Wisdom 2:24 (WEB)
but death entered into the world by the envy of the devil, and those who belong to him experience it.
As quoted in the map (KJV)
Wisdom 2:24 (KJV)
Nevertheless through envy of the devil came death into the world: and they that do hold of his side do find it.
Key words
- φθόνῳ διαβόλουphthonō diabolou · Greek
- 'through envy of the devil' — diabolos, 'the slanderer,' is the Septuagint's name for Satan.
- θάνατος εἰσῆλθεν εἰς τὸν κόσμονthanatos eisēlthen eis ton kosmon · Greek
- 'death entered the world' — the same phrase Paul uses in Romans 5:12.
Why it matters
Genesis calls the tempter only 'the serpent'; the Book of Wisdom, written before Christ, names him the devil. Pitre uses this (with the Life of Adam and Eve) to show that first-century Jews already read Genesis 3 as the devil's assault on the woman (p 25). That is the bridge to Revelation 12:9, where the dragon is 'that ancient serpent, called the Devil and Satan,' at war with the Woman.