Erich’s comment brings up a key question. Supposedly, the reason why humans need a divine redeemer (Jesus) is that we must be free of sin before we can be in the presence of the god-of-the-Bible. However, per the book of Job, the god-of-the-Bible apparently has no problem socializing with the source of human sin, so where does our need for a redeemer come from?

Further to Vicki’s comment, consider the second of the Ten Commandments: “Do not have any other gods before me.” The god-of-the-Bible is plainly admitting there are other gods, of whom the god-of-the-Bible is indeed jealous.

It’s interesting how cultures react when they come into contact with another culture’s religion. Outside the Judeo-Christian tradition, the dominant mode seems to be the view that gods are avatars of some all-pervading force, so the idea that other peoples have their own particular gods is not that threatening. Brahma or the Great Spirit can take various forms, so it’s not surprising that other people see them in different ways. Other people’s stories are not threatening, what is threatening is the idea of being forced to leave the gods that inhabit their own particular sacred ground.

The term “Satan” appears in the prose prologue of the Book of Job, with his usual connotation of “the adversary”, as a distinct being. He is shown as one of the celestial beings before the Deity, replying to the inquiry of God as to whence he had come, with the words: “from going to and fro in the earth, and from walking up and down in it” (Job 1:7). Both the question and the answer, as well as the dialogue that ensues, characterize Satan as that member of the divine council who watches over human activity, but with the purpose of searching out men’s sins and appearing as their accuser. He is, as it were, a celestial “prosecutor”, who sees only iniquity; for he persists in his evil opinion of Job even after the man of Uz has passed successfully through his first trial by surrendering to the will of God, whereupon Satan demands another test through physical suffering (Job 2:3-5). Satan challenges God by saying that Job’s belief is only built upon what material goods he is given, and that his faith will disappear as soon as they are taken from him. God accepts the challenge.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Book_of_Job