Do Jewish people believe in the Devil or Satan or is that purely a Christian and Muslim belief?

Answer 1

"In ancient Jewish tradition Satan is simply an angel doing the work that God assigned to Satan to do. "

"The word Satan means challenger. With the idea of Satan challenging us, or tempting if you will. This description sees Satan as the angel who is the embodiment of man's challenges. This idea of Satan works closely with God as an integral part of God plan for us. His job is to make choosing good over evil enough of a challenge so that it becomes clear to us that there can be only one meaningful or logical choice."

"Contrast this to Christianity, which sees Satan as God's opponent. In Jewish thought, the idea that there exists anything capable of setting itself up as God's opponent would be considered polytheistic or setting up the devil to be an equally powerful polarity to god or a demigod."

" Oddly, proof for The Christian satan/devil mythology is supposedly found in the ancient Jewish texts that were borrowed to create the bible. One can’t help but wonder how Christians came up with such a fantastically different interpretation of Gods assistant Satan in their theology."

"Other hints about Satan’s role in human relations can be seen if you look at the name Lucifer. It meaning in the original tongue translates as Light bearer or light bringer. Essentially the bringer of enlightenment. The temptations of the Satan idea bring all of us eventually into Gods light. Hardly the Evil entity of Christian mythology."

~ Quotes from Don

Answer 2

[1 Chr 21:1] A satan rose up against Israel, and he enticed David into taking a census of Israel.

Footnote:

[1] A satan: in the parallel passage of 2 Sam 24:1 the Lord's anger. The change in the term reflects the changed theological outlook of postexilic Israel, when evil could no longer be attributed directly to God. At an earlier period the Hebrew word satan ("adversary," or, especially in a court of law, "accuser"), when not used of men, designated an angel who accused men before God (Job 1:6-12; 2:1-7; Zech 3:1-2). Here, as in later Judaism (Wisdom 2:24) and in the New Testament, satan, or the "devil" (from the Greek translation of the word), designates an evil spirit who tempts men to wrongdoing.


I hope this Scripture passage and the footnote helps you.

Answer 3

The Old Testament mentions Satan by name
it is not a major theme, but it is there

1 Chronicles 21:1
[ David's Census Brings Pestilence ] Then Satan stood against Israel and incited David to number Israel.
1 Chronicles 21:1-3 (in Context) 1 Chronicles 21 (Whole Chapter)
Job 1:6
[ Satan Allowed to Test Job ] Now there was a day when the sons of God came to present themselves before the LORD, and Satan also came among them.
Job 1:5-7 (in Context) Job 1 (Whole Chapter)
Job 1:7
The LORD said to Satan, "From where have you come?" Satan answered the LORD and said, "From going to and fro on the earth, and from walking up and down on it."
Zechariah 3:1
[ A Vision of Joshua the High Priest ] Then he showed me Joshua the high priest standing before the angel of the LORD, and Satan standing at his right hand to accuse him.
Zechariah 3:1-3 (in Context) Zechariah 3 (Whole Chapter)
Zechariah 3:2
And the LORD said to Satan, "The LORD rebuke you, O Satan! The LORD who has chosen Jerusalem rebuke you! Is not this a brand plucked from the fire?"
Zechariah 3:1-3 (in Context) Zechariah 3 (Whole Chapter)

Answer 4

They believe Satan is a part of all people... the extremely selfish part of all people. I'm not too sure about the devil part. From what I have seen, they do not believe in devils or demons. These are symbols to show how a person acts.

Answer 5

I think, "Satan" was originally considered just "the adversary" in Judaism, not the embodiment of evil that Christians and Muslims ascribe to.

Here is an article from Wikipedia:
"Judaism
In Hebrew, the biblical word ha-satan means adversary or obstacle, or even "the prosecutor" (recognizing that God is viewed as the ultimate Judge).

In the book of Job (Iyov), ha-satan is the title, not the proper name, of an angel submitted to God; he is the divine court's chief prosecutor. In Judaism ha-satan does not make evil, rather points out to God the evil inclinations and actions of humankind. In essence ha-satan has no power unless humans do evil things. After God points out Job's piety, ha-satan asks for permission to test the faith of Job. The righteous man is afflicted with loss of family, property, and later, health, but he still stays faithful to God. At the conclusion of this book God appears as a whirlwind, explaining to all that divine justice is inscrutable with human intellect. In the epilogue Job's possessions are restored and he has a second family to "replace" the one that died.

There is no evidence in Torah, or in the books of the Prophets and other writings, to suggest that God created an evil being. In fact, the Book of Isaiah, Job, Ecclesiastes, and Deuteronomy all have passages which God is credited for creating both the good and the evil of this world.

The Hebrew word for evil used above is usually translated as 'calamity', 'disaster' or 'chaos'."

Answer 6

Yes they all do believe in Satan. The Muslim faith comes from Abraham's son Ishmael (whether they like to agree with it or not). Whereas the Hebrew faith which diverts on the subject of Jesus being the son of God. and the chosen messiah, follow Abraham's son Issac.

They all believe in the great deceiver and temptations....yet they all deal wiht it in different ways

Answer 7

Yes, but in a slightly different way.

The word "satan" appears in the bible as "oppose" (Numbers 22:22) or as "adversary" (Kings 1 11:14), what means that "Satan" was not a specific character, but a common adjective, or noun.
Only later, in the books of Job and Zechariah, it appears as "THE Satan", the devil.

The original meaning of the Hebrew word "satan" is "to oppose", as the Satan is sometimes interpreted as a good angel who explains the sayings of god in a different way than the customary.
And indeed, the original Satan in Judaism is nothing but an angel (Hebrew: mal'ach= messenger) of god who's in charged of the hard and nasty labor. The Satan is mentioned as one of god's sons in Job 1:6 ("Now there was a day when the sons of God came to present themselves before the lord, and Satan came also among them").

In the Middle Ages, the sages of the Kabala portrayed the Satan as an Evil opposer of god; a separate being from the heavenly entourage, as they use imageries from Christianity and Gnosticism, like the connection between the Satan and the charactre of Samael ("the blind god"). The assumption that the Satan is the opposer of god is acceptable today, but it has no part of the Jewish faith.

According to the literture of the "midrashim", the Satan is an angel who has several labors:
1)Killing people as god commends (including the conveying the soul of Moses to god; "midrash rabba")
2)testifying against the deceased ones in the court of heaven ("midrash rabba", "midrash zutta")
3)Tempting people to sin, in order to examine their loyalty to god ("midrash tankhumah").
4)Other missions of god, such as avoiding Esau from coming back home when Jacob got his blessings ("midrash tankhumah")

Therefore, Judaism DOES includes the Satan in its complex of beliefs, but unlike Christianity and Islam, we do not see him as an evil character and recognize his importance.

Answer 8

Yes they do believe in satan.

Job 2:7
So Satan went out from the presence of the LORD and afflicted Job with painful sores from the soles of his feet to the top of his head.

Zechariah 3:1
Then he showed me Joshua ; the high priest standing before the angel of the LORD , and Satan [ accuser ] standing at his right side to accuse him.

As far as you believe in God almighty, Jesus, holy spirit and the word of god- satan is not belief, he is a real existing entity.

Answer 9

Yes for Satan (but he works for G-d) and no to the devil.

Answer 10

Yes, Satan is the serpent in Genesis, the first book of Moses. Research "Garden of Eden".

Best regards