I admit this gives me a lot to think about. I had always figured that the passage of Isaiah was interpreted later by Christians to fit their theology and reflect Lucifer/Satan, whereas I was of the understanding that Jews didn't ever make that same connection. However I don't know that for a fact and am happy to be shown to be wrong.
So while I had always felt that they were different beings, I am very comfortable with the understanding that they are, especially after reading this article.
Thank you very much for your insightful reading of my article and for your as usual accurate comments.
It is fascinating to observe the evolution of the concept of Satan, its function and meaning in the Hebrew Bible. I will not discuss it in detail here; perhaps I will write a separate article on it. I will only say briefly that Satan appears in the Old Testament both as a function and as a name. The Hebrew Bible proves that originally the term Satan denoted the function of the god Elohim himself. The concept later evolved and Satan 'detached' himself more and more from the god until he became a separate figure. Satan in the Hebrew Scriptures appears as the god's procurator sitting on the heavenly council, or as his spy keeping track of everything that happens on earth. The God of the Old Testament speaks of himself as the one who creates good and evil, he made it. It was only the Christians who made Satan a diabolical, corrupt and evil figure and held him responsible for all evil on earth. Jesus and his disciples were weak theologians. All they produced was some degeneration of Old Testament theology.
I admit this gives me a lot to think about. I had always figured that the passage of Isaiah was interpreted later by Christians to fit their theology and reflect Lucifer/Satan, whereas I was of the understanding that Jews didn't ever make that same connection. However I don't know that for a fact and am happy to be shown to be wrong.
So while I had always felt that they were different beings, I am very comfortable with the understanding that they are, especially after reading this article.
Thank you.
Thank you very much for your insightful reading of my article and for your as usual accurate comments.
It is fascinating to observe the evolution of the concept of Satan, its function and meaning in the Hebrew Bible. I will not discuss it in detail here; perhaps I will write a separate article on it. I will only say briefly that Satan appears in the Old Testament both as a function and as a name. The Hebrew Bible proves that originally the term Satan denoted the function of the god Elohim himself. The concept later evolved and Satan 'detached' himself more and more from the god until he became a separate figure. Satan in the Hebrew Scriptures appears as the god's procurator sitting on the heavenly council, or as his spy keeping track of everything that happens on earth. The God of the Old Testament speaks of himself as the one who creates good and evil, he made it. It was only the Christians who made Satan a diabolical, corrupt and evil figure and held him responsible for all evil on earth. Jesus and his disciples were weak theologians. All they produced was some degeneration of Old Testament theology.