πρωϊνός

From the study of Revelation 22:16

Range of meaning

Of the morning, early. With 'star' it means the morning star, the planet Venus, which shines brightest just before sunrise. The Greeks called it Phōsphoros or Heōsphoros ('light-bringer', 'dawn-bringer'), the Romans Lucifer.

Against the English

'Morning Star' is accurate. The KJV's 'bright and morning star' comes from a Latin-based text and turns one description into two adjectives.

How it drifted

Because the Latin name for the morning star, lucifer, was used in Isaiah 14:12 (Vulgate, then KJV 'Lucifer'), many readers now think 'morning star' is a title of Satan. That link is later and secondary.

Used elsewhere in the period

Revelation 2:28: to the conqueror at Thyatira, 'I will give him the morning star' (ton astera ton prōinon), set right after a promise of royal rule from Psalm 2. 2 Peter 1:19 has 'until the day dawns and the morning star (phōsphoros) rises in your hearts', which the Vulgate renders lucifer. Isaiah 14:12 LXX, of the king of Babylon: 'How has Heōsphoros, who rose in the morning, fallen!' Sirach 50:6 compares the high priest Simon to 'the morning star among the clouds'.

From the study of Revelation 2:28

Range of meaning

'Of the early morning', 'early'. In the Septuagint (the Greek Old Testament) it is used for the morning sacrifice, the morning watch and early rain. Joined to 'star', it names Venus as it appears before sunrise. The usual Greek names for that were heōsphoros ('dawn-bringer') or phōsphoros ('light-bringer'), and in Latin lucifer.

Against the English

'Morning star' is a fair rendering. What English loses is how ordinary and visual the picture was. Everyone who rose before dawn to work saw this brilliant point of light and knew the day was coming.

How it drifted

The English phrase picked up a sinister echo. The King James Version's 'Lucifer' in Isaiah 14:12 (from the Latin word for the morning star) came to be read as Satan's personal name, so 'morning star' now sounds ambiguous to some readers. See the drift section.

Used elsewhere in the period

In the New Testament the phrase occurs only here and in Rev 22:16, where Jesus says: 'I am the root and descendant of David, the bright morning star' (ho astēr ho lampros ho prōinos). Sirach 50:6 praises the high priest Simon as 'like the morning star (astēr heōthinos) among the clouds'. Job 38:7 has 'the morning stars sang together'. Isaiah 14:12 in the Septuagint calls the fallen king of Babylon heōsphoros, 'dawn-bringer'. In 2 Peter 1:19 the phōsphoros, 'light-bringer', rises in believers' hearts when the day dawns.