In | The Satan

If you’re thinking of a red mischievous figure with a pitchfork, tempting you over your shoulder, you have a far different image of Satan than the book of Job does. The term satan was used for judicial counselors whose task it was to offer formal accusations against members of the community who were suspected to have committed a crime. So the closest parallel to satan in its Hebrew context would be “prosecutor” in today’s terminology. The Hebrew term hasatan is definite, referring to a particular diabolical figure, literally “the accuser” or “the prosecutor.”

The figure Satan appears in 1 Chronicles 21 to prosecute the northern tribes of Israel for not contributing to David’s military and economic advancements. In Job, Satan wants to bring a charge against Job but is unable. God tells Satan that Job’s blamelessness is not tied to material possessions nor health. Because of this, the accuser has no legal case against Job and must stay on the sidelines until an opportunity arises. Part of the nuance of this book is that the opportunity for Satan to make a case against Job never does occur.

All of this is important because understanding Satan in the book of Job is crucial to getting Satan right in the New Testament. Satan tempts Jesus in the wilderness, with the goal to have an accusation to make against Jesus. Satan accuses Jesus of not acting like the Son of God. In resisting the accuser’s invitations to look like the son of a deity, Jesus actually demonstrates the blamelessness of the perfect Son of God. Just as with Job, Satan’s work of accusation will yield no results against Jesus—and his case will fail to develop.