DEVIL. — An invisible personal power, mentioned in the Bible, which directs the forces of evil, in contrast to the designs of God and to the harm of man.
The term is the Greek translation (δ ἑκάστῳ) of the Hebrew haš-šātān («the adversary») or Satan (cf.); it passed into Christian Latin (Vulgate diabolus), into the Neo-Latin languages and into the Germanic languages (Eng. devil, Ger. Teufel), and then into the Slavic languages. It is always used in the singular, since it designates «the enemy» par excellence, who fights against good and life. Διχθόλος, «he who divides», inspiring hatred or envy, generally means «accuser» (δάχθόλη, from δάχθάλλω «to accuse» [Lk. 16, 1], is the «accusation», mostly slanderous [Plato, Apol., 18d-24a, 33a; Euthyphr., 3b], and can take on the broader sense of «aggression» [Num. 22, 32]) and «slanderer». In the Septuagint it corresponds to šātān (1 Chron. 21, 1; Job 1, 6-12; 2, 1-7; Ps. 108, 6; Zech. 3, 1-2), designating the adversary of the servants of God; but when šātān, without the article, indicates a human enemy (1 Sam. 29, 4; 2 Sam. 19, 22; 1 Kings 5, 4 [Heb. 18], and cf. 11, 24.23.25), it is translated ἐπίσουλος «plotter». Διχθόλος translates šār and σόρēr («enemy»: Haman) in Esth. 7, 4 and 8, 1. While the Vulgate of the Old Testament transliterates satan five times, the Septuagint accepts σατάν only in 1 Kings 11, 14.23. Διχθόλος also occurs in Wis. 2, 24 (origin of «death in the world») and 1 Macc. 1, 36.
The invisible enemy was conceived as the spy who accuses men before God and «tempts» them to bring about their condemnation (Job 1, 6 sqq.; 1 Chron. 21, 1; Zech. 3, 1-2). Talmudic and midrashic literature ignores the fall of the angels, which is instead emphasized in apocalyptic writings. The Talmud (Šabbāth jer., 5b) and the Midrash Rabbah (on Ex. 21, 7; etc.) present the šātān as the «accuser» of men.
In the New Testament the devil or Satan is the head of the fallen angels or demons (cf.), who foment evil and perdition (Matt. 25, 41; 2 Cor. 12, 7; 2 Pet. 2, 4; Jude 6; Rev. 9, 11; 12, 7-9).
The term is used 39 times in this technical sense of enemy of God and His faithful, except for 3 cases in which διαβάλλω (plural) is the attributive «accuser» (1 Tim. 3, 11 [detrahentes]; 2 Tim. 3, 3 and Tit. 2, 3 [criminator]; cf. St. Polycarp, 5, 2). It also occurs 36 times as σατανάζ (Matt. 4, 1 as diabolō = Mark 1, 13 as satana; Vulgate always satanas and never satan), in addition to the related terms οἱ δαίμονες (Matt. 3, 1) and τὸ δαίμον (63 times, 27 in the singular but 36 in the plural; 53 times in the Gospels). In Rev. 12, 9 and 20, 2 the being «called devil and Satan» is identified with the dragon (cf.); ibid. 12, 10 it is etymologically described as «the accuser (ὁ κατήγορος) of our brethren (=Christians) who accuses (ὁ κατηγορῶν) them before God day and night». The eschatological function of the devil is to lead men to perdition at the final judgment; the devil is ἀντίδικος «the adversary in court» (1 Pet. 5, 8). Meanwhile he tempts and deceives men to prevent their union with God; he thwarts the ways of God for the salvation of men (Matt. 13, 19.30). Hence the opposition between «the children of the devil» and «the children of God» (John 8, 44.47 [Jude 6; 7, 1; 1 John 3, 8; 10, 1]; the former perform the «works of the devil» [Acts 13, 10], which are summed up in deceit or seduction [John 8, 44; 1 Tim. 4, 2; Rev. 12, 9; 20, 9; cf. Acts 5, 3-4], by which truth and justice are replaced by sin (Rom. 1, 25-27; Jas. 5, 19). The Christian is to «resist the devil» (Jas. 4, 7; 1 Pet. 5, 8) «with the whole armor» (Eph. 6, 11); the devil is «the ruler of this world» (John 12, 31; 14, 30; 16, 11), «the god of this age» (2 Cor. 4, 4).
Among the Fathers, ὁ διάβολος or diabolus (always in the singular, as in the Bible) is the head of the rebellious angels (Tertullian, Apol., 22 sqq., and De anim., 35; St. Augustine, Sermo 197 de temp.; etc.); he is the enemy of Christ and His faithful (St. Ignatius, ed. A. Lelong, Paris 1910, p. XLII; St. Polycarp, 7, 1) and the martyrs endure his assaults (Passio s. Perpetuae, 3 sqq., 10, 18, 20 sqq.); cf. Romanos the Melodist (c. 500), ed. G. Cammelli, Florence 1930, pp. 228-30 (διάβολος is the Antichrist, p. 228), 272, 278, where he uses οἱ δαίμονες in the plural. While devil remains an appellation, ὁ σατανᾶς assumes a more sacred meaning and tends to become a proper name (cf. Rom. 16, 20; St. Ignatius, Ad Eph., 13, 1). St. Bonaventure attributes to the demons the office of «accusers» (De ss. Angelis, serm. 5).
The form zabulus (perhaps contaminated by Beelzebul) was common among the Latins, from St. Cyprian to St. Ildefonsus (8th cent.) and as far as Orderic Vitalis (12th cent.): cf. C. Du Cange, Glossarium med. et inf. lat., ed. L. Henschel, VI, Paris 1846, p. 929.