Lexicon

G1228 - diabolos

Strong's: G1228 · BLB lookup Pronunciation: dee-ab'-ol-os Part of speech: adjective used substantivally as proper name Root: dia- (through / across) + ballō (to throw / cast), literally "thrower-across" / "slanderer" LXX equivalent: in Job and Zechariah, renders Hebrew satan (H7854) NT occurrences: 37

Semantic range

The devil (capitalized; proper-name use), the personal evil being
Slanderer, accuser, false witness, etymological / lower-case sense
Adversarial / hostile in some contexts

Theological force

Diabolos / Satanas, the same figure

Diabolos is the Greek equivalent name for the same being called G4567 - satanas (Satan):

Satanas, Aramaic-derived name; emphasis on adversary
Diabolos, Greek-derived name; emphasis on slanderer / accuser

The NT uses both interchangeably (e.g., Mt 4:1, 8, 10, 11, Satan in v. 10, devil in vv. 1, 5, 8, 11; Lk 4:2-13, both terms; Rev 12:9, "the great dragon… ho diabolos kai ho Satanas"; Rev 20:2, same combined identification).

Diabolos as accuser / slanderer

The Greek root sense, one who throws (accusations) across, captures the devil's distinctive activity: accusing.

Revelation 12:10, "the katēgōr tōn adelphōn hēmōn (accuser of the brethren)… who accuses them before our God day and night, has been thrown down"
Job 1-2, the OT-Hebrew ha-satan function, accusing Job before God
Zechariah 3:1-2, Satan accusing the high priest Joshua

The pattern: the diabolos accuses humans before God; he amplifies guilt; he twists truth into accusation. The cross-resurrection victory deprives him of legitimate accusation against the redeemed (Romans 8:33-34, "who will bring a charge against God's elect? God is the one who justifies").

NT diabolos uses

Tempter / opposer of Christ

Matthew 4:1, 5, 8, 11; Luke 4:2-13, wilderness temptation
John 8:44, "you are of your father the diabolou… he was a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand in the truth, because there is no truth in him; whenever he speaks a lie, he speaks from his own nature, for he is a liar and the father of lies"

Sower of evil among believers

Matthew 13:39, "the enemy who sowed them is the diabolos"
Acts 13:10, Elymas: "you son of the diabolou"

Possessor / influencer

Luke 8:12, diabolos takes away the word from hearts
John 6:70-71, Judas as diabolos (used here adjectivally)
John 13:2, diabolos puts treachery in Judas's heart
Acts 10:38, Christ "healing all who were oppressed by the diabolou"

Adversary of the church / Christians

Ephesians 4:27, "do not give the diabolō an opportunity"
Ephesians 6:11, schemes of the diabolou
1 Timothy 3:6-7, fall into the condemnation / snare of the diabolou
2 Timothy 2:26, escape the snare of the diabolou
James 4:7, "resist the diabolō, and he will flee from you"
1 Peter 5:8, diabolos as roaring lion
1 John 3:8, 10, children of the diabolou vs children of God; works of the diabolou

Christ's victory over diabolos

Hebrews 2:14, "through death He might render powerless him who had the power of death, that is, the diabolon"
1 John 3:8, "the Son of God appeared for this purpose, to destroy the works of the diabolou"

Eschatological judgment of diabolos

Matthew 25:41, "eternal fire which has been prepared for the diabolō and his angels"
Revelation 12:9, 12; 20:2, 10, final judgment

Diabolos as adjectival / human use

The word appears 4 times in the Pastoral Epistles applied to slanderous people (lower-case adjective use):

1 Timothy 3:11, "women must be… not diabolous (slanderers)"
2 Timothy 3:3, last days: "diaboloi… without self-control"
Titus 2:3, "older women… not diabolous"

This usage preserves the etymological / common-Greek sense (slanderous person) without identifying the human as Satan-the-personal-being. Context distinguishes the proper-name and adjective uses.

Apologetic / theological significance

Diabolos anchors:

The reality of personal evil, the devil is a real personal being, not impersonal force
The lying / accusation strategy, Satan's primary modus operandi is deception and accusation
Christ's defeating of the lying-accuser, the cross silences the legitimate accusation; the resurrection ends Satan's death-grip
Christian resistance, believers are equipped to resist (James 4:7; Eph 6:10-18)
Final judgment, the diabolos and his angels face eternal judgment

Connection to OT satan tradition

The OT Hebrew tradition (ha-satan in Job 1-2; Zech 3) develops into the NT diabolos / Satanas. The figure is consistently:

Personal (not impersonal evil principle)
Created (not co-eternal anti-God)
In rebellion against God
An accuser of humans
Defeated by Christ's redemptive work
To be finally destroyed at the eschaton

Notable verses

Matthew 4:1-11; Luke 4:2-13, wilderness temptation
Matthew 13:39, sower of weeds
Matthew 25:41, eternal fire prepared for the diabolō
John 8:44, diabolos as father of lies
John 13:2, Judas
Acts 10:38, those oppressed by the diabolou
Ephesians 4:27; 6:11, schemes of the diabolou
1 Timothy 3:6-7, snare
2 Timothy 2:26, snare
Hebrews 2:14, Christ defeats him who has the power of death
James 4:7, resist the diabolō
1 Peter 5:8, roaring lion
1 John 3:8, 10, Christ destroys the works of the diabolou
Revelation 12:9, 12; 20:2, 10, final judgment

Patristic / scholarly note

See G4567 - satanas for fuller treatment of the same figure.

Notes

Lexical workspace for diabolos.