Herein we provide info on Satan from the Babylonian Talmud aka Talmud Bavli. The fuller complete result consists of quotations of those sections within the text that refer to Angels, Cherubim, Seraphim, Devil, Satan, demons, serpent and dragon. The point is not to elucidate these references but to provide relevant partial quotations and citations. See my section on Angels here, Cherubim and Seraphim here, Satan here and Demons here.
The Talmud consists of a combination of the Mishnah (oral traditions) put into writing circa 200 AD and the Gemara (the commentary on the Mishnah) put into writing circa 500 AD.
There are many terms used within the Talmud that will surely be unfamiliar to the general public. Yet, this does not diminish from the context of noting wherein references are made to paranormal entities. Two things to note may be that “R.” refers to Rabbi, “b.” to ben which is Hebrew for son and is used within a person’s name and “tractate” refers to section. That which follows is from Michael L. Rodkinson’s 1819 AD translation.
From the tractate Sabbath.
II Samuel, however, would go to sea only on a vessel which carried idolaters, saying: “Satan hardly ever metes out punishment to two people” (of different beliefs).
IX Said R. Jehoshua b. Levi again: When Moses descended from Heaven, Satan came before the Holy One, blessed be He, and said: “Lord of the universe! Where is the Torah?” And the Lord answered: “I have given it to the Earth.” Satan descended to Earth and said to it: “Where is the Torah?” And the Earth answered [Job, xxviii. 23]: “God (alone) understandeth her way, and he knoweth her place.” Satan then went to the sea, and the sea said: “She is not with me.” He then went to the deep, and the deep answered: “Not in me is she,” as it is written [ibid. 14]: “The deep saith, Not in me is she; and the sea saith, She is not with me.” [Ibid. 22]: “Perdition and death say: With our ears have we heard a report of her.” Satan then ascended before the Holy One, blessed be He, and said: “Lord of the Universe! I have looked for the Torah on the whole Earth and could not find it.” Then said the Lord unto him: “Go unto the son of Amram.” And Satan went to Moses and said to him: “Where is the Torah which the Holy One, blessed be He, gave unto thee?”
From the tractate Baba Bathra. I It is written [Job, i. 6-9]: “. . . that the accuser (Satan) also came in the midst of them,” etc. Satan said before the Lord: “I have sped all over the world, and found no trusty man like thy servant Abraham, to whom thou didst say [Gen. xiii. 17]: ‘Arise, walk through the land in the length of it and in the breadth of it; for unto thee will I give it.’ And not withstanding this, when he searched for a grave to bury his wife Sarah, and did not find one until he bought it for four hundred silver shekels, he did not murmur or bear in mind anything against thee.” “Then said the Lord to Satan,” etc…. “Then Satan answered, Is it for nought that Job feareth God? . . . the work of his hands hast thou blessed” [ellipses in original translation]…”A fire of God,” etc. [to ii. 5]. Satan again answered the Lord, as said above…There is a Boraitha: Satan descends and tempts human beings; then ascends and accuses them; then takes the order and takes the soul of him whom he has tempted. “Then the accuser answered the Lord,” etc. [ibid., ibid. 4-8], Said R. Itz’hak: Satan was more afflicted than Job himself. It is similar to a master who says to his servant: “Break the barrel, but save the wine” (without letting him have a vessel to save it in). So was it with Satan; the Lord told him to take Job’s body, but to save his soul.
Said Resh Lakish: From this we see that he who is called Satan is himself the evil spirit who tempts one to sin; and he himself is the Angel of Death, as he was told to save the life: from which it is to be seen that the life of man was in his hands. R. Levi said: Satan and Peninnah both intended (with their accusation) to please heaven. Satan, who had seen that the Lord was favorable toward Job, feared that through the justice of Job Abraham’s merits would be forgotten, and, therefore, he spoke as above…R. A’ha lectured the same in the city of Papuniah, and Satan came and kissed his feet for this…Said Abayi to him: Job spoke only about Satan. On this point Tanaim differ. About the just cited verse R. Elazar said: Job was about to turn the dish face downwards. And R. Joshua said to him: Job spoke only with regard to Satan.
From the tractate Sanhedrin. XI And this is what it reads [Zech. iii. 1-3]: “And he showed me Jehoshua the high-priest standing before the Angel of the Lord. And the Lord said unto the accuser, The Lord rebuke thee, O accuser,” etc. Satan said to him: I know that you are an upright man, but why did the fire affect your garments, which was not the case with Chananyah, Mishael and Azaryah? And he answered: They were three, and I one….It happened then that David went to a village and the Satan appeared to him in the form of a ram…The Satan then appeared before David as a bird, and he shot an arrow at it, and the arrow fell on the bee-hive and broke it, so that Bath Sheba was visible to David…
Lord of the Universe, forgive me this sin for the purpose that people shall not say that your mountain was lost through a bird (as said, above that the Satan appeared to David as a bird)…It reads [Gen. xxii. 1]: “And it came to pass after these things, that God did tempt Abraham,” After what? Said R. Johanan in the name of R. Jose b. Senira: After the words of the Satan to those of [ibid. xxi. 8]: “And the child grew, and was weaned,” etc. The Satan said before the Holy One, blessed be He, thus: Lord of the Universe, Thou hast favored this old man with an offspring at his hundredth birthday…The Satan preceded him on the way…And the Satan said again: “Is not then thy fear of God a stupidity?” And Abraham answered: Remember . . . whoever perished being innocent. When the Satan saw that Abraham did not listen to him, he said to him [ibid. 12]: “But to me a word came by stealth.”
In the next segment, we will consider Serpent in the Talmud.
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