Devil
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(Gr. diabolos), a slanderer, the arch-enemy of man's spiritual interest ( Job 1:6 ; Revelation 2:10 ; Zechariah 3:1 ). He is called also "the accuser of the brethen" ( Revelation 12:10 ).
In Leviticus 17:7 the word "devil" is the translation of the Hebrew sair , meaning a "goat" or "satyr" ( Isaiah 13:21 ; 34:14 ), alluding to the wood-daemons, the objects of idolatrous worship among the heathen.
In Deuteronomy 32:17 and Psalms 106:37 it is the translation of Hebrew shed , meaning lord, and idol, regarded by the Jews as a "demon," as the word is rendered in the Revised Version.
In the narratives of the Gospels regarding the "casting out of devils" a different Greek word (daimon) is used. In the time of our Lord there were frequent cases of demoniacal possession ( Matthew 12:25-30 ; Mark 5:1-20 ; Luke 4:35 ; 10:18 , etc.).
M.G. Easton M.A., D.D., Illustrated Bible Dictionary, Third Edition,
published by Thomas Nelson, 1897. Public Domain, copy freely.
[N] indicates this entry was also found in Nave's Topical Bible
[B] indicates this entry was also found in Baker's Evangelical Dictionary
[S] indicates this entry was also found in Smith's Bible Dictionary
Bibliography InformationEaston, Matthew George. "Entry for Devil". "Easton's Bible Dictionary".