The Satan: How God’s Executioner Became the Enemy

by Ryan E. Stokes

Publisher:

Eerdmans

, 2019

Overview

Many people today think of Satan as a little red demon with a pointy tail and a pitchfork—but this vision of the devil developed over many centuries and would be foreign to the writers of the Old Testament, where this figure makes his first appearances. The earliest texts that mention the Satan—it is always “the Satan” in the Old Testament—portray him as an agent of Yahweh, serving as an executioner of evildoers. But over the course of time, the Satan came to be regarded more as God’s enemy than God’s agent and was blamed for a host of problems.

Biblical scholar Ryan E. Stokes explains the development of the Satan tradition in the Hebrew scriptures and the writings of early Judaism, describing the interpretive and creative processes that transformed an agent of Yahweh into the archenemy of good. He explores how the idea of a heavenly Satan figure factored into the problem of evil and received the blame for all that is wrong in the world.

Key Features

• Explains the development of the Satan tradition in the Hebrew scriptures
• Describes the interpretive and creative processes that transformed an agent of Yahweh into the archenemy of good
• Explores how the idea of a heavenly Satan figure factored into the problem of evil

Contents

• The Origin of the Satan
• The Satan and the Innocent Job
• Demons, Evil Spirits, Fallen Angels, and Human Sin
• The Prince of Mastema and his Deceptive Spirits
• The Prince of Mastema, Enemy of God's People
• Demons, Evil Spirits, the Satan, and Human Responsibility for Sin
• Belial, Sin, and Sectarianism
• Belial and the Powers of Darkness
• The Satan in the New Testament
• Conclusion

Top Highlights

“But while the dragon is an eschatological adversary of God, it is not a force of moral evil. It rather represents chaos—all the forces that threaten life and flourishing. It can represent natural forces or political entities, but it is not usually concerned with individuals. It is not a tempter, nor one who leads people astray.” (Page xii)

“The Satan of Revelation is the deceiver of the whole world, the accuser of the comrades, the ancient serpent, and the leader of the forces of evil. The earliest texts that speak of superhuman satan figures, on the other hand, present these figures as functionaries of God who punish evildoers.” (Page 195)

“The primary questions I ask will be, What did ancient writers say and believe about the Satan and related figures? What can one learn of the ancient literary and theological processes that gave rise to later conceptions of the Satan?” (Page xvii)

“As in the passages considered above, the satan in this passage is someone who would attack and kill another person” (Page 9)

“While numerous passages acknowledge the existence of other divine beings, only a small number of passages suggest that a foreign deity or a god other than Yahweh either blesses or creates problems for Israel.” (Page 1)

Product Details

• Title: The Satan: How God’s Executioner Became the Enemy
• Author: Ryan Stokes
• Publisher: Eerdmans
• Publication Date: 2019
• Pages: 304
• Resource Type: Topical
• Topic: Biblical Studies

About Ryan E. Stokes

Ryan Stokes is associate professor of Old Testament at Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary and director of the Tandy Manuscript Research Center. He has published widely on biblical and related literature and enjoys teaching students in the classroom, speaking at churches, and giving lectures to various audiences interested in learning about the Bible.