Princes

I know what a prince is- wait Michael is a prince? I thought he- ...what? What texts seem to use "prince" in a "supernatural" sense and what can we gather from the texts about this usage of the word?

## Texts

### Deuteronomy

"7 Remember the days of old;
   consider the generations long past.
Ask your father and he will tell you,
   your elders, and they will explain to you.
8 When the Most High gave the nations their inheritance,
   when he divided all mankind,
he set up boundaries for the peoples
   according to the number of the sons of Israel.[b]
9 For the Lord’s portion is his people,

    Jacob his allotted inheritance."

**Deuteronomy 32:7-9 NIV**

There is a textual variance here in the phrase "sons of Israel" where some manuscripts say "sons of God." See the Masoretic text the Dead Sea Scrolls and the Septuagint.

The versions of this verse that say "sons of God" when taken with the other passages in the OT like Job 1 and Genesis that are understood to mean angels when they say "sons of God" seems (allegedly) to make reference to an idea that God- in splitting the nations of man- he set one of the sons of God over each of the nations. This is said to parallel the patron gods of the city-states. That these pagan gods are the angels- God's servants- that he appointed to guide the nations- but failed in their duties, either by negligence or by malice.

### Psalm

"A psalm of Asaph.

1 God presides in the great assembly;

   he renders judgment among the “gods”:

2 “How long will you[a] defend the unjust

   and show partiality to the wicked?[b]

3 Defend the weak and the fatherless;

   uphold the cause of the poor and the oppressed.

4 Rescue the weak and the needy;

   deliver them from the hand of the wicked.

5 “The ‘gods’ know nothing, they understand nothing.

   They walk about in darkness;

   all the foundations of the earth are shaken.

6 “I said, ‘You are “gods”;

   you are all sons of the Most High.’

7 But you will die like mere mortals;

   you will fall like every other ruler.”

8 Rise up, O God, judge the earth,

   for all the nations are your inheritance."

**Psalm 82**

Here we see at least a poetic equivalence drawn between the "sons of the most high" and the "gods." What's more- this psalmist even compares them to rulers "you will fall like every other ruler." If the alleged norm of the ancient near east was that each city-state had their own patron deity- a heavenly king in addition to their earthly human king- then it makes sense that the Israelites would speak to this reality of their world. It makes sense that the Israelites would have an explanation for where they came from and why they are evil.

This is of course a lot more than what is clearly stated in these texts. The Bible Project and Michael Hiesner are where I have heard these ideas I think. Need to find where they talk about these things and what their sources are.

It would be nice if the ancient writers included a clearer explanation of this aspect of the story but I suppose if it was the reality of the world- there was no reason to explain it. We take for granted that God is both the supreme deity both in heaven and in the world. Christianity dominates the world in a way that Judaism never enjoyed. The God of Israel was constantly at war the the gods of the nations in a way that the God of Christians hasn't been for a thousand years.

### Ezekiel

*King* of Tyre. There may be a connection- but I am doubtful. Ezekiel does not seem to be concerned with heavenly princes- not using the word the same way Daniel seems to. See the page of the satan for a discussion of this passage. (I don't think it is terribly relevant to the discussion of this page)

I'll leave the verse address here- just in case.

Ezekiel 28:1-19 NIV (I should really switch the translation I am using.)

### Daniel

The Prince of Persia and Michael, Your Prince

"13 But the prince of the Persian kingdom resisted me twenty-one days. Then Michael, one of the chief princes, came to help me, because I was detained there with the king of Persia."

**Daniel 10:13 NIV**

For further research- what word is being translated as prince and is it translated as "archo" in the LXX?

https://biblehub.com/daniel/10-13.htm

### Matthew

Prince of Demons

32 While they were going out, a man who was demon-possessed and could not talk was brought to Jesus. 33 And when the demon was driven out, the man who had been mute spoke. The crowd was amazed and said, “Nothing like this has ever been seen in Israel.”

34 But the Pharisees said, “It is by the prince of demons that he drives out demons.”

**Matthew 9:32-34 NIV**

Beelzebul, Prince of Demons

"22 Then they brought him a demon-possessed man who was blind and mute, and Jesus healed him, so that he could both talk and see. 23 All the people were astonished and said, “Could this be the Son of David?”

24 But when the Pharisees heard this, they said, “It is only by Beelzebul, the prince of demons, that this fellow drives out demons.”

25 Jesus knew their thoughts and said to them, “Every kingdom divided against itself will be ruined, and every city or household divided against itself will not stand. 26 If Satan drives out Satan, he is divided against himself. How then can his kingdom stand? 27 And if I drive out demons by Beelzebul, by whom do your people drive them out? So then, they will be your judges. 28 But if it is by the Spirit of God that I drive out demons, then the kingdom of God has come upon you."

**Matthew 12:22-28 NIV**

### Mark

Beelzebul, Prince of Demons

"20 Then Jesus entered a house, and again a crowd gathered, so that he and his disciples were not even able to eat. 21 When his family[b] heard about this, they went to take charge of him, for they said, “He is out of his mind.”

22 And the teachers of the law who came down from Jerusalem said, “He is possessed by Beelzebul! By the prince of demons he is driving out demons.”

23 So Jesus called them over to him and began to speak to them in parables: “How can Satan drive out Satan? 24 If a kingdom is divided against itself, that kingdom cannot stand. 25 If a house is divided against itself, that house cannot stand. 26 And if Satan opposes himself and is divided, he cannot stand; his end has come. 27 In fact, no one can enter a strong man’s house without first tying him up. Then he can plunder the strong man’s house. 28 Truly I tell you, people can be forgiven all their sins and every slander they utter, 29 but whoever blasphemes against the Holy Spirit will never be forgiven; they are guilty of an eternal sin.”

30 He said this because they were saying, “He has an impure spirit.”

31 Then Jesus’ mother and brothers arrived. Standing outside, they sent someone in to call him. 32 A crowd was sitting around him, and they told him, “Your mother and brothers are outside looking for you.”

33 “Who are my mother and my brothers?” he asked.

34 Then he looked at those seated in a circle around him and said, “Here are my mother and my brothers! 35 Whoever does God’s will is my brother and sister and mother.”"

**Mark 3:20-35 NIV**

So glad for Kings and Chronicles and the Gospels- have to list essentially the same quotation over and over XD.

### Luke

"14 Jesus was driving out a demon that was mute. When the demon left, the man who had been mute spoke, and the crowd was amazed. 15 But some of them said, “By Beelzebul, the prince of demons, he is driving out demons.” 16 Others tested him by asking for a sign from heaven.

17 Jesus knew their thoughts and said to them: “Any kingdom divided against itself will be ruined, and a house divided against itself will fall. 18 If Satan is divided against himself, how can his kingdom stand? I say this because you claim that I drive out demons by Beelzebul. 19 Now if I drive out demons by Beelzebul, by whom do your followers drive them out? So then, they will be your judges. 20 But if I drive out demons by the finger of God, then the kingdom of God has come upon you."

**Luke 11:14-20 NIV**

### John

The Prince of this World

"Now is the time for judgment on this world; now the prince of this world will be driven out."

**John 12:31 NIV**

"I will not say much more to you, for the prince of this world is coming. He has no hold over me,"

**John 14:30 NIV**

"and about judgment, because the prince of this world now stands condemned."

**John 16:11 NIV**

*Hm, guess he's talking about the satan.* But why all this "prince of the world" talk? Anyyywayyy. This is a section for more research on another night.

### Ephesians

Prince of the Power of the Air

"1 As for you, you were dead in your transgressions and sins, 2 in which you used to live when you followed the ways of this world and of the ruler of the kingdom of the air, the spirit who is now at work in those who are disobedient. 3 All of us also lived among them at one time, gratifying the cravings of our flesh[a] and following its desires and thoughts. Like the rest, we were by nature deserving of wrath."

**Ephesians 2:1-3 NIV**

It appears we are betrayed by translation once again. This passage is often translated as "the prince of the kingdom of the air." Suppose I really should look into what word is being used here. Greek "archo" or ruler. That is looking good for my suspected archangel connection. That is Strong's 758. https://biblehub.com/ephesians/2-2.htm

Ooooo! It gets so fun when you dig into the original languages!!! The Strong's entry is bringing up other passages I have listed above- all as "archo." I realize that this is a general term- but it is interesting to me. When we leave things untranslated- or we translate them one way or another- it does so much to change the flavor of the passage- and the literal meaning can help to demystify certain ideas (like angels (messengers)) and here with the idea of princes- or arch- we have an interesting example of running that line between whether or translations have erased an idea the ancients had or if we are inventing a new one because of a perceived pattern that is wholly mundane to the ancients.

Also, this is assumedly the satan cause there are definitely no other evil supernatural characters in the Bible. But this is generally taken as a reference to the big bad himself. (*"Well, who else would it be referring to?"* I'm not in the business of assuming here- it's amazing how much can be learned when one stops assuming one knows all of the answers.) Yes, this very well could be satan- but lets figure out why this is the satan.

## Relation to Other Terms

Does prince have any relation to the term "archangel?" What about Paul's "principalities?"

## List of Princes

Beelzebul, Prince of Demons

Prince of Persia

Michael, Prince of Israel

The Satan, Prince of the Power of the Air, Prince of the World