Hêlēl ben-Šaḥar and the Chthonic Sun: A New Suggestion for the Mythological Background of Isa 14:12-15.

This paper will explore the oft investigated problem of the mythological referents which inform Isa 14:12-15. Crucial to this will be a reinterpretation of the mysterious hêlēl ben-šaḥar of v. 12, almost universally understood by commentators and translators alike to refer to the 'Day Star, son of t...

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Published in:Vetus Testamentum Vol. 68; no. 1; pp. 129 - 149
Main Author: Quick, Laura
Format: Article
Published: Brill Academic Publishers 2018
Subjects:
Online Access:View this record in EBSCOhost
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        atl: Hêlēl ben-Šaḥar and the Chthonic Sun: A New Suggestion for the Mythological Background of Isa 14:12-15.
      aug:
        au: Quick, Laura
        affil: Princeton University
      su:
        Bible. Isaiah
        Biblical criticism
        Isaiah (Biblical prophet)
        Biblical commentaries
        Venus (Planet)
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          Bible. Isaiah
          Biblical criticism
          Isaiah (Biblical prophet)
          Biblical commentaries
          Venus (Planet)
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        Šapaš
        <italic>hêlēl ben-šaḥar</italic>
        hêlēl ben-šaḥar
        Isaiah 14:12-15
        Ugarit
        underworld
      ab: This paper will explore the oft investigated problem of the mythological referents which inform Isa 14:12-15. Crucial to this will be a reinterpretation of the mysterious hêlēl ben-šaḥar of v. 12, almost universally understood by commentators and translators alike to refer to the 'Day Star, son of the Dawn', and thus taken to refer to the 'morning star', the planet Venus. Much of the scholarship has approached the ancient Near Eastern material with this meaning in mind, yet no myth hitherto proposed has provided a complete analogy to Isa 14:12-15. Thus I will begin by exploring the problems with these previous analogies, before reconsidering the meaning of hêlēl ben-šaḥar. Understanding the phrase to metonymically remind of the sun itself, the Ugaritic conception of the chthonic sun will be proposed to provide a much more satisfying parallel with our Isaiah passage.
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    language: English
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