In Bava Batra 16a, we read of Satan in the Book of Job being identified with both the “Angel of Death” and the “Evil Inclination”:
Reish Lakish says: Satan, the evil
inclination, and the Angel of Death are one, that is,
they are three aspects of the same essence. He is the Satan who seduces
people and then accuses them, as it is written: “So the Satan went forth
from the presence of the Lord, and smote Job with vile sores” (Job 2:7). He
is also the evil inclination, as it is written there: “The
impulse of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continuously” (Genesis
6:5); and it is written here: “Only upon himself do not put forth your hand”
(Job 1:12). The verbal analogy between the various uses of the word “only”
teaches that the evil inclination is to be identified with the Satan. He is
also the Angel of Death, as it is written: “Only spare his life” (Job
2:6); apparently Job’s life depends upon him, the Satan, and
accordingly the Satan must also be the Angel of Death. (Bava Batra 16a)
Maimonides’ commented on this in his Guide for the Perplexed III:22:
They said in the Talmud as follows: R. Simeon, son of Lakish,
says: "The adversary (satan), evil inclination (yeẓer ha-ra’), and the angel of death, are one and the same
being." Here we find all that has been mentioned by us in such a clear
manner that no intelligent person will be in doubt about it. It has thus been
shown to you that one and the same thing is designated by these three different
terms, and that actions ascribed to these three are in reality the actions of
one and the same agent. Again, the ancient doctors of the Talmud said:
"The adversary goes about and misleads, then he goes up and accuses,
obtains permission, and takes the soul." You have already been told that
when David at the time of the plague was shown the angel "with the sword
drawn in his hand stretched out over Jerusalem" (2 Sam. xxiv. 17), it was
done for the purpose of conveying a certain idea to him. The same idea was also
expressed in the vision concerning the sins of the sons of Joshua, the high
priest, by the words, "And the adversary stood on his right hand to accuse
him" (Zech. iii. 1). The vision then reveals that [the adversary] is far
from God, and continues thus: "The Lord will rebuke thee, O adversary, the
Lord who hath chosen Jerusalem win rebuke thee" (ibid. ver. 2). Balaam saw prophetically the same
vision in his journey, addressing him with the words, "Behold I have come
forth to be a hindrance to thee" (Num. xxii. 32). The Hebrew, satan, is derived from the same root as séteh, "turn away" (Prov. iv. 15); it implies
the notion of turning and moving away from a thing; he undoubtedly turns us
away from the way of truth, and leads us astray in the way of error. The same
idea is contained in the passage, "And the imagination of the heart of man
is evil from his youth" (Gen. Viii. 21). The theory of the good and the
evil inclinations (yeẓer ha-tob, ve-yeẓer ha-ra’) is frequently referred to in our religion. Our
Sages also say, "Serve God with your good and your evil
inclinations." (B. T. Ber. 57a.) They also say that the evil inclination we
receive at our birth: for "at the door sin croucheth" (Gen. iv. 7),
as is distinctly said in the Law, "And the imagination of the heart of man
is evil from his youth" (ibid. Viii. 21). The good inclination, however, comes
when the mini is developed. In explaining the allegory representing the body
of man and his different
faculties, our Sages (B. T. Ned. 32b) said: "The evil inclination
is called a great king, whilst the good inclination is a child, poor, though
wise" (Eccles. ix. 14). All these sayings of our Sages are contained in
their writings, and are well known. According to our Sages the evil inclination,
the adversary (satan), and the angel [of death], are undoubtedly
identical; and the adversary being called "angel, "because he is
among the sons of God, and the good inclination being in reality an angel, it
is to the good and the evil inclinations that they refer in their well-known
words, "Every person is accompanied by two angels, one being on his right
side, one on his left." In the Babylonian Gemara (Shabbath 119b),
they say distinctly of the two angels that one is good and one bad. See what
extraordinary ideas this passage discloses, and how many false ideas it
removes.
I
believe that I have fully explained the idea contained in the account of Job;
but I will now show the character of the opinion attributed to Job, and of the
opinions attributed to his friends, and support my statement by proofs gathered
from the words of each of them. We need not take notice of the remaining
passages which are only required for the context, as has been explained to you
in the beginning of this treatise.
Commenting on Maimonides’ interaction with Reish Lakish in Guide
For the Perplexed III:22, Robert Eisen noted that he seemed
particularly intrigued by the equation
of Satan with the evil inclination or the imagination. He discusses this association
at some length, adducing a number of rabbinic passages that he believes support
his interpretation of this conception. This focus on the evil inclination has prompted
Kravitz and Levinger to conclude that Satan represents nothing other than the
imagination in Maimonides’ reading of the Book of Job. However, the evidence
would indicate that this is too narrow an interpretation of Maimonides’ views
on Satan. . . . Maimonides’ clues about Satan throughout Guide III;22
point in the direction of privation as the referent of Satan. Moreover, in his
the angel of death, and the evil inclination are all caused by one underlying
factor, and privation is the best candidate for linking these three. (Robert
Eisen, The Book of Job in Medieval Jewish Philosophy [Oxford: Oxford
University Press, 2004], 253 n. 62)
In other words, Maimonides’ does not reject “Satan” being a
supernatural personal being.
