Lucifer

This name derives from the Latin “Lucifer,” composed of two elements: the “lux > lucis > lucere (lūcĕo)” (born into the light, light, brightness, to shine) plus “fěro / fěrre” (to bring, to carry, to guide). In turn, the name means “light-bringing, the one who brings light, the one who leads us to the light.” Translation of “hêlêl” as “Lucifer,” as in the King James Version, has been abandoned in modern English translations of Isaiah 14:12. Present-day interpretations are “morning star, day-star, shining one, shining star.” The term appears in the context of an oracle against a dead king of Babylon, who is addressed as (hêlêl ben šāḥar), rendered by the King James Version as “O Lucifer, son of the morning!” and by others as “morning star, son of the dawn.” In ancient Canaanite mythology, the morning star is pictured as a god, Attar, who attempted to occupy the throne of Ba’al and, finding he was unable to do so, descended and ruled the underworld.