The book of Job, too, describes the satan as a supernatural messenger, a member of God’s royal court.10 But while Balaam’s satan protects him from harm, Job’s satan takes a more adversarial role. Here the Lord himself admits that the satan incited him to act against Job (2:3). The story begins when the satan appears as an angel, a “son of God” (ben ’elōhīm), a term that, in Hebrew idiom, often means “one of the divine beings.”
