Abstract

JONKER, Louis C.. "Satan Made Me Do It!" The Development of a Satan Figure as Social-Theological Diagnostic Strategy from the late Persian Imperial Era to Early Christianity. Old testam. essays [online]. 2017, vol.30, n.2, pp.348-366. ISSN 2312-3621.  https://doi.org/10.17159/2312-3621/2017/v30n2a10.

The purpose of this article is, first of all, to provide a short overview of the socio-religious development to personalise evil into a Satan figure alongside God. Thereafter, I will provide one biblical example which stands at the beginning of this development, namely 1 Chr 21. This text analysis will merely serve as one example to illustrate the relationship between the socio-religious developments in the Second Temple period and biblical textual formation through the reinterpretation of earlier traditions. In a last section, I will reflect on how our awareness of this relationship between socio-religious development and reinterpretation affects how Christian theology participates in social-theological diagnostics today.

Keywords : Satan; Persian dualism; Social-theological diagnostics; 1 Chronicles 21:1.

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