What's the difference between Satan, Lucifer, Mephistopheles, etc.?

Factual Questions
1

So many hellish figures, so many names. Besides the ones in the subject line, there’s also Beelzebub.

Now, I know that some (like the aforementioned Lord of the Flies) are supposed to be demons rather than the Devil, but what about the three names in the topic? Are they separate entities or the same being?

Part of my confusion comes from the idea that Satan and Lucifer are two different entities, that only the latter is the fallen angel (such an idea occurs in “Little Nicky” and the Dreaming, for example - in fact, the latter depicts Lucifer as still looking like an angel). If so, is Satan just another demon, created by Lucifer? In that case, why is Satan depicted as being the head muckety muck of Hell? Or is this an anti-Trinity thing?

What’s most likely is that this is all a mish-mash of various traditions and popular culture views, but I’d like the Straight Dope here (and what better place to get it?). Thanks!

2

This sure sounds like a Straight Dope topic! From the little I know, mish-mash is definitely the answer. Satan appears in the Bible, but not in the way you’re used to. In this SD Mailbag Column, our pal Dex explains that "The term in the Hebrew book of Job is clearly “The Satan,” with the definite article. In the early Biblical books, such as Samuel and Numbers (say, before 1000 BC), “the satan” is the foe, the adversary. By Zechariah, around 520 BC, “the satan” seems to be a superhuman opponent, and by the book of Chronicles (perhaps 400 BC), “Satan” has become a proper noun and the definite article is dropped. In the book of Job, there is implication that “the Satan” is one of the heavenly host, but there is no background or history as a character; rather, it seems to be a position, like “prosecuting attorney.”

Mephistopheles first appears in the Faust legend, which circulated around modern-day Germany in the 15th century. The most famous version of Mephistopheles is in Marlowe’s play Doctor Faustus. There are plenty of differences, but in both, Mephistopheles isn’t “the #1 bad guy,” i.e. Devil or whatever. He’s a subordinate demon (or A devil, but not The) trying to get a soul for Hell. He gives Faust whatever he wants, fulfilling his half of the contract for Faust’s soul. Marlowe actually calls him “Mephistophilis,” and in Doctor Faustus features Lucifer and Belzebub (spelled like that) as separate characters. Actually, in the original - I shouldn’t call it that, it’s more like “first surviving printed version,” since it went around as an oral folktale for some time - a lot of different baddies show up, including Astaroth, Belial… well, it’s a long list. I don’t remember one ruler of Hell, it was divided into Kingdoms. The medieval types really worked this stuff out in excruciating detail. :stuck_out_tongue:

From what I’m reading (from searching around), Beelzebub first shows up in the Bible. He was another god. The character became synonymous with ‘The Devil’ in the New Testament.

3

You nailed it, buddy. Basically, you won’t find anything definitive about the nature of the head evil dude in Scriptures. He’s just hinted at here and there and folklore and oral tradition has done the rest. As for the names you bring up:

Satan: Hebrew word meaning “adversary”, possibly “traitor” or “prosecutor”. First appears as a definite separate named entity in Job, where he is a member of the heavenly court. There referred to as the Satan. I wrote a paper on this guy, so if there’s anything you want to know, just ask.

Lucifer: Latin word meaning “lightbringer”. Supposedly, this guy was an angel (in some traditions the first or greatest of the angels) that rebelled against God and was cast down into Hell for it. Note that the idea of Lucifer ruling Hell is quite recent, as these things go; originally Hell was just a very bad place to be, and Lucifer and the demons were there as punishment, just like the humans.

Beelzebub: Hebrew word meaning “lord of the flies”. In some traditions the head henchman of the head evil dude rather than the head evil dude himself.

Devil: Comes from the greek diabolos. The word is used in the New Testament to describe the head evil dude.

Mephistopheles: Not a clue in a rainstorm. I don’t know where this name comes from at all. I know it’s the guy Faust sells his soul to, but if that’s the origin of the name or if it’s older than that I don’t know.

You didn’t ask about this, but I’ll throw it in at no extra charge, because I like the story so much:

Azrael: The Islamic Angel of Death. He’s an enormous monster, trapped in chains. He’s got billions and billions of eyes, one for every single human who lives, has ever lived or will ever live. When a human dies, the corresponding eye closes. One day, all of Azrael’s eyes will be closed.

4

Ah, one thing to add - one of the sites I searched said that Devil was simply the translation of the Hebrew Satan, meaning adversary or prosecutor.

5

Lucifer is, in fact, not a name for Satan. It’s use as such comes from a misreading of Isaiah 14:12, which says: “How are you fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning…”

When the scholar Jerome was working on his The Latin Vulgate Bible, he translated the word Hebrew word “heylel” into the Latin “lucifer” imperfectly. The word lucifer means “bringer of light”, but heylel is best translated as “boastful one, someone who boasts”. Heylel is not a proper name and was never a proper name for Satan, only an adjective. It is not a name and never was.

Beezlebub is derived from the name of a sun god called Baal who was worshipped by various Semitic peoples. It was rendered as “Baal-zebub” (meaning “lord of flies” in Hebrew) and came to be associated with Satan. Interestingly, Baal came to prominence in Rome with the Severan Emperors, and one, the notoriously debauched Heliogabalus (Elagabalus) was a High Priest of this god and even incorporated Baal’s name into his own (Elaga-baal-us, Baal, get it?).

.:Nichol:.

6

Well, it is now. And, come to that, Satan isn’t a name for Satan either.

7

I am sure you are right priceguy but how recent is recent? there are many paintings in the 15th century showing devils torturing people.

8

Well, recent as these things go. So far, we’ve got it nailed down to somewhere between early 2nd century (Revelations) to 15th century (paintings). My knee-jerk guess is that the change happened in early Medieval times.