(4) In Micaiah's vision the emissary who goes forth to execute Jehovah's behest is a lying spirit (^;5l^ nn) in the mouth of the prophets who lures Ahab to his doom (1 K 22-"-). It would lead us beycmd the limits of our subject if wo were to discuss the OT conceptions of Jehovah's character involved in this naive portrayal of the relation subsisting between God and tlie lying spirit. On this passage Kittel's remarks may be studied with advantage in his commentary, 'I'his narrative in 1 K 22'"*' forms an almost continuous section following on ch. 20, and there are no sulfieient grounds for separating vv."'" or other |)ortions from the narrative as later additions (as Seliwally proiioses in ZATW, 1892, p. 15911".; cf. Marti in SK, 1892, p. 230).
(5) Of subsidiary significance is the dilfi(ult * D'n^K is not so distinctive a name for the Qod of th«
Hebrews, linoe it may even dedipute heathen deities.
1C8
SATAN
SATAN
section Gn 6'"*, in which supernatural causes are assij;ned to growing human corruption in the fleshly union of angels and women and the rise of a race of nephilim. Holzinger (Commentary on Gen. p. 67) suggests that it contains a fragment of an old cosmogony with a conllict of higlier and lower deities, parallel to the Babylonian. Note the intluence of the tradition on the Book of Enoch.
W'e have suHicienlly indicated the roots of the conception of Satan « hich are to be found in prc- exilian and to a certain extent in exilian literature. The word ]p;' occurs in pre-exilian literature in the sense of 'opponent' or 'adversary.' It is thus applied to David by the Philistines (1 S 29'), and to Hadad the Edomite whom God raised up as Solomon's adversary (IK ll", of. a like use in Mt 16--'). Thus an angel may fullil this function ■with "ood intent (Nu 22--^).
ii. PosT-ExiLiAN (Old Testament) Period.— When we come to post-exilian literature we find the existence of a Satan who is a supernatural adversary of man in an essential sense, whose set purpose it is to work vital injury either to the individual or to the race. The growth of this con- ception was probably due to the unconscious opera- tion of two tendencies. (1) As the conception of God became freed from the limitations of primitive nationalism and also more ethically exalted, and His sovereignty over the world regarded as uni- versal and transcendent, there gradually arose an inevitable tendency to interpolate mediating angelic agencies between this transcendent Divine sovereign and the world of which He was Lord. (2) By an unconscious logical process an attempt was made to solve the ethical problem of the presence of evil in the world on the one hand and of Divine righteousness and absolute sovereignty on the otlier. To post-exilian Judaism, as the Books of Psalms and Job clearly testify, it was of supreme moment to vindicate the ways of God to Israel in the presence of dire calamity and perse- cution. Though the problem of the ultimate origin of evil i.s not even discussed, evU is ascribed to Satan the opponent of man and, to a certain ex- tent, of God's beneficent purpose. He is a spirit who takes delight in man's misfortune, and is even permitted by God to work bis fell designs though they be contrary to the Divine intention. Thus in Zee 3^ Jehovah is angered against Satan because the latter is not yet satisfied with all the misfortunes that have befallen Jerusalem, but de- mands further punishment. In the Book of Job the righteous suti'erer is made the victim of Satan's malicious purpose. We even find ourselves in- volved in an apparent contradiction : Satan takes his place in the heavenly court among the other sons of God, and gives an account of his acts, and receives his commands from his Divine Lord. But a contrary spirit is manifest in the Divine Sovereign and in His malignant angel. The former desires to see Job's righteous character vindicated ; the latter denies its genuineness, and desires to see it subjected to a strain that will ^^Teck it. Here the characteristic traits of Satan's character are clearly visible, implied in his name and illustrated con- tinually in subsequent litorature : (a) He is the accuser (SidjSoXos) and also (6) the tempter (4 irtipd- fui') that seeks to entrap piety and work its ruin. It is in this latter rOle that he meets us in 1 Ch 21', where he tempts David, whereas in the pre- exilian form of the story (2 S 24') it is God Himself who submits David to the test. We have here an interesting indication that in the time when the Books of Chronicles were written (4lh cent. B.C.) the personality of Satan had become distinctly realized. Whereas in the earlier post-exilian writ- ings, Zechariah and Job, the def . article is attached, the form ' Satan ' in 1 Ch 21' is anarthrous (Smend).
iii. Later Judaism. — The evolution of the Jew- ish conception of Satan is marked by an ever- growing tendency to a dualism, which, however, always stops short of being absolute throuf'h the all - controlling limitations imposed by Hebrew monotheism. The tendency undoubtedly existed, and was probably fostered by Persian influence; for in Persian religion the dualism of good and evil is more accentuated than in any other ancient sj'stem. The extent to wiiich Persian ideas moulded the Book of Tobit has been recently made the subject of an interesting study by J. H. Moulton (Expos. Times, March 1900). This writer confirms tlie doubts expressed by the author of the present article (see Apollyon) tliat the As- nioda'us of Tobit (or the Ashniedai of the Talmud) is identical with the ASsUma Daeva of the Bunda- hesh. This identity is confidently asserted by Holtzmann (Neutest. Theol. i. p. 53), but it cannot be accepted without stronger evidence.* His main contention, however, that Persian iuiluence largely aU'ected Jewish satanology, we hold to be well founded. Twelve years ago Cheyne contended for a like influence in the realm of Jewish eschatology (Expos. Times, ii. 202, 22-t, 248 ; Bampton Lect. p. 3941}'.). Cf. Kohut, J«(/. ^n7ci. p. 62f.