Beyond Grammar,

Unveiling Deeper

Meaning:

Sorry, but the word “Satan” in Job 1:6-12 and 2:1-7 is not a proper name

The goal of this blog is to prove that the word “Satan” in Job 1:6-12, and 2:1-7 is not a ‘proper name’ that we used to know but a ‘title’ or ‘position’. I will prove in this blog that the word Satan is not a proper name, but a ‘title’ or ‘position’ by focusing on the grammatical rules of the Hebrew language.

  1. Proper names in Hebrew do not have the article “ה”

            In the Hebrew grammar, it is improper to put an ‘article’ (the) on a proper name.[1] The best example of this is the Tetragrammaton (YHWH).[2] The name of the God of Israel occurs in the Old Testament, 6,828 times.[3] Nowhere in the Hebrew Bible that we can read היהוה (hayyahweh) or ‘The YHWH’ because the Tetragrammaton is a proper name, and therefore, it is definite. To make my argument clearer, in the English language, it is erroneous to say “The Lui” because Lui is a proper name. [4]

            Aside from proper names, possessive pronouns are already definite and therefore, do not need to have an article “h”. Possessive pronouns are words that have suffixes like these below:

 

 

 

 

In conclusion, the word הַשָּׂטָן (haś-śā-ṭān) is not a proper name, but only a common noun according to the rules of Hebrew grammar because the noun שָׂטָן was prefixed by an article “h”. If I’m going to consult the Hebrew Bible, my theory will stand that שָׂטָן is only a common noun because this word was used in human beings. In 1 Samuel 29:4, the Philistine officers were angry against Achish, and commanded him to exclude David in the army because of their fear that David would become an ‘adversity’ (שָׂטָן) to the Philistines.

  1. The word “satan” is attributed to Biblical Characters

When King Solomon rebelled against the LORD (1 Kgs 11:11-13) when he committed idolatry in his old age, the LORD removed peace, and the LORD raised a satan (שָׂטָן) against Solomon. Who is this satan that the LORD raised against Solomon? The LORD raised two satans, and these are Hadad (1 Kgs 11:14), and Rezon (1 Kgs 11:23; 25). Aside from the first two kings of Israel, the word satan (שָׂטָן) occurred in Numbers 22, twice, in Chapter 22:22, and 32. The satan here in the story was the angel of the LORD. In my conclusion, the word satan (שָׂטָן) is not a proper name, but a common noun that was attributed to Biblical characters.

  1. Common nouns like שָׂטָן (satan) can be used as verbs by changing the vowel symbols

Another reason why the word “שָׂטָן” is not a proper name, but only a common noun is because this word can be used as a ‘verb’. Learners of this language must be familiar with the root consonants of any Hebrew words. The root consonant of ‘SaTaN’ is “sin”, “tet”, and “final nun”. Now, this word can either be a noun, or a verb depending on the vowel symbols below "sin", and "tet".

 

 

 

This pattern is applicable to all words in Hebrew. An example to support my argument is the difference between “מֶ֫לֶךְ” (A king), and “מָלַךְ (To rule). In 2 Samuel 5, David was anointed as a king (מֶלֶךְ) over Israel (2 Sam 5:3), and he ruled (מָלַךְ) Israel for 40 years (2 Sam 5:4).

 

Summary:

The word שָׂטָן in Job 1:6-12, and 2:1-7 was not a proper name that we used to know, but only a common noun because it was prefixed by an article “h”. If this satan is not a proper name, then I can conclude that this is not the Devil, that we can read in the New Testament. The reason for this is, Hebrew names cannot be prefixed by an article “h”.

I also provided in this blog that the word שָׂטָן was used for Biblical Characters in their different contexts. God’s appointed kings, and His angels are described by the authors of the Old Testament as adversaries. Common nouns can be used as verbs, and the good example of this is the word שָׂטָן. In Hebrew, we must be familiar with the root consonants and the changes of vowel symbols.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Pratico, Gary D., and Miles V. Van Pelt. “‘Basics of Biblical Hebrew Grammar.’” Zondervan, September 1, 2006.

Taylor, G.H. Parke. “The Name of God.” In Yahweh, 2. Waterloo, ON: Wilfrid Laurier University Press, 1975.

Unger, Merrill F., and William Jr. White. Nelson’s Expository Dictionary of the Old Testament. Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson Publishers, 1980.

[1] Gary D. Pratico and Miles V. Van Pelt, “‘Basics of Biblical Hebrew Grammar’” (Zondervan, September 1, 2006). See 5.1: Introduction. According to the authors, proper names and possessive pronouns are already definite.

 

[2] G.H. Parke Taylor, “The Name of God,” in Yahweh (Waterloo, ON: Wilfrid Laurier University Press, 1975), 2. The name of God occurs in the Hebrew Bible 6823 times. If we will examine the proper name of God, we cannot find the article “h”.

 

[3] Merrill F. Unger and William Jr. White, Nelson’s Expository Dictionary of the Old Testament (Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson Publishers, 1980), 229.

 

[4] This is also similar to Filipino; it is also erroneous to say “Ang Lui”.