#10: In Search of Satan – “Sātān” and Adversaries in the Hebrew Bible

With this episode we begin a new “chapter” in our series. We’ve looked at how the Watchers story developed into the idea that demons cause sin. But what about the “big guy” himself – where do we find The Devil (capital t, capital d) or, as we’re fond of calling him, “Satan,” in the Hebrew Bible and in Second Temple literature?

In this episode we trace where Satan appears in the Hebrew Bible — both as simply the word “sātān” (adversary) and as an actual divine/demonic figure. The biblical sources are sparse, but we can still see the development of the concept of the sātān from general adversary to demonic enemy.

Spoiler: The sātān starts appearing as an actual character in those works composed during the Return to Zion — that is, the beginning of the Second Temple period.

And so we end with the question: why did the idea of a central evil, demonic being (whether Satan, Belial, or Mastema) become so popular in the Second Temple period? Listen to find out, and write me your comments and questions below!

13 Responses to "#10: In Search of Satan – “Sātān” and Adversaries in the Hebrew Bible"

Chris says:

April 3, 2016 at 2:15 am

I like the way you broke it all down. I think it helps to highlight what I find to be the most interesting part of all– how much is left unsaid in the biblical sources. I think it’s so important to knowing what aspects of an idea need to be rethought rather than taken for granted. One thing I’m also curious about is how all these different names came about to fill the same role, e.g. Satan (capital S), Mastema, Belial, etc. You’d think for the most part they’d pick one and stick to it!
1. Miryam Brand says:
  
  April 3, 2016 at 5:14 pm
  
  I know, it is a puzzle. From the way that “satan” is used in much of Second Temple literature, it seems like many Jews during this period are still using that word in a more general sense with demonic connotations – i.e., they use “satan” to mean any major demonic enemy. Since for them “satan” was not yet a proper name, they needed a different, more specific proper name for their satanic figure of choice.
  Thanks for bringing it up – I’ll mention it in my next episode!
Rocky Jackson says:

April 6, 2016 at 3:01 am

Howdy Miryam , very Fascinating even though I haven’t gotten 1/2 way thru twice but what peaked my interest was your comments about ( added to Job) that is the beginning & end, can you elaborate more on that I know most christian people hold this early part of Job as the rock solid evidence of ( the bad guy). In my personal opinion as incorrect but alas plus can you provide a list of what you believe are the multiple Hapax of IVOV?
I have a few listed ..in Scripture.
Anyways to listen to all of this next
1. Miryam Brand says:
  
  April 8, 2016 at 5:03 pm
  
  Hi Rocky! Those are two very different questions – I’ll take a look for the hapax legomena in the body of the book of Job, but of course that doesn’t have any bearing on whether the beginning and end were added on. There are several arguments for a later provenance of the beginning and end of the book:
  1) The language of the beginning and end is strikingly different from the language in the body of the book. This is a linguist’s argument, but the most convincing in my opinion.
  2) There is no mention of Satan’s interference, or of God’s decision to test Job, in the body of the book at all.
  3) The beginning and end of the book are prose, the body of the book is mainly poetry.
  4) The body of the book has parallels in wisdom literature of ancient Egypt and the ancient Near East (i.e. in ancient Egyptian and Akkadian sources), while the beginning and end read more like you would expect of a later narrative.
  
  A lot has been written on this – I’ll look up some specific examples to give you. Looking forward to your future questions and comments!
  1. Rocky Jackson says:
    
    April 14, 2016 at 5:04 am
    
    I have NEVER heard anyone ever give reference to the thought of adding to or take away (Job) if I may I find it extraordinary. But I readily admit 30 years of Christianity can do that and the last 8 crossed over, I look forward ememensly to the information.
    1. Miryam Brand says:
      
      April 28, 2016 at 5:52 pm
      
      Hi Rocky,
      Just to be clear: the idea of “separating” the beginning and ending of Job from the middle is an academic idea, not a traditional Jewish one.
      
      Miryam
Pedro Quinones says:

April 12, 2016 at 7:35 pm

Shalom miryam , Just wanted to share something you may have not considered. I noticed that you quote 1 Chro 21:1 and you link it with 2 Sam 24:1 and you say the passage there is saying that God is playing the role of a Satan or adversary . well in the hebrew text you read in 2 Sam 24:1 the part of the verse says VA-YA -SET ET DAVID if you noticed it says : and HE is inciting david…as you know there is no indirect speech in biblical hebrew. but many read the text as tho it is God who makes david count the people. But when I compare the passage of 1Chro 21:1 the word Satan in there is most likely an unnamed human enemy of David or possibly a nearby nation or people who is adversarial against Israel pressuring David into numbering the people so he could asses his military strength. So the HE there in 2 Sam 24:1 is the the same unnamed adversary in 1Chro 21:1 and not God as many read into the text…just a thought which in turn would make both text be in harmony. The only thing is the text does not reveal the name or nation who made David count.
1. Miryam Brand says:
  
  April 28, 2016 at 5:55 pm
  
  Hi Pedro,
  In the Hebrew of 2 Samuel it’s pretty clear that va-ya-set refers to God. (While the translation of this word into English is “and he incited”, this is simply the verb form you would use for masculine singular past tense. The subject is implied.) However, the interpretive approach you take could have been the one taken by the author of Chronicles.
  
  Looking forward to your future comments,
  Miryam
Sarah Yocheved says:

May 28, 2016 at 8:25 pm

I’m enjoying what I can understand of these teachings. Is there any way you could add Closed Caption for those who are hearing impaired? I lose much of the message due to your voice inflection.
1. Miryam Brand says:
  
  May 28, 2016 at 9:02 pm
  
  I’m glad you’re enjoying it. I don’t know how to add closed captions for a podcast, to be honest. I may start adding a transcript underneath, though.
Burnie says:

June 2, 2016 at 6:56 pm

I have spent over 4 years writing a book about the origin of the term and Christian concept of Satan as it relates to Christian Dualism. The book is presently over 1000 pages, most of which is documentation. I am glad to see another scholar who agrees in many areas with my conclusions. I would
love to share some of my findings with this author if possible. This is one of the most fascinating and yet one of the most avoided Christian doctrines. The creation of the concept of the great, evil hasatan which found its first expression in the New Testament in the book of Mark is truly an amazing story. I thank this author for the additional insights which have been provided in this study.
1. Miryam Brand says:
  
  June 2, 2016 at 9:06 pm
  
  Thanks! I’m glad you enjoyed it.
2. Derek Collins says:
  
  November 3, 2017 at 5:53 am
  
  Hi Burnie! I would be interested in your findings!

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