The term Satan is from the Hebrew satan, meaning "accuser" or "adversary." It refers to a particular function, literally "to accuse, to challenge" – in effect, to be an enemy.
Satan as Human
In the Hebrew Bible, satan refers to human beings. 1 Kings 11:14 reads, "Then the Lord raised up an adversary (satan) against Solomon, Hadad the Edomite; he was of the royal house in Edom.”
In this passage, Hadad is satan. He is Solomon’s satan, Solomon’s enemy. What is interesting, the passage says that it is the Lord who raised this satan.
In addition 1 Samuel 29:4 reads, "But the commanders of the Philistines were angry with him; and the commanders of the Philistines said to him, ‘Send the man back, so that he may return to the place that you have assigned to him; he shall not go down with us to battle, or else he may become an adversary (satan) to us in the battle'”
The adversary (satan) the Philistines were talking about was David, the future king of Israel.
Satan as God’s Angel
Numbers 22:22 speaks of a spiritual being satan. But this spiritual being is God’s angel.
The passage says, “God’s anger was kindled because he [Balaam] was going, and the angel of the Lord took his stand in the road as his adversary (satan).” This is the famous story of Balaam’s donkey. The Lord had sent his angel to kill Balaam, but the donkey protected him. God’s angel was Balaam’s satan.
Satan the Serpent?
A popular text that supposedly speaks of Satan is Genesis 3. The serpent, historically identified as Satan, was said to cause the fall of humankind. However, if the text is taken on its own merit then it becomes obvious that the serpent is meant to be a serpent not a demon.
Only in the New Testament book of Revelation is the serpent identified with the demonic spiritual figure Satan, over one thousand years after Genesis 3 was written.
Dualism and Satan
An interesting story is in 1 Chronicles 21 where "Satan stood up against Israel, and incited David to count the people of Israel.” The same story appears in 2 Samuel 24. But here it is not satan that stands up against Israel and incites David. Rather, it is the Lord God.
Why the change? 1 and 2 Samuel was written during a time when a dualistic world-view was not a strong part of the Hebrew religion. Chronicles was written soon after Israel’s release from Babylonian captivity. The Hebrews were permitted to return to their homeland but remained under Persian rule.
Persian religion was based upon the teachings of Zoroaster, a dualistic religion with firm beliefs in good and bad spirits and angels. It appears that Persian dualism influenced Hebrew thinking.
This influence is also seen in Zechariah 3 and to some extent in Job, both of which were written either during or after Persian rule.
The book of Job has the term ha-satan ("the Satan"). The definite article ha changes the term into a common noun. It is widely accepted that ha-satan does not refer to a demonic character. As the context shows, it refers to one of God's heavenly host.
In Job 1:6 ha-satan is described as one of the "heavenly beings” or “sons of God.” These heavenly beings/sons of God are to be understood as members of the heavenly council who stand in God’s presence.
Satan's role in Job is similar to that of the spirit, a member of the heavenly hosts, in 1 Kings 22. In 1 Kings 22 the spirit will do the work of God by putting a lying spirit in the mouths of the prophets.
The Hebrew Bible rarely ever speaks of a demonic figure Satan. However, as dualism in Hebrew thought develops, so does the Satan character. By New Testament times, the Satan figure enters a new phase.
Sources:
- Boadt, L. Reading the Old Testament: An Introduction. New York: Paulist Press, 1984.
- Frick, F. S. A Journey Through the Hebrew Scriptures. Fort Worth, TX.: Harcourt Brace, 1995.
- NRSV Bible.
Joe Capuana - Joe Capuana is married and works as a secondary school teacher in the area of Religious Education and Music, specialising in the classical ...
