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Posted on CCPC's website 2025
The Bad Guy study, OT bible verses by book.
In the Old Testament there are several uses for the various terms. However, very few of them are referring to the single individual we have been identifying as The Bad Guy in the essay related to this verse by verse study. Those are noted below.
The word we read as "Devil" is never used in the OT to refer to The Bad Guy. When used in some of the translations it is lower case, not a proper noun, and is usually in plural to refer to 'demons' or 'evil spirits' and the like. The favored term for him is "Satan" and that is only used a couple of times, and we look at them as we go.
Lucifer, when used in its One Verse, is NOT a proper name, but is instead a descriptive term.
It is interesting to note that in Genesis 3, we have the Fall of Mankind, and there is no mention of The Bad Guy, and the word "sin" is not used until the scene with Cain and Able.
'Satan', as a co-star of note, doesn't appear until the scene in Job during the time of the Patriarchs, and then doesn't influence the overall story until he whispers in King David's ear in 1 Chronicles.
OT verses:
It should be noted that most of the below is the raw notes from this research which involved collecting the lists made by others, wading through various concordances (including the Apocrypha where oddly enough, he is mostly absent), and topical Bibles, and then trying to sort it all out.
ALSO: we probably missed stuff. Which, as it is found, will be added.
You'll be all right:
"The Lord will fight for you; you need only to be still."
Exodus 14:14
- From Tobit 6:
"1 And as they went on their journey, they came in the evening to the river Tigris, and they lodged there.
2 And when the young man went down to wash himself, a fish leaped out of the river, and would have devoured him.
3 Then the angel said unto him, Take the fish. And the young man laid hold of the fish, and drew it to land.
4 To whom the angel said, Open the fish, and take the heart and the liver and the gall, and put them up safely.
5 So the young man did as the angel commanded him; and when they had roasted the fish, they did eat it: then they both went on their way, till they drew near to Ecbatane.
6 Then the young man said to the angel, Brother Azarias, to what use is the heart and the liver and the gal of the fish?
7 And he said unto him, Touching the heart and the liver, if a devil or an evil spirit trouble any, we must make a smoke thereof before the man or the woman, and the party shall be no more vexed."
...
15 "Then the angel said unto him, Dost thou not remember the precepts which thy father gave thee, that thou shouldest marry a wife of thine own kindred? wherefore hear me, O my brother; for she shall be given thee to wife; and make thou no reckoning of the evil spirit; for this same night shall she be given thee in marriage.
16 And when thou shalt come into the marriage chamber, thou shalt take the ashes of perfume, and shalt lay upon them some of the heart and liver of the fish, and shalt make a smoke with it:
17 And the devil shall smell it, and flee away, and never come again any more: but when thou shalt come to her, rise up both of you, and pray to God which is merciful, who will have pity on you, and save you: fear not, for she is appointed unto thee from the beginning; and thou shalt preserve her, and she shall go with thee. Moreover I suppose that she shall bear thee children. Now when Tobias had heard these things, he loved her, and his heart was effectually joined to her."
Resource Links:
"St. Jerome (Hieronymus, ca. 342-420) used the word 'apocrypha' (questionable authenticity) to indicate the books that were not part of the Jewish Bible, the Tanakh, but were included in the Greek Septuagint Bible."
- https://www.artbible.info/bible/apocrypha.html
"Fragments of Dead Sea Scrolls dating back to before 70 A.D. contained parts of the apocrypha books in Hebrew, including Sirach and Tobit."
https://www.kingjamesbibleonline.org/Apocrypha-Books/
BibleHub.com resources:
Interlinear:
https://biblehub.com/interlinear/job/1.htm (opens to Job 1)
Topical Bible entry on: Satan (search available) https://biblehub.com/topical/s/satan.htm
NOTE: The Bible Study Lesson presented above is posted as a reference document to begin a conversation of the topic. And that's it. Please accept it at such.
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