The word "devil" as we know it in English does not come from Hebrew at all, but from the Greek word διάβολος (diábolos), meaning slanderer, false accuser, or one who divides or throws accusations across. It comes from the verb διαβάλλω (diabállō), which literally means to throw across, or to accuse falsely — suggesting a sense of dividing or causing conflict through false accusations.

In the Septuagint (LXX) — the Greek translation of the Hebrew Scriptures — διάβολος is used to translate the Hebrew word שָּׂטָן (satan) in verses like Job 1:6 and Zechariah 3:1, where satan is clearly a role, not a proper name. It means "adversary" or "accuser" — and in Hebrew thought, it could even refer to a human adversary or a heavenly messenger playing a testing role.

So when the Septuagint translators chose διάβολος, they were interpreting satan as a figure who brings accusations — but this translation began to reframe the concept toward a more individualized being, which would later morph in Christian and Greco-Roman thought into what we now call the Devil.

Summary:
"Devil" = from Greek διάβολος, not Hebrew.

Diabolos originally referred to a slanderer or accuser, not a supernatural being.

It was used in Greek classical texts before the Bible.

Septuagint applied it to translate שָּׂטָן (satan) in key passages.

This created a shift in how people interpreted "satan" — from a role to a personalized figure.