D32-7: In Scripture, Satan Is Also Called A ‘Son Of God’ Or BENEI ELOHIM

“When the Most High gave the nations their inheritance,
    when he divided all mankind,
he set up boundaries for the peoples
according to the number of the sons of Israel.”
-Deuteronomy 32:8

We are in the midst of attempting to bring clarity to a thorny issue in Scripture that has been debated without conclusion for over 1000 years.

I’m talking about the very end of Deuteronomy 32:8 which depending on the source used is translated differently.

If the Masoretic Text is used, the end of the verse is rendered “according to the number of the sons of Israel”.

However, if the Septuagint or the Dead Sea Scrolls are used, the end of verse is rendered as “according to the sons of God”.

BENEI ELOHIM is the Hebrew term for “sons of God”.

So I have a question for you.

During the Middle Ages, which rendering of Deuteronomy 32:8 do you think was preferred among the Jewish religious leaders at the time?

The answer is the rendering that’s based on the Masoretic Hebrew Text which is “according to the sons of Israel“.

The reason why should be fairly obvious.

To interpret BENEI ELOHIM as “divine beings” invites a whole host of theological problems within Judaism especially since one of the foundational teachings of Scripture is that there is only God and that worshipping other gods is a big no-no.

Remember, it was Israel’s idolatry that got them thrown out of the Promised Land in the first place.

Here’s what we have to deal with.

The phrase BENEI ELOHIM or “Sons of God” are all over the freakin’ place in Scripture and we just can’t sweep this fact under the rug.

In addition, we have Hashem referring to other gods as “false gods” or sometimes even calling them “non-gods”!

What are we to conclude from all of this?

That these “false gods” or “non-gods” are also sons of elohim or divine beings in some sense?

Can you see how complicated all of this is?

Here are some other choice examples of where the term “sons of God” (ben elohim) appear in Scripture 

“Ascribe to the Lord, you heavenly beings,
    ascribe to the Lord glory and strength”
-Psalms 29:1

“All who worship images will be put to shame,
those who make their boast in worthless idols.
Bow down to him, all you gods!
Tziyon hears and is glad, Adonai;
the daughters of Y’hudah rejoice at your rulings.
For you, Adonai, most high over all the earth,
you are exalted far above all gods.”
-Psalms 97:7-9

“Who is like you,
O Lord,
among the sons of God?”
Exodus 15:11

Finally, do you know who is the most famous son of God in all of Scripture?

Check out this verse from the book of Job.

 ^“One day the sons of God
came to present themselves before the Lord,
and Satan also came with them.
The Lord said to Satan,
“Where have you come from?”
-Job 1:6-7

Here we see the sons of God being presented as a group of divine beings who must give account to the Lord of their progress on what they’ve been assigned to do on earth from time to time.

And one of these sons of God (benei elohim) just so happened to be Satan.

We’re told it was Satan’s job to roam around the planet and find people engaging in evil activities so he could report these actions to God and try to get the Lord to judge these sinners by taking some horrific destructive action against them.

That’s right.

Satan’s assignment from God was to be the official accuser of humanity.

That’s enough for today.

The next time we meet, let’s try to answer the $64,000 question of “Are there other divine beings besides God who rule over the gentile nations? by taking a look at some fascinating passages from the Book of Daniel.