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ArchivesRe: Lucifer vs. Satan
in reply to a message by Lucille
Lucifer in Latin is the Bringer of Light, in other words the morning star, aka the planet Venus. And in the book of Isaiah, I think (I'm pretty rusty!), there's a beautiful but obscure bit about how art thou fallen, Son of the Morning. So, once people started mythologising about fallen angels turning into devils in mid-air (not an old-testament notion), the obvious name for one of them was Lucifer, the herald of dawn.
A Hebrew script is exactly where you'd expect to find a Latin name or two, once Christianity became established in the Roman empire. The texts underwent considerable reworking ... As for poor old Judas, his name is a Greek form of Judah, respectable as can be! And, if you want to name your son after Jesus but you're not Spanish, you can always go for Joshua.
Dating the Old Testament texts is a minefield. Dating the names in them, more so. I advise you, perfectly seriously, to read a couple of entries on the subject in a couple of reference books in your local library - preferably one from your own preferred version of Christianity or Judaism, and one from another. By then you will have learnt enough to decide that, if consistency and accuracy don't worry God, they're probably not an issue. (Just as a quick example - when the Babylonian captivity ended, suddenly a whole bunch of 'ancient' texts were 'found' lying around in the Temple. How convenient is that, on a purely human scale?)
Are Lucifer and Satan the same person? Wow. Are Cinderella's and the Sleeping Beauty's fairy godmothers one and the same? Personally, I don't expect to meet any of them, in this world or the next, but that's just me. Believe what you like, and don't let etymology stand in your way! (Unless, of course, you get hooked on the sheer, exhilarating fun of chasing knowledge for its own sake. That's the first prize!)
All the best
A Hebrew script is exactly where you'd expect to find a Latin name or two, once Christianity became established in the Roman empire. The texts underwent considerable reworking ... As for poor old Judas, his name is a Greek form of Judah, respectable as can be! And, if you want to name your son after Jesus but you're not Spanish, you can always go for Joshua.
Dating the Old Testament texts is a minefield. Dating the names in them, more so. I advise you, perfectly seriously, to read a couple of entries on the subject in a couple of reference books in your local library - preferably one from your own preferred version of Christianity or Judaism, and one from another. By then you will have learnt enough to decide that, if consistency and accuracy don't worry God, they're probably not an issue. (Just as a quick example - when the Babylonian captivity ended, suddenly a whole bunch of 'ancient' texts were 'found' lying around in the Temple. How convenient is that, on a purely human scale?)
Are Lucifer and Satan the same person? Wow. Are Cinderella's and the Sleeping Beauty's fairy godmothers one and the same? Personally, I don't expect to meet any of them, in this world or the next, but that's just me. Believe what you like, and don't let etymology stand in your way! (Unless, of course, you get hooked on the sheer, exhilarating fun of chasing knowledge for its own sake. That's the first prize!)
All the best
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