Hebrew Word: Satan
The Hebrew word satan has total of 27 occurrences in the Tanach, but only twice in the Torah: in Num 22:22 and Num 22:32, wherein it refers to an angel of the Most High who stood as an adversary against the evil prophet for profit Bil’am. Hence, the plain meaning of the Hebrew word שָׂטָן satan is one who opposes or stands against (see Num 22:32). We read,
But the displeasure of Elohim burned because he went, and the Messenger of the Eternal placed himself in the way as an adversary (satan) against him. (Num 22:22)
Then, the word satan appears again in the Book of Job this time referring to an angel who presented himself along with the other angels before the Eternal. In this meeting, the Eternal assigned the angel to test the righteous Iyov to the breaking point but not to touch his life (Job 1:6-12). We read,
And the day came to be that the sons of Elohim came to present themselves before the Eternal, and the satan also came among them. (Job 1:6)
What is peculiar in this strange conversation is that it was the Eternal who initiated the whole ordeal and tasked the angel to put Iyov to the test. So, why are these angels called “as a satan” and “the satan” respectively, and what is the meaning of this Hebrew word in the first place?
The Hebrew word שָׂטָן satan (sah-tahn) means an opponent, and it is especially used with the article prefixed: hasatan, the opponent, the adversary. As such, satan is one who withstands, stands against, or opposes something or someone; with this meaning it is used in Numbers. The noun שָׂטָן satan comes from the verb שָׂטַן satan, which means to attack, figuratively to accuse, thus being an adversary. With this meaning the word satan is used in Psa 38:20, Psa 71:13, Psa 109:4, Psa 109:20, Psa 109:29, and Zec 3:1. But the most pronounced example of this word used as an accuser is in the Book of Job. A closely related word to שָׂטָן satan is שִׂטְנָה sitnah, which means “opposition”, “accusation”, as found in Ezr 4:6.
The Hebrew word, satan, is derived from the same root as שָׂטָה satah, with the meaning of “to turn away”, as found in Pro 4:15. This application in Proverbs implies the notion of turning and moving away from the right direction. Thus, the designation of the satan is to turn man away from the way of truth and leads him astray in the way of error.
Bava Batra 16a:8 says that hasatan, the evil inclination, and the angel of death are one, that is, they are three aspects of the same essence. He is the satan who seduces people and then accuses them before the Eternal in heaven. Therefore, satan is an angel (messenger) whose assigned task is to test people and then to accuse them of the wrongdoing they have done. Simply stated, hasatan plays the role of a prosecutor in the heavenly court of supreme justice. He is the one whom the Supreme Judge uses to test the people. Thus, in Judaism hasatan is seen as the evil inclination (Hebrew, yetser hara), the negative force through which the Most High gives the ability to do good or do evil, as it is said,
See, I have set before you today life and good, and death and evil. (Deu 30:15)
Thus, men are endowed with free will, and they therefore have the choice set before them to have the way of everlasting life by doing good deeds through good inclination, or the way of death by following the evil inclination, both created by Him. Because on the day the Eternal created man, He made him in His likeness with free will. Free will is granted to all men to consciously choose between doing good or evil, as the first man had it and sinned of his own free will. In order to have free will, both–the good inclination and evil inclination–must be perfectly balanced before man to choose. If one has more weight than the other, then there is no free will, since man will be on an incline plane to choose one over the other.
The question that is almost forced upon us is: How did we come to “Satan”, who is depicted in the Christian religion as “a fallen angel” and “an arch enemy of God”, and “ruler of this world”? The Eternal has no enemies, and He does not share His sovereignty with anyone. This confusion comes from the way the word satan appears in the Christian sources. It always appears capitalized thus suggesting that “Satan” is a personal name of a chief angel, who has fallen from grace. But as we argued above, in the Hebrew Scripture satan always appears with the definite article ha, “the”, defining this word as a noun rather than a personal name. And the language of the verses wherein the Hebrew word satan is used fits in well with our explanation. Hence, satan is not a personal name of a fallen angel, but a title which simply means “adversary”, “opponent”, and “accuser”. “Satan” appears also in the Gospel wherein Yeshua called Peter by that word: read more in Peter Called “Satan” or “adversary” – Time of Reckoning Ministry.
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