The Hebrew Scriptures were gradually translated by the Greek-speaking Jews of Egypt over a period of time ranging from the century before to the century after 200 BC. The Greek text is called the Septuagint (abbreviated LXX), and is invaluable in demonstrating how the original Hebrew passages were interpreted at the time of translation. It is also important as the version of the Old Testament that was used and cited by the authors of the New Testament. In addition, we must always be aware of the possibility that it preserves an older or original version of given passages, because the Hebrew text that we now have was fixed much later, around AD 200, by the Masoretic editors.
Many standard translations of the Hebrew text of Job (starting at verse 6) get it wrong in presenting it as already portraying an angel named Satan. For instance, the NRSV (New Revised Standard Version, 1989) has, “One day the heavenly beings came to present themselves before the LORD, and Satan also came among them,” etc. The attached note says, “or the Accuser.” The capital “A” obviously signifies that this is a unique position filled by a specific angel.
Certain commented editions of the NRSV attempt to explain away the idea of a proper name or a proper noun. For instance, The New Oxford Annotated Bible, or NOAB (ed. 4, 2010), says that this figure is not the adversary of God, but the adversary of Job and other humans: “He is not the ‘devil’ of later Jewish and Christian literature.”
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Author: Henry Ansgar Kelly
Keywords: Satanology, Adversary, Satan, diabolos, devil
Bible reference(s): Num 22:22, Num 22:32, 1 Samuel 29:4, 2 Sam 19:22, 1 Kings 5:4, Esther 7:6, Esther 8:1, 1 Maccabees 1:36, Wisdom of Solomon 2:24, 1 Chronicles 21:1, Job 1:6-9, Job 1:12, Job 2:1-7, Isaiah 14:12, Zechariah 3:1-2, Psalms 109:20, Psalms 109:29, 1 Kings 11:14, 1 Kings 11:23
Source: “Satan in the Bible, God’s Minister of Justice,” (Eugene, OR: Wipf and Stock, 2017), pp. 20-4.
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