A brief history of the belief in the Devil (950 BCE - 70 CE)

Abstract

It is strange but true: belief in the Devil is alive. This fact is brilliantly argued by Robert Muchembled in his book A History of the Devil: From the Middle Ages to the Present (2003). He says: “In fact, for almost a thousand years, he had never really gone away. The devil has been part of the fabric of European life since the Middle Ages, and has accompanied all its major changes” (Muchembled 2003:1). This article presents a brief history of the origin and development of the belief in Satan from the First Temple period (950–586 BCE) to the Second Temple period (539 BCE–70 CE) in order to answer the questions: When did the belief in the Satan appear? Could Judaism and Christianity do without this character? If you asked a theologian the question (...): Who is Satan? he would doubtless answer: Satan is the Commander-in-chief of the fallen angels. (Corte 1958:7)