THE ORIGINAL MEANING OF SATAN*
In the Hebrew Bible, Satan never appears as the leader of an "evil empire." Satan was not an enemy of God. In the books of Numbers and Job, Satan is "one of God's obedient servants, a messenger, or angel." The Hebrew word "malak" or in Greek "angelos" both mean "messenger." These were sometimes called angels of God, often called "sons of God"(bene elohim), or staff member of a royal court, or heavenly council. Although as early as 6th century B.C.E. some Hebrew storytellers introduced a supernatural character they call Satan, but they meant was anyone of the angels, or messengers God sent for a specific purpose of blocking or obstructing human activity. The root "stn" means "one who opposes, obstructs, or acts as adversary." The Greek term diabolos (devil) actually means "one who throws something across one's path." To some Hebrew storytellers, Satan is God's helper. God allows Satan to oppose or block "human desires." Satan works not necessarily malevolent, or acts with malicious intent. God sends Satan like an angel of death to "perform a specific task, although one that humans don't appreciate." As Neil Forsyth says of Satan, "If the path is bad (or dangerous) an obstruction is good." The book of Number, for example, tells of a man who decided to go where God ordered him not to go. Balaam saddled his Ass and set off, "but God's anger was kindled because he went' and the angel of the Lord took his stand in the road as his Satan, that is, as his adversary, his blocker or obstructor"(Numbers 22:23-25). The third time the Ass saw the obstructing Angel, she stopped and lay down under Balaam, and Balaam's anger was kindled, and he struck the Ass with his staff. Then the story continues, "The Lord opened the mouth of the Ass, and she said to Balaam,'What have I done to you that you have struck me three times?' And Balaam said to the Ass, 'Because you have made a fool of me.' And the Ass said to Balaam, 'Am I not your Ass that you have ridden all your life to this very day? Did I ever do such things to you?' And he said, 'No.'" (Numbers 22:28-30). "Then the Lord opened the eyes of Balaam, and he saw an angel of the Lord standing in the way with drawn sword in his hand, and he bowed his head, and fell on his face" then Satan rebukes Balaam and speaks for his master, the Lord: "Have you struck your Ass three times? Behold, I came here to oppose you, because your way is evil in my eyes; and the Ass saw me....If she had not turned away from me, I would have killed you right there, and let her live." (Num. 22:31-33).
The book of Job, also describes Satan as a supernatural messenger, a member of God's Royal court, or God's heavenly council. But while Balaam's Satan protects him from harm, Job's Satan takes a more adversarial role. Here Satan asked God's permission to act against Job (Job 2:3). The story begins when Satan appears as an angel, or "one of the divine beings." Here Satan comes with the rest of the heavenly hosts on the day appointed for them to "present themselves before the Lord." When the Lord asks, "Where have you been?" Satan answered, "From roaming on the earth, and walking up and down on it." We see here Satan suggests a special role in the heavenly court as some kind of a "roving intelligence agent, or a secret police and intelligence officer." These agents roamed the empire looking for signs of disloyalty among the people.
When the Greeks came into the picture, they introduced their dualistic worldview, where matter and spirit are opposites and separate, just as light and darkness, right from wrong, heaven and hell, life and death. All these ideas the early Church absorbed and embraced and incorporated it into their own understanding of themselves and their world where now they see one realm for their God (right and light)and another realm for Satan(wrong and darkness), an "outsider" who has the power to enter a man's heart and mind, they are aware or not. But as Elaine Pagels observes in her book, Satan, the "mythical symbol" of what is bad and wrong, and I believe can be part of who we are, where both possibilities - right and right, light and darkness, love and hate, inclusiveness and exclusiveness,etc. - are all found in everyone like you and me. But as Joshua said, "Choose you this day...!" We are free to choose either way. But Robert Frost is right, he took the unbeaten path, or the road not taken by most and, for him, made the difference.
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*Some excerpts taken from the book, "The Origin of Satan," by Elaine Pagels, pp.39-42.
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