Satan in Context

The name Satan comes from a Hebrew word meaning “adversary.” It first appears in the Hebrew Bible, or Old Testament. In the book of Job, God allows this adversary—sometimes called Samael (pronounced SAH-mah-el) in Jewish literature—to heap misfortunes on Job (pronounced

JOHB) to see whether Job will turn against God. Judaism was influenced by earlier Persian religion, in which good and evil struggle with each other for control of the universe and for power over human hearts and minds. The Jewish Satan took on some characteristics of Ahriman (pronounced AH-ri-muhn), the Persian god of evil and ruler of demons.

After about 300 bce, Satan came to be seen as God’s enemy, the source and center of all evil in the world. The serpent that tempted Adam and Eve in Genesis, the first book of the Bible, was identified with Satan. Since that time, artists and writers have often portrayed Satan as a snake or dragon, or as a monstrous combination of man and dragon. By the time the books of the Bible known as the New Testament were written, Satan’s role as the Devil was well established among Christians.

Satan as a mythological character reflects a tendency among many cultures to view the living world as a battleground between the forces of good and the forces of evil. For cultures where belief in a single, allpowerful and loving God prevails, the character of Satan provides an explanation for the existence of death, disease, and misfortune. The idea of Satan has also been used to silence arguments against church doctrine, or accepted teachings. Those who disagree or fail to worship properly were often accused of being agents of Satan, and were punished as heretics (those who believe differently) for their betrayal of God.