By Dr. Roy B. Blizzard
A recently discovered mask of the Greek god Pan was featured on the front page of the November/December 2015 issue of the Biblical Archaeological Review. This large, bronze mask is not only impressive and unique but helps shed light on a passage of scripture in the New Testament text of the Book of Matthew Chapter 16 as well as Jerome’s fifth century Vulgate translation of the Old Testament Book of Isaiah Chapter 14.
The mask of Pan that was unearthed at Hippos (ancient Sussita) along the eastern shore of the Sea of Galilee has been carbon dated back to the first or second century of the present era. Few people realize that Panius, the principal city of Caesarea Philippi, was the largest center for worship of the Greek god Pan in the entire ancient world. A pagan shrine to Pan that existed in Panias in Jesus’ day was built at the entrance to a large cave opening into the mountain at present day Mt. Hermon. This cave was considered to be the entrance into hell and when Jesus speaks of the “gates of hell”, it is this cave to which he is referring. Although the shrine to Pan has long since been destroyed and only fragments remain, nonetheless, the cave still exists as do the ruins of the shrine seen below:
The cult of Pan continued well into the 4th Century CE and beyond. It was the image of Pan that gave birth to the physical visage of what we call Satan or the Devil. It is possible that the bronze mask found at Hippos could have been part of this shrine for the worship of Pan which usually involved drinking, nudity, orgies, and rituals of an ecstatic nature. Pan was the god of the wild who liked the company of nymphs and played rustic music utilizing the panpipes or syrinx. Note the image below of the Greek god Pan found on the Mildenhall Great Dish currently housed in the British Museum.
©Trustees of the British Museum
As this image shows, Pan was half man and half goat. He was horned and furry and in Greek mythology he could incite lust, panic, mindless fear, and rage. The discovery of the mask of Pan at Sussita provides a key for us in better understanding an important passage recorded in Matthew 16:13 in which we are told that Jesus and his disciples were on their way to the region of Caesarea Philippi. Jesus asked his disciples “Whom do men say that I the Son of Man am?” and “But whom say ye that I am?”. After some discussion Simon Peter answered and said, according to English translation, “Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God.” Jesus replied “Blessed art thou Simon BarJonah: for flesh and blood hath not revealed it unto thee, but my Father which is in heaven. And I say also unto thee, thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.” Looking at this in English, it doesn’t seem to be all that confusing but then again, it’s not all that clear either. However, when one looks at the text in Hebrew, the original language, the meaning is quite different. When Jesus asks his disciples “Whom do men say that I the Son of Man am?” Simon Peter answers in Hebrew “ata hu hamashiach ben elohim hachim.” “You are the Messiah, the Son of the God who lives” (as opposed to the god Pan, who does not live but who is worshipped in this place).
There is also confusion about upon what rock Jesus will be building. In Greek Peter’s name, Petros, means small stone or rock but the Hebrew word for rock that is used in this passage is selah indicating a larger or immovable stone. Peter’s spiritual awareness is the foundation that Jesus is going to use to build his kahal meaning congregation. Some scholars such as Professor David Flusser and Dr. Robert Lindsey have even suggested that instead of kahal the word should be edah, which means a witnessing body. This translation comes from the Dead Sea Scrolls and the Qumran community that refer to themselves as the edah. Further examination of Jesus’ statement in Matthew 16 provides another interesting point. He says “… upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.” In other words, upon this immovable foundation, Jesus is saying the power of the edah will be such that no other force, i.e., Pan or any other gods, will be able stand against it. With this knowledge, one can see that the idea or concept of Pan as being representative of the Devil is more important than one previously may have thought.
How did this concept of Pan being connected to the Devil come about? Actually, this idea relates back to a very important passage of scripture contained in the Book of Isaiah Chapter 14, which is a prophecy pertaining to Israel’s captivity and release and the role of Babylon. Isaiah 14:12 is the culmination of that prophecy, describing the fall of the King of Babylon, Belshazzar. Possibly this scripture has been one of the most frequently mistranslated and misunderstood scriptures in the entire biblical text. Isaiah 14:12 reads in Hebrew “ech nafalta meshamim helel ben shachar.” Translated it reads “How art thou fallen from heaven, bright shining one, son of the morning!” This is a reference back to Belshazzar and not a spiritual being called Lucifer as I will explain.
It is important to understand that in Belshazzar’s day, every city throughout Mesopotamia had a ruling planet or constellation. According to Babylonian cosmology, the planet Venus, the bright shining star of the morning, (Brown Driver Briggs Hebrew English Lexicon no. 1966) was the ruling planet over the city of Babylon where Belshazzar was king (referenced in the book Ancient Near Eastern Texts edited by James B. Prichard page 310 ). In the Book of Daniel, Chapter 5, we are told that Belshazzar and his court were having a great feast when, in the midst of the festivities, a hand appears on the wall and writes “mene mene tekel upharsin.” To Belshazzar and everyone else’s consternation, nobody could explain the unique phenomenon or translate the writing. Somebody remembered Daniel and suggested that he be called to see if he could find the meaning of the writing. Daniel interpreted it to say that Belshazzar was weighed in the balances and found wanting and that very night his kingdom would be taken.
Bible skeptics have questioned this account in the fifth chapter of Daniel. Until relatively recent times, there was no record of any Belshazzar in the lists of the kings of Babylon. Only King Nabonidus was listed during the time Belshazzar was supposed to have been reigning. However, in a cuneiform inscription on a clay tablet now known as the Nabonidus Chronicle which is today housed in the British Museum in London, we are told that Nabonidus suffered from a brief illness. During his time away from Babylon, his son Belsharusur (Belshazzar of Daniel 5) reigned in his stead. This one archaeological find vindicated the book of Daniel and established Belshazzar as the crown prince of Babylon. From the Yale collection of Babylonian texts we find statements such as “In a dream, I saw the great star, Venus, Sirius, the moon and the sun and I shall now study this constellation with regard to a favorable interpretation for my Lord Nabonidus, King of Babylon, as well as to a favorable interpretation for my Lord Belshazzar, the crown prince.” (ANET, Prichard, page 310) From these ancient documents we learn about the beliefs and customs of the people of Belshazzar’s day which in turn help us to understand and interpret passages of scripture like the one in Isaiah 14:12. Again, it is a reference to the existing cosmology of Babylon in Belshazzar’s day and is a specific reference to the planet Venus that was known as the morning star.
Next we need to examine the way Isaiah 14:12 was translated into the Greek Septuagint text which reads “How are you fallen from heaven heosphoros?” i.e., the shining one, son of the morning again a reference to the planet Venus. In the Liddell and Scott Greek~English Lexicon page 752 heosphoros is listed as the bringer of morn or the morning star.
And now, a little bit of history…First, it is important to mention that in the 3rd Century BCE Pharaoh Ptolemy Philadelphus of Egypt, (285-247 BCE) commissioned a Greek translation of the Hebrew scriptures for his own library. Traditionally, some 70 Jewish scholars performed the work and their translation became known as the Septuagint or LXX which are the Roman numerals for 70.
In the 4th Century CE, a man by the name Eusebius Sophronius Hieronymus, also known as Jerome, was born (340-419 CE). In the summer of 388, he moved from Rome to Bethlehem where he spent the remainder of his life. Due to the prominent rise of the Latin language, Pope Damasus suggested to Jerome, who was very knowledgeable in Latin and Greek but less so in Hebrew, that he start his own translation project. Jerome completed his work in the year 405 CE and it is still known to this day as the Latin Vulgate and is the official Latin Bible of the Roman Catholic Church.
It is safe to assume that Jerome had several texts available to him for comparison and undoubtedly used some texts that we do not have today, making it impossible to say for certain where he got all his ideas. One translation found in Jerome has caused much difficulty and misunderstanding, namely, his translation of Isaiah 14:12.
As we mentioned earlier, in the Hebrew text it reads “ech nafalta meshamim helel ben shachar” “How art thou fallen from heaven, bright shining one, son of the morning!” Jerome in his translation has “How are you fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning?” This is the first time that this word, Lucifer, appears in the biblical text. Jerome’s use of the word Lucifer has led to the development in Christian circles to the concept of Lucifer as the embodiment of the evil one i.e., Satan or the Devil. This usage then completely changes the meaning of Isaiah 14:12 because 14:1314 goes on to say “How art thou cut down to the ground which didst weaken the nations! For thou hadst said in thine heart I will ascend into heaven I will exalt my throne above the stars of God: I will sit also upon the mount of the congregation in the sides of the North: I will ascend above the heights of the clouds: I will be like the Most High.” The question now becomes where did Jerome get the idea of translating helel ben shachar or heosphoros to Lucifer? when the passage is a specific reference to the planet Venus and Babylon. The answer is that Jerome did not strictly translate the Hebrew helel ben shachar nor does it appear that he translated the Greek LXX heosphoros. It seems rather that he translated as though the original Greek word had been lukophos meaning morning twilight. By following the trail of Greek etymology we see that luekeios is an epithet for Apollo and Pan. The word Lukay, not only means morning twilight, but is an epithet for the Greek gods Apollo and Pan and also means the god of light. (Liddell and Scott page 1064.)
Why would Jerome have strayed from heosphoros? Perhaps Jerome’s selection was influenced by the teachings of Tertullian (155-240 CE) and Origen (184-253 CE) who had already begun reading Satan into Isaiah 14 as opposed to the King of Babylon. Certainly, his knowledge of Panius at Caesarea Philippi could have influenced him since Pan was worshipped there. Since the discovery of the mask at Hippos, we are able to recognize the possibility of an even greater extent of worship of Pan throughout the GrecoRoman world than had been previously thought. I think it is interesting that we can’t altogether fault Jerome especially because he was working on his translation while all these influences were occurring at the same time.
As a result of Jerome’s translation, the images of Pan and the Devil were morphed together and today the Devil is often depicted as Lucifer and his appearance is similar to the Greek god Pan. The church historian Philip Schaff on pages 972-975 of History of the Christian Church writes that “Jerome could have done better.” “The defects are many and various and he sometimes let false translations stand when they seemed harmless.” Schaff continues “From the present stage of biblical philology and exegesis, the Vulgate can be charged with innumerable false inaccuracies, inconsistencies, and arbitrary dealing, in particulars.” It is important to note that the Bible includes no character named Lucifer. Isaiah had never heard of such a being, nor had the apostles of Jesus day. Lucifer as a manifestation of the Devil was a later innovation. Isaiah 14 was not speaking about the Devil or Lucifer; it is a prophecy against Belshazzar, who at that time was serving as the King of Babylon.
This is all the more important when we understand that in Hebrew there is no such concept of Lucifer as being the embodiment of evil i.e., the Devil or Satan, such as we find in English. As a matter of fact in the Encyclopedia Judaica Volume 14 page 902 under the entry for Satan it opens with the statement. “Satan is not a proper name referring to a particular being and a demonic one who is the antagonist or rival of God. In its original application in fact, it is a common noun meaning an adversary who opposes and obstructs. It is applied to human adversaries and its related verb is used of prosecution in a law court and the role of an antagonist in general…” Nowhere is hasatan, in any sense, a rival of God. With few exceptions Satan appears merely as the impersonal force of evil.
In Hebrew thought, Satan is the personification of wickedness. A significant remark is: “Satan, the yetzer harah, and the angel of death are all one” (Talmud Baba Batra 16a). It indicates that the prompting to evil is rather a force within an individual rather than an influence from without. In Hebrew thought, the yetzer harah stands in direct contrast to the yetzer hatov, the good impulse. The belief is that in every human being there are two urges, one to evil and the other to goodness. This idea figures prominently in the ethics of the Rabbis. The character of a person, it was thought, is determined by which of the two impulses is dominant. The good impulse controls the righteous and the evil impulse controls the wicked. Genesis Chapter 3 deals with the origin of evil in the world and the concept of evil was strongly associated with that of the serpent. However, in order to make it quite clear that we have here only a symbol, the passage stressed that the serpent belonged to the category of the beasts of the field that the Lord God had made i.e., created by God. In Genesis 3 the special characteristic attributed to the serpent is cunning. Umberto Cassuto, late Professor of Bible at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, states on pages 142-143 of his Commentary on Genesis 1 “In the ultimate analysis, we have here an allegorical allusion to the craftiness to be found in man himself.” In other words, Cassuto continues, the “duologue between the serpent and the woman is actually, in a manner of speaking, a duologue that took place in the woman’s mind, between her wiliness and her innocence, clothed in the garb of a parable.” Cassuto continues “by interpreting the text in this way, we can understand why the serpent is said to think and speak; in reality it is not he who thinks and speaks but the woman does so in her heart. Thus we need not wonder at the serpent’s knowledge of the prohibition; it is the woman who is aware of it.”
I know all of this may be very upsetting and disconcerting to some of you but keep in mind that in the first four centuries before Jesus, and the first four centuries after Jesus, paganism and idolatry were rampant in the world. Much of what we read of the ancient Greek and Roman worlds before, during, and after the time of Jesus centered on paganism in one form or another. Their gods, their religious practices, and much in the biblical text relates to that subject. After the time of Jesus, many of these pagan ideas or concepts were absorbed into the postbiblical world, and we have a host of pagan ideas, practices, and cults that ultimately led to the development of what became the organized religious system of the third and fourth centuries of the present era with its host of devils, demons, and angels.
An indication of the widespread focus upon pagan religious systems and their deities is recorded for us in the Biblical Archaeological Review September/October 2014 on page 30, where a beautiful mosaic depicting Pan, as well as other images from Greek mythology, was found on the floor of a chapel in Jerusalem dating to the 6th century CE.
Zen Radovan, biblelandpictures.com
In our treatment of the subject of Lucifer, the Devil, and Satan this quite naturally raises questions about various passages in the New Testament and about practices by many religious leaders and/or denominations relative to the subject of devils and demons. Some will question, “Well, are you saying that there is no such thing as devils and/or demons or evil in the world?” And the answer to that question is, “No, there is indeed evil in the world but according to Hebrew or Jewish thought on the subject, evil stems from man himself.” As mentioned earlier, it is the yetzer harah, or the evil inclination, that is a force within man himself. Questions then naturally arise about all of the passages in the New Testament that speak of demons and the casting out of demons such as in Matthew 8:16 “when evening was come, they brought unto him many that were possessed with devils: and he cast out the spirits with his word, and he healed all that were sick…” Or, Matthew 10:78 as Jesus commissioned his disciples to “go, preach, saying the kingdom of heaven is at hand. Heal the sick, cleanse the lepers, raise the dead, cast out devils: freely you have received, freely give.” Or Matthew 8:28 when two men possessed with devils speak to Jesus and the devils ask that they be cast into a herd of swine. Jesus grants the request and permits them to enter the herd which then ran down a steep hill and drowned in the sea. Now if the Jews did not believe in a physical/spiritual being that stood juxtapositioned to God, what is occurring in these and many other passages where Jesus is confronting demons and/or devils and casting them out? We need to stop for a moment and give pause. We must remember that the New Testament was written almost 2000 years ago and addressed the audience of that time. Also we must keep in mind that it has only been in recent times, in the last 150 years or so, that medical science has identified and named certain diseases and/or infirmities as well as treatments for them.
Let’s consider the story of the father who brought his son to Jesus and said that he had a spirit that tore him and caused him to foam at the mouth and often cast him into the fire. Jesus rebuked the foul spirit and the boy was healed and made whole. Up until relatively recent times medical science had not progressed to the point where epilepsy was identified as such and what is true of epilepsy is also true of many other ailments and/or afflictions, such as multiple personality disorder and a myriad of other mental conditions. In careful reading of the New Testament we see that many conditions that were attributed to a devil or a demon were relieved through some form or type of healing. In our modern world, remedies or methods for healing exist for various diseases and ailments that didn’t have names centuries ago. In the New Testament James 5:1415, Jesus issued a specific directive: “Is any sick among you? let him call for the elders of the church; and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord: And the prayer of faith will save the sick…” It is much more biblically correct to speak of healing and the efficacy of prayer rather than to focus on devils and demons. It has been my observation that a congregation, individual, or group of individuals that focus their attention on devils and demons are in error in many other ways as well.
Our brief examination on this subject is indicative of the importance of study and research and emphasizes the motto we have for Bible Scholars ‘Question the answers’. Perhaps there is a greater need for students of the Bible to devote more of their time to investigation and analysis to fulfill the admonition of the apostle Paul when he says in Timothy 2:15 “Study to show yourself approved unto God, a workman that needs not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.”
Kudos and much thanks to Stephanie Morton for her effort in typing and editing this article. Her assistance has been and continues to be irreplaceable.
