1 Samuel 25:2-34 (7/1/13)
Belial isn’t even a name in the Old Testament. It means “worthless” and is used 27 times in the Bible – 26 times in the Old Testament and once in the New Testament. In sixteen cases in the OT,
belial is used in the
idiom “man/men/son/daughter/child/sons/children of
belial.” Belial means
worthlessness, and we have seen before that “sons of X” is an idiom that means “people with the characteristics of X.” For most occurrences of this particular idiom, the King James Version implies that it’s a name: “sons of Belial.” Notice today how the Bible in Basic English, like most modern translations, gives you a different – and more accurate – idea in English. The first worthless person that we’re going to read about is Nabal.
From the Bible in Basic English, with selections from the King James Version:
14-16 But one of the young men said to Nabal's wife Abigail, David sent men from the waste land to say kind words to our master, and he gave them a rough answer. But these men have been very good to us; they did us no wrong and nothing of ours was touched while we were with them in the fields: But day and night they were like a wall round us while we were with them, looking after the sheep.
17 So now, give thought to what you are going to do; for evil is in store for our master and all his house: for he is such a [son of] belial good-for-nothing person that it is not possible to say anything to him.
King James Version: for he is such a son of Belial…
23-24 And when Abigail saw David, she quickly got off her ass, falling down on her face before him. And falling at his feet she said, May the wrong be on me, my lord, on me: let your servant say a word to you, and give ear to the words of your servant.
25 Let my lord give no attention to Nabal, that [man of] belial good-for-nothing: for as his name is, so is he, a man without sense: but I, your servant, did not see the young men whom my lord sent.
King James Version: man of Belial
26 So now, my lord, by the living God and by your living soul, seeing that the Lord has kept you from the crime of blood and from taking into your hands the punishment for your wrongs, may all your haters, and those who would do evil to my lord, be like Nabal.
1 Kings 21:1-19, Belial “Worthless” (7/2/13)
The Septuagint (the Greek translation of the Old Testament made by rabbis about 200 - 300 BC) never uses
belial as a name, but instead always translates it into Greek with some variation on
pestilential or
lawless. That’s fair, because it isn’t a name for the Devil or anybody else in the Hebrew OT. In this incident from the reign of King Ahab of Israel (also known as Samaria), his wife Jezebel arranges for two “sons of
belial,” that is, “worthless men,” to give false testimony against Naboth.
From the Bible in Basic English, with selections from the King James Version:
7-9 Then Jezebel, his wife, said, Are you now the ruler of Israel? Get up, take food, and let your heart be glad; I will give you the vine-garden of Naboth the Jezreelite. So she sent a letter in Ahab's name, stamped with his stamp, to the responsible men and the chiefs who were in authority with Naboth. And in the letter she said, Let a time of public sorrow be fixed, and put Naboth at the head of the people;
10 And get two [sons of] belial good-for-nothing persons to come before him and give witness that he has been cursing God and the king. Then take him out and have him stoned to death.
King James Version: And set two men, sons of Belial, before him…
11-12 So the responsible men and the chiefs who were in authority in his town, did as Jezebel had said in the letter she sent them. They gave orders for a day of public sorrow, and put Naboth at the head of the people.
13 And the two [sons of] belial good-for-nothing persons came in and took their seats before him and gave witness against Naboth, in front of the people, saying, Naboth has been cursing God and the king. Then they took him outside the town and had him stoned to death.
King James Version: And there came in two men, children of Belial…
Nahum 1:1-15 (7/3/13)
Earlier in the week, we learned that
belial is used 26 times in the Old Testament, and that 16 of those are in the idiom, “son of
belial,” or
worthless person. The other 10 occurrences in the OT are adjectives modifying mostly persons, but also a disease, a thing, and a heart one time each. Nowhere is there a suggestion in the Hebrew that the Old Testament considers
belial to be a demon or the Devil. The prophet Nahum uses
belial worthless to describe people who separate themselves from God. The King James Version uses
wicked, and that’s good, too.
From the Bible in Basic English, with selections from the King James Version:
1 The word about Nineveh. The book of the vision of Nahum the Elkoshite.
11 One has gone out from you who is designing evil against the Lord, whose purposes are belial of no value.
King James Version: … a belial wicked counsellor…
15 See on the mountains the feet of him who comes with good news, giving word of peace! Keep your feasts, O Judah, give effect to your oaths: for the belial good-for-nothing man will never again go through you; he is completely cut off.
King James Version: for the belial wicked shall no more pass through thee…
Psalms 101:3-4; Proverbs 16:25-30, 19:28-29 (7/4/13)
I looked at or spot-checked a dozen English translations (King James, Jewish Publication Society, Revised Version, American Standard Version, Bible in Basic English, Contemporary English Version, English Standard Version, Good News, God’s Word, International Standard Version, New English, and Jerusalem) to see how they translate
belial. Most occurrences in the old translations other than King James and Revised and all occurrences in the new translations have some variation on “worthless” or “lawless.” Only the KJV and its daughter the RV consistently have “Belial” as a name in the OT, and even they use it as a name only as part of the idiom “sons etc. of X.” The other common translations in the King James Version are
ungodly and
wicked. We look at some of those today. I think we are safe in concluding that the OT doesn’t regard
Belial as a name.
From the Bible in Basic English, with selections from the King James Version:
Psalms 101:3 I will not put any belial evil thing before my eyes; I am against all turning to one side; I will not have it near me.
King James Version: I will set no belial wicked thing before mine eyes:
Proverbs 16:27 A belial good-for-nothing man is a designer of evil, and in his lips there is a burning fire.
King James Version: An belial ungodly man diggeth up evil:
Proverbs 19:28 A belial good-for-nothing witness makes sport of the judge's decision: and the mouth of evil-doers sends out evil like a stream.
King James Version: An belial ungodly witness scorneth judgment…
2 Corinthians 6:14 – 7:1 (7/5/13)
The New Testament doesn’t have
belial, but it does have
beliar, once:
- What accord has Christ with Belial? Or what portion does a believer share with an unbeliever?
(
Beliar is most likely a slight variation in pronunciation, and it typical comes into English as “Belial.”)
Now, the most interesting thing to me about this verse is that
all of the eleven translations that I talked about yesterday (obviously JPS doesn’t contain the NT), plus the Wingate and Murdock New Testaments, have either “Belial/Beliar” with a capital “B,” “Satan,” “Evil One,” or “devil.” You remember that most of them have “worthless” or “lawless” in the Old Testament. But here,
Belial appears to be a nickname for the Devil, and that’s how just about everybody translates it.
What in the world is up with that? How did “worthlessness” in the OT become the Devil in the NT in the minds of eleven translation teams?
The answer lies in human nature and the literature of the intertestamental times. You know those awful tee shirts that are labeled “Stupid” and “I’m with Stupid”? We human beings – even Christians, I’m sorry to say – are name-callers. When we don’t like someone, and we think that person is worthless, we use “Worthless” as a derogatory name. During intertestamental times, several books were written that used
Belial Worthless as a nickname for the Devil. These books are not considered to be scripture by Jews, Catholics, or Protestants, but people read them then the way we read novels today. Paul uses the nickname “Worthless” in 2 Corinthians 6:15 to say that Jesus has nothing in common with that worthless old Devil.
From the Bible in Basic English, with selections from the King James and several modern translations:
6:14 Do not keep company with those who have not faith: for what is there in common between righteousness and evil, or between light and dark?
15 And what agreement is there between Christ and beliar the Evil One? or what part has one who has faith with one who has not?
King James Version: And what concord hath Christ with Belial?
International Standard Version: What harmony exists between the Messiah and Beliar?
Contemporary English Version: Is Christ a friend of Satan?
Good News Bible: How can Christ and the Devil agree?
More of The Big Lie
The Son of God and the Father of Lies
The OT satan is always an adversary, but not always the Devil.
The Hebrew satan is translated various ways.
In the New Testament, both satanas and diabolos normally refer to the Devil.
Sometimes satanas and diabolos are used figuratively to refer to someone acting like the Devil.
Poneros – Evil in the New Testament
Demons cause sickness, not sin.
Sometimes Satan and demons cooperate with each other.
Neither Baalzebub nor Lucifer is a Biblical name for the Devil.
Belial means "worthless," and once it's used as a nickname for the Devil.
Satan's job description: Temptation and Lies
Our job description: Resist him!
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