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...
| Main Author: | |
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| Format: | Electronic Article |
| Language: | English |
| Check availability: | HBZ Gateway |
| Journals Online & Print: | Drawer...
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| Fernleihe: | Fernleihe für die Fachinformationsdienste |
| Published: |
Brill
2018
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| In: |
Vetus Testamentum
Year: 2018, Volume: 68, Issue: 1, Pages: 129-148 |
| Standardized Subjects / Keyword chains: | B
Bible. Jesaja 14,12-15
/ Ugarit
/ Sun worship
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| RelBib Classification: | BC Ancient Orient; religion HB Old Testament |
| Further subjects: | B
Isaiah 14:12–15
hêlēl ben-šaḥar
Ugarit
Šapaš
Underworld
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| Online Access: |
Presumably Free Access Volltext (lizenzpflichtig) |
| Parallel Edition: | Non-electronic
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| Summary: | 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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| ISSN: | 1568-5330 |
| Contains: | In: Vetus Testamentum
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| Persistent identifiers: | DOI: 10.1163/15685330-12341299 |