H7854 H7854
Adversary, accuser; the Satan — a human opponent, legal prosecutor, or the celestial Accuser in God's court
The noun satan derives from the verb satan ('to oppose, accuse') and travels a striking semantic arc across the Hebrew Bible. In its earliest uses it names any human adversary: the angel of the LORD stands as a satan to block Balaam (Num 22:22), the Philistines fear David will become their satan in battle (1 Sam 29:4), and God raises up human adversaries against Solomon (1 Kgs 11:14, 23). In Job and Zechariah, the word takes the definite article — ha-satan, 'the Adversary' — and becomes a specific celestial figure who accuses the righteous before God's throne (Job 1-2; Zech 3:1-2). By 1 Chronicles 21:1, the article drops and satan approaches a proper name. Arabic shaitan and every major translation tradition (Spanish Satan/adversario, German der Satan) preserve the tension between generic opponent and cosmic Accuser.
3. accuser — An accuser in a legal or forensic setting — one who stands at the right hand of the defendant to prosecute. Psalm 109:6 asks God to 'set a wicked man over him, and let an accuser (satan) stand at his right hand.' The judicial framing — right-hand position, parallel with 'wicked one' — distinguishes this from both the celestial Satan and a military adversary. Spanish acusador and German Anklaeger ('accuser') isolate the courtroom dimension of the root's meaning. 1×
AR["وَ-شَيطان"]·ben["এবং-বিরোধী"]·DE["und-ein-accuser"]·EN["and-an-accuser"]·FR["et-adversaire"]·heb["ו-שטן"]·HI["और-विरोधी"]·ID["dan-iblis"]·IT["[ושטן]"]·jav["lan-setan"]·KO["그리고-대적자-가"]·PT["e-um-acusador"]·RU["и-сатана"]·ES["y-un-acusador"]·SW["na-mshitaki"]·TR["ve-suçlayıcı"]·urd["اور-شیطان"]
▼ 2 more senses below
Senses
1. the Satan, the Accuser — The Satan — the definite, celestial figure who serves as accuser and adversary in the divine council. Always appearing with the definite article (ha-satan) in Job and Zechariah, this figure roams the earth and challenges the piety of the righteous (Job 1:6-12; 2:1-7), stands to accuse the high priest Joshua (Zech 3:1-2), and incites David to number Israel (1 Chr 21:1, where the article drops). Spanish el-Satan and German der-Satan preserve the titular quality, and the 18 occurrences make this the dominant Old Testament profile of the word. 18×
AR["الشَّيْطانُ","الشَّيْطانِ","الشَّيْطَانُ","شَيْطَانٌ","وَالشَّيْطَانُ","يَا-شَيْطَانُ"]·ben["এবং-শয়তান","শয়তান","শয়তানকে"]·DE["[שטן]","der-Satan","und-der-Satan"]·EN["adversary","and-the-adversary","the-Satan","the-adversary"]·FR["[השטן]","[והשטן]","[שטן]","le-Satan"]·heb["ה-שטן","ו-ה-שטן","שטן"]·HI["और-शैतान","शैतान","शैतान-ने"]·ID["Iblis","dan-Iblis","hai-Iblis","iblis","si-Iblis"]·IT["Satana","[שטן]","e-Satana","il-Satana"]·jav["Sètan","Sétan","Sétan-punika","lan-Sétan"]·KO["그-사탄","그-사탄아","그-사탄이","그리고-그-사탄이","사단-이"]·PT["Satan","e-o-Satan","o-Satan"]·RU["-Сатан","-Сатану","Сатан","и-Сатан","сатана","сатане"]·ES["Satán","el-Satán","el-Satán!","y-el-Satán"]·SW["Shetani","na-Shetani"]·TR["Satan","ve-Şeytan-","Şeytan","Şeytan'a","Şeytan'a-"]·urd["اور-شیطان","شیطان","شیطان-نے"]
2. adversary, opponent — A human adversary, political opponent, or military antagonist — used without the article in secular and military contexts. The angel of YHWH becomes a satan to Balaam (Num 22:22, 32), Solomon reports that God has given him rest from every satan (1 Kgs 5:4), and God raises up Hadad and Rezon as political adversaries (1 Kgs 11:14, 23, 25). Spanish adversario and French adversaire confirm the generic, non-supernatural reading. The range spans battlefield rival (1 Sam 29:4; 2 Sam 19:22) to divinely appointed obstacle. 8×
AR["خَصمًا","خَصْمًا","خَصْمٌ","لِ-شَيْطانٍ"]·ben["প্রতিপক্ষ","প্রতিপক্ষ-রূপে","বিরোধী","বিরোধী-রূপে","শত্রু"]·DE["adversary","fuer-adversary","wie-adversary"]·EN["adversary","as-adversary","for-adversary"]·FR["adversary","comme-adversary","pour-adversary"]·heb["ל-שטן","שטן"]·HI["विरोधी","विरोधी-के-रूप-में","विरोधी-के-लिए","शत्रु"]·ID["lawan","musuh","sebagai-lawan"]·IT["avversario","come-adversary","per-avversario"]·jav["mengsah","minangka-pepalang","satru"]·KO["대적을","대적이","에-대한-적","에게-적","적이"]·PT["adversário","como-adversário","por-adversário"]·RU["для-противника","противника","противником"]·ES["adversario","para-adversario","por-adversario"]·SW["adui","kama-mpinzani","kuwa-adui","mkutano"]·TR["-düşman-olarak","düşman","düşman-olarak"]·urd["دشمن","مخالف","مخالف-بن-کر"]
BDB / Lexicon Reference
† שָׂטָן n.m. ψ 109:6 1. adversary. 2. Satan (NH שָׂטָן, סָטָן; Aramaic שָׂטָנָא, סָטָנָא, Syriac ܣܳܛܳܢܳܐ (Hebr.); NH vb. סָטַן, Aramaic סְטַן; Arabic شَطَنَ is be remote, especially from the truth, and from the mercy of God; شَيْطَانٌ Satan, Ethiopic ሰይጣን );— 1. adversary, in gen., personal or national; (ל) הָיָה לְשׂ׳ Nu 22:22 (JE), 1 S 29:4 (cf. NesMarg. 15), 2 S 19:23, יָצָא לְשׂ׳ Nu 22:32…