G1228 — διάβολος (diábolos)¶

Core Data¶

Strong's: G1228
Original: διάβολος
Transliteration: diábolos
Pronunciation: dee-ab'-ol-os
Part of Speech: Adjective (used substantively as a noun)
Root: From G1225 (διαβάλλω, diaballō) — to throw across/against, to slander, to accuse falsely; itself from G1223 (διά) + G906 (βάλλω)
Occurrences: 36 unique verses (38 tokens), 14 books
First Occurrence: Mat 4:1 — "Then was Jesus led up of the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted of the devil."
Hapax Legomenon: No

Lexicon Definition¶

From G1225 (διαβάλλω); a traducer; specially, Satan (compare H7854): — false accuser, devil, slanderer.

The word's literal force is "one who throws across/against" — i.e., one who lodges accusations, a slanderer or calumniator. In the NT it functions in two registers: (1) as the proper name/title of the chief adversary of God and humanity (always articular or nearly so; always singular), and (2) as an adjective describing humans who are "false accusers" or "slanderers" (1 Tim 3:11; 2 Tim 3:3; Tit 2:3).

Louw-Nida Semantic Domain¶

Domain 012.001: Supernatural Beings — the personal adversary sense
Domain 033.042: Insult, Slander — the human "slanderer" sense
Domain 088.015: Bad, Evil, Harmful, Damaging — moral classification

The double domain placement reflects the word's two functional registers in the NT.

UBS Semantic Domains¶

[012] Supernatural Beings and Powers — the personal-adversary sense: Satan as the devil.
[033] Communication — the accusation, slander, and reviling field that lies behind the word's literal force.
[088] Moral and Ethical Qualities and Related Behavior — the moral classification of the devil as evil and destructive.

Translation Distribution (KJV)¶

Translation	Verses	%
devil / the Devil	31	86.1%
false accusers	2	5.6%
a devil	1	2.8%
slanderers	1	2.8%
of the devil	1	2.8%

The 4 non-"devil" renderings (false accusers, slanderers, a devil) all occur in passages where the word describes a human character trait rather than the personal adversary.

Distribution by Book¶

Book	Count	Per 100 Verses
1 Timothy	3	2.7
2 Timothy	2	2.4
Titus	1	2.2
1 John	2	1.9
Ephesians	2	1.3
Revelation	5	1.2
1 Peter	1	1.0
James	1	0.9
Matthew	6	0.6
Luke	6	0.5
Hebrews	1	0.3
John	3	0.3
Acts	2	0.2
Jude	1	—

Patterns: Highest density in the Pastoral Epistles — where the human "slanderer" sense dominates. Matthew and Luke carry the temptation narratives. Revelation has the highest raw count in prophetic/eschatological contexts. Notably absent from Paul's major doctrinal letters (Romans, Galatians, Corinthians) and the entire OT.

Semantic Categories¶

1. Satan as Tempter (Synoptic Temptation Narrative)¶

Personal engagement with Jesus in the wilderness — the devil speaks, acts, and ultimately departs. - Mat 4:1 — "Then was Jesus led up of the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted of the devil." - Mat 4:5 — "Then the devil taketh him up into the holy city, and setteth him on a pinnacle of the temple." - Luke 4:6 — "And the devil said unto him, All this power will I give thee, and the glory of them." - Luke 4:13 — "And when the devil had ended all the temptation, he departed from him for a season."

2. Satan as Active Adversary of Believers¶

The devil as an ongoing threat who must be resisted; believers warned to stand against him. - Eph 6:11 — "Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil." - 1 Pet 5:8 — "Your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour." - Jas 4:7 — "Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you." - Eph 4:27 — "Neither give place to the devil."

3. Satan as Origin of Sin and Murder¶

The devil as progenitor of sin, murder, and deceit; humans characterized by whose "father" they follow. - John 8:44 — "Ye are of your father the devil...He was a murderer from the beginning...for he is a liar, and the father of it." - 1 John 3:8 — "He that committeth sin is of the devil; for the devil sinneth from the beginning." - Acts 13:10 — "O full of all subtilty and all mischief, thou child of the devil, thou enemy of all righteousness." - John 13:2 — "the devil having now put into the heart of Judas Iscariot...to betray him."

4. Satan in Eschatological Judgment¶

The devil bound, cast out, and consigned to final destruction; identified with the dragon and old serpent. - Rev 12:9 — "the great dragon was cast out, that old serpent, called the Devil, and Satan, which deceiveth the whole world." - Rev 20:2 — "he laid hold on the dragon, that old serpent, which is the Devil, and Satan, and bound him a thousand years." - Rev 20:10 — "the devil that deceived them was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone." - Mat 25:41 — "Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels."

5. Human Slanderers (Adjectival Use)¶

The only non-personal uses — describing people who are false accusers/slanderers. No article; functions as predicate adjective. - 1 Tim 3:11 — "Even so must their wives be grave, not slanderers (διαβόλους), sober, faithful in all things." - 2 Tim 3:3 — "Without natural affection, trucebreakers, false accusers (διάβολοι), incontinent, fierce." - Tit 2:3 — "The aged women likewise...not false accusers (διαβόλους), not given to much wine." - John 6:70 — "Jesus answered them, Have not I chosen you twelve, and one of you is a devil (διάβολός)?" (of Judas)

Common Collocations¶

Word	Strong's	Co-vv	Typical Pattern
βάλλω (bállō)	G906	4x	"cast into prison / cast out / cast into lake of fire"
ἄγγελος (ággelos)	G32	4x	"devil and his angels" (Mat 25:41); dragon cast out with his angels
ἔπω (épō)	G2036	4x	"the devil said unto him" — temptation dialogue
τότε (tóte)	G5119	4x	"then the devil taketh him" — narrative sequence in temptation
θεός (theós)	G2316	6x	contrast: "children of God" vs. "children of devil"; "submit to God, resist devil"
πᾶς (pâs)	G3956	7x	"all the temptation," "all subtilty," "whole world deceived"
πειράζω (peirázō)	G3985	3x	"tempted of the devil" — the standard temptation formula
ἀρχαῖος (archaîos)	G744	2x	"that old serpent" — Rev 12:9, 20:2 identification formula
υἱός (huiŏs)	G5207	3x	"Son of God" (temptation taunts); "children of the devil"
ἵστημι (hístēmi)	G2476	3x	"stand against wiles of the devil"; devil "stood" before throne (Rev)

Word Family / Cognates¶

G1225 διαβάλλω (diaballō) — root verb: to slander, to accuse; only Luke 16:1 in NT
G1223 διά (dia) — preposition component: through, across, against
G906 βάλλω (bállō) — root verb: to throw, cast — in lexical DNA of the word

Synonyms¶

No direct synonyms were returned by search_relationships.py for G1228.

Antonyms¶

No antonyms were returned by search_relationships.py for G1228.

Easily Confused Words¶

Word	Strong's	Shared KJV Translation	Key Difference
δαιμόνιον (daimónion)	G1140	both rendered "devil" in KJV	δαιμόνιον = a demon / evil spirit (subordinate, plural); διάβολος = the chief adversary (always singular as a title); KJV's use of "devil" for both obscures the distinction
δαίμων (daímōn)	G1142	"devil" in KJV	same issue — the KJV uniformly renders δαίμων as "devil" though it refers to demonic spirits, not Satan specifically
σατανᾶς (Satanás)	G4567	same referent	σατανᾶς is the transliterated Hebrew title (H7854 śāṭān = "adversary"); διάβολος is the Greek semantic equivalent ("slanderer/accuser"); both refer to the same being but emphasize different aspects

Domain Neighbors (Louw-Nida 088.015 — Bad, Evil, Harmful)¶

Strong's	Lemma	Total vv	Key Difference
G266 ἁμαρτία	hamartia	127	sin as act/condition/power; not a personal agent
G2342 θηρίον	thērion	34	symbolic beast in Revelation; instrument of evil power but distinct from the devil personally
G2549 κακία	kakia	6	wickedness/malice as a moral quality; not a being
G96 ἀδόκιμος	adokimos	6	"reprobate" — disqualified, worthless character; human moral state
G952 βέβηλος	bebēlos	5	profane/irreverent; describes sacrilegious behavior or people

Hebrew Source (via LXX)¶

Hebrew Source	Strong's	Co-occ	PMI	Notes
שָׂטָן (śāṭān)	H7854	14	9.82	Primary — LXX translates H7854 as διάβολος in Job 1–2, Zech 3:1–2; the personal adversary figure
אִיּוֹב (ʾîyôb)	H347	3	6.35	Job — context of the satan narratives in Job 1–2
יְהֹוָה (Yahweh)	H3068	12	1.64	Contextual — the devil/satan appears before Yahweh in LXX narratives

The LXX's consistent rendering of H7854 as διάβολος established the Greek word as the standard equivalent of the Hebrew adversary concept. The NT inherits this semantic bridge.