H7854 — שָׂטָן (sâṭân)¶

Core Data¶

Strong's: H7854
Original: שָׂטָן
Transliteration: sâṭân
Pronunciation: saw-tawn
Part of Speech: Masculine noun
Root: H7853 שָׂטַן (sâṭan) — to accuse, attack, be an adversary
Occurrences: 23 unique verses (28 tokens) in OT
Books: 8 (Numbers, 1 Samuel, 2 Samuel, 1 Kings, 1 Chronicles, Job, Psalms, Zechariah)
First Occurrence: Num 22:22 — "the angel of the LORD stood in the way for an adversary"
Hapax Legomenon: No

Lexicon Definition¶

From H7853 (śāṭan); an opponent; especially (with the article prefixed) Satan, the arch-enemy of good:—adversary, Satan, withstand.

Translation Distribution (KJV)¶

Translation	Verses	%
Satan	14	61%
an adversary	3	13%
adversary	2	9%
adversaries	1	4%
for an adversary	1	4%
to withstand	1	4%
O Satan	1	4%

Distribution by Book¶

Book	Count	Per 100 Verses
Job	11	1.0
Zechariah	2	0.9
1 Kings	4	0.5
Numbers	2	0.2
1 Samuel	1	0.1
2 Samuel	1	0.1
1 Chronicles	1	0.1
Psalms	1	0.0

Job has the highest concentration (11 of 23 occurrences). The word is absent from the Pentateuchal law codes, wisdom literature outside Job, and the major prophets except Zechariah.

Semantic Categories¶

1. Human or Earthly Adversary¶

The word used without a definite article (or as a common noun) for an earthly opponent — a military or political adversary.

Num 22:22 — "the angel of the LORD stood in the way for an adversary (śāṭān) against him"
1 Sam 29:4 — "the princes of the Philistines said... lest in the battle he be an adversary (śāṭān) to us"
1 Kgs 5:4 — "the LORD my God hath given me rest... neither adversary (śāṭān) nor evil occurrence"
1 Kgs 11:14 — "the LORD stirred up an adversary (śāṭān) unto Solomon, Hadad the Edomite"

2. The Accuser in the Divine Council (ha-śāṭān)¶

Used with the definite article — "the adversary/accuser" — designating a specific figure in the divine assembly who challenges and accuses before God.

Job 1:6 — "Satan came also among them [the sons of God] to present themselves before the LORD"
Job 1:9 — "Then Satan answered the LORD, and said, Doth Job fear God for nought?"
Job 2:1 — "Satan came also among them to present himself before the LORD"
Zech 3:1 — "Joshua the high priest standing before the angel of the LORD, and Satan standing at his right hand to resist him"
Zech 3:2 — "The LORD said unto Satan, The LORD rebuke thee, O Satan"

3. Direct Adversary Against God's People¶

Used of an adversarial figure inciting or opposing Israel — transitional toward proper-name usage.

1 Chr 21:1 — "And Satan stood up against Israel, and provoked David to number Israel" (no definite article in Hebrew)
Ps 109:6 — "Set thou a wicked man over him: and let Satan stand at his right hand" (imprecatory prayer for a legal accuser)

Common Collocations¶

Word	Strong's	Co-occurrences	Typical Pattern
אָמַר (ʼāmar)	H559	12x	LORD/Satan dialogue: "the LORD said unto Satan... Satan answered"
אֱלֹהִים (ʼĕlōhîm)	H430	8x	Divine council setting: "sons of God... Satan came also among them"
רַע (raʻ)	H7451	5x	Paired with adversarial harm: "adversary nor evil occurrence" (1 Kgs 5:4)
עָנָה (ʻānāh)	H6030	4x	Response formula in Job: "Then Satan answered the LORD"
אִיּוֹב (ʼÎyôb)	H347	4x	Job narrative concentration
בּוֹא (bôʼ)	H935	4x	Entry into divine assembly: "Satan came also among them"

Word Family / Cognates¶

H7853 שָׂטַן (śāṭan) — root verb: to accuse, attack, be an adversary (6 occurrences; e.g., Ps 38:20; 71:13; 109:4, 20, 29)

Synonyms¶

No synonym entries were returned by search_relationships.py for H7854.

Antonyms¶

No antonym entries were returned by search_relationships.py for H7854.

Easily Confused Words¶

Word	Strong's	Shared Translation	Key Difference
Σατανᾶς (Satanâs)	G4567	"Satan"	NT proper-name form transliterated from Aramaic; 33 occurrences in NT; same referent as the OT accuser
ἀντίδικος (antídikos)	G476	"adversary"	Greek legal term: opponent in a lawsuit; used of the devil in 1 Pet 5:8 and of human opponents
צַר (tsar)	H6862	"adversary"	General Hebrew term for enemy, distress, oppressor — lacks the accusatorial/prosecutorial force of śāṭān

Semantic Domains¶

UBS / Relationship Domains¶

[001002007002] Enemies — the core relationship domain returned by search_relationships.py, fitting the noun's adversary / opposer sense.
[003001012] Names of Supernatural Beings — a secondary domain surfaced by the tool because the word also names a specific supernatural accuser.

LXX Mapping¶

Greek Equivalent	Co-occ	PMI Score	Notes
διάβολος (diábolos) G1228	14	9.82	Primary LXX rendering; means "one who slanders/traduces"; becomes NT "devil"
ἄγγελος (ággelos) G32	5	4.57	Num 22 context — angel of the LORD as the adversary against Balaam
πονηρός (ponērós) G4190	3	3.48	"evil one" — LXX interpretive rendering emphasizing malevolent character

The LXX's primary rendering as διάβολος (diabolos, "slanderer/accuser") carries the prosecutorial sense of the Hebrew term. The NT then uses both διάβολος and the Aramaic loanword Σατανᾶς as complementary titles for the same figure.