[taneq]

Thanks for this.

> not even clear that Satan is a moral agent capable of doing good or evil

This was what got me - as I understand it, the special thing about humans was free will, which kind of emancipates any of the Heavenly Host from wrongdoing (at least in the sense of personal moral responsibility).

[abakker]

In the Tanakh, Satan is "The Adversary". And to me, it always seems that he almost necessarily existed by gods will and permission in order to provide god with an agent. The Adversary almost seemed a force of nature, not moral, but bound to provide humanity with something to choose instead of god.

If on a spectrum of God <--> !God, humans were supposed to turn their interest toward god. But, rather than having God and Void apposed, there is a personified force there that is "the adversary".

[IntronExon]

Mostly. Satan comes via the Hebrew ‘Shaitan’ meaning as you say “Adversary,” but also “Accuser” as well. In the Torah, that word is used to describe human enemies, and IIRC it doesn’t exist as a supernatural force. If you think about it, the notion of any sort of counterpart to God is too close to polytheism for Judaism.

[cholmon]

I recall reading somewhere that the old testament "Adversary" view could be interpreted as Satan being less of an antagonist who is directly opposed to God, and more of a celestial prosecutor, whose role is to ensure that those who are deemed faithful (by God) truly are. Prosecutors aren't evil people who are opposed to the Judge, but rather are important instruments in ensuring, perhaps imperfectly, that justice is applied.

Almost like a divine unit testing framework: if there are critical weaknesses, please help me uncover them ASAP. Hence God's willingness to let Satan make Job's life miserable.

[dragonwriter]

> Almost like a divine unit testing framework

Acceptance testing, surely.