Etymology of the word Satan


koot van wyk (DLitt et Phil; ThD)

Kyungpook National University

Sangju Campus

conjoint lecturer of Avondale College

20 April 2010


It is wellknown that Satan carries the semantics of deceiver. The question is, where did the root come from? G. von Rad argued that the word Satan is derived from Zoroastrianism and thus is a late word dating the book of Job also late.

Where did the word Satan come from?

It appears to have been from Akkadian. The Akkadian word šatunu (he) may have been used in such a way to have an indirect reference to evil itself, for propriety reasons or for superstitious reasons. Instead of refering to the entity of evil itself, a substitution was made for his name, "he" that then later became his name.

Akkadian was there since the time of Noah and the Flood in 2521 BCE and thus, Moses was acquainted with Akkadian and could have known this root already and its use in that time in 1460 BCE when he composed his historical epic poem, Job. 

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