The charge is becoming more common among biblical scholars that passages like Isaiah 14:12 and Ezekiel 28:13 cannot be used to support the existence and origin of Satan. To a large extent, I believe such criticism is justified. Most believers do tend to uncritically accept and perpetuate the arguments that these passages describe Satan as a fallen angel who formerly served as a guardian cherub of God. Yet, it should be obvious to anyone on a complete reading of these passages that the immediate reference is not at all to spiritual beings but to earthly men. Namely, the kings of Babylon and Tyre.

However, while I do share some of the sentiments of scholars, I personally am not so quick to dismiss the possibility of truth behind these common claims, despite the inability of their advocates to articulate why their beliefs are anything more than faulty presuppositions they’ve uncritically accepted.

Here, I describe why I believe that there is much more to these verses than meets the eye. I am convinced and feel it can be justified convincingly that these passages do in fact allude to an entity or concept that transcends the mere men in the immediate context. Whether that entity is a spirit being, fallen angel, the evil nature of man or something else is a different question and one I do not attempt to answer here.

My two main conclusions regarding the following evidences are simply these:

  1. These passages do each have secondary references
  2. Those secondary references have much to do with the concept of Satan, particularly the certainty of “his” end

The Typological Harlots and Serpents

It’s worth pointing out from the beginning that from God’s perspective, both Tyre and Babylon are cut from the same cloth.

First, they both have associations with harlots (Isaiah 23:15-17; Revelation 17:3-5). Not many cities are referred to as harlots in Scripture. The only other cities referred to as harlots are Jerusalem (Ezekiel 16) and Nineveh (Nahum 3:4,7), both of which have Messianic significance. For the end-times significance of Nineveh, see Matthew 12:41; Luke 11:32. These facts alone hint that there is eschatological significance to Tyre and Babylon. The eschatological significance of Babylon is established from the earliest chapters of Genesis and this significance is played on in many ways throughout the Bible. The most obvious reference of this type being the Great Prostitute in Revelation 17:1,5.

For the most explicit end-times applications of Tyre, see Zechariah 9:2-3; Matthew 11:21-22; Luke 10:13-14. Though, there are others of a more typological nature from the Old Testament. One of particular interest is found in Isaiah 23:15-18 where Tyre’s harlotry is mentioned.

Notice that here, Tyre would be forgotten for 70 years. At the end of those 70 years, she is instructed to take up a harp [H3658]. Tyre is also associated with the harp not far from our Ezekiel 28 passage in Ezekiel 26:13. Harps are connected with the Messianic number 8. I talk about these connections here. They also appear frequently in the book of Revelation (Revelation 5:8; 14:2; 15:2; 18:22). Tyre is also connected with harps via the Sea of Galilee (Mark 7:31-37; Matthew 15:21,29-31). It’s here where Jesus heals the deaf and mute and also feeds 4,000 people from 7 loaves of bread. The Old Testament name for the Sea of Galilee was the Sea of Chinneroth [H3672] due to its harp-like shape (Numbers 34:11; Deuteronomy 3:17; Joshua 12:3; 13:27). In the New Testament, a name of this sea is Gennesaret [G1082], also meaning ‘harp’ (Matthew 14:34; Mark 6:53; Luke 5:1).   The Messianic significance of Galilee is all over the ministry of Jesus. That this was a fulfillment of end-times prophecy is clear from passages like Isaiah 9:1; Matthew 2:23; 4:13-15; 21:11; Luke 2:4; John 1:45-46.

Second, both Babylon and Tyre have prophetic associations with serpents.  Babylon is called a serpent in Isaiah 14:29; Jeremiah 51:34. The destruction of Tyre coincides with the destruction of the serpent Leviathan in Isaiah 27:1. This may not be immediately obvious, but the narrative regarding “the city” has been maintained since the city of Tyre was called a harlot in Isaiah 23:17. References to “the city” recur from this point through Isaiah 24:10,12,17; 25:2; 26:5; 27:10. In the midst of these verses, there is only a short diversion in chapter 26 to contrast the city of Tyre with God’s own strong city (Isaiah 26:1-4 cf. Isaiah 24:23; 25:6-7,10; 27:13) and describe its victory over the nation of Moab. In an ironic contrast to Tyre [H6865] (literally, “rock” cf. Isaiah 27:9; Ezekiel 26:4), Jerusalem and Mount Zion would be inhabited by God, the true Rock (Isaiah 26:4) (cf. to the “rock” who exalted itself as a god in Ezekiel 28:2,6,9).

The King of Tyre

One huge tip-off that the king of Tyre refers to more than an earthly king is found in the multitude of very specific gemstones adorning him. In the entire Bible, the gemstones mentioned in this passage on Tyre (Ezekiel 28:13 LXX) only occur in conjunction with one another in two other places:

Unlike the Masoretic Text, the LXX description of the king of Tyre also mentions the three gemstones found in the 3rd row of the High Priest’s breast plate: jacinth [λιγύριον], agate [ἀχάτην], amethyst [ἀμέθυστον].

These observations raise some serious questions about the limit of applicability of these passages in Ezekiel. Why would these 12 gemstones be so closely associated with entities that contrast so sharply with one another? It seems unlikely to be merely coincidence. Is this King of Tyre possibly a veiled and pejorative reference to the apostate Aaronic High Priest? And since the Aaronic priesthood was a representative of Israel before God and was also a subset of the Levites, could this language of the fate of the king of Tyre also be alluding to them in some way? Perhaps, the fate of their God-ordained function in His society?

If so, we don’t have to look too far before we also find a definite association of each of these entities with another end-times figure – Leviathan. The coiled, crowned and multi-headed sea monster.

The words for Levi [H3878,H3879] and Levite [H3881] all derive from the root word ‘lavah’ [H3867] meaning to join, cleave, borrow or lend. It applies almost exclusively to the language surrounding binding covenants, particularly those of marriage, treaties, and commerce. This root only occurs in 26 places throughout the Bible.

Leviathan [H3882] also derives directly from that same root word. Leviathan is mentioned 6 times in Scripture. Only 3 other words used in the Bible derive from this root word. They are H3880, H3814, and H3890. These words occur only 6 times in the entire Bible. That list is exhaustive of all the scriptural words that derive from the root ‘lavah’ [H3867]. The infrequency of these words should make their significance relatively easy to spot.

All of these words are prime fodder for word-plays, puns and dual references to one another. Existence of such word-plays seems especially likely considering the eschatological significance of:

So, following the hint provided by these gemstones, we find that this king of Tyre has uncanny connections to the eschatological defeat of Leviathan, the messianic destruction of the power of the Law of Moses the Levite and the foundation of a New Jerusalem from heaven. All these concepts have close associations with Satan and his downfall as well. The Law and Satan are accusers (John 5:45; Zechariah 3:1). Leviathan and Satan are both represented as serpents (Isaiah 27:1; Revelation 12:9; 20:2 ). And they all share the same fate at the hands (and perhaps more significantly, the feet) of the Messiah and his faithful servants (Genesis 3:15; Psalm 74:14; Matthew 27:33; Mark 15:22; John 19:17; Galatians 3:10,13; 1 Corinthians 15:56-58; Romans 16:20; Revelation 12:10).

Another interesting eschatological connection with Tyre is the account of Herod in Acts 12:20-23. Here, after having been enemies, Herod warms up to the people of Tyre and Sidon after they begin shouting publicly that he has the voice of a god, not a man. It’s then that Herod is eaten by worms (see Josephus, “Antiquities of the Jews”, Book 19, Chapter 8 for historical corroboration of the account). Compare this to the fate of Tyre in Ezekiel 28:2,6-10 and Babylon in Isaiah 14:11 (notice again the reference to harps here).  See also the general fate of the wicked in Isaiah 66:24; Mark 9:47-48.

It’s also interesting to note where Tyre and Sidon became significant as enemies of Israel. This begins in Joshua 19:24-31 where Tyre and Sidon were part of the allotment given to the tribe of Asher in the Promised Land. Asher was the 8th son of Jacob. Notice also that Hammon (cf. Ezekiel 39:11,15-16 and Haman in the book of Esther) and particularly Abdon [H5658] (Joshua 19:28; 21:30;1 Chronicles 6:74) were also among these cities given to Asher. See the section ‘Abdon‘ under the ‘King of Babylon’ below for the further significance of Abdon.

Jezebel, a prophetically charged queen from the time of Elijah was also from Sidon (1 Kings 16:31). I discuss a good deal of the typology surrounding her here.

Also, in connection with the number 42 which I discuss later, we find that Jephthah, the 8th judge of Israel rose up in response to the worship being done to the gods of Sidon (Judges 10:5), the very same ones Jezebel was instituting in her time and whom Elijah defeated. Further, in Judges 1:31-32, we find that Asher was not actually successful in driving out the inhabitants of Sidon. The consequences for this are given in Numbers 33:50-51 cf. Numbers 14:11-12,22-38 (note the location – “the plains of Moab by the Jordan across from Jericho“)

The King of Babylon

The word translated Lucifer applied to the king of Babylon in the Latin Vulgate is actually Hillel [H1966 – הֵילֵל] in the Hebrew. The word only occurs here in Isaiah 14:12. It is thought to derive from halal [H1984 – הָלַל]. In contrast to the infrequency of Hillel, hahal occurs 165 times in the Bible. Often, it’s in the context of the brightness of the morning sunshine, boastfulness, praise of God for the defeat of his enemies, and in a few cases – it even means foolishness. There are too many occurrences to discuss any definite prophetic significance of this word in a practical manner. Though, the close association of this word with the sun make that a possibility that is definitely worth investigating.

However, another word that also derives from halal and is a near homograph for it is Hillel [H1985 – הִלֵּל]. Remember, we are dealing with Babylon/Babel here, so confusing language like that involved in word-plays and homographs like this probably has immense interpretive significance. This word only occurs twice in scripture. In both cases, it is the proper name of the father of Abdon (Judges 12:13,15).

The fact that this single word leads us back to the book of Judges is also no small coincidence. Judges is hugely messianic in nature. A detailed treatise on this subject is beyond this article’s scope. However, one highlight worth mentioning is the Messianic theme of crushing the heads of Israel’s enemies is common in the book (Judges 5:26; 8:28; 9:53). This theme has definite connections with the crushing of Satan and the head of the Serpent. Further, the book records 12 judges, the last of which is Samson [H8123]. The fact that Samson is 12th associates him with the Sun via the 12 cycles of the moon in a solar year. However, Samson also literally means “the Sun”. The Messiah is also closely associated with the Sun. I explain more about the messianic associations of Samson and the Sun here, yet even this does not do an exhaustive study. The judges were types foreshadowing the Messiah in various ways. The reference to Hillel and its association with the Sun in connection with both Abdon the judge and the king of Tyre is a strong eschatological link between these passages.

Abdon (from ‘The King of Tyre’ above)

Abdon [H5658] was an early judge raised up by God to lead and protect Israel. Like his successor Samson, these passages regarding Abdon and the context surrounding him are packed with eschatological types and allusions. That details surrounding the king of Babylon in Isaiah has led us here, seems even more like a connection deliberately placed with the expectation that we would follow the trail from Isaiah back to this section of Judges.

We aren’t told much at all about this man Abdon or his accomplishments, but what we can glean from his description definitely smacks of messianic significance. We’ve already discussed his father Hillel which is the observation that led us here in the first place. However, we also find that he has 70 noteworthy male family members, possibly all direct descendants. They rode on 70 donkeys (donkey’s also have connections with the Sun). He also led Israel 8 years. He died and was buried in Pirathon (Φρααθων LXX cf. Πυθώ – Python [G4436]) of Ephraim in the hills of the Amalekites. And that’s pretty much it. It seems more than a little strange that the most significant things about this man’s rule was not his accomplishments as judge. Rather, they were numbers that have undeniable eschatological significance elsewhere in Scripture. (I discuss many of these here, particularly the number 8).

Just prior to this account, we have the passing mention of Abdon’s predecessors Ibzan and Elon (Judges 12:8-12). Again, like the account of Abdon, just a few verses are dedicated to each of them. However, also like Abdon, they are packed with eschatological symbolism.

On either side of these men we have someone of great Messianic significance. Samson, whom we’ve already discussed. The 7th judge, preceding Jephthah was Gideon.

Ibzan

We are also told Ibzan judged Israel for 7 years. Further, Ibzan is twice associated with the Messianic town of Bethlehem (cf. Genesis 35:19; 48:7; Jeremiah 31:15; Micah 5:2; Matthew 2:18). Compare this to the messianic King David – the 8th and youngest son of Jesse (1 Samuel 16:10-11; 17:12). It was David who replaced Saul. Likewise, it was Saul who was the king who replaced God’s providential judges. In these very verses pertaining to the anointing of David, we also find God sending a tormenting spirit on Saul. Saul is brought relief from this spirit by David playing the harp, an instrument with intimate connections with the eschatological number 8 as I mentioned above (1 Samuel 16:14-16).

Compare also to the less obvious but demonstrable messianic age prefigurements related to Bethlehem like:

Again, it appears the mention of Hillel in this context and that of Isaiah 14 is no coincidence.

Elon

Elon is barely mentioned but separates Ibzan from Abdon with a rule of 10 years. Elon was also the 10th judge mentioned in scripture. 10 is significant as a number of completeness and strength akin to 7 and 8. Also, like 7 and 8, it makes its first appearance in the early chapters of Genesis and a similar chiastic/symmetrical structure involving the 10 pre-flood and 10 post-flood generations. Noah was the 10th generation prior to the flood. It was through him that the world was reborn starting with 8 people (1 Peter 3:20; 2 Peter 2:5). Perhaps it’s no coincidence that the father of Samson, directly opposite Elon on the other side of Abdon was Manoah [H4495].  Noah [H5146] and Manoah both derive from H5117 meaning “rest”.

Jephthah

Lest we forget our point here, we need to remind ourselves that a word-play with Hillel/Lucifer of Isaiah 14:12 lead us to this prophetically charged section of Judges. While these are interesting observations for sure, how any of this connects Hillel to Satan is still not clear.

For that, we must backtrack to one more ruler in the line of judges – the 8th. This was Jephthah, the judge who takes on the task of ridding the land of the gods of Sidon whose stubborn persistence in Israel was mentioned in the opening chapter of the same book.  In Judges 12:6, we have the account of Jephthah and the Gileadites taking vengeance on 42,000 Ephraimites.

Just like the word-play on Hillel of Isaiah 14:12 (in the context of Babylon, the birthplace of confusing language) lead us to this area of Scripture, we find in this account of Jephthah an interesting play-on-words as well. The fate of the Emphraimites who survived Jephthah’s initial judgement was determined at a prophetic crossing point on the Jordan river. That fate came down to their ability to pronounce a single word to the satisfaction of the Gileadites.

Potential Ephraimites were asked to speak the word “Shibboleth” [H7641]. If they instead said “Sibboleth” [H5451], they were killed. This slight variation in pronunciations made the difference between judgement and salvation for 42,000 Ephraimites.

In the context of this double-talk, it’s probably no coincidence that Ephraim [H669], one of the two sons of Joseph adopted into Israel, literally means ‘double land’ or ‘twin land’. It may not be a coincidence that our other verses in question pertain to the dual cities Tyre and Sidon (Ezekiel 28:20-23). Ephraim also became a synonym for the northern kingdom of Israel after the kingdom and land of the Israelites had been divided in two (Ezekiel 37:15-17) each half being led by a man whose name played off of the other (Rehoboam [H7346] and Jeroboam [H3379] both rooted in H5971)) (1 Kings 14:30; 2 Chronicles 12:15). After all this, we are told Jephthah led Isreal for 6 years and his account ends.

That this account of Jephthah and the Ephraimites occurs in the midst of all of these other significant numbers and an obvious word-play is highly suspicious. In fact, we might wonder whether 42,000 has some eschatological significance as well. We soon find it undeniably does. The most obvious reference to most is probably the 2 witnesses of Revelation 11:2-3 and the reign of the Beast in Revelation 11:7; 13:5. Most preterist commentators recognize these witnesses as symbols of the Law of Moses and the Old Testament Prophets. I would agree with this identification and believe the context strongly supports it. This Beast, which is itself is described as an 8th king, later destroys the prostitute of Babylon (Revelation 17:1-5,16; 18:1-24;19:2-3) and is shortly there after destroyed itself (Revelation 17:8,11,13-14; 19:19-20).

However, I’ve never read a commentator that has recognized this number 42 as anything more than simply another way to speak of the 1,260 days or 3 1/2 year period for which these witnesses would prophesy. Yet, this association of 42 with the Law and the Prophets is established well before the book of Revelation. There are independent Old Testament connections between 42, the Law of Moses (via the Levites), the Prophets, and the oppressors of Israel – specifically, Jezebel of Sidon.

Forty-Two in the Old Testament

I addition to the 42 that occurs in connection with Jephthah, there are at least 5 additional occurrences that undoubtedly have messianic significance. We take a look at each of these in turn below.

The Law

In Numbers 35:6-33, there is an occurrence of 42 that points us in the direction of the Law, the Levites and the Aaronic High Priesthood. Here, we read about the cities that were to be given to the Levites by all of the other tribes of Israel. The Levites were to be given 6 towns to serve as cities of refuge. The purpose of these cities was for a peculiar system of justice regarding people awaiting trial for murder. The inhabitants of cities of refuge were obligated to provide protection to individuals in this circumstance who requested such protection. Specifically, the accused was to be protected from anyone who may be out to avenge the blood of the deceased (Numbers 35:25,32). Apparently, the only way this obligation could be dissolved was upon the death of the High Priest (Numbers 35:25,28). Also, as in Revelation 11:3, reference is made to the requirement that a person who kills another was to be put to death only on the testimony of more than one witness (Numbers 35:30)

However, in addition to these 6 towns, the Levites were also to be given 42 additional towns. These towns did not serve as cities of refuge and therefore did not offer such protection.

Aside from the Levites, the other Israelite tribes were to have 6 cities of refuge as well. They are divided symmetrically, 3 on each side of the Jordan river. Three were to be established before passing into the land of Canaan. The other three were to be established afterward when God had fulfilled his promise (Deuteronomy 4:41-43; 19:1-14; Joshua 20:1-9).

After this account, we have the resolution to a problem brought to the attention of Moses by Zelophehad’s daughters regarding their stake in the land and the Year of Jubilee (they had actually been involved in a similar situation earlier in Numbers 27 after the death of their father). With this latest problem resolved by God, the book of Numbers ends with “the commands and regulations the Lord gave through Moses to the Israelites on the plains of Moab by the Jordan across from Jericho” cf. Numbers 33:50-51 from the section “The King of Tyre” above)

The Prophets

In 2 Kings 2:24, we have the extremely brief and very bizarre account of Elisha being jeered by some young boys from Bethel. In the account, Elisha calls down a curse from heaven and 42 of the boys are mauled by 2 bears. (For the biblical significance of bears, see my comments here.) After this the account of Moab‘s revolt is recorded. At the opening of this event, we find that Joram, son of Ahab reigned for 12 years (compare to the twelves in the call of Elisha by Elijah recorded in 1 Kings 19:19-21).  This all happens shortly after:

  • Elisha and Elijah cross the Jordan river, watched by 50 (i.e. 7×7+1) prophets from Jericho
  • God finally breaks Elijah [H452 – אֵלִיָּה] free from his stubborn bonds to Elisha [H477 – אֱלִישָׁע].  The names of both men are likely word-plays on one another.  They are also likely to be seen as a prophetic unit up until Elisha asks to become essentially a double-prophet himself (cf. 2 Kings 2:2,4,6,9) after Elijah is taken away.
  • Elijah is taken by God in a whirlwind
  • Elisha officially becomes Elijah’s successor

The parallels between these accounts of Elisha and the cities of refuge are emphasized in bold above (i.e. Moab, Jordan, Jericho, 50 vs. the 50th Year of Jubilee, the symmetry across the Jordan, 12 tribes vs. 12 years and 12 yoke of oxen).

The Oppressors of Israel

The next prophetic occurrence of the number 42 occurs in 2 Kings 10:14. In accordance with the connections of Elijah and Elisha with the number 42 that we just covered, this next 42 is in conjunction with the fulfillment of prophecies by Elijah (1 Kings 21:20-24,29) and Elisha (2 Kings 9:6-10) against the house of Ahab and Jezebel, the harlot queen from Sidon (2 Kings 10:10). Jehu, a king chosen by God and anointed by Elisha (2 Kings 9:6) is the messianic character here. Earlier, in 2 Kings 9, we saw how he fulfilled these prophecies partially in graphic detail. In an earlier post, I described in significant detail the typological elements of these earlier accounts. That the account including this reference to the number 42 immediately follows this and describes how Jehu finishes the job hardly seems to be accidental.

This account opens with the 70 sons of Ahab who are killed in v. 7. In vv. 13-14, the 42 refers to the relatives of Ahaziah (who had been killed earlier by Jehu) who were destroyed when they announced that they had come to visit the king and queen.

Again, all these observations demonstrate the messianic nature of these passages and the numbers involved.

The next two occurrences of 42 are both associated with Saul. It was Saul who was the king who replaced the judges at Israel’s request (1 Samuel 8;10:17-26). It is in 1 Samuel 13:1 that we find that Saul reigned for 42 years. It was immediately before this in Samuel’s farewell speech that he reminds Israel that if they persist in doing evil, both they and their king would be swept away (1 Samuel 12:24)

Only 3 chapters later, God makes good on this promise and rejects Saul as king for not completely destroying the Amalekites (1 Samuel 15). Saul spared their king despite God’s instructions. This calls to mind a similar injunction made in the context of the cities of refuge discussed above (Numbers 35:31). This also echoes Leviticus 27:29. Later, we find Haman, the great oppressor in Esther, was a descendant of this king Agag. It was Haman’s death (Esther 7:10), that of his 10 sons and all those who sought the destruction of the Jewish people due to the conspiracy of Haman (Esther 9) that prompted the institution of the Feast of Purim (Esther 9:17-31). This happened in the 12th month.

After Saul is rejected, David, the 8th son of Jesse, is abruptly anointed king. Yet, he does not seize power. Instead, he enters Saul’s service as an evil spirit began to torment him. His only relief from the spirit came from David’s harp playing (1 Samuel 16:13-23; 18:10; 19:10). We’ve already seen associations of harps with the number 8 and eschatological events. Following this we have the death of the Philistine Goliath. As with the head-crushing theme found in Judges and the crucifixion site of Christ (i.e. Golgatha/the Place of the Skull; cf. Matthew 27:33; Mark 15:22; John 19:17), Goliath suffers a severe head wound by a stone (1 Samuel 17:46,49,51) and is wearing armor comprised of scales (1 Samuel 17:5).  This calls to mind the prophetic judgment on the Serpent promised in Genesis 3:15.

As in the cases before, the messianic allusions in this context are strong in connection with numbers, particularly 42.  The same can be said for another king descended from Saul.

This second occurrence of 42 associated with Saul applies to his son Ish-Bosheth (2 Samuel 2:10). Ish-Bosheth died when he was 42 years old. His murder and decapitation are recorded in 2 Samuel 4 in the context of the Sun (v. 5). It may be significant that when David avenges Ish-Bosheth’s murder, he has the assassins killed and their hands and feet cut off (2 Samuel 4:12). The head of Ish-Bosheth was buried. Compare to the fate of Jezebel described here.

Summary and Conclusion

We’ve just seen how the language applied to the king of Tyre in Ezekiel 28 and the king of Babylon in Isaiah 14 ultimately points us to Old Testament prefigurements that occur again in conjunction with one another in the book of Revelation. Despite the wording of the immediate context, it’s hard to deny that these allusions don’t exist and that they aren’t deliberate. Despite the immediate referents underlying these kings, the language likely also applies to the end-times prefigurements found in these other Old Testament passages.

Nothing I’ve covered here definitively nails down the literal nature of Satan or his origin. It does however demonstrate that there is far more to these passages on the Kings of Tyre and Babylon than meets the eye. Despite our initial impressions on an exegesis of these passages, the biblical evidence strongly supports the idea that there are allusions being made beyond these two men. Further, these passages do have a justifiable place in theories regarding the origin, nature, and destruction of Satan. To say that this is not so is a serious overstatement. What remains to be seen is whether these passages support any theories of the origin of Satan as a fallen angel or some sort of spirit being.