Belial (Beliar)
Belial (Beliar)
BELIAL (BELIAR).This word, rendered by AV [Note: Authorized Version.] and RV [Note: Revised Version.] as a proper noun in the majority of the OT passages, is in reality a compound, meaning worthlessness, whence wickedness, destruction, and as such is construed with another noun. In the sense of wickedness, it occurs in 1Sa 1:16 daughter of wickedness, i.e. a wicked woman (cf. Deu 13:13; Deu 15:9, Jdg 9:22; Jdg 20:13, 1Sa 2:12; 1Sa 10:27; 1Sa 25:17; 1Sa 25:25, 2Sa 16:7; 2Sa 20:1; 2Sa 23:6, 1Ki 21:10; 1Ki 21:13, 2Ch 13:7, Pro 6:12; Pro 16:27; Pro 19:28, for similar usage). As destruction, it is found in Psa 17:5 (cf. 2Sa 22:5) Psa 41:8 and Nah 1:11; Nah 1:15 (note in Nah 1:15 independent use, man understood; RV [Note: Revised Version.] wicked one; others, destroyer). Having such a meaning, it is used by St. Paul as a name for Satan (personification of unclean heathenism, 2Co 6:15), the Greek text spelling it Beliar (AV [Note: Authorized Version.] and RV [Note: Revised Version.] Belial), a variation due to the harsh pronunciation of l in Syriac.
N. Koenig.