Satan appears as a heavenly being in the Hebrew Bible on at least three occasions. He incites David to conduct a census of Israel in 1Chronicles 21:1. Then again, in Job chapters 1-3 he appears as one of God’s messengers who stands accusing Job before the Lord and inflicts destruction upon his family, his property, and his personal health. And finally, in Zechariah 3:1-2, he stands to accuse the high priest Joshua.
Interestingly enough, the noun שׂטן (satan) appears many other times in the Hebrew Bible, where it is simply translated as an “adversary,” describing one who opposes or stands in the way of another. In 1Kings 11:14 for example, God raises Hadad the Edomite as an adversary (שׂטן) to Solomon. Thus, it is this act or behavior of opposing that primarily embodies the biblical character Satan.
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