the mount of assembly in the far
north; 14 I will ascend above the heights of the clouds, I will make
myself like the Most High."  15 But you are brought down to Sheol, to
the depths of the Pit.

Taken out of context, this looks like a reference to the Adversary. 
But if the King James had translated "Lucifer" instead of letting it 
stand, I don't think we would be calling Satan "Daystar."  After all,
the Jews certainly don't call him "Heylel."

Like Mr. Messinger, I do like the symbolism which has grown up around
this confusion (I believe his words were something like "It shows that
something beautiful is not necessarily good"), but it should be under-
stood that this is secondary and, thus, cannot be cited as proof of
Christian "demonisation of light," etc.
-- 
	 Daniel "Da" von Brighoff    /\          Dilettanten
	(deb5@midway.uchicago.edu)  /__\         erhebt Euch
				   /____\      gegen die Kunst!
