User:Satanael/Satan

Satan (Standard Hebrew: שָׂטָן, Satan Tiberian Hebrew Śāṭān; Koine Greek: Σατανάς, Satanás; Aramaic: צטנא, Śaṭanâ; Arabic: شيطان, Shaitan) is a Abrahamic term which is traditionally applied to an angel, demon, or minor god in many belief systems.

Satan plays various roles in the Tanakh, the Apocrypha and New Testament. In the Tanakh, Satan is an angel whom God uses to test man for various reasons usually dealing with his level of piety. In the Apocrypha and New Testament, the term Satan refer to a preternatural entity, a rebellious demon who is the enemy of God and mankind, and the central embodiment of evil. Satan is also commonly known as the Devil, the "Prince of Darkness," Beelzebub, Belial, Lucifer, and Mephistopheles. In the Talmud and some Kabbalist works, Satan is sometimes called Samael. In the fields of angelology and demonology these different names sometimes refer to a number of different angels and demons, and there is significant disagreement to the nature of any of these entities.

In Islam, Iblīs (Arabic إبليس), is the primary devil. He is commonly referred to in the Qur'an as Shaitan.

Etymology and other names
The Hebrew nominative satan (meaning "adversary" or "accuser"), and the Arabic shaitan(possibly a loan from Aramaic or Syriac ), derive from a Northwest Semitic root šṭn, meaning "to be hostile, to accuse". In the New Testament, Satan is a proper name, and is used to refer to a supernatural entity who appear in several passages.

The most common synonym for Satan, "the Devil", entered Modern English from Middle English devel, from Old English dēofol, from Latin diabolus, from Late Greek diabolos ("slanderer"), from diaballein, "to slander" : dia- + ballein, "to hurl"; which ultimately derives from PIE *gwel-(meaning "to throw"). In Greek, the term diabolos (Διάβολος, "slanderer"), carry more negative connotations than the Hebrew satan (שָׂטָן, "accuser, obstructer"). Another common title for Satan is "Prince of Darkness". Of uncertain origins, it is earliest attested in War of the Sons of Light Against the Sons of Darkness as one of the names of the demon Belial ; he is contrasted with the "Prince of Light", who is the archangel Michael.

Folkloric names for Satan include "Old Scratch", "Old Nick", "archfiend", etc. Local names for Satan exist in most languages which have been in frequent contact with Christianity.

Abaddon
Abaddon is a Hebrew noun, coming from abad, meaning "to destroy". In the Tanakh, Abaddon was known as a "place of destruction" synonymous with Sheol, the underworld. It is the second of the seven names of the underworld in the Babylonian Talmud. The Thanksgiving Hymns (a copy was also found in the Dead Sea Scrolls) tells of "the Sheol of Abaddon" and of the "torrents of Belial [that] burst into Abaddon". While being a synonym of the underworld in some passages, in other passages Abaddon is personified as a being that can hear and speak. Abaddon is as such in many ways similar to Mot, the Northwest Semitic god of death. In Revelation, Abaddon, there also called Apollyon(Greek noun meaning "destroyer") is a personification of the underworld, the angel of the abyss, who commands an army of locusts. The Greek god Apollo(etymologically related to Apollyon), like Abaddon, is controller of locusts and a destroyer. Abaddon will rise up after the fifth angel has blown his trumphet. Death and the underworld is again personified, similar to Job, in Revelation. The reference to the abyss in this case is the temporary place of punishment for the fallen angels in contrast to the lake of fire, which will be permanent. Most thought of Abaddon as a place rather than an entity, the biblical Antiquities of Philo being one example ; But, in some cases, such as the apocryphal Acts of Thomas, Abaddon is the name of a demon, or another name for the Devil himself. According to Mathers, in Key of Solomon, Abaddon is the name that Moses invokes to bring destructive rains.

Asmodeus
Asmodeus is a demon largely known due to his appearance in the deuterocanonical Book of Tobit. Asmodeus is thought to derive from Zoroastrianism, and incorporated into Judaism (and hence Christianity) during the Persian Achaemenids' rule over the Jews, most likely from Æshma Dæva. In it, Asmodai falls in love with Sarah, daughter of Raguel, and kills her husband each time she gets married. This continues for seven marriages. After this, Sarah becomes engaged to a young man called Tobias. Tobias is menaced by the demon and receives the aid of the angel Raphael. Raphael teaches Tobias how to deal with the demon, making him catch a fish and put its heart and liver on lit coals. This produces a vapour that makes Asmodai flee to Egypt, where Raphael binds him. More about the demon's fate in this story is unknown, but here he is presented as feeling carnal desire as well as exhibiting evil behaviour. In rabbinical literature, such as the Talmud, he is mentioned several times as being the king of demons, a demon of incontinence, revenge, and wrath. Some of the Talmudic accounts mention Asmodeus being a sort of a trickster figure and an enemy to King Solomon. In the Testament of Solomon (dated 1st - 3rd centuries CE), Solomon invokes Asmodeus to aid in the construction of the Temple. The demon appears and predicts Solomon's kingdom will one day be divided. In the Ars Goetia he is described as a king, and is called a servant of a demon known as Amaymon, though he first appeared in the Pseudomonarchia Daemonum. Asmoday is said to have a seal in gold and is listed as number 32 according to respective rank. He is "strong, powerful and appears with three heads; the first is like a bull, the second like a man, and the third like a ram; the tail of a serpent, and from his mouth issue flames of fire." Also, he sits upon a dragon, holds a bannered lance and, "amongst the Legions of Amaymon governs seventy two legions of inferior spirits. According to Collin de Plancy, he is a very busy demon, being the overseer of all the gambling houses in the court of Hell and the general spreader of dissipation.

Salvation
While most modern Christians wouldn't dream of entertaining themselves with such thoughts, many early Christian writers and church fathers considered the belief of whether or not Satan would repent or achieve salvation to be an important question.
 * Iraeneus, Origen, Gregory the Great