Was Nebuchadnezzar Isaiah's "Lucifer"?

To which king of Babylon should we ascribe Isaiah’s taunting description in chapter 14? It would be easy to name the first one that comes to mind—Nebuchadnezzar. But there were many other kings of Babylon, and there are clues in the chapter that seem to lead to a specific king who reigned before the time of Nebuchadnezzar.

The first rule in seeking to understand the Bible is, “Read the context”. Isaiah’s description of this king is comprehensive. Verse 6 emphasises his cruelty, verse 11 his pride, verse 16 his mortality, which suggests that he had thought of himself as an immortal, and then in verse 15 he ended in a grave. But by reading on to verse 25, this king was also an Assyrian, while in verse 28 a specific date in Israel’s history is mentioned, the death of king Ahaz, who was king of Judah until about 726 BC.

By combining the Bible records with the Assyrian records, it is evident that the great threat to peace in the Middle East at this period of Isaiah’s life, was in fact the only Assyrian king who was at the same time king of Babylon. As if to clinch the matter, this unique king died the year before king Ahaz died.

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Author: John V. Collyer

Keywords: Nebuchadnezzar, Lucifer, King of Babylon, Satan, Fallen angel, Anointed cherub

Bible reference(s): Isaiah 14:4-20

Source: “Was Nebuchadnezzar Isaiah’s ‘Lucifer’?,”The Christadelphian, Volume 128, No. 1519 (January 1991).

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