Belial
BELIAL
Worthlessness, always so used in a moral sense. A man or son of Belial is a wicked, worthless man; one resolved to endure no subjection; a rebel; a disobedient, uncontrollable fellow, Jdg 19:22 1Sa 2:12 . In later writings, Belial is put for the power or lord of evil, Satan, 2Co 6:15 .
Fuente: American Tract Society Bible Dictionary
Belial
(Hebrew: worthlessness; perhaps from Belili, Babylonian goddess of the lower regions)
Used as a name for the demon or devil. In 2 Corinthians 6, it is a designation of Satan.
Fuente: New Catholic Dictionary
Belial
Found frequently as a personal name in the Vulgate and various English translations of the Bible, is commonly used as a synonym of Satan, or the personification of evil. This sense is derived from II Cor., vi, 15, where Belial (or Beliar) as prince of darkness is contrasted with Christ, the light. It is clear in the Vulgate and Douay translations of III Kings, xxi, 10 and 13, where the same Hebrew word is rendered once as Belial and twice as “the devil”. In the other instances, too, the translators understood it as a name for the prince of evil, and so it has passed into English. Milton, however, distinguishes Belial from Satan, regarding him as the demon of impurity. In the Hebrew Bible, nevertheless, the word is not a proper name, but a common noun usually signifying “wickedness” or “extreme wickedness”. Thus, Moore renders “sons of Belial” as “vile scoundrels” (Judges 19:22); most prefer “worthless fellows”. In some cases belial seems to mean “destruction”, “ruin”; thus in Ps. xii, 9 (Heb.), the word is parallel to the thought of utter destruction and seems to mean the same. In Ps., sviii, 5, it is parallel to “death” and “Sheol”; some understand it as “destruction”, Cheyne as “the abyss”. The etymology of the word is doubtful; it is usually taken to be a compound meaning “worthlessness.” Cheyne suggest an alternate that means “that from which no one comes up”, namely the abyss, Sheol. St. Jerome’s etymology “without yoke”, which he has even inserted as a gloss in the text of Judges, xix, 22, is contrary to Hebrew philology. Belial, from meaning wickedness or Sheol, could develop into a name for the prince of evil or of darkness; and as such was widely used at the beginning of our era. Under the names Beliar, Berial, he plays a very important rôle in apocryphal literature, in the “Ascension of Isaias”, the “Sibylline Oracles”, and the “Testament of the Twelve Patriarchs”. He is the prince of this world and will come as Antichrist; his name is sometimes given also to Nero, returning as Antichrist.
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CHEYNE in Encyc. Bib. (New York, 1899); MOORE, Commentary on Judges (New York, 1900), 419; GARVIE in HAST., Dict. of Bible (New York, 1903); DEANE, Pseudepigrapha (Edinburgh, 1891); LESÊTRE in VIG., Dict. de la Bible (Paris, 1894); CHARLES, Ascension of Isaiah (London, 1900); CHARLES, Eschatology, Hebrew, Jewish, and Christian (London, 1899).
JOHN F. FENLON Transcribed by WGKofron With thanks to St. Mary’s Church, Akron, Ohio
The Catholic Encyclopedia, Volume IICopyright © 1907 by Robert Appleton CompanyOnline Edition Copyright © 2003 by K. KnightImprimatur. +John M. Farley, Archbishop of New York
Fuente: Catholic Encyclopedia
Belial
worthlessness, frequently used in the Old Testament as a proper name. It is first used in Deut. 13:13. In the New Testament it is found only in 2 Cor. 6:15, where it is used as a name of Satan, the personification of all that is evil. It is translated “wicked” in Deut. 15:9; Ps. 41:8 (R.V. marg.); 101:3; Prov. 6:12, etc. The expression “son” or “man of Belial” means simply a worthless, lawless person (Judg. 19:22; 20:13; 1 Sam. 1:16; 2:12).
Fuente: Easton’s Bible Dictionary
Belial
(“worthlessness”: or “recklessness, lawlessness”.) Not strictly a proper name, but used so by personification. Beli means “without” and ya’al means “usefulness,” i.e. “good for nothing”. “A man of Belial” is a worthless, lawless fellow (Deu 13:13; Jdg 19:22; 1Sa 2:12). Latterly “Rake” (“vain fellows” (2Sa 6:20, harekim), and “Fool” were used instead: Mat 5:22. Nabal (“fool”) is called “man of Belial” (1Sa 25:25.) In the New Testament, “Beliar” is the form in some oldest manuscripts (2Co 6:15.) As Satan is opposed to God, Antichrist to Christ, so Belial standing here in contrast to Christ must denote all anti-Christian pollutions personified.
Fuente: Fausset’s Bible Dictionary
Belial
This is an Hebrew word, signifying somewhat evil. Hence, in Scripture, it is not unfrequently applied to wicked persons. Moses, when charging Israel not to follow vain and ungodly men, calls them sons of Belial. (Deu 13:13) The same by Hannah. (1Sa 1:16) So Abigail to David. (1Sa 25:25) In the language of the New Testament, Belial is another name for Satan. “What concord (saith Paul) hath Christ with Belial?” (2Co 6:15)
Fuente: The Poor Mans Concordance and Dictionary to the Sacred Scriptures
Belial
beli-al, belyal (, belyaal; , Belar): This name, occurring very frequently in the Old Testament, has the sense of worthlessness (compare 2Sa 23:6 margin); accordingly in such phrases as sons of Belial (Jdg 20:13; 1Sa 10:27, etc.), men of Belial (1Sa 30:22; 1Ki 21:13, etc.), which the English Revised Version usually retains, the American Standard Revised Version more correctly renders, base fellows (so daughter of Belial 1Sa 1:16, wicked woman). There is here no suggestion a proper name. Afterward, however, Belial became a proper name for Satan, or for Antichrist (Thus frequently in the Jewish Apocalyptic writings, e.g. in XII the Priestly Code (P), Book Jubilees, Asc Isa, Sib Or). In this sense Paul used the word in 2Co 6:15, What concord hath Christ with Belial? (Beliar). Bousset thinks that Paul’s man of sin in 2Th 2:3, where some authorities read man of lawlessness, is a translation of this term. The sense at least is similar. See ANTICHRIST; MAN OF SIN.
Fuente: International Standard Bible Encyclopedia
Belial
[Be’lial]
The Hebrew word signifies ‘worthless, lawless,’ and is not a proper name, but is used as a personification of evil; thus we have ‘son of Belial, daughter of Belial,’ etc. Deu 13:13; Jdg 19:22; 1Sa 1:16; 1Sa 25:17; 1Sa 25:25; etc. In the N.T. it is put in contradistinction to Christ as if it meant Satan, 2Co 6:15 : it is there .
Fuente: Concise Bible Dictionary
Belial
H1100
Lawlessness.
Deu 13:13; 2Co 6:15
Fuente: Nave’s Topical Bible
Belial
Belial (b’li-al), worthlessness, hence lawlessness, wickedness. This word is properly applied by the sacred writers to such lewd, profligate, and vile persons, as seem to regard neither God nor man. Deu 13:13, A. V., but “base fellows,” R. V. Jdg 19:22; 1Sa 2:12. In the New Testament, “Belial” is used as an appellation of Satan, the power or lord of evil: “What concord hath Christ with Belial,” the prince of licentiousness and corruption? 2Co 6:15.
Fuente: People’s Dictionary of the Bible
Belial
Be’lial. The meaning of this word as found in the Scriptures is worthlessness, and hence reckless, lawlessness. The expression, son or man of Belial, must be understood as meaning simply a worthless, lawless fellow. The term as used in 2Co 6:15, is generally understood as an appellative of Satan, as the personification of all that was bad.
Fuente: Smith’s Bible Dictionary
Belial
is a word frequently used in the Old Testament, with various meanings, especially in the books of Samuel, where it is found nine times. See also Deu 13:13; Jdg 19:22; Jdg 20:13; 1Ki 21:10, 1Ki 21:13; 2Ch 13:7. Its original meaning was either “worthlessness” or “hopeless ruin” (see the RV, margin). It also had the meanings of “extreme wickedness and destruction,” the latter indicating the destiny of the former. In the period between the OT and the NT it came to be a proper name for Satan. There may be an indication of this in Nah 1:15, where the word translated “the wicked one” is Belial.
The oldest form of the word is “Beliar,” possibly from a phrase signifying “Lord of the forest,” or perhaps simply a corruption of the form “Belial,” due to harsh Syriac pronunciation. In the NT, in 2Co 6:15, it is set in contrast to Christ and represents a personification of the system of impure worship connected especially with the cult of Aphrodite.
Fuente: Vine’s Dictionary of New Testament Words
Belial
The phrase, sons of Belial, signifies wicked, worthless men. It was given to the inhabitants of Gibeah, who abused the Levite’s wife, Jdg 19:22; and to Hophni and Phineas, the wicked and profane sons of Eli. 1Sa 2:12. In later times the name Belial denoted the devil: What concord hath Christ with Belial?
2Co 6:15; for as the word literally imports one who will do no one good, the positive sense of a doer of evil was applied to Satan, who is the author of evil, and, eminently, the Evil One.