Did you know that “Satan,” “the Devil,” and “Lucifer” are not the same things? Yet, those are all names used (especially by Christian-based beliefs) to describe the evil demon-like character who’s in charge of Hell and wants all of us to suffer.
Earlier this year I heard this phrase, “Jewish people don’t believe in the devil.” As a person raised in basic Christianity and later a member of the LDS Church, I found this statement perplexing. “Of course they believe in the devil! Satan is in the the Old Testament books, which are Hebrew scriptures. Right?”
About this same time as learning of the above information, my youngest child was a little frightened after watching “Super Natural” with my daughter. It’s a show about a couple of very-cute demon-hunter brothers. My son was worried about Lucifer and his minions and wondering if they can hurt him. I decided to do a little research about this shape-shifting, pitchfork-carrying creature.
{The following are from my personal notes written several months ago. I didn’t save any references. However, it’s easy enough to search terms as well as the basic question, “Do Jews believe in the devil or hell?”}
Satan
-Jewish people do not and never did believe in the Christian concept of the devil/Satan. But, they do believe in “the satan.”
-In Hebrew, the Written Torah and/or the Tanakh (from which Christians take the Old Testament) is “haSatan,” or “the satan.” You can plug in the following words for “satan” to get the meaning: the challenger, the difficulty, the prosecutor, the obstacle, the hinderer, the distraction, the adversary. You get the idea. It is NOT a proper name. The closest haSatan comes to being a proper name is in the story of Job. It’s like saying the painter, the grocer, the lawyer — it’s a position, not a proper name of a person.
-Judaism is STRICTLY monotheistic, meaning NO ONE else has authority but God and that God is the creator of both good and evil. It is up to mankind to choose which path they will follow. Saint Augustine had a huge problem with the Jewish idea that God is the creator of evil (more about that under “Devil”).
-The satan is not God’s opponent nor a disobedient child nor rebellious angel.
-The satan works for God. Its job is to make choosing good over evil enough of a challenge so that it can be a meaningful choice for growth. (“Willie Wonka and the Chocolate Factory” example: “Slugworth” is Wonka’s employee used to test the integrity of the guests. He’s Wonka’s haSatan).
-It’s an angel who takes on the challenger role and whose mission it is to add difficulty, challenges, and growth experiences to life. In Judaism, angels do not have free will, cannot sin, and cannot “fall.”
-The serpent in the Garden of Eden was NOT Satan according to Judaism. Christianity “hijacked” the Old Testament. There is no direct link between the serpent that tempts Eve and the references to a Satan in the first book of Chronicles and Job. It’s a Christian invention/interpretation (Book of Revelation). [My ah-hah moment: Jesus -being raised Jewish- was never taught the concept of this Satan/Devil/Evil Lucifer character.]
-An additional explanation: Satan is used as a metaphor for the “Yetzer HaRa” = not a force nor a being, but rather refers to mankind’s innate capacity for doing evil in the world. Opposite: Yetzer HaTov means the good inclination.
Devil
-4th Century CE: Not liking the Jewish belief of God being capable of creating evil, St. Augustine invented the concepts of “the fall” and “original sin” as well as the character of the Devil (referred by Christians as Satan).
-“Devil” is a Modern English word descending from the Middle English “devel,” Old English “deofol,” that in turn represents an early Germanic borrowing of Latin “diabolus, which was borrowed from Ancient Greek “diabolos” which means “slanderer.” Dia = across, bolo/ballein = to hurl.
-In the New Testament, “Satan” occurs more than 30 times in passages alongside “diabolos,” referring to the same character as Satan. (Through time and translations, Satan and the Devil become synonymous).
Lucifer
-Lucifer is Latin and means “Venus as a morning star.” “Lux/lucis” = light/fire, “ferre” = to bear/to bring.
-Also: Son of the Morning
-The word Lucifer did not always exist and was NOT original to the Hebrew written Torah (Christian Old Testament).
-The very concept of the character or personage “Lucifer” is non-Jewish.
-Isaiah 14:12, (http://biblehub.com/isaiah/14-12.htm) Isaiah was using a metaphor (in Hebrew) of a bright light (“shining one, son of the dawn”), referring to the power of the Babylonian king, which had faded. When the HEBREW scriptures were translated into Latin, the Latin word “lucifer” was used by St. Jerome to convey Isaiah’s metaphor. Saint Jerome (a contemporary of St. Augustine’s) placed the word Lucifer into the Bible originally 3 times during the revision of the Latin translation, completed 5th Century CE. Now, it’s there only one time: the other 2 spots replaces “Lucifer” with “morning star,” thus, showing the original intention.
-Morning star is a term used throughout the New Testament and is in reference to Jesus the Christ. “Lucifer,” when used correctly in the TRUE, ORIGINAL CONTEXT, is Jesus Christ. It’s the perpetuated misinterpretation that has changed lucifer which is something that is supposed to be good into an evil character.
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| 2nd Century Greek sculpture of "Phosphorus"(Latin: "Lucifer") in the front center. Image Credit: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phosphorus_(morning_star) |
So, dear son of mine, as you can see, there is no Devil nor demons waiting to hurt you or bargain for your soul. It’s a man-made character formulated over many, many centuries. People have believed the Devil is real for several reasons. One reason is that they hear about it from people they trust or are taught to trust. Another reason people pass on misinformation is because they are afraid to question. Questioning, doubt, and dissent are discouraged or even punished. At one time, questioning brought the punishment of death. During modern times, questioners may not be killed, but they can be shunned. Rumors could be spread about the unbelievers like “She doesn’t believe anymore because the Devil got to her!” Well, we know that ain’t true, don’t we! ;)
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| Knowledge is power...and freedom. Image Credit: ladycrg9 at deviant art dot com |
