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
Date
2017
Authors
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Old Testament Society of South Africa
Abstract
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.
Description
CITATION: Jonker, L. C. 2017. 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 Testament Essays, 30(2):348-366, doi:10.17159/2312-3621/2017/v30n2a10.
The original publication is available at http://www.scielo.org.za
The original publication is available at http://www.scielo.org.za
Keywords
Devil, Bible. Chronicles 1st, XXI, 1 -- Criticism, interpretation, etc.
Citation
Jonker, L. C. 2017. 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 Testament Essays, 30(2):348-366, doi:10.17159/2312-3621/2017/v30n2a10