Shalom everyone, new visitor here. The term הֵילֵ֣ל may be found in Isaiah 14:12, but I have not been able to find it in any Hebrew dictionaries.
English translations range from "morning," to "morning star," to "Lucifer," to "shining one." Going to the Hebrew, it's הֵילֵ֣ל. It's also described as being derived from הָלַל, so if that's correct (I lack training in Hebrew), does it simply mean to shine?
If there's more implied (one source said הָלַל is associated with arrogance or madness), what nuances or connotations are implicit in the term and its derivative respectively? Are either of the terms in common usage? Some reference to an authoritative text or just a statement of your source for your answer would be appreciated. Thanks!
*update 9/2/2015 I've tried to organize the answers a little bit so the reasoning for the chosen answer will be clear:
"English scholarship" @Yaacov Deane has mentioned "praise" and @andrewmh20 referenced the Brown-Driver-Briggs Hebrew and English Lexicon for the term "shining one, epithet of the king of Babylon." Epithet of the king of Babylon" seems just a self-referential definition to the source term's context in the original book of Isaiah and non-explanatory, please correct me if I'm mistaken. I managed to find one resource that brings an explanation for both of their definitions together and adds the third one of madness, while trying to provide an etymology of sorts within English scholarship: "Wilhelm Gesenius squeezed all various meanings and nuances of halal into the central charge of splenduit. But almost a hundred years later, the authoritative dictionary of Brown, Driver and Briggs, listed two separate roots halal, each with their own group of meanings. Three quarters of a century later, Harris, Archer and Waltke published their lexicon, and split the second root of Brown, Driver and Briggs in two, forming three distinct roots halal" 1)'shine, emit light,' 2)'to be boastful or to praise,' 3)'to be insane, or rather irrational.' His explanation of how they play against one another is also interesting.
I didn't find the reference in Jaastrow, but @Yaacov Deane mentions in his discussion with Daniel a lack of clarity on the meaning of the additional strokes or what sort of conjugation or other grammatical meaning they imply, something that's important for this theory of הֵילֵ֣ל descending from הָלַל, but they do look pretty similar (granted that it's language; even one stroke can make a world of difference)
"Hebrew scholarship" @msh210 references several sources (thank you for the multi-volume search), noting both broad agreement in Hebrew scholarship on a fourth general definition of a shining planet or star, but he points out a lack of clarity still on whether that definition is a name of said celestial body or a generic term for such a one. This character "כוכב", looks almost nothing like the term הֵילֵ֣ל, so this argument seems to rest solely on the authority/consensus of the commentators rather than the logic of language structure.
"Cross-referencing" @H3br3wHamm3r81 points to Eze. 21:17 and Zec. 11:2, translating it as 'Wail.'
All seem like they could possibly use some clarification and expansion. The first case, "English Scholarship," would need a linguist's explanation of the nuance of the grammar rule in play, while the second, "Hebrew Scholarship".. perhaps sources for the sources, and something that answered why the cursed king of Babylon would be called a shining planet or star in context of his fall. The third case of "Wail" seems to make the most sense from the context, and the hermeneutics is especially great, but can anyone verify with some reference or authoritative source that "the Hif'il imperative conjugation of the lemma יָלַל (yalal) is הֵילֵ֣ל?"
