Belial

Occurrences in Scripture

The Hebrew word beliyyaʿal appears a little more than twenty times in the Old Testament. Most occurrences are in the expressions "sons of Belial" or "man of Belial," which refer to wicked and base people who disregard God and the order of the community. The principal uses are as follows:

• Deuteronomy 13:13: those who entice the inhabitants of a city to serve other gods
• Judges 19:22; 20:13: the men of Gibeah who abused the Levite's concubine
• 1 Samuel 2:12: the sons of the priest Eli
• 1 Samuel 10:27: those who despised Saul after he became king
• 1 Samuel 25:17, 25: Nabal, the husband of Abigail
• 2 Samuel 16:7: the term Shimei used in cursing David
• 2 Samuel 20:1: Sheba the son of Bichri, who rebelled against David
• 1 Kings 21:10, 13: the false witnesses set up to accuse Naboth (see Ahab and Jezebel)
• Psalms 18:4 (2 Samuel 22:5): used in parallel with "the sorrows of death," denoting the forces of death and destruction
• Proverbs 6:12; 16:27; Nahum 1:15: a wicked person or an adversary

The New Korean Revised Version translates this Old Testament word according to context, using Korean terms meaning roughly "scoundrel," "worthless person," and "wicked." In that version the transliteration "Belial" (a rendering of the word by its sound) appears only in 2 Corinthians 6:15.

Meaning and Background

The word is commonly explained as a compound of beli, meaning "without" or "not," and yaʿal, meaning "use" or "profit," and is thus interpreted as "worthlessness" or "uselessness." Other etymologies have also been proposed, however, and scholars remain divided on the question. The Septuagint (the Greek translation of the Old Testament) reportedly does not treat the word as a proper name but renders it mainly with terms meaning "lawless" and the like.

During the intertestamental period, Belial came to be used as the name of an evil spiritual being. Some documents among the Dead Sea Scrolls portray Belial as the leader of evil who commands the "sons of darkness."

Usage in the New Testament

In 2 Corinthians 6:14–16, Paul exhorts believers, "Be ye not unequally yoked together with unbelievers," and asks, "And what concord hath Christ with Belial?" Here Belial is understood as a name for the power of evil opposed to Christ, that is, Satan. This usage reflects a development in which the Old Testament sense of "worthlessness" or "wickedness" became, by way of intertestamental Jewish literature, the name of a personal evil being.

Interpretation and Issues

• Opinions differ on whether Belial in the Old Testament refers to a personal being. The word is generally regarded as an abstract noun describing a quality, though some interpreters see in it a hint of a supernatural power, citing passages such as Psalm 18:4, where it appears alongside the forces of death.
• Most interpreters agree that Belial in 2 Corinthians 6:15 is another name for Satan.
• Scripture does not present Belial as a particular pagan deity or as one rank within a hierarchy of demons. Later elaborations in literature and demonology, such as John Milton's Paradise Lost, which depicts Belial as a fallen angel, should be distinguished from the content of the biblical text.

In the Korean Church

In the Korean church, the name "Belial" is encountered mainly in sermons on 2 Corinthians 6:14–16. This passage is frequently cited in connection with marriage between believers and unbelievers. However, because interpreters differ over whether Paul's original intent was to warn against compromise with idolatry, preachers vary in how broadly they apply the passage.