Even though satan admits defeat, job continues to remain in poor shape. The book of job god did not give satan power biblebro. Job, who did not curse god even through satan s tests job 12. There is no one like him on the earth, a blameless and upright man who fears god and turns away from evil. What you need to know about satans limitations bible study. Without exception, the word satan in job occurs with the hebrew definite article. The book of job begins by introducing us to its three most significant characters. The book of job describes job as a pious, godfearing man who had many sons and daughters and was quite wealthy. Satan has put god in a tough place by his question. The more study one does on hasatan it becomes clear that hasatan in nothing more a servant of god, an instrument or person used to carry out the purposes of. In christianity, satan has a level of power that is considered almost equal to that of gd. When we begin reading the book of job we learn that, while god allowed satan to afflict job, he set limits beyond which the devil could not pass. From the start we know there are limits to job s trial, and we know what those limits are. In the story, satan inflicts suffering on a human being and seeks to induce him to sin but only with gods permission.
In addition, new studies on creation texts in the hebrew bible have. Learn vocabulary, terms, and more with flashcards, games, and other study tools. Satan in book of job shmoop test prep, study guides. Not being everywhere at once, as hwhy yahuah is, he works through his forces, including fallen angels and demons. The book of job is one of the wisdom books of the bible.
The word satan in hebrew literally means enemy, opposer or adversary, but it. Virtually all readers of the bible love the book of job and somehow derive from it a. God allows satan to do what he will except to spare his life, and satan causes job to suffer immensely. In fact, in the old greek translation of the book of job, the greek word diabolos was used to translate the hebrew word hasatan, the adversary.
Satan claims that job isnt such a great servant, and that he only serves gd because he is wealthy and things are always going his way. Here in the book of job the answer to that question is no. He had seven thousand sheep, three thousand camels, five hundred yoke of oxen, five hundred donkeys, and very many servants. There were born to him seven sons and three daughters. The story recounted in chapters 1 and 2 makes us privy to actual conversations between god and satan. The book of job begins with a prologue job 12, which describes a wager between satan and god, in which satan the adversary bets god that joba particularly pious manwill abandon his piety and curse god if all his wealth and wellbeing are taken away. So you also, job, were the one below and in a plague, but you conquered my wrestling tactics which i brought on you. Allowing the questions is necessary in order to be able to address them. You must understand who god is and who satan is, what they know, and what their motivation is. Satan claims that job isnt such a great servant, and that he only serves gd because he. Satan without the definite article is used in 10 instances, of which two are translated diabolos in the septuagint and satan in the king james version kjv. But that ignores the obvious hebrew wording for the sake of christian tradition again, the phrasing is actually the satan. Job 1 nrsv job and his family there was once a bible gateway. Therefore, there must be a lot to gain from the deep study of the book of job.
Satan, the thief, has come to kill, steal, and destroy john 10. Introduction satanology or the doctrine of satan is properly a part of angelology since satan is a fallen angel. The story of job basically amounts to a bet made by satan that gods most faithful and favored follower would turn against him if his favor was taken away. In the book of job, many english translations say that satan was in heaven.
The meaning of the book of job is found in gods and satans conversation in heaven. In this chapter we will discuss the book of job and the opening chapter in the book of genesis, i. This to me is the overriding teaching of the book of job. Satan only pops up in chapters 1 and 2when things get poetic, hes out of there for good. Over time, our eyes are opened to find this lovely creature is the personification of hatred, evil, and death. Satan bets job would not be so righteous if he hadnt been blessed. But job remains faithful and then is attacked personally. Satan targets job because of his righteousness and favour with god and wishes to turn job against god. He is a member of the heavenly court whose task is.
Well, god says, lets see, and he gives satan permission to ruin jobs life. These two titles were interchangeable in jewish literature by the time of jesus, and this explains the differences. In the book of job, ha satan is a member of the divine council, the sons of god who are subservient to god. The hebrew word satan ff means an adversary, one who resists. Adversary, in this context, is a courtroom metaphor and refers to the advocate on the other side of the argument i. Satan, in the book of job, listens to god speak highly of job and accuses job to god before the host of angels that job praises god only because he is blessed and would curse god if he was forced to suffer. One day, satan asks god for permission to tempt job to see just how loyal to god job was. Once we see this and accept it, the structure of the book becomes clear.
There is some dispute as to whether it should be taken as a proper name or a title. Apparently, at that time, quite a few jews did believe in samael ha satan, an entity more like the christian satan than like ha satan of the book of job. An intertextual reading, 2006 argued that hasatan represented and. It is that part that deals specifically with the ruler of the fallen angels or demons matt. In the text, job is a righteous man favored by yahweh. Aug 23, 2016 in the book of job, for instance, we read of the angels coming to present themselves before the lord, and satan being among them. The career of satan, which extends from the dateless past. Job and his family there was once a man in the land of uz whose name was. Blow after blow falls on job, depriving him of his possessions and of his children. In other words, the satan claims that job puts his faith in god only.
Hasatan with the definite article occurs times in the masoretic text, in two books of the hebrew bible. Satan can touch flesh and bone but your spirit belongs to god. Rather, it begins with a typical day in the divine oval office, and the topic of gods just operation of the cosmos is put on the table. Peter, whom satan wanted to sift as wheat matthew 16. Hasatan is not like the satan in other faith traditions, by the way. Oct 19, 2015 in this weeks sermon, the historical dating and literary criticism is commented on in the beginning. The author is referring to the angel of the lord in an adversarial manner, no reference to the satan ha satan as someone in the role of the adversary of god. How could satan access heaven in the books of job and the. In the book of job, the hasatan of the torah becomes a literary figure in christianity and takes on the role of the accuser. This indicates quite clearly that satan is not a personal name.
Here is a hebrew search showing this to be the case. During the report, god draws attention to jobs righteousness, only to have satan retort that job is faithful to god solely because of all that god gives him. And he still holds fast his integrity, although you incited me against him to ruin him without cause. The more study one does on ha satan it becomes clear that ha satan in nothing more a servant of god, an instrument or person used to carry out the purposes of. Satan answered the lord, from going to and fro on the earth, and from walking up and down on it. Strongs number h7854 matches the hebrew satan, which occurs 27 times in 23 verses in the hebrew concordance of the kjv. Of course, job remains faithful and god rewards him with a new family and prosperous life in the end. The book of job, in the old testament, opens with words both majestic and onceuponatimeish. In fact, in the old greek translation of the book of job, the greek word diabolos was used to translate the hebrew word ha satan, the adversary.
He saw that it led to a dead end, that it had no way to cope with the suffering of godly people. In this weeks sermon, the historical dating and literary criticism is commented on in the beginning. At one point in history, perhaps somewhere around the sixth century a. But ill bet he wouldnt love you so much if you mistreated him. Also, the serpent in the garden of eden, called nechash in hebrew, is never referred to as satan in the bible, this is another common misconception. Job 1 new revised standard version nrsv job and his family. The author of the book of job broke out of the tight, logical mold of the traditional orthodox theology of his day.
Hasatan and his angels were cast out of heaven and became hasatan and his evil spirits 2 peter 2. The book allows hard issues to emerge because they do in human experience. The adversary satan insinuates himself among the angels of gods court and argues that job s virtue is not genuine. These things, however, satan begrudged job, so he destroyed his sheep and camels and herds by fire, or had them taken by marauders. That man was blameless and upright, one who feared god and turned away from evil. Jesus, who overcame all of satan s temptations matthew 4.
Job s spiritual status at beginning of book how god describes him to satan righteous, upright, fears god, one of akind. God takes the bet and allows satan to basically destroy the life job had made for himself, including killing his family. Human beings are unable to understand why the righteous suffer job 28. Ha satan, in this capacity, is many times translated as the prosecutor, and is charged by god to tempt humans and to report back to god all who go against his decrees. Thomas explores the difficulty of jobs suffering, satans involvement, and gods sovereignty.
Satanology or the doctrine of satan is properly a part of angelology since satan is a fallen angel. Satan, however, wants to thwart gods plan in any way he can. So when the lord asserted that hasatan incited him it may very well have been the other way around. For the rest of the lesson, the role of satan in the book of job is covered. Apparently, at that time, quite a few jews did believe in samael hasatan, an entity more like. However, in judaism satan is an agent of gd, created by gd for a specific purpose. Satan answers that job is pious only because god has blessed him. In the book of job, why did the devil present himself when. Its more of a title than anything elselike your honor or the monsieur. Job and his family there was once a man in the land of uz whose name was job. The book of job is ancient israelite wisdom literature, and its purpose isnt to teach us about how satan and god make bets and leave innocent peoples fates hanging in the balance. The study of the rest of his hideous kingdom, the fallen angels or demons, is sometimes called demonology.
There is some dispute as to whether it should be taken as a. In this story, some literal translations of the text replace satan correctly as the adversary job verse 2. The book of job is a book in the ketuvim writings section of the hebrew bible tanakh, and. The first question is asked by the accuser the satan.
Whatever would possess the rabbis to include the book of job as one of the official books in the canon of holy writ. Job s economic and material situation at beginning of the book. Job chapters 1 and 2, part of the bibles oldest book, say that satan has access to heaven. Satan tempts job satan smiting job with boils william blake.
For there is no one like him on the earth, a blameless and upright man fearing god and turning away from evil. But here are some articles dealing with apocryphal and rabbinic traditions contemporary to jesus. A bible study in this end of the world video, we are going to take a look at the history of satan or history of satanism. He wants to keep us from attaining our destiny as the very sons of god.
Job, who did not curse god even through satans tests job 12. When we see the words ha satan in the book of job, we are actually looking at a title, not a name in the strict sense. One day satan surveys the world for god to report the behavior of its inhabitants. In it, satan is a member of gods divine court who walks the earth looking for sin and reports back to god. Most relevant to his study of the book of job, is his expert knowledge of. There was a man in the land of uz, whose name was job. In job, an exceptionally ancient book, satan is part of the heavenly court. Hasatan the adversary is creature of god, doing gods will, not. Translators differ about how to translate hasatan, or the satan. If god does not permit satan to test his theory about the motivation of pious folks like job, then satan can say, you are afraid i might be right. Writers job has inspired or influenced include john milton samson. The book of job asks two questions, but it only answers one.
Years later, in the book of the revelation, the apostle john wrote about a future day when satan will be kicked out. In the end, satan loses the bet that job will deny gods goodness and fidelity. Job rebuked by his friends, an 1805 illustration of the book of job by william blake. An intertextual reading, 2006 argued that hasatan represented and articulated the alterego of the lord. In christianity, satan is an enemy of gd, an opposing force, and something very bad. Rabbi breitowitz responds to these fundamental issues based on the book of job. Joshua the high priest, whom satan opposed zechariah 3. Some who hear the word, and satan snatches the seed from their hearts mark 4. The book, as it appears in the bible, dates to somewhere between the 6th and 4th centuries b. It is translated as satan eighteen times in the old testament, fourteen of those occurrences being in job 12, the others in 1 chronicles 21. Satan, after having first attempted, in the guise of a beggar, to get job into his power, but without success, secured from god permission comp. In hebrew, satan actually means the accuser or the prosecutor, and he is referred to as the satan, not just satan.
God granted satan permission to do whatever he wanted, so long as he didnt. God, who doesnt respond that hes omniscient and will always win a bet, gives hasatan permission to test job by whacking his wealth, killing a lot of his family and ruining his health. These two titles were interchangeable in jewish literature by the time of jesus, and this explains the differences between the gospel accounts. No red skin, no horns, no pointy teeth and tail, and no devilish grin. In the book of job, for instance, we read of the angels coming to present themselves before the lord, and satan being among them. He wants to prevent us from developing a close relationship with god. In the book of job, the ha satan of the torah becomes a literary figure in christianity and takes on the role of the accuser. So as far as the book of job is concerned, there was indeed a designated angel whos job it was to accuse or oppose. The book of job is sometimes cited to support the claim that the jewish view of satan as an agent of god is different from the christian view, which sees satan as an autonomous force opposed to god. Although english bibles continue to capitalize the word satan in passages like job 1 and 2, those passage do not have a specific individual in mind. It could only deny the reality of the experienced anomaly and add to the pain and inner turmoil of the sufferer. That is, satan in these passages should not be understood as a proper personal name. Jobs spiritual status at beginning of book how god describes him to satan righteous, upright, fears god, oneofakind. The book of job in the hebrew bible was crafted to address human suffering and why bad things happen to good people.
75 719 724 91 46 873 167 439 878 991 1291 1001 885 316 922 888 1384 389 1599 1300 1663 277 1339 196 870 1136 1477 391 668 341 1139 380 211 906 274