Belial and Sons

Our boss is “such a son of beliyya‘al [the equivalent of English “S.O.B.”] that one cannot speak to him.”  Thus say the ranch-hands at Nabal’s ranch in 1 Samuel 25:17. Our Bibles obscure the presence of the Hebrew term beliyya‘al in this verse. Instead, they say that Nabal is “so ill-natured” (NRSV) or “such a scoundrel” (NKJV). But “S.O.B.” would be a fitting (albeit hybrid) abbreviation of this expression “Son Of Belial.” Poor guy – even his wife Abigail calls him an “S.O.B.” in 1 Samuel 25:25!

We look in vain for the word beliyya‘al in any other Semitic language that I know of. It is actually a combination of a poetic word for “not” plus the word “profitable,” giving us the meaning “worthless(ness)” or “good-for-nothing.” All but five of its 27 occurrences in the Hebrew Bible refer to people. It also refers to a wicked thought in Deuteronomy 15:9, and to a deadly disease in Psalm 41:8. The writer of Psalm 101:3 declares, “I will not set before my eyes anything that is base / wicked.” And in 2 Samuel 22:5 (= Psalm 18:5), beliyya‘al is personified as an evil power paired with Death that is poised to gang up on David.

It’s interesting to look at who all is called a son (or man) of beliyya‘al in the Bible, an expression usually translated as “worthless men” or “scoundrels.” We begin the list with the lone example of the expression “daughter of beliyya‘al,” which Hannah begs Eli the priest not to think that she is one when he mistakes her for a drunken woman (1 Samuel 1:16).

The men in Deuteronomy 13:13, who would lead an entire town astray to worship idols, are called “sons of beliyya‘al. So are the men of Gibeah who demanded sex from the traveling Levite (Judges 19:22, 20:13). So are the sons of Eli (1 Samuel 2:12), who treated the sanctuary offerings with contempt, and slept with the women who served at the sanctuary. So are the men who questioned Saul’s appointment as king (1 Samuel 10:27), and the men who refused to share the Amalekite plunder with the men who stayed behind with the baggage (1 Samuel 30:22).

Shimei calls David a man of beliyya‘al while throwing rocks and dust at him in 2 Samuel 16:7. Sheba son of Bichri, who seeks to lead another rebellion against David, is also called this name in 2 Samuel 20:1. Two “S.O.B.’s” are recruited as false witnesses to accuse Naboth and put him to death (1 Kings 21:10, 13). And Abijah is quoted as saying that it was “S.O.B.’s” who pressured Rehoboam into making a bad decision that lost him the kingdom (2 Chronicles 13:7).

Nahum is the only prophet to use the term beliyya‘al (1:11 and 1:15). He uses it to refer to a “counselor,” who is probably the king of Nineveh, who plots evil and destruction against all surrounding nations, and even the Lord himself. Judah is promised that never more shall Belial pass through her, at least, not in an Assyrian uniform. In the book of Nahum, Beliyya‘al is beginning to transform from an unflattering adjective to a character larger than life.

When we get to the New Testament period, the personification of beliyya‘al as an evil power, which we found only in 2 Samuel 22:5 = Psalm 18:5, becomes a standard name for Satan, a function it almost never serves in the Hebrew Bible. Paul writes in 2 Corinthians 6:15, in a passage that juxtaposes light with darkness and the temple of God with idols, “What agreement does Christ have with Beliar?” (The spelling Beliar is used when the name occurs in Greek.) Here Belial is clearly another name for Satan.

Belial is also mentioned in at least two different sections of the Dead Sea Scrolls. He is named eleven times in the War Scroll (1QM – https://www.qumran.org/js/qumran/hss/1qm). He is also mentioned four times in “The Coming of Melchizedek” (11Q13 – http://www.gnosis.org/library/commelc.htm), where he is named among the spirits who have rebelled against God and have become utterly wicked; Melchizedek “will deliver all the captives from the power of Belial.”

In chapter 4 of the book The Martyrdom and Ascension of Isaiah (http://www.earlychristianwritings.com/text/ascension.html), we hear that “Beliar, the great angel and king of this world…will descend from his firmament in the form of a man, a king of iniquity, a murderer of his mother” (sounds like a reappearance of Nero). It says he will claim to be God and will speak and act like the Beloved, and all will believe in him; many of the saints will be led astray. He is to raise the dead and perform many signs, like making the sun rise at midnight. He will rule for three years, seven months, and 27 days, he will set up his image in every city, and do whatever he wishes. And at the end of his rule, the Lord will come “and will drag Beliar, and his hosts also, into Gehenna.” After this revelation, in 5:1, Beliar incites Manasseh to saw Isaiah in two.

The Sibylline Oracles (http://www.sacred-texts.com/cla/sib/sib05.htm) also present Nero in a similar way: “Then Beliar will come from the line of Augustus…and he will raise up the dead and perform many signs for men…And he will lead astray many faithful, chosen Hebrews.” In the end, God sends fire to burn up Beliar and his followers (Sibylline Oracles 3.63-74).

In other Jewish writings in Greek, Beliar is also found twice in Jubilees (1:20, 15:33), four times in Lives of the Prophets, and eleven times in the Testaments of the Twelve Patriarchs (http://www.earlychristianwritings.com/text/patriarchs-charles.html). In Testament of Reuben 6:3, women are “the plague of Beliar.” Testament of Levi 18:12 says that “Beliar shall be bound by him” (by a new priest, possibly the Messiah?). Testament of Dan 5:10 says that the Lord “will make war against Beliar.” And Testament of Judah 25:3 says that “Beliar’s spirit of error shall be no more, because he will be thrown into eternal fire.”

It would certainly appear that Satan is the great “Son Of Belial” – if it were not for the fact that he is the spiritual father of them all.