Enter the Antagonist

Now there was a day when the ^[b]sons of God came to present themselves before the Lord, and ^[c]Satan also came among them.  Job 1:6  NASB

Satan – A few footnotes tells you that the phrase “sons of God” and the  noun “Satan” are modern interpretations of the ancient ambiguous Hebrew text.  A lot of milage has been made from these words.  Some expositors have argued that the ancient Hebrew world was populated by many gods, just as the surrounding pagan culture, with YHVH at the top of the pile.  Others have suggested that the text reflects the current thinking of the culture, not the true cosmic reality found in later documents.  Some world-famous rabbis have claimed that “sons of God” is merely a euphemism for very important human people (as found in Genesis 6).  But virtually all the traditional Christian commentaries treat the Hebrew śāṭān as a personal name for the evil cosmic power known later as the Devil (despite the fact that śāṭān is here preceded by the definite article).   But as you undoubtedly know, this Hebrew term is applied to many other categories representing not some alter-god but rather those who stand in opposition, particularly those who accuse.  And therefore, the person (?) who shows up at this divine council is not some particular person who is forever known as “Satan” but rather the accuser of the moment, the one who suggests that God plays favorites.  The fact that this accuser requires God’s permission to carry out the test of suffering should tell you that such a person is powerless in himself.  God still reigns supreme and it is God who grants the power necessary for the ensuing test.

Then we realize something fundamental—and shocking.  “Satan” is not really the antagonist in this drama.  He is simply a useful intermediary.  The real antagonist is God.  This is not a Donald Duck battle with an angel on one shoulder and a demon on the other.  In fact, it’s not a battle between “good” and “evil” at all.  Behind it all stands the inscrutable will of God.  Job and Satan are both pawns on the chess board, playing out the roles God has assigned them.  This is far more disturbing than the usual Marvel Comics battles.  This is Isaiah 45:7 in stark human relief, duly modified by English Bibles to not suggest God is the author of evil (“I form the light and create darkness,  I bring prosperity and create disaster;   I, the Lord, do all these things”).  The plot thickens.

Let’s review the term śāṭān.  “The verb śāṭan occurs six times in the ot, often in participial forms for one who bears a grudge or cherishes animosity. . . The nominal form śāṭān identifies Solomon’s adversaries (I Kgs 11:14, 23, 25; cf. 5:4; I Sam 29:4). . . Indeed, the pre-incarnate Christ, or Angel of Yahweh might be described or even identify himself as a sāṭān, when opposing Balaam (Num 22:22, 32).”^[1]  By the time of the Second Temple Period, śāṭān became identified with the personal evil power and the texts were re-interpreted accordingly.  Note Payne’s comment:

Only in Ezra’s (?) post-exilic composition does śāṭān appear as a proper noun, Satan (I Chr 21:1). Negative critics thus restrict haśśāṭān to the role of a “prosecuting attorney” who became evil only under later Persian concepts of dualism (M. Burrows, Outline of Biblical Theology, p. 125). Yet the testimony of the entire ot makes clear his consistent hostility toward God and animosity toward man (Job 1:11; 2:3–5).^[2]

We might conclude that it took the philosophical influence of Hellenism and the emergence of a latent Christianity to convert the “accuser” into the superbeing evil one.

But let’s set aside these philological considerations and ask, “What is the purpose of this adversary in the story?”  The answer leads back to our uncomfortable intuition about God’s role.

haśśāṭān is the scapegoat.  Instead of holding God accountable for Job’s tragedy, we turn the blame on this “accuser.”  We tend to conveniently forget that he acts only under God’s permission.  It’s useful to have a blameworthy cutout, deflecting the actual role God plays because without this available third party, we would be faced with God’s statement in Isaiah once more, and that is just too much to bear.  I wonder if we’re really ready to accept the fact that the accuser is just another player in God’s drama.  I remember the Rolling Stones song, “Sympathy for the Devil.”  Perhaps there’s some truth in that.  Of course, we all bear the consequences of our choices, and whomever haśśāṭān really is (if he is a “person”), the biblical text suggests that he made choices in this drama.  But behind it all lurks the sovereign will of God, the chess master.  The story of Job raises a lot of very difficult questions not least of which is God’s role in the existence of suffering.

Topical Index: haśśāṭān, Satan, accuser, evil, Job 1:6

^[1] Payne, J. B. (1999). 2252 שָׂטַן. In R. L. Harris, G. L. Archer Jr., & B. K. Waltke (Eds.), Theological Wordbook of the Old Testament (electronic ed., p. 874). Moody Press.

^[2] Ibid.