This is the taunt song against Babylon’s king. The downfall was bad news for the Babylonians and Israelites who sought help from Babylon king. But it was good news for the people who were oppressed. In the first part Isaiah describes a wonderful work that the LORD would do among his people in that day. God would bring them back to the land again, and foreigners would stay with them peacefully (14:1-2). On that day, the Israelites would sing taunt against its former oppressor. In this song, one can see that the sovereign LORD installed rulers and also had the power to remove them (14:5). Finally the Babylon would become as weak as other nations (14:10-11). King, like the morning star (at least in his own eyes) now would be thrust down to the depths of Sheol. It highlights the extreme humiliation of the deposed monarch (14:12-17) (Bayer, Encountering the Book of Isaiah, 100).
Then, to whom does the expression “King of Babylon” refer (14:3)? Is this a reference to human Babylon king or Satan? Some argue for both. McKenna is of the view that Morning Star or Lucifer can be identified “as the person of evil and iniquity whom the king of Babylon symbolizes and the protagonist of God in the final battle of the ages.” So verse 12 “may be duly interpreted as a realistic insight into Satan’s original fall from heaven and a symbolic representation of the heights from which the king of Babylon fell” (McKenna, Isaiah 1-39, 179). If the general context of the whole bible and transcendental aspect of the prophecy are considered, I personally agree to what MeKenna has stated. Yet on the other hand, as far as the immediate context of this text is concerned it mainly talks about human king and his pride, which leads him into his downfall. There are four reasons:
1. Many scholars find comparison between this text and Canaanite myths. Yet very interestingly there is no single myth can be said to be the prototype for this text. All the challenges are by another god. In this text, the battle is not between gods, rather between Creator and creatures. The human king, the creature, who represents the Babylon king, gradually develops his pride to be like not just other gods but like the Most High (the title for God [Gen. 14:19-20]) (Oswalt, Isaiah 1-39, 319-321).
2. Young also has a firm view that this text portrays the end of a tyrannical reign. He states, “the Babylonian king had desired to be above God, and so fell from heaven. He falls to Sheol, and his power is done away. Not so Satan. His fall was against God, but he continues yet his tyrannical acts against God’s people. ‘His doom is sure’ for Christ has died, but not until the final judgment will he be confined to the lake of fire” (Edward J. Young, The Book of Isaiah, 441).
3. Day Star, Son of the Morning likely reflects helel ben-sahar, which refers to the planet Venus. Helel probably comes from the root meaning “bright” so logically applies to the brightest star, Venus (Oswalt, Isaiah 1-39, 321). Interestingly, the odd movements of Venus in the night sky, observed by the prophet, seem uniquely suited for adaptation to the event of ascent, descent, and death (Tull, Isaiah 1-39, 281-282). In verse 15, the word $a “but, nevertheless” with a return to second person singular verbs mark the beginning of this new paragraph. So the topic is human king, not the morning star. It means the king of Babylon will end up in the same place as the morning star. He will go to Sheol or pitch (see. Ezek. 26:20; 32:18-24) (G. V. Smith, Isaiah 1-39, NAC, 316).
4. In verses 16-20, we can see the future reality that mainly if not only “human” or “human” king can face. The first one is that he will be utterly humiliated and shamed by what will happen; the people on earth will be astonished to see fallen great king! (vv.16-17). The second is his disgraceful burial (vv.18-19). There will be no royal tomb for he will be considered “rejected, loathed branch.” The final one will involve being rejected by his people and family (vv.20-21). Even if a king fell in battle to shame, his own people will rise up and defend his honor and support him as hero. But this evil king will not receive any recognition, not even from his own offspring. (G. V. Smith, Isaiah 1-39, 317-18).
