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Leviathan.
A mythological sea monster who is one of the primeval adversaries of the storm
god. In the Ugaritic texts, Baal defeats Lothan (ltn, a linguistic
variant of Leviathan), described as a seven-headed serpent, apparently
identified with Baal’s adversary Prince Sea. In the Bible Leviathan is also
identified with the Sea (Job
3.8) and has many heads (Psalm
74.14), and his defeat by
God is a prelude to creation (Psalm
74.15–17). According to
apocalyptic literature, that battle will be rejoined in the end time when the
evil Leviathan will be finally defeated (Isaiah
27.1; Revelation
12.3; Revelation
17.1–14; Revelation
19.20; Revelation
21.1), and, according to
later tradition, given along with Behemoth as food to the elect (2
Esdras 6.49–52), another
recalling of creation (Psalm
74.14). In Job
41, Leviathan is described
as fully under God’s control, a divine pet (Job
41.4–5; cf. Psalm
104.26). Many commentators
have equated the Leviathan of Job
41 with the crocodile, and
some elements of the description seem to fit this identification. But others,
like his breathing fire (Job
41.19–21), do not; in
light of the other biblical references as well as the Canaanite antecedents it
is better to understand Leviathan as a mythological creature.
In Thomas Hobbes’s work by this title (1651), Leviathan is
the symbolic name for the absolute power of the political commonwealth, to
whose sovereign people must be subordinate but which is ultimately subject to
divine control.
Michael D. Coogan (Oxford Companion)
Satan.
The name of the archenemy of God and the personification of evil, particularly
in Christian tradition. The name may derive from a Semitic root °‹n,
but the primitive meaning is still debated, the most popular suggestions being
"to be remote" and "to obstruct." Some alternative roots
include °w‹
(cf. Hebr. "to rove") and šy‹
(cf. Arabic "to burn," especially of food).
In the Hebrew Bible °Œ‹Œn
could refer to any human being who played the role of an accuser or enemy (1
Samuel 29.4; 2
Samuel 19.22; 1
Kings 5.4; 1
Kings 11.14). In Numbers
22.32 °Œ‹Œn
refers to a divine messenger who was sent to obstruct Balaam’s rash journey.
Job 1–2 , Zechariah
3, and 1
Chronicles 21.1 have been
central in past efforts to chart an evolution of the concept of °Œ‹Œn
that culminates in a single archenemy of God. However, such evolutionary views
have not gained general acceptance because °Œ‹Œn
in these passages does not necessarily refer to a single archenemy of God and
because the relative dating of the texts remains problematic. In Job
1–2, the °Œ‹Œn
seems to be a legitimate member of God’s council. In Zechariah
3.1–7 °Œ‹Œn
may refer to a member of God’s council who objected to the appointment of
Joshua as chief priest. The mention of °Œ‹Œn
without the definite article in 1
Chronicles 21.1 has led
some scholars to interpret it as a proper name, but one could also interpret
it as "an adversary" or "an accuser" acting on God’s
behalf.
Most scholars agree that in the writings of the third/second
centuries bce are the first examples of a character who is the archenemy of
Yahweh and humankind. Nonetheless, the flexibility of the tradition is still
apparent in the variety of figures who, although not necessarily identical
with each other, are each apparently regarded as the principal archenemy of
God and humankind in Second Temple literature. Such figures include Mastemah
(Jubilees 10.8), Semyaz (1 Enoch 6.3), and Belial at Qumran (Zadokite Document
4.13). Still undetermined is the extent to which the concept of the Hebrew °Œ‹Œn
was influenced by Persian dualism, which posited the existence of two primal
and independent personifications of good and evil.
Although it shares with contemporaneous Jewish literature many
of its ideas about demonology, the New Testament is probably more responsible
for standardizing "Satan" (Greek satanas) as the name for the
archenemy of God in Western culture. However, the devil (the usual translation
of "Satan" in the Septuagint), Beelzebul ("the prince of
demons," Matthew 12.24;
See Baal-zebub),
"the tempter" (Matthew
4.3), Beliar (2
Corinthians 6.15),
"the evil one" (1
John 5.18), and Apollyon (Revelation
9.11) are other names for
Satan in the New Testament. Lucifer, a name for Satan popularized in the
Middle Ages, derives ultimately from the merging of the New Testament
tradition of the fall of Satan from heaven (Luke
10.18) with an originally
separate biblical tradition concerning the Morning Star (cf. Isaiah
14.12).
According to the New Testament, Satan and his demons may enter
human beings in order to incite evil deeds ( Luke
22.3) and to cause illness
(Matthew 15.22;
Luke 11.14).
Satan can imitate "an angel of light" (2
Corinthians 11.14), has
command of the air (Ephesians
2.2), and accuses the
faithful day and night before God (Revelation
12.10). Jude
9 mentions the struggle
between Satan and the archangel Michael for the body of Moses. Revelation
20.2, among other texts,
equates "the Devil and Satan" with "the dragon," thus
reflecting the merging of ancient myths concerning gigantic primordial beasts
that wreak havoc on God’s creation with the traditions concerning Satan.
Satan’s destiny is to be cast into a lake of fire (Revelation
20.10–15).
In 563 ce the Council of Braga helped to define the official
Christian view of Satan that, in contrast to dualism, denied his independent
origin and his creation of the material universe. As J. B. Russell (Lucifer:
The Devil in the Middle Ages, 1984) notes, writers and theologians of the
medieval period popularized many of the characteristics of Satan that remain
standard today and that have roots in, among other sources, Greek, Roman, and
Teutonic mythology. Although the Enlightenment produced explanations of evil
that do not refer to a mythological being, the imagery and concept of Satan
continues to thrive within many religious traditions.
Hector Ignacio Avalos (Oxford Companion)
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