Journal: Tyndale Bulletin
Volume: TYNBUL 66:1 (NA 2015)
Article: Satan As Adversary And Ally In The Process Of Ecclesial Discipline The Use Of The Prologue To Job In 1 Corinthians 5:5 And 1 Timothy 1:20
Author: Dillon T. Thornton

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Satan As Adversary And Ally In The Process Of Ecclesial Discipline
The Use Of The Prologue To Job In 1 Corinthians 5:5 And 1 Timothy 1:20

Dillon T. Thornton

([email protected])

Summary

Twice in the NT Paul refers to delivering someone to Satan. In 1 Corinthians 5:5, the apostle tells the Corinthian believers to hand a man living in sexual immorality over to Satan (παραδοῦναι τὸν τοιοῦτον τῷ σατανᾷ). In 1 Timothy 1:20, Paul tells Timothy that he handed Hymenaeus and Alexander over to Satan (παρέδωκα τῷ σατανᾷ). Paul’s language is strikingly similar to language contained in the prologue to Job. In Job 1:6-12, Satan disputes the blamelessness of Job and seeks Yahweh’s permission to test Job’s integrity. First, Yahweh allows Satan to attack Job’s most prized possessions (Job 1:12). After the first attack fails, Satan asks for Yahweh’s permission to assault Job physically. Then in Job 2:6 LXX, the LORD says to Satan, ‘Behold, I deliver him to you’ (Ἰδοὺ παραδίδωμί σοι αὐτόν). In this paper, I argue that in both 1 Corinthians 5:5 and 1 Timothy 1:20 Paul draws from the prologue to Job, and he portrays Satan as an enemy of God who nevertheless can play the part of an ally in the process of church discipline.

1. Introduction

C.S. Lewis once wrote, ‘There are two equal and opposite errors into which our race can fall about the devils. One is to disbelieve in their existence. The other is to believe, and to feel an excessive and

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unhealthy interest in them.’1 My particular interest (healthy I hope) in this paper is the way the prologue to Job shapes Paul’s understanding of the role Satan plays in ecclesial discipline. Twice in the NT Paul refers to delivering someone to Satan (1 Cor. 5:5; 1 Tim. 1:20).2 In both texts, Paul’s language is strikingly similar to the language of Job 2:6 LXX.

Job 2:6 LXX

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