The first mention of the satan is in
1:6, in which he comes to the court of heaven to present himself before YHWH
along with the בני האלהים (bene ha’elohim), who appears to be serving in
the capacity of agents of YHWH. One may advocate the idea that the bene
ha’elohim are the Watchers, whose task it was to watch over the earth and
guide all humanity in the growth of civilization. They may also be the minor
deities (בני האלהים) who are part of the heavenly divine council; quite
conspicuously, the satan figure joins them in reporting to YHWH. The language
of the conversation between the satan and YHWH appears to be one between
equals. This may suggest that the bene ha’elhim and the satan
were in fact minor deities on the divine council who could speak openly with
the chief deity of Israel’s henotheism. This would fit well if one considers
the scene in Zechariah 3 as a similar situation—that is, the stan has come to
report on Joshua to YHWH. In addition, 1 Kings 22:19-23 offers a parallel of
the scenes in both Job and Zechariah YHWH is convening the celestial court to
determine the destiny of Ahab. (Archie T. Wright, Satan and the Problem of
Evil: From the Bible to the Early Church Fathers [Minneapolis: Fortress
Press, 2022], 21-22)
