Meaning
Devil (Gr. diabolos), a slanderer, the arch-enemy of man's spiritual interest (Job 1:6; Rev 2:10; Zech 3:1). He is called also "the accuser of the brethen" (Rev 12:10).
In Lev 17:7 the word "devil" is the translation of the Hebrew sair , meaning a "goat" or "satyr" (Isa 13:21; 34:14), alluding to the wood-daemons, the objects of idolatrous worship among the heathen.
In Deut 32:17 and Ps 106:37 it is the translation of Hebrew shed , meaning lord, and idol, regarded by the Jews as a "demon," as the word is rendered in the Revised Version.
In the narratives of the Gospels regarding the "casting out of devils" a different Greek word (daimon) is used. In the time of our Lord there were frequent cases of demoniacal possession (Matt 12:25-30; Mark 1:5-20; Luke 4:35; 10:18, etc.).
