The Adversary Satan in the Scriptures

The Adversary in the Old Testament Scriptures

There is much speculation, conjecture, and misunderstanding in modern, common doctrine concerning the nature and identity of the adversary (aka Satan). It’s essential that we understand the nature of the Adversary so that we can detect adversarial attributes in ourselves. This is war – know your enemy.

Is there just one adversary? Are there many? Have we jumped to conclusions (yes) identifying an adversary? Is the adversary the enemy of God or the servant of God or both? Or is he servant-turned-enemy?

Let’s go through the Word from the beginning and look for clear answers that will help us to ground ourselves in truth rather than conjecture and doctrines of men.

1. An adversary, Gen. 3:1: “Now the serpent was more subtle than any beast of the field which the LORD God had made. And he said unto the woman, Yea, has God said, you shall not eat of every tree of the garden?” Please note that this verse does not mention adversary, Satan, Lucifer, etc. It mentions a serpent וְהַנָּחָשׁ֙ , Strong’s  5175{e}, transliteration: nachash, phonetic spelling: (naw-khawsh’) which is a masculine noun. One must go to other places in the scriptures to see how this word is used in context to understand that perhaps it wasn’t “just a snake,” although in some cases it could be, such as the enchanting mesmerization of the cobra. The question to ask is, was this particular serpent created in the garden with Adam and Eve and the other “beasts of the field”? The text does not say that this serpent was more cunning than the “other fallen angels/cherubim/watchers.” But why was the serpent more subtle (cunning) than all of the other beasts that God had created? The text does not tell us. And how did this serpent have the ability to speak? The text does not tell us. And further, the text does not name the serpent as adversary. Could this serpent have been enchanted by the adversary? Conjecture. In any case, we must remember that Eve’s own worst enemy (or adversary) in this case was her self. She wanted more. More to come later on that point. But for now, we know that this verse does not name the serpent as “adversary” or “Satan” or “Lucifer” or “cherub.”
2. 1 Chron. 21:1 – “And Satan stood up against Israel, and incited David to number Israel.” This is the first mention (textually) of the word adversary that we have in the scriptures as they are today. Yes, it’s possible that Job pre-dates this and we will discuss that as we move on. But for now, we see that Satan, שָׂטָ֖ן, Strongs 7854, phonetic: saw-tawn, a masculine noun, has stood up against Israel in the time of David. As a result, David counted the men of Israel, and so sinned against God. Again, we see that self has come between obedience and a person.
3. The Book of Job – The adversary is mentioned more times (15) in the Book of Job than in any other book of the Bible. It seems that YHWH wanted us to see the nature of the adversary at work in this book. Here are the references and text:

• 1:6 – Now there was a day when the sons of God (Strongs 1121 and 430, bə-nê, בְּנֵ֣י hā-’ĕ-lō-hîm, הָאֱלֹהִ֔ים ) , came to present themselves before the LORD (3068, Yah-weh, יְהוָ֑ה ), and Satan (7854, haś-śā-ṭān , הַשָּׂטָ֖ן ) came also among them.
• 1:7 (2x) – And the LORD said unto Satan,“From where come you?” Then Satan answered the LORD, and said, “From going to and fro on the earth, and from walking up and down on it.”
• 1:8 – And the LORD said unto Satan,“Have you considered my servant Job, that there is none like him in the earth, a blameless and an upright man, one that fears God, and turns away from evil?”
• 1:9 – Then Satan answered the LORD, and said, “Does Job fear God for nothing?”
• 1:12 (2x) – And the LORD said unto Satan,“Behold, all that he has is in your power; only upon himself put not forth your hand.” So Satan went forth from the presence of the LORD.”
• 2:1 – Again there was a day when the sons of God came to present themselves before the LORD, and Satan came also among them to present himself before the LORD.
• 2:2 (2x) – And the LORD said unto Satan,“From where come you?” And Satan answered the LORD, and said, “From going to and fro on the earth, and from walking up and down on it.”
• 2:3 – And the LORD said unto Satan,“Have you considered my servant Job, that there is none like him in the earth, a blameless and an upright man, one that fears God, and turns away from evil? And still he holds fast his integrity, although you moved me against him, to destroy him without cause.”
• 2:4 – And Satan answered the LORD, and said, “Skin for skin, yea, all that a man has will he give for his life.”
• 2:6 – And the LORD said unto Satan,“Behold, he is in your hand; but spare his life.”
• 2:7 – So went Satan forth from the presence of the LORD, and struck Job with painful boils from the sole of his foot unto the crown of his head. (This is the last mention of the adversary in the Book of Job. But has he gone away?)

Job is probably the best expose’ to be found in the Word of God concerning the adversary, and it (as it should) raises some very interesting questions concerning the nature of the adversary and his function. First, he enters into the presence of God along with the Sons of God, the bene Elohim. Is the adversary actually one of the bene Elohim or is it a spirit that is working in them in opposition to Job? The Adversary had access to the Lord (Strong’s 3068 Yah-weh, יְהוָ֑ה) and to “going to and fro on the Earth.” Also, the audacity with which the adversary addresses YWHW must be addressed. Who would dare to speak to YWHW in this manner? It could only be an entity that believed that it was safe from repercussions. Is the adversary simply performing his appointed duties?

It seems that in 1:7, YWHW is asking for a report. “From where come you?” Also, YWHW then gives to the adversary permission to assault, at first, everything in Job’s life, and then afterwards Job himself. And the adversary is not concerned that he has assaulted one of the (few) righteous men who lay down their lives daily for Him.

4. Ps. 109:6 – “Set you a wicked man over him: and let an accuser ( Strong’s 7854, wə-śā-ṭān, וְ֝שָׂטָ֗ן ) stand at his right hand.” Think about this: In this case, it says AN accuser, meaning that there is more than one accuser (adversary) available.
5. Zech. 3:1-2 – And he showed me Joshua the high priest standing before the angel (4397, mal-’aḵ, מַלְאַ֣ךְ ) of the LORD (3068, Yah-weh, יְהוָ֑ה ), and Satan (7854, wə-śā-ṭān, וְ֝שָׂטָ֗ן ) standing at his right hand to accuse him. 2 And the LORD said unto Satan,“The LORD rebuke you, O Satan; even the LORD that has chosen Jerusalem rebuke you: is not this a brand plucked out of the fire?”

These are all of the occurrences of the name (or title) “Satan” in the Scriptures (the Old Testament). There does not seem to be much to go on, and so as a result men, over time, have attempted to elaborate on other Scriptures to fill out the story.

But do we really need to do that? Let’s take a close look at the who, what, when, where, and why that we can know from what God has shown us in the Scriptures:

• Genesis 3 does not name the serpent in the garden as Satan. It is given no name. Yes, in Revelation 12:9 It says “And the great dragon was cast out, that old serpent, called the Devil, and Satan, who deceives the whole world.” But think about this: Conversely, it never says that “the serpent came into the presence of the Lord with the bene Elohim.” In other words, we have “connected dots” that may not be there to connect. Yes, we may conclude that the word “serpent” was used here in the Greek and that the serpent in the garden was a deceiver. But it must be asked: Was it the SAME serpent and the SAME deceiver? Was it one and the same entity? We’ll examine this closely as this study continues. However, I must repeat that in the Genesis 3 account, the self of Eve was her own adversary; her desire for other things that Yeshua warned us about was her own adversary. The serpent merely used his cunning to play on her own doubts and weaknesses. Yes, I agree that the serpent could be considered an adversary, but the text does not name him adversary in the same manner as other Scripture.
• 1 Chronicles 21:1 – Again, self is the tool used by an adversary, in this case the Adversary saw-tawn, to get someone (David) to disobey a direct command from God, with drastic consequences.
• Job: There are a lot of rabbit trails, rabbit holes, worm holes, and fodder for conjecture in this book. But it also gives perhaps the most information about the Adversary in the Scriptures. We’ll be using this information along with New Testament information later on to be able to draw some conclusions. But for now, here are things to consider:
• The Hebrew used for “Satan” in 1 Chronicles 21:1 is שָׂטָ֖ן trans., saw-tawn whereas in Job it is הַשָּׂטָ֖ן, ha-sa-tan , and in Zechariah 3:1-2 it is wə-śā-ṭān, וְ֝שָׂטָ֗ן , so even though the Strong’s number is apparently the same, it is clearly three different word variations. Does this mean that it is three different adversaries or three different manifestations of the adversary? What is the difference? Has the adversary changed in role or in nature for each of these?
• Job 1:6 is very intriguing as it indirectly brings up the question of “who or what is the adversary that he can be among the bene Elohim that come to present themselves before Yahweh?” There is a mixture of a lot of information here along with a lot of room for conjecture, a potentially dangerous mixture. Which bene Elohim are there to present themselves before Yah-weh? Is it the same Genesis 6 Bene Elohim? Why or why not? (There will be more on the potential role(s) of the Watchers later.) What is the nature of the Adversary that allows him to be in this company of entities? Is he actually a separate being in this group or is it a spirit present “among them”? Or is he one of the Bene Elohim? And exactly where were they presenting themselves before Yah-weh? There are dozens of rabbit trails in this seemingly simple verse, and lots of room for conjecture. We need to be very careful here and utilize a word-by-word analysis.
• When asked by Yah-weh where he had come from, the adversary answered, “From going to and fro on the earth, and from walking up and down on it.” This implies many possibilities. Perhaps he was declaring ownership. Perhaps he was boasting that he had no restraints on the Earth. And perhaps he was simply answering as in, “I was doing what I’m supposed to do – walking the Earth to find things that I could report to you as the accuser.” Again, a study of the exact words that he used will be necessary. We can’t hear inflection, or pauses, or tones of voice. We have only written words and jots and tittles to work with.
• As far as I know, it has long been assumed that this meeting between Yah-weh and the Bene Elohim and the Adversary took place in some portion of Heaven. Currently, I don’t see that in the text. Could it have been on the Earth? On one of the “Holy Mountains”? Again, the text doesn’t say, so let’s not assume.
• When was this? I have heard many teach that the story of Job took place before the Flood. I have trouble with this, first because it is derivative conjecture, and secondly because of the Sabeans mentioned in 1:15, and thirdly there is no mention of Job prior to Genesis 6 and since he was among the few righteous men in the world it would be very strange that he is not mentioned in the same manner as Noah and Enoch. Also, the Sabeans (Sheba) were said to have been in existence in what is now Yemen between 1200BC and 275AD. We’ll need to do more study on this to prove it conclusively. However, the Sabeans are further mentioned in Isaiah 45:14. I don’t see how they could have been in existence both before and after the Flood, given the extermination of the Flood and the scattering at Babel. Also, Uz is the name of one of the sons of Aram listed in Genesis 10:23 and the land of Uz is also mentioned in Jeremiah 25:20 and Lamentations 4:21. Thus, I currently believe that Job lived after the time of Aram and his son Uz, but before the time of Solomon, because at that point the Sabeans (Sheba?) had acknowledged Yahweh .
• In Zechariah 3:1-2, we again see the adversary (wə-śā-ṭān) as accuser or one who opposes. In this case, unlike in Job, the adversary is actually rebuked. We must not forget the prophetic context of Zech. 3:3-10 here. When is this occurring? Very important, IMO.

Note: Possible relationship of ‘tan” with the Hebrew “tanniyn” (serpent).

Note: Who or what is an adversary? Someone or something that opposes. We must ask in each instance who or what the adversary is opposing!

In what follows, we will examine the instances of the English “adversary” and “adversaries” where it is not translated as “Satan”.

 The word “adversary” as used in other places in the Scriptures and is not translated as “Satan” :

Adversary: Strong’s 376, 1166, 4941, 6862, 6869, 6887, 7379, 7854

Job 31:35 – Here is an interesting combination of two Hebrew words that is used to define “adversary”. The first, Strong’s 376, is from אּישׁ , transliteration “iysh”, English “man.” The second, Strong’s 7379, is from רִיב transliteration “riyb”, English “strife, dispute”. The verse reads: “Oh, that I had one to hear me! Here is my mark. Oh, that the Almighty would answer me, That my Prosecutor (adversary) had written a book!” In context, it seems that Job is saying that no man has a valid case against him for which to prosecute him.

Isaiah 50:8 – Yet another combination of two Hebrew words: The first, Strong’s 1166, is from בָּעַל, trans. “baal”, English “marry, rule over.” The second, Strong’s 4941, is from מִשְׁפָּט , trans. “mishpawt,” English “judgment (or) justice.” The verse reads, “He is near who justifies Me; Who will contend with Me? Let us stand together. Who is My adversary? Let him come near Me.” In context, this verse is apparently prophetic of the coming messiah. Paraphrase: “Who is it that rules over me and will bring judgment against me?” Read it along with Psalm 22! Amazing.

Strong’s 6862 is used in six places. It is from the Hebrew צָר , trans. “tzar”, English meaning “adversary,” a masculine noun which indicates “he is in straits or is distressed” or as an adjective which indicates “narrow or contracted.” It is used in the following verses:

Est. 7:6 – “And Esther said, “The adversary and enemy is this wicked Haman!” So Haman was terrified before the king and queen.”

Psalm 74:10 – “O God, how long will the adversary reproach?
Will the enemy blaspheme Your name forever?”

Lam. 1:10 – “The adversary has spread his hand, over all her pleasant things; For she has seen the nations enter her sanctuary, Those whom You commanded not to enter Your assembly.”

Lam. 2:4 – “Standing like an enemy, He has bent His bow; With His right hand, like an adversary, He has slain all who were pleasing to His eye;
On the tent of the daughter of Zion, He has poured out His fury like fire.”

Lam. 4:12 – “The kings of the earth, And all inhabitants of the world, would not have believed that the adversary and the enemy could enter the gates of Jerusalem—“ Hmmm…let’s continue with the next verse…” Because of the sins of her prophets And the iniquities of her priests, who shed in her midst the blood of the just.”

Amos 3:11 – “Therefore thus says the Lord God: ‘An adversary shall be all around the land; He shall sap your strength from you, and your palaces shall be plundered.”

Strong’s 6869

1 Samuel: 1:6 – Strong’s 6869, Hebrew צָרָה , a feminine noun, trans. tsarah, English “a vexer or rival-wife”, in context, “And her rival (adversary) also provoked her severely, to make her miserable, because the Lord had closed her womb.”

Strong’s 6887:

Exodus 23:22 – Strong’s 6887, Hebrew צָרַר , trans. tsarar, verb, English meaning “to show hostility toward or vex,” in context, : “But if you indeed obey His voice and do all that I speak, then I will be an enemy to your enemies and an adversary (6887?) to your adversaries(6696?).”

Strong’s 6696: Hebrew צוּר , trans. tsuwr, English meaning, an adversary who assaults or besieges

? – The listing for adversary and adversaries in the Strong’s have the opposite references to that of biblehub.com. The Strong’s has “adversary” as 6887, while biblehub has 6696, and conversely, the Strong’s has adversaries as 6696 while the biblehub has adversaries as 6887.

Folks, we must by need be very cautious with our translations. While there seems on the surface to be little difference between the above two words, in actuality there is a big difference between “one who shows hostility” and “one who assaults or besieges.” This is but one of the hundreds, or perhaps thousands, of translation errors I have come across in my years of study. One “little error” may have as much effect as pulling one string from a garment, while hundreds or thousands of “little errors” may be the same as pulling as many strings from a cloth, thus causing the cloth to be ineffective for use. Consider the effect of the above mix-up. Is the Lord as adversary merely going to “vex or show hostility” while our enemies “assault and besiege”? This is the same difference as between a bark and a bite. We don’t fear the bark so much, but we do fear the bite.

As I continue this study, I hope to dig deeper into the above irregularity. For the present, time keeps me from doing so – but it will bug me until I hunt it down and dig it out!

Strong’s 7854 – is used as “adversary” in six instances according to the Strong’s concordance, as follows:

Numbers 22:22 – 7854, Hebrew לְשָׂטָ֣ן , trans. saw-tawn (or le-sa-tan), English Satan, def. the arch-enemy of good or the name of the superhuman adversary of God. Context: This is where things get really weird!!! “So Balaam rose in the morning, saddled his donkey, and went with the princes of Moab. Then God’s anger was aroused because he went, and the Angel of the Lord took His stand in the way as an adversary against him. And he was riding on his donkey, and his two servants were with him.”

Why is this so weird? It’s because of the Hebrew word that is used for adversary here. This is the Angel of the Lord who is being referred to with the name of Satan! Not just “an adversary” but The Adversary. So, is The Angel of the Lord in all actuality the same entity as our adversary Satan? How do we know the difference?

Do you remember this from earlier in this study? : “The Hebrew used for “Satan” in 1 Chronicles 21:1 is שָׂטָ֖ן trans., saw-tawn whereas in Job it is הַשָּׂטָ֖ן trans., ha-sa-tan , and in Zechariah 3:1-2 it is wə-śā-ṭān, וְ֝שָׂטָ֗ן , so even though the Strong’s number is apparently the same, it is clearly three different word variations.” Well, now we can add another which is used in this verse: lə·śā·ṭān.

So now we have the following four names for Satan (adversary):

• Saw-tawn שָׂטָ֖ן
• Ha-sa-tan הַשָּׂטָ֖ן
• wə-śā-ṭān וְ֝שָׂטָ֗ן
• Lə·śā·ṭān לְשָׂטָ֣ן
• And, we haven’t even seen the appearance of wə·haś·śā·ṭān yet!

Keep in mind that there are (supposedly) twenty-seven instances of Strong’s 7854 in the Scriptures, though, oddly enough, Strong’s only lists six of these verses under the word “adversary.”

So, which guy are we fighting against, anyway? Which one is “the dragon, Satan, that serpent that is of old”? There may be some good hints as we move on, particularly as we examine the tanniyn (do you see that “tan” in both Sa-tan and tan-niyn?) and other spiritual entities moving forward.

For now, we’ll continue examining other instances of Strong’s 7854 adversary:

1 Samuel 29:4 – 7854, Hebrew לְשָׂטָ֖ן , noun, trans. Lə·śā·ṭān, English definition: (this is blurry) “an accuser, Satan; adversary, also the name of the superhuman adversary of God (biblehub), in context: “But the princes of the Philistines were angry with him; so the princes of the Philistines said to him, “Make this fellow return, that he may go back to the place which you have appointed for him, and do not let him go down with us to battle, lest in the battle he become our adversary. For with what could he reconcile himself to his master, if not with the heads of these men? ⁵ Is this not David, of whom they sang to one another in dances, saying: ‘Saul has slain his thousands, And David his ten thousands’?”

So obviously, this verse is referring to David as being a possible adversary. But why the same Strong’s reference as the supposed name of Satan? So, all of these personages are alike? Satan, and the Angel of the Lord, and David? There is certainly some confusion going on, here.

– 1 Kings 5:4 – 7854, Hebrew שָׂטָ֔ן trans. sa-tan, English (an, another) adversary, in context: “But now the Lord my God has given me rest on every side; there is neither adversary nor evil occurrence.”

-1 Kings 11:14 – 7854, Hebrew שָׂטָן֙ trans. sa-tan, English (raised up, stirred up) an adversary, in context: “Now the Lord raised up an adversary against Solomon, Hadad the Edomite; he was a descendant of the king in Edom.”

– 1 Kings 11:23 – 7854, Hebrew שָׂטָ֔ן trans. sa-tan, English (another) adversary, in context: “And God raised up another adversary against him, Rezon the son of Eliadah, who had fled from his lord, Hadadezer king of Zobah.”

– 1 Kings 11:25 – 7854, Hebrew שָׂטָ֤ן trans. sa-tan, English (an) adversary, in context: “He was an adversary of Israel all the days of Solomon (besides the trouble that Hadad caused); and he abhorred Israel, and reigned over Syria.”

In two of these verses, the Lord or God “raised up”, or appointed, or “stirred up”, or perhaps initiated the role of “sa-tan” to men, and not to a “spiritual entity” with the name “Satan.”

Adversaries, Strong’s 6862

There are 21 instances of the Strong’s reference 6862 in the Strong’s concordance. This gets really fun…among the Strong’s list of possible English meanings are narrow, a tight place, trouble, a crowding opponent, pebble, adversary, affliction or afflicted, anguish, close, distress, enemy, flint, foe, narrow, small, sorrow, strait, tribulation, and trouble. SMH!

Sooo, I am going to have to step things up a notch. The Strong’s is simply not sufficient to the task, nor is Biblehub. It’s apparent that I won’t be able to get to the bottom of the “who or what is Satan” question without getting “bigger and better guns.”

I’m going to order three new reference guides (for now): “The Complete Word Study Dictionary – Old Testament” by Baker and Carpenter, “The Complete Word Study Dictionary – New Testament” by Zodhiates, and “Brown-Driver-Briggs Hebrew and English Lexicon” by Brown. These are said to be excellent resources for deeper study into exact word meanings.

After I’ve received them, I’ll use them to review what I’ve recorded above and I’ll make notes in each section reflecting what I’ve discovered in these other references. Please be patient – it’ll take a “minute”!

This concludes, for now, the examination of the Adversary in the Scriptures of the Old Testament. We will return to this information and the questions that have been raised as we continue this study. After a complete investigation, some conclusions will be offered based on what we can find, and prove, in the Word of God as we have it today.

Adversary, Satan, End Times, Dragon, serpent, devil, Job