IL Archive The name that crossed millennia
EN

Independent research archive Texts · Ideas · Civilizations

Menu

Entity

Belial

A reference page linking a name, group, or concept to the materials that discuss it.

Figure associated with darkness and wickedness in some Qumran texts; not a fixed alias for every heavenly adversary.

Modern comparison of Enoch 8/10, Jubilees 10 and 1QM 13. Not one figure’s transformation. Jubilees 10:11 uses Satan in Mastema’s context; local overlap is not denied
Modern comparison of Enoch 8/10, Jubilees 10 and 1QM 13. Not one figure’s transformation. Jubilees 10:11 uses Satan in Mastema’s context; local overlap is not deniedIL Archive · original diagram · CC BYImage source

Text

The War ScrollWar ScrollDead Sea Scroll text portraying war between the sons of light and the hostile camp; its principal copy is designated 1QM.Glossary · Click to read the explanation, 1QM 13:10–11, associates Belial with dominion in darkness and counsel producing wickedness, without making him God’s equal creator. Designations and oppositions vary across the Community Rule and other writings. [1]

Distinguish Belial’s role from the Angel of Darkness and ha-satanHa-satan in JobThe adversary or accuser in Job, with the Hebrew definite article; among the sons of God, acting within permission and limits rather than carrying every later Satanic trait.Glossary · Click to read the explanation in other witnesses before asking about identifications. Jewish explanations of evil differ; functional resemblance alone does not prove one identity. The modern diagram compares roles and is not an archaeological portrait. [1][2]

References and notes

  1. James H. Charlesworth (1969). “A Critical Comparison of the Dualism in 1QS III, 13–IV, 26 and the ‘Dualism’ Contained in the Fourth Gospel.” New Testament Studies 15(4), pp. 389–418. DOI: 10.1017/S0028688500019251. Public extract/notes pp. 390–394: 1QS 3:13–4:26, 1QM 13:10–11, divine sovereignty and different designations. Translations vary; full article not read, no independent scroll examination. Return to the text ↑
  2. Miryam Brand. “The Benei Elohim, the Watchers, and the Origins of Evil.” TheTorah.com. Watchers’ teachings, giant spirits, differing explanations of evil; note 6 on Asael/Azazel. Not all evil powers or Jewish traditions equated. Return to the text ↑

Research history

Substantive changes are retained here. Minor copy edits remain in the internal operational log.

  1. Edition 2 · 11 October 2026 · editor:aladmin

    Substantive record update

    Read this revision in its original language (Arabic)

Suggest a correction · Suggest a source for this record

Cite this record

IL Archive, «Belial», Edition 2, https://ilarchive.com/en/entities/belial