Easton's Bible Dictionary: M. G. Easton, M.A., D.D.

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 Dt. 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 (Mt. 12:25-30; Mk. 5:1-20; Lk. 4:35, 10:18, etc.).