Differentiating Satan’s Many Faces

Abstract

iv ABSTRACT Differentiating Satan’s Many Faces: A Reception History Approach Phillip D. Haskell McMaster Divinity College Hamilton, Ontario Doctor of Philosophy (Christian Theology), 2024 The study of Satan has been approached in a variety of ways with some harmonizing texts to construct a singular description of the Satan figure, others have tried to trace a singular development of Satan over time, and others still acknowledge disparate presentations of Satan throughout the Second Temple period but lacking from these attempts is one which considers whether multiple ideas of Satan have developed over time. This dissertation reconstructs a reception-history of the Satan figure by tracing the many permutations of a leading figure of evil throughout the Old Testament, Second Temple writings, and the New Testament. This process demonstrates that there exist distinct conceptions of the Satan figure and that these conceptions have formed developing traditions which themselves show variance in key understandings. These differing notions of the Satan figure are contrasted against the writings of New Testament authors to show how of their understandings of Satan may have been influenced by earlier traditions. A final section of this study organizes the writings of the Old Testament, Second Temple period, and New Testament into stratified layers based on dating so that their ideas can be read considering historical events of their time. This comparison helps to show how prominent events in history have stimulated thinking regarding the Satan figure over the course of time and that New Testament authors had not yet refined these different ideas into a singular depiction.