διάβολος (G1228) — slanderer; the Devil¶
Part of the 2 Timothy 3:1–5 Vice List study
Contents¶
- Overview
- Etymology and Semantic Range
- OT / LXX Background
- NT Distribution
- Theological Note
- NT Occurrences
- LXX Occurrences (Canonical)
Overview¶
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| Strong's | G1228 |
| Greek | διάβολος |
| Transliteration | diabolos |
| Gloss | slanderer; the Devil |
| 2 Tim 3 verse | 3:3 |
| KJV rendering | "false accusers" |
| NT occurrences | 38 (14 books) |
| LXX occurrences (canonical) | 20 |
Etymology and Semantic Range¶
Compound: διά (through, across) + βάλλω (to throw). Literally "one who throws accusations across." In the LXX it translates שָׂטָן (adversary, accuser). In the NT it is both a common noun (slanderer) and the proper name of the Devil.
38 NT occurrences across 14 books — the most distributed term in the list by far. The majority of occurrences are the proper noun (Satan/the Devil); the common-noun use (slanderer) appears in 1 Tim 3:11 (deaconesses not to be slanderers), Tit 2:3 (older women likewise), and here. The LXX has 22 occurrences, mostly translating שָׂטָן in Job and Zechariah.
OT / LXX Background¶
Hebrew שָׂטָן (H7854): adversary, accuser. The three main OT passages are Job 1–2 (the heavenly accuser), Zec 3:1–2 (accusing Joshua the high priest), and 1Ch 21:1 (inciting David). The LXX transliterates as Σατάν or translates as διάβολος.
| Reference | LXX form |
|---|---|
| 1Ch 21:1 | διάβολος |
| Est 7:4 | διάβολος |
| Est 8:1 | διαβόλῳ |
| Job 1:6 | διάβολος |
| Job 1:7 | διαβόλῳ |
| Job 1:7 | διάβολος |
| Job 1:9 | διάβολος |
| Job 1:12 | διαβόλῳ |
| Job 1:12 | διάβολος |
| Job 2:1 | διάβολος |
| Job 2:2 | διαβόλῳ |
| Job 2:2 | διάβολος |
| Job 2:3 | διάβολον |
| Job 2:4 | διάβολος |
| Job 2:6 | διαβόλῳ |
| Job 2:7 | διάβολος |
| Psa 108:6 | διάβολος |
| Zec 3:1 | διάβολος |
| Zec 3:2 | διάβολον |
| Zec 3:2 | διάβολε |
NT Distribution¶
Theological Note¶
The use of διάβολος as a common noun ("slanderers") is not incidental: Paul names the character of the Devil (the Accuser) as a human trait of the last days. Those who engage in slander take on the character of the Adversary.
NT Occurrences¶
| Reference | Greek form | KJV text |
|---|---|---|
| Mat 4:1 | διαβόλου. | Then was Jesus led up of the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted of the devil. |
| Mat 4:5 | διάβολος | Then the devil taketh him up into the holy city, and setteth him on a pinnacle of the temple, |
| Mat 4:8 | διάβολος | Again, the devil taketh him up into an exceeding high mountain, and sheweth him all the kingdoms of the world,… |
| Mat 4:11 | διάβολος, | Then the devil leaveth him, and, behold, angels came and ministered unto him. |
| Mat 13:39 | διάβολος· | The enemy that sowed them is the devil; the harvest is the end of the world; and the reapers are the angels. |
| Mat 25:41 | διαβόλῳ | Then shall he say also unto them on the left hand, Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared … |
| Luk 4:2 | διαβόλου. | Being forty days tempted of the devil. And in those days he did eat nothing: and when they were ended, he afte… |
| Luk 4:3 | διάβολος· | And the devil said unto him, If thou be the Son of God, command this stone that it be made bread. |
| Luk 4:5 | διάβολος | And the devil, taking him up into an high mountain, shewed unto him all the kingdoms of the world in a moment … |
| Luk 4:6 | διάβολος· | And the devil said unto him, All this power will I give thee, and the glory of them: for that is delivered unt… |
| Luk 4:13 | διάβολος | And when the devil had ended all the temptation, he departed from him for a season. |
| Luk 8:12 | διάβολος | Those by the way side are they that hear; then cometh the devil, and taketh away the word out of their hearts,… |
| Jhn 6:70 | διάβολός | Jesus answered them, Have not I chosen you twelve, and one of you is a devil? |
| Jhn 8:44 | διαβόλου | Ye are of your father the devil, and the lusts of your father ye will do. He was a murderer from the beginning… |
| Jhn 13:2 | διαβόλου | And supper being ended, the devil having now put into the heart of Judas Iscariot, Simon’s son, to betray him; |
| Act 10:38 | διαβόλου, | How God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Ghost and with power: who went about doing good, and healing … |
| Act 13:10 | διαβόλου, | And said, O full of all subtilty and all mischief, thou child of the devil, thou enemy of all righteousness, w… |
| Eph 4:27 | διαβόλῳ. | Neither give place to the devil. |
| Eph 6:11 | διαβόλου· | Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. |
| 1Ti 3:6 | διαβόλου. | Not a novice, lest being lifted up with pride he fall into the condemnation of the devil. |
| 1Ti 3:7 | διαβόλου.¶ | Moreover he must have a good report of them which are without; lest he fall into reproach and the snare of the… |
| 1Ti 3:11 | διαβόλους, | Even so must their wives be grave, not slanderers, sober, faithful in all things. |
| 2Ti 2:26 | διαβόλου | And that they may recover themselves out of the snare of the devil, who are taken captive by him at his will. |
| 2Ti 3:3 | διάβολοι, | Without natural affection, trucebreakers, false accusers, incontinent, fierce, despisers of those that are goo… |
| Tit 2:3 | διαβόλους, | The aged women likewise, that they be in behaviour as becometh holiness, not false accusers, not given to much… |
| Heb 2:14 | διάβολον, | Forasmuch then as the children are partakers of flesh and blood, he also himself likewise took part of the sam… |
| Jas 4:7 | διαβόλῳ | Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. |
| 1Pe 5:8 | διάβολος | Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may… |
| 1Jn 3:8 | διαβόλου | He that committeth sin is of the devil; for the devil sinneth from the beginning. For this purpose the Son of … |
| 1Jn 3:8 | διάβολος | He that committeth sin is of the devil; for the devil sinneth from the beginning. For this purpose the Son of … |
| 1Jn 3:8 | διαβόλου. | He that committeth sin is of the devil; for the devil sinneth from the beginning. For this purpose the Son of … |
| 1Jn 3:10 | διαβόλου. | In this the children of God are manifest, and the children of the devil: whosoever doeth not righteousness is … |
| Jud 1:9 | διαβόλῳ | Yet Michael the archangel, when contending with the devil he disputed about the body of Moses, durst not bring… |
| Rev 2:10 | διάβολος | Fear none of those things which thou shalt suffer: behold, the devil shall cast some of you into prison, that … |
| Rev 12:9 | διάβολος | And the great dragon was cast out, that old serpent, called the Devil, and Satan, which deceiveth the whole wo… |
| Rev 12:12 | διάβολος | Therefore rejoice, ye heavens, and ye that dwell in them. Woe to the inhabiters of the earth and of the sea! f… |
| Rev 20:2 | διάβολος | And he laid hold on the dragon, that old serpent, which is the Devil, and Satan, and bound him a thousand year… |
| Rev 20:10 | διάβολος | And the devil that deceived them was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone, where the beast and the false p… |