SATAN—How Did He Get His Name?

Recently, a young student in my Sunday School class asked, “How did Satan get his name?”

This is a good question; a question that had never crossed my mind before.  I told him I’d give him the answer the following week because I really didn’t have it clearly formulated in my mind at that moment.

Here’s my journey to the answer…

The very first thing to realize (which we won't get into the specifics) is that God created Lucifer (son of the morning), not Satan.  

Lucifer, who was created sinless and had free will, at some point before the creation of man, transgressed and fell by allowing his pride to be perverted due to his great beauty, brightness, and wisdom.  

He thought that he could be like the Most High God, as the thoughts in his heart echoed.  At that very instant, with his will easily discovered by God, he became Satan.

SATAN—DEFINE IT

When I got home after class, I pulled out my Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance to look up the name “Satan”. 

(This concordance is simply a hardbound index of words that can help a person quickly find a particular word within a verse or verses in which it resides in the Bible.  Dr. Strong assigned a number to every English word translated in the King James Authorized Version Bible.  Each one of these English words has a specific prefix associated with its assigned number.  This prefix is either an “H” or “G” denoting the word being Hebrew or Greek.  Lastly, Dr. Strong provides a breakdown of every word’s origin and definition, whether it be in Hebrew, Aramaic, or Greek—the three languages the Bible was translated from.

As I understand it, Dr. James Strong, a professor of exegetical theology at Drew Theological Seminary, oversaw the creation of the Strong’s Exhaustive concordance, in which it was first published in 1890.  It’s a very helpful tool for any bible student.)

Whether right or wrong—this is what I found. 

According to Strong, the name “Satan” shows up in our King James Bible in 49 verses, 56 times; throughout Genesis to Revelation (19 times in the Old Testament and 37 times in the New).  The English rendering is spelled the same whether it is translated from the Hebrew or Greek language.

The name “Satan” in the Old Testament is the English rendering of the Hebrew word, saw-tawn', Strong’s number H7854, meaning: an opponent; especially Satan, the arch enemy of good: - adversary, Satan, withstand.

H7854 comes from Strong’s number H7853, which means to attack, (figuratively) accuse: - (be an) adversary, resist.

As I previously stated, in the New Testament the English rendering is still “Satan” but in the Greek it is sat-an-as'.  The Stong’s number is G4567 meaning to attack, (figuratively) accuse: - (be an) adversary, resist.

You can see that the Greek definition is essentially the same as the Hebrew, which is to be expected.

G4567 is of Chaldee origin corresponding to Strong’s number G4566.  And G4566 is the Greek name sat-an' which is of Hebrew origin (number H7854); Satan, that is, the devil: - Satan. 

These definitions are all woven together in similarity.  You can sort them out in your own research to check me.  Let me know if you’ve found something different or simply have thoughts to share.

THE LAW OF FIRST MENTION

There’s a biblical study principle called the “law of first mention”.  This principle states: that to understand a particular word or doctrine, one must go back to the first time it is mentioned in the bible and study that passage to get its fullest or clearest meaning.

In the case of the name Satan (Strong’s number H7854), it is first mentioned here in first Chronicles, chronologically in the Bible:

1 Chronicles 21:1

“And Satan stood up against Israel, and provoked David to number Israel.”

The very first time the name “Satan” is mentioned in the Bible, is where he came against Israel—God’s chosen people—by persuading or even seducing King David to have all the armies of Israel counted, which was against God’s command.  Instead of trusting God’s Word, David allowed Satan to convince him otherwise.

Remember when we discovered the definition of the name “Satan”, Strong’s number H7854?  To recap, it meant: an opponent, adversary, arch enemy of good and to withstand.

Can you see how Strong’s definition corresponds seamlessly to Satan’s actions in this passage as he stands against Israel, provoking David?

WHY IS “SATAN” HIS NAME?

Through study, it seems the specific names of people in the Bible oftentimes are given according to what they do.

Have you ever heard, in modern times, the sure name Smith or Taylor?  It is believed that the origin of these two names was according to what they did as a trade for a living.  For instance, Smith likely was a metal worker or blacksmith, whereas Taylor could have been a clothing tailor.

I think the same thing is true here.  But let’s look at another example as it relates to the Bible:

The first English word for a human being in the Bible is “man”, in early Genesis. 

Someone might say, why don’t you look at the Book of Job first?  It’s the oldest book in the Bible.  True—but chronologically it’s the book of Genesis; that’s why I think it is safe to start here:

Genesis 1:26

“And God said, Let us make MAN in our image, after our likeness: and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth.”

The word “man”, although not a proper name, but as a noun can refer to a male person or even male or female people representing mankind.  The word “them” is a pronoun referring to more than one person.  Therefore, in this context, I believe the word “man” refers to both English names Adam and Eve—the first male and female created.

According to Strong, the word “man” (Strong’s number H120) is the English rendering of the Hebrew word aw-dawm', from Strong’s number H119 meaning: ruddy, that is, a human being (an individual or the species, mankind, etc.): - X another, + hypocrite, + common sort, X low, man (mean, of low degree), person.

Does that name “aw-dawm” sound familiar?  You may have guessed it; to the ears, it sounds just like the English name “Adam”.

Let’s find the first time the name “Adam” is used in the Bible:

Genesis 2:19

“And out of the ground the Lord God formed every beast of the field, and every fowl of the air; and brought them unto Adam to see what he would call them: and whatsoever Adam called every living creature, that was the name thereof.”

Now, we just learned that the noun “man” is the Hebrew word “aw-dawm”, which sounds like Adam.  What does Strong’s say about the name Adam?

“Adam” is Strong’s number H121, aw-dawm'.  It is the same as H120 (which we just defined above); Adam, the name of the first man, also of a place in Palestine: - Adam.

So, the Hebrew name “man” or “Adam” is simply the word ascribed to a human being or in this case the very first male of mankind God formed indicating that he is a human being.  Rather than calling Adam the first ruddy, male, human being whom God formed from the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils that breath of life, such that he became a living soul; the name “Adam” encapsulates this whole description.  Therefore, Adam is his name.

CONCLUSION

Therefore, based on this thought process regarding the first human man Adam, it is logical and reasonable that the origin of Satan’s name is the descriptive product stated in a single word, of who he is and what he does according to the Hebrew language, which also carries over to the Greek.  

Satan is the arch-enemy of good.  He stands against God, God’s people Israel, and Christians alike.  He even stands against mankind.  He is an opponent.  He is an adversary—that is, he is a foe or an enemy.  And because of who he is, he is Satan!  And that’s how he got his name.

I hope this study has proved to be thought-provoking and perhaps has provided an answer to the same question you have had also.

If you agree, disagree, or simply would like to comment, please do so.  I welcome the conversation.

Be blessed.