Satan

Gustave Doré, Depiction of Satan, the antagonist of John Milton's Paradise Lost c.1866.

Satan (Hebrew: הַשָׂטָן ha-Satan ("the accuser") ; Arabic: الشيطان ash-Shayṭān ("the adversary") - both from the Semitic root: Ś-Ṭ-N) is an embodiment of antagonism that originates from the Abrahamic religions, being traditionally considered a "fallen" angel in Judeo-Christian belief, and a Jinn in Islamic belief. Originally, the term was used as a title for various entities (humans, accusing angels, etc.) that challenged the religious faith of humans in the Hebrew Bible.[1] Since then, the Abrahamic religions have used "Satan" as a name for the Devil.[2]

Contents

In Judaism

In the Hebrew Bible

In the book of Job (Iyov), ha-satan ("the accuser") is the title of an angel submitted to God. In Judaism ha-satan does not make evil, rather points out to God the evil inclinations and actions of humankind. In essence ha-satan has no power unless humans do evil things. After God places a wager with Satan about Job's piety, God gives "ha-satan" permission to test the faith of Job. The righteous man is afflicted with loss of family, property, and later, health, but he still stays faithful to God. At the conclusion of this book God appears in a whirlwind, explaining to all that divine justice is inscrutable. In the epilogue Job's possessions are restored and he has a second family to replace the one that died.

In the Torah, satan is used to describe both military (1 Sam 29:4; 1 Kings 5:4 (1 Kings 5:18 in a Jewish Bible)) and legal (Ps 109:6) adversaries. Satan is also in the Balaam's story in Numbers 22. The Angel of the LORD is identified as an adversary or a physical block to Balaam's journey in Numbers 22:22. Later in Numbers 22:32 the Angel of the LORD specifically identifies himself by claiming to be like an adversary, again using the term satan.

In 2 Samuel 24:1, Yahweh incites David to a census. Later 1 Chronicles 21:1, would attribute this action to satan.

The Book of Isaiah, Job, Ecclesiastes, and Deuteronomy all have passages in which God is credited for exercising sovereign control over both good and evil.

In the Hebrew Apocrypha

The Jewish apocrypha are religious writings which are not accepted as religious texts in Judaism, and many modern-day Protestant denominations. These works usually bore the names of ancient Hebrew worthies in order to establish their validity among the true writers' contemporaries. To reconcile the late appearance of the texts with their claims to primitive antiquity, alleged authors are represented as "shutting up and sealing" (Dan. XII. 4:9) the works until the time of their fulfillment had arrived; as the texts were not meant for their own generations but for far-distant ages (also cited in Assumption of Moses I. 16:17). In the Book of Wisdom, the devil is represented as the being who brought death into the world.[3]

The 2nd Book of Enoch, also called the Slavonic Book of Enoch, contains references to a Watcher Grigori called Satanael.[4] It is a pseudepigraphic text of an uncertain date and unknown authorship. The text describes Satanael as being the prince of the Grigori who was cast out of heaven[5] and an evil spirit who knew the difference between what was "righteous" and "sinful".[6] A similar story is found in the book of 1 Enoch; however, in that book, the leader of the Grigori is called Semjâzâ.

In the apocryphal literature, Satan rules over a host of angels.[7] Mastema, who induced God to test Abraham through the sacrifice of Isaac, is identical with Satan in both name and nature.[8]

For the Chasidic Jews of the eighteenth century, Ha-satan was Baal Davar.[9] The Book of Enoch contains references to Satariel, thought also to be Sataniel and Satan'el (etymology dating back to Babylonian origins). The similar spellings mirror that of his angelic brethren Michael, Raphael, Uriel and Gabriel, previous to his expulsion from Heaven.

In the Talmud and other rabbinic sources

The Talmud mentions the Satan in many places. In all of these places, the Satan is an agent of God, and has no independent existence. Sometimes the Satan is conflated with various demons, such as Asmodai. At times there is even some sympathy for him. Commenting on the Book of Job, the rabbis express sympathy that his job was to "break the barrel but not spill any wine."

In Kabbalistic literature and its derivative, Hasidic literature, the Satan is seen as an agent of God whose job is to tempt one into sin, and then turn around and accuse the sinner on high. An additional understanding of Satan is from a parable to a prostitute who is hired by the King (God) to tempt his son (a Jew). The prostitute has to do the best she can to tempt the son; but deep down she hopes the son will pass the test. Similarly, Kabbalistic/Hasidic thought sees the Satan in the same situation. His job is to tempt us as best he can; turn around and accuse us; but deep down his wish is that we would resist his blandishments.

In Christianity

In Christianity, terms that are synonymous with "Satan" include:

Satan as depicted in the Ninth Circle of Hell in Dante Alighieri's Inferno, illustrated by Gustave Doré.

In mainstream Christianity's understanding of the holy Hebrew scriptures, the Torah, Satan is a synonym for the Devil. For most Christians, he is believed to be an angel who rebelled against God—and also the one who spoke through the serpent and seduced Eve into disobeying God's command. His ultimate goal is to lead people away from the love of God — to lead them to fallacies which God opposes. Satan is also identified as the accuser of Job, the tempter in the Gospels, the secret power of lawlessness in 2 Thessalonians 2:7, and the dragon in the Book of Revelation. Before his insurrection, Satan was among the highest of all angels and the "brightest in the sky". His pride is considered a reason why he would not bow to God as all other angels did, but sought to rule heaven himself. The popularly held beliefs that Satan was once a prideful angel who eventually rebels against God, however, are barely portrayed explicitly in the Bible and are mostly based on inference (e.g., Ezekiel 28 and Isaiah 14:12-17). In mainstream Christianity he is called "the ruler of the demons" (Matt. 12:24), "the ruler of the world" and "the god of this world". (2 Cor. 4:4). The Book of Revelation describes how Satan will be cast out of Heaven, down to the earth, having "great anger" and waging war against "those who obey God's commandments and hold to the testimony of Jesus". Ultimately, Satan is thrown into the "Lake of fire" (Revelation 20:10), not as ruler, but as one among many, being tormented day and night for all eternity.

In other Christian beliefs (e.g. the beliefs of the Christadelphians) the word "satan" in the Bible is not regarded as referring to a supernatural, personal being but to any "adversary" and figuratively refers to human sin and temptation.[14]

In Islam

Shaitan (شيطان) is the equivalent of Satan in Islam. While Shaitan (شيطان, from the root šṭn شطن) is an adjective (meaning "astray" or "distant", sometimes translated as "devil") that can be applied to both man ("al-ins", الإنس) and Jinn, Iblis (Arabic pronunciation: [ˈibliːs]) is the personal name of the Devil who is mentioned in the Qur'anic account of Genesis.[15] According to the Qur'an, Iblis (the Arabic name used) disobeyed an order from Allah to bow to Adam and as a result was forced out of heaven and given respite until the day of judgment from further punishment.

When Allah commanded all of the angels to bow down before Adam (the first Human), Iblis, full of hubris and jealousy, refused to obey God's command (he could do so because, as a jinn, he had free will), seeing Adam as being inferior in creation due to his being created from clay as compared to him (created of fire).[16]

"It is We Who created you and gave you shape; then We bade the angels prostrate to Adam, and they prostrate; not so Iblis (Lucifer); He refused to be of those who prostrate."
(Allah) said: "What prevented thee from prostrating when I commanded thee?" He said: "I am better than he: Thou didst create me from fire, and him from clay."
Qur'an 7:11-12

It was after this that the title of "Shaitan" was given, which can be roughly translated as "Enemy," "Rebel," "Evil" or "Devil". Shaitan then claims that if the punishment for his act of disobedience is to be delayed until the Day of Judgment, that he will divert many of Adam's own descendants from the straight path during his period of respite.[17] God accepts the claims of Iblis and guarantees recompense to Iblis and his followers in the form of Hellfire. In order to test mankind and jinn alike, Allah allowed Iblis to roam the earth to attempt to convert others away from his path.[18] He was sent to earth along with Adam and Eve, after eventually luring them into eating the fruit from the forbidden tree.[19]

In other religions

Yazidism

An alternate name for the main deity in the tentatively Indo-European pantheon of the Yazidi, Malek Taus, is Shaitan.[20] Rather than Satanic, however, Yazidism is better understood as a remnant of a pre-Islamic Middle Eastern Indo-European religion, and/or a ghulat Sufi movement founded by Shaykh Adi. The connection with Satan, originally made by Muslim outsiders, attracted the interest of 19th-century European travelers and esoteric writers.

Bahá'í Faith

In the Bahá'í Faith, Satan is not regarded as an independent evil power as he is in some faiths, but signifies the lower nature of humans. `Abdu'l-Bahá explains: "This lower nature in man is symbolized as Satan—the evil ego within us, not an evil personality outside."[21][22] All other evil spirits described in various faith traditions such as fallen angels, demons and jinns are also metaphors for the base character traits a human being may acquire and manifest when he turns away from God.[23]

Satanism

Main article: Satanism

Satanic groups have various opinions about Satan, ranging from the conviction that he exists and ought to be worshipped (theistic Satanism), to Anton Szandor LaVey's symbolic interpretation, which emphasizes individual will and pleasure-seeking.

Much "Satanic" lore does not originate from actual Satanists, but from Christians. Best-known is the medieval folklore and theology surrounding demons and witches. A more recent example is the so-called Satanic ritual abuse scare of the 1980s — beginning with the memoir Michelle Remembers — which depicts Satanism as a vast (and unsubstantiated) conspiracy of elites with a predilection for child abuse and human sacrifice. This genre regularly describes Satan as actually appearing in person in order to receive worship.

See also

Archangel Michael fighting Satan on the Coat of Arms of Arkhangelsk, Russia.

Notes

  1. ↑ T. J. Wray, Gregory Mobley The birth of Satan: tracing the devil's biblical roots 2005 specifically ch.2 Unsystematic theology - the nature of God in the Hebrew Bible ch.3 The Devil is in the details - Satan in the Hebrew Bible
  2. ↑ Scott (1999); Kelly (2006)
  3. ↑ "But by the envy of the devil, death came into the world" - Book of Wisdom II. 24
  4. ↑ 2 Enoch 18:3
  5. ↑ "And I threw him out from the height with his angels, and he was flying in the air continuously above the bottomless" - 2 Enoch 29:4
  6. ↑ "The devil is the evil spirit of the lower places, as a fugitive he made Sotona from the heavens as his name was Satanail, thus he became different from the angels, but his nature did not change his intelligence as far as his understanding of righteous and sinful things" - 2 Enoch 31:4
  7. ↑ Martyrdom of Isaiah, 2:2; Vita Adæ et Evæ, 16)
  8. ↑ Book of Jubilees, xvii. 18
  9. ↑ The Dictionary of Angels" by Gustav Davidson, © 1967
  10. ↑ "American Heritage Dictionary: Devil". http://www.bartleby.com/61/94/D0179400.html. Retrieved 2006-05-31. 
  11. ↑ Revelation 12:9
  12. ↑ B. W. Johnson ([1891]). "The Revelation of John. Chapter XX. The Millennium.". The People's New Testament. Memorial University of Newfoundland. http://www.mun.ca/rels/restmov/texts/bjohnson/hg1/PNT27-20.HTM. Retrieved November 30, 2009. 
  13. ↑ 2 Corinthians 4:4
  14. ↑ "Do you Believe in a Devil?". http://www.christadelphia.org/pamphlet/devil.htm. Retrieved 2007-05-29. 
  15. ↑ Iblis
  16. ↑ [Qur'an 17:61]; [Qur'an 2:34]
  17. ↑ [Qur'an 17:62]
  18. ↑ [Qur'an 17:63-64]
  19. ↑ [Qur'an 7:20-22]
  20. ↑ Drower, E.S. The Peacock Angel. Being Some Account of Votaries of a Secret Cult and their Sanctuaries. London: John Murray, 1941. [1]
  21. ↑ ʻAbduʾl-Bahá (1982) [1912]. The Promulgation of Universal Peace. Wilmette, Illinois, USA: Bahá'í Publishing Trust. p. 294-295. ISBN 0877431728. http://reference.bahai.org/en/t/ab/PUP/pup-97.html. 
  22. ↑ Smith, Peter (2000). A Concise Encyclopedia of the Bahá'í Faith. Oxford, UK: Oneworld. pp. 135-136, 304. ISBN 1851681841. 
  23. ↑ Smith, Peter (2008). An Introduction to the Baha'i Faith. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. pp. 112. ISBN 0521862515. 

References

  • Bamberger, Bernard J. (2006). Fallen Angels: Soldiers of Satan's Realm. Jewish Publication Society of America. ISBN 0-8276-0797-0. 
  • Caldwell, William. "The Doctrine of Satan: I. In the Old Testament," The Biblical World, Vol. 41, No. 1 (Jan., 1913), pp. 29-33 in JSTOR
  • Caldwell, William. "The Doctrine of Satan: II. Satan in Extra-Biblical Apocalyptical Literature," The Biblical World, Vol. 41, No. 2 (Feb., 1913), pp. 98-102 in JSTOR
  • Caldwell, William. "The Doctrine of Satan: III. In the New Testament," The Biblical World, Vol. 41, No. 3 (Mar., 1913), pp. 167-172 in JSTOR
  • Empson, William. Milton's God (1966)
  • Forsyth, Neil (1987). The Old Enemy: Satan & the Combat Myth. Princeton University Press; Reprint edition. ISBN 0-691-01474-4. 
  • Forsyth, Neil (1987). The Satanic Epic. Princeton University Press; Reprint edition. ISBN 0-691-11339-4. 
  • Gentry, Kenneth L. Jr (2002). The Beast of Revelation. American Vision. ISBN 0-915815-41-9. 
  • Graves, Kersey (1995). Biography of Satan: Exposing the Origins of the Devil. Book Tree. ISBN 1-885395-11-6. 
  • Jacobs, Joseph, and Ludwig Blau. "Satan," The Jewish Encyclopedia (1906) online pp 68-71
  • Kelly, Henry Ansgar. Satan: A Biography. (2006). 360 pp. excerpt and text search ISBN 0-521-60402-8, a study of the Bible and Western literature
  • Kent, William. "Devil." The Catholic Encyclopedia (1908) Vol. 4. online older article
  • Osborne, B. A. E. "Peter: Stumbling-Block and Satan," Novum Testamentum, Vol. 15, Fasc. 3 (Jul., 1973), pp. 187-190 in JSTOR on "Get thee behind me, Satan!"
  • Pagels, Elaine (1995). The Origin of Satan. Vintage; Reprint edition. ISBN 0-679-72232-7. 
  • Rebhorn Wayne A. "The Humanist Tradition and Milton's Satan: The Conservative as Revolutionary," Studies in English Literature, 1500-1900, Vol. 13, No. 1, The English Renaissance (Winter, 1973), pp. 81-93 in JSTOR
  • Rudwin, Maximilian (1970). The Devil in Legend and Literature. Open Court. ISBN 0-87548-248-1. 
  • Russell, Jeffrey Burton. The Devil: Perceptions of Evil from Antiquity to Primitive Christianity (1987) excerpt and text search
  • Russell, Jeffrey Burton. Satan: The Early Christian Tradition (1987) excerpt and text search
  • Russell, Jeffrey Burton. Lucifer: The Devil in the Middle Ages (1986) excerpt and text search
  • Russell, Jeffrey Burton. Mephistopheles: The Devil in the Modern World (1990) excerpt and text search
  • Russell, Jeffrey Burton. The Prince of Darkness: Radical Evil and the Power of Good in History (1992) excerpt and text search
  • Schaff, D. S. "Devil" in New Schaff-Herzog Encyclopedia of Religious Knowledge (1911), Mainline Protestant; vol 3 pp 414-417 online
  • Scott, Miriam Van. The Encyclopedia of Hell (1999) excerpt and text search comparative religions; also popular culture
  • Wray, T. J. and Gregory Mobley. The Birth of Satan: Tracing the Devil's Biblical Roots (2005) excerpt and text search

External links