“Satan” in modern speech is a word that is typically reserved for a particular individual, who is supposed to correspond to “the Satan” (הַשַָּׂטָן) of the Hebrew Scriptures (Zechariah 3; Job 1–2). In the early literature, however, the noun שָׂטָן could refer to many different individuals. In addition, the ancient meaning of this noun has been lost to modern interpreters, as biblical scholars have inadvertently read later notions of Satan into earlier texts that speak of satans or the Satan.
The purpose of the present essay is to elucidate the nature of the categories “demon,” “evil spirit,” and “satan” as they are constructed in early Jewish literature. This essay considers how these beings are distinguished (or are not distinguished) from one another and from other malevolent superhuman beings and how such distinctions should inform present-day scholarly vocabulary in discussing ancient beliefs.7 It should be stated at the outset that it is not the intent of this essay to impose definitions of these terms on scholarly discussions of demons, etc. Nor is this study supposed to serve as the basis even for the other essays in the present volume. The analysis of this chapter is merely an attempt to bring some clarity to a conversation whose terms have been imprecise or otherwise inadequate for the literature under consideration and, as a result, have contributed to a misunderstanding of ancient religious thought.
The most infamous of all of the malevolent superhuman beings in Christian tradition is Satan. According to popular theology and centuries of Christian tradition, Satan is the archenemy of God and of good. He is the chief of the fallen angels who leads the world astray. While scholars now recognize that religious literature from around the turn of the era does not depict (the) Satan as do later theologians, there remains some confusion as to what exactly a satan is.28
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Author: Ryan E. Stokes
Keywords: satan, devil, satanas, adversary, opponent, yetzer hara, yetzer ha ra, yetser hara, yetser ha ra, evil inclination
Bible reference(s): Numbers 22:22, Numbers 22:34, 1 Samuel 29:4, 2 Samuel 19:22, 1 Kings 11:14, 1 Kings 11:23, 1 Kings 11:25, 1 Chronicles 21:1, Job 1:6, Job 1:7, Job 1:8, Job 1:9, Job 1:12, Job 2:1, Job 2:2, Job 2:3, Job 2:4, Job 2:6, Job 2:7, Psalms 38:20, Psalms 71:13, Psalms 109:4, Psalms 109:6, Zechariah 3:1, Zechariah 3:2, Matthew 4:10, Matthew 12:26, Matthew 16:23, Mark 1:13, Mark 3:23, Mark 3:26, Mark 4:15, Mark 8:33, Luke 4:8, Luke 10:18, Luke 11:18, Luke 13:16, Luke 22:3, Luke 22:31, John 13:27, Acts 5:3, Acts 26:18, Romans 16:20, 1 Corinthians 5:5, 1 Corinthians 7:5, 2 Corinthians 2:11, 2 Corinthians 11:14, 2 Corinthians 12:7, 1 Thessalonians 2:18, 2 Thessalonians 2:9, 1 Timothy 1:20, 1 Timothy 5:15, Revelation 2:9, Revelation 2:13, Revelation 2:24, Revelation 3:9, Revelation 12:9, Revelation 20:2, Revelation 20:7, Sirach/Ecclesiasticus 21:27
Source: “What is a Demon, What is an Evil Spirit, and What is a Satan?,” Dochhorn, Rudnig-Zelt, Wold, eds., Das Böse, der Teufel und Dämonen – Evil, the Devil, and Demons, (Mohr Siebeck, 2016), pp. 259-72.
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