2014/01/01 by Stokes · 1 citation
Arts and Humanities · Social Sciences · Mathematics · #Biblical Studies and Interpretation #Archaeology and Historical Studies #Historical and Linguistic Studies #False accusation #Anachronism #Hebrew #Verb #Noun #Philosophy #Judaism #Adversary #Literature #History #Law #Linguistics #Theology #Political science #Art #Politics #Mathematics
paper · doi:10.15699/jbibllite.133.2.251
openalex publication_date 2014/01/01 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/02/25
In recent decades, scholars have taken great care not to assume that “the śāṭān” of Job 1–2 and of Zechariah 3 is supposed to be the archenemy of God and the opponent of good, as is Satan in later Jewish and Christian literature. Nevertheless, scholars have yet to eliminate anachronistic assumptions from their discussions of this figure as he is presented in the Hebrew Scriptures, maintaining that the śāṭān in Job and Zechariah holds the office of heavenly “prosecuting attorney” or “accuser.” After surveying the uses of the noun שָׂטָן and the verb שָׂטַן in the Hebrew Scriptures, this article argues that these words never denote “accusation” in this literature but refer exclusively to physical “attack.” This article further contends that in legal contexts the noun שָׂטָן can refer specifically to an “executioner” and that “the Executioner” is the proper understanding of השַָּׂטָן in Zechariah and Job.