Adversary

Adversary renders the Hebrew satan and the Greek antidikos, both meaning an opponent or one who stands against. In its most general Old Testament usage, the term refers to human enemies or opposing forces — political rivals who arose against Solomon (1 Kings 11:14, 23, 25) or legal opponents in a lawsuit (Matthew 5:25; Luke 13:17). The word carries no supernatural connotation in these contexts.

The term's theological weight derives from its application to the supernatural opponent of both God and humanity. In Job 1–2, Zechariah 3:1–2, and 1 Chronicles 21:1, the adversary appears as a distinct spiritual being who accuses, tests, and opposes. The New Testament identifies this figure with the devil and describes the believer's posture toward him: your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour (1 Peter 5:8). The resistance to the adversary is to be accomplished through faith, sobriety, and submission to God rather than through direct spiritual confrontation conducted in one's own strength.