Category:Devil (subject)

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According to Jewish (Christian, and Islamic) traditions, the Devil is a rebellious angel, whose action was seen by some as a main source (if not the origin) of evil.

Overview

Book of Numbers

Balaam and the Angel (1836) by Gustav Jäger

The first occurrence of the word "satan" in the Jewish tradition in reference to a supernatural figure comes from Numbers 22:22 which describes the Angel of Yhwh confronting Balaam on his donkey:

"Balaam's departure aroused the wrath of Elohim, and the Angel of Yhwh stood in the road as a satan against him."

Satan is not a name but a function. An angel of God is sent by God as a satan (an accuser) against Balaam.

Book of Chronicles

In 2 Samuel 24, Yahweh sends the "Angel of YHWN" to inflict a plague against Israel for three days, killing 70,000 people as punishment for David having taken a census without his approval. 1 Chronicles 21:1 repeats this story, but replaces the "Angel of Yahweh" with an entity referred to as "a satan". A satan is an angel of God sent for punishment. Good and evil come from God as a direct consequence of human behavior. Angels are instruments of God's mercy or wrath. Depending on the circumstances an angel is a "messenger", a "savior", or a "satan".

The Satan in the Book of Job

Satan and Job

Job is a righteous man favored by Yahweh:

1 There was once a man in the land of Uz whose name was Job. That man was blameless and upright, one who feared God and turned away from evil. 2 There were born to him seven sons and three daughters. 3 He had seven thousand sheep, three thousand camels, five hundred yoke of oxen, five hundred donkeys, and very many servants; so that this man was the greatest of all the people of the east. 4 His sons used to go and hold feasts in one another’s houses in turn; and they would send and invite their three sisters to eat and drink with them. 5 And when the feast days had run their course, Job would send and sanctify them, and he would rise early in the morning and offer burnt offerings according to the number of them all; for Job said, “It may be that my children have sinned, and cursed God in their hearts.” This is what Job always did.

The Satan in the Book of Job is a member of God's heavenly council. He is not a rebellious angel; he is one of God's angels and court officers. The Satan questions the righteousness of Job, urging Yhwh to let him harm Job, promising that Job will abandon his faith at the first tribulation. Yahwh consents and at first gives the Satan only the authority to cause calamity to Job and destroy his properties (but not to touch him!):

6 One day the bene elohim (=the angels) came to present themselves before the Lord, and Satan also came among them. 7 The Lord said to Satan, “Where have you come from?” Satan answered the Lord, “From going to and fro on the earth, and from walking up and down on it.” 8 The Lord said to Satan, “Have you considered my servant Job? There is no one like him on the earth, a blameless and upright man who fears God and turns away from evil.” 9 Then Satan answered the Lord, “Does Job fear God for nothing? 10 Have you not put a fence around him and his house and all that he has, on every side? You have blessed the work of his hands, and his possessions have increased in the land. 11 But stretch out your hand now, and touch all that he has, and he will curse you to your face.” 12 The Lord said to Satan,[g] “Very well, all that he has is in your power; only do not stretch out your hand against him!” So Satan[h] went out from the presence of the Lord.

Following God's order, the satan destroys Job's servants and flocks, yet Job refuses to condemn Yhwh:

13 One day when his sons and daughters were eating and drinking wine in the eldest brother’s house, 14 a messenger came to Job and said, “The oxen were plowing and the donkeys were feeding beside them, 15 and the Sabeans fell on them and carried them off, and killed the servants with the edge of the sword; I alone have escaped to tell you.” 16 While he was still speaking, another came and said, “The fire of God fell from heaven and burned up the sheep and the servants, and consumed them; I alone have escaped to tell you.” 17 While he was still speaking, another came and said, “The Chaldeans formed three columns, made a raid on the camels and carried them off, and killed the servants with the edge of the sword; I alone have escaped to tell you.” 18 While he was still speaking, another came and said, “Your sons and daughters were eating and drinking wine in their eldest brother’s house, 19 and suddenly a great wind came across the desert, struck the four corners of the house, and it fell on the young people, and they are dead; I alone have escaped to tell you.” 20 Then Job arose, tore his robe, shaved his head, and fell on the ground and worshiped. 21 He said, “Naked I came from my mother’s womb, and naked shall I return there; the Lord gave, and the Lord has taken away; blessed be the name of the Lord.” 22 In all this Job did not sin or charge God with wrongdoing.

Then the first scene repeats itself, with the satan presenting himself to Yahweh alongside the other "sons of God". Yhwh points out Job's continued faithfulness, to which the satan insists that more testing is necessary; Yahweh once again gives him permission to test Job (but not to kill him!):

2 One day the heavenly beings[a] came to present themselves before the Lord, and Satan[b] also came among them to present himself before the Lord. 2 The Lord said to Satan,[c] “Where have you come from?” Satan[d] answered the Lord, “From going to and fro on the earth, and from walking up and down on it.” 3 The Lord said to Satan,[e] “Have you considered my servant Job? There is no one like him on the earth, a blameless and upright man who fears God and turns away from evil. He still persists in his integrity, although you incited me against him, to destroy him for no reason.” 4 Then Satan[f] answered the Lord, “Skin for skin! All that people have they will give to save their lives.[g] 5 But stretch out your hand now and touch his bone and his flesh, and he will curse you to your face.” 6 The Lord said to Satan,[h] “Very well, he is in your power; only spare his life.”

Once again, refuses to condemn Yhwh, not even at the invitation of his wife

7 So Satan[i] went out from the presence of the Lord, and inflicted loathsome sores on Job from the sole of his foot to the crown of his head. 8 Job[j] took a potsherd with which to scrape himself, and sat among the ashes. 9 Then his wife said to him, “Do you still persist in your integrity? Curse[k] God, and die.” 10 But he said to her, “You speak as any foolish woman would speak. Shall we receive the good at the hand of God, and not receive the bad?” In all this Job did not sin with his lips.

At this point, having accomplished his task, the satan disappears from the narrative and the story focuses on Job's struggle to "understand" what happened to him. see Book of Job.

Job firmly believes that both "the good" and "the bad" come from God.

Job's three friends of his (Eliphaz the Temanite, Bildad the Shuhite, and Zophar the Naamathite) cone to "console" him. First they are silent before such suffering, but then they try to convince him of the only possible explanation: he must have sinned.

11 Now when Job’s three friends heard of all these troubles that had come upon him, each of them set out from his home—Eliphaz the Temanite, Bildad the Shuhite, and Zophar the Naamathite. They met together to go and console and comfort him. 12 When they saw him from a distance, they did not recognize him, and they raised their voices and wept aloud; they tore their robes and threw dust in the air upon their heads. 13 They sat with him on the ground seven days and seven nights, and no one spoke a word to him, for they saw that his suffering was very great.

Job would not condemn God but he would not even recognize that he is a sinner, because he is not. There must be some other explanation.

A covenant in which the first party (God) is only the empire or judge is unfair to humans. Ant the covenant is a too strong limitation of God's liberty and power

The Satan is never blamed as the source or the cause of evil. God is the source of evil, and should not be blamed. Humans have to resign themselves to the will of God as his plans are good but mysterious. Humans cannot understand and should not try to understand; they should not question God's will, we can only accept it in obedience.

Satan as the Enemy

'Woe unto thee, thou devil. Why dost thou attack us for no cause What hast thou to do with us What have we done to thee for thou pursuest us with craft Or why doth thy malice 3 assail us Have we taken away thy glory and caused thee to be without honour Why dost thou harry us, thou enemy (and persecute us) to the death in wickedness and envy' xii 1 And with a heavy sigh, the devil spake: 'O Adam! all my hostility, envy, and sorrow is for thee, since it is for thee that I have been expelled from my glory, which I possessed in the heavens 2 in the midst of the angels and for thee was I cast out in the earth.' Adam answered, 'What dost 3 thou tell me What have I done to thee or what is my fault against thee Seeing that thou hast received no harm or injury from us, why dost thou pursue us' xiii 1 The devil replied, 'Adam, what dost thou tell me It is for thy sake that I have been hurled 2 from that place. When thou wast formed. I was hurled out of the presence of God and banished from the company of the angels. When God blew into thee the breath of life and thy face and likeness was made in the image of God, Michael also brought thee and made (us) worship thee in the sight of God; and God the Lord spake: Here is Adam. I have made thee in our image and likeness.' xiv 1 And Michael went out and called all the angels saying: 'Worship the image of God as the Lord God hath commanded.' And Michael himself worshipped first; then he called me and said: 'Worship the image of God 3 the Lord.' And I answered, 'I have no (need) to worship Adam.' And since Michael kept urging me to worship, I said to him, 'Why dost thou urge me I will not worship an inferior and younger being (than I). I am his senior in the Creation, before he was made was I already made. It is his duty to worship me.' xv 1,2 When the angels, who were under me, heard this, they refused to worship him. And Michael saith, 'Worship the image of God, but if thou wilt not worship him, the Lord God will be wrath 3 with thee.' And I said, 'If He be wrath with me, I will set my seat above the stars of heaven and will be like the Highest.' xvi 1 And God the Lord was wrath with me and banished me and my angels from our glory; and on 2 thy account were we expelled from our abodes into this world and hurled on the earth. And 3 straightway we were overcome with grief, since we had been spoiled of so great glory. And we 4 were grieved when we saw thee in such joy and luxury. And with guile I cheated thy wife and caused thee to be expelled through her (doing) from thy joy and luxury, as I have been driven out of my glory. xvii 1 When Adam heard the devil say this, he cried out and wept and spake: 'O Lord my God, my life is in thy hands. Banish this Adversary far from me, who seeketh to destroy my soul, and give 2,3 me his glory which he himself hath lost.'

The Deal with the Devil: The Faust Legend

The Devil is the Enemy. But what kind of enemy is the Devil? A deceiver or a destroyer. Can he only try to seduce humans? Does he need the approval of human free will? Or he is a blind war machine, the persecutor of the innocent? Can the Devil make some promises in exchange for serving him?

The Tragical History of the Life and Death of Doctor Faustus (1589 Marlowe), play

See: Deals with the Devil: A Brief Musical History

The Devil in ancient sources

Devil (sources) -- survey of ancient sources

Films on the Devil

Faust (1926) -- Faust, an old alchemist sells his soul to Mephisto for his youth but gets it back after he sacrifices himself.
Heaven Can Wait (1943) <Comedy> -- When kind playboy Henry Van Cleve dies and goes to Hell he isn't so sure whether he is evil enough to stay.
Angel on My Shoulder (1946) -- He teams up with local small time gangster Eddie Kagle to get revenge on Smiley Williams while getting him to pose as Judge Frederick Parker who is his exact double.
Alias Nick Beal (1949) -- A successful district attorney sells his soul to catch a mob boss and to run for governor but he gets it back with the help of his wife and local priest.

The Story of Mankind (1957) -- He goes by the name of Mr. Scratch and opposes the Spirit of Man at a trial to determine the fate of mankind and the planet Earth in front of the High Judge when the potential of nuclear war with the H-Bomb becomes a threat to Heaven but is stopped.

Constantine (2005) -- Lucifer makes an appearance after being summoned by John Constantine to prevent Mammon from entering the human world, stating that he prefers waiting for humanity to damn itself rather than Mammon's plan to condemn the world to Hell himself; he later removes the source of Constantine's lung cancer to give the redeemed Constantine another chance to prove that he belongs in Hell after Constantine sacrifices a chance to save his own life to ask Satan to release someone else from Hell.

Ghost Rider (2007) -- Mephistopheles sets everything in the film into motion, making deals for souls. Desperate to get back one contract for 1000 souls before his son Blackheart does, he calls in the marker he has on daredevil Johnny Blaze in exchange for curing his father's cancer, turning him into his bounty hunter.

The Devil's Carnival (2012 <Horror> -- Lucifer is the leader of a Carnival occupied by demons portrayed as Carnies, which three sinners must go through; God is depicted as the enemy of Lucifer.

This Is the End (2013) <Horror comedy> -- Satan is portrayed as an enormous seven-headed creature with magma-like skin.

The Witch (2015) <Horror> --