Bible Dictionaries
Belial

Vine's Expository Dictionary of NT Words

is a word frequently used in the Old Testament, with various meanings, especially in the books of Samuel, where it is found nine times. See also Deuteronomy 13:13; Judges 19:22; 20:13; 1 Kings 21:10,13; 2 Chronicles 13:7 . Its original meaning was either "worthlessness" or "hopeless ruin" (see the RV , margin). It also had the meanings of "extreme wickedness and destruction," the latter indicating the destiny of the former. In the period between the OT and the NT it came to be a proper name for Satan. There may be an indication of this in Nahum 1:15 , where the word translated "the wicked one" is Belial.

The oldest form of the word is "Beliar," possibly from a phrase signifying "Lord of the forest," or perhaps simply a corruption of the form "Belial," due to harsh Syriac pronunciation. In the NT, in 2 Corinthians 6:15 , it is set in contrast to Christ and represents a personification of the system of impure worship connected especially with the cult of Aphrodite.