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This is related to this other question about the Christadelphian view that Satan is not a person.

Here I wanted to ask how they view the case of Job. Job was apparently a real person as he is referred to in Ezekiel 14:14 where God said the words

Though these three men, Noah, Daniel, and Job, were in it, they should deliver but their own souls by their righteousness, saith the Lord GOD.

Also James 1:13 says that God cannot be tempted with evil and does not bring about tests upon us just to see if we fail them or not

Let no man say when he is tempted, I am tempted of God: for God cannot be tempted with evil, neither tempteth he any man:

In the case of Job the Bible gives this conversation between Satan and God (Job 2:2-3)

And the LORD said unto Satan, From whence comest thou? And Satan answered the LORD, and said, From going to and fro in the earth, and from walking up and down in it. And the LORD said unto Satan, Hast thou considered my servant Job, that there is none like him in the earth, a perfect and an upright man, one that feareth God, and escheweth evil? and still he holdeth fast his integrity, although thou movedst me against him, to destroy him without cause.

In the context of Job, do Christadelphians view Satan as a principle of evil within God, some separate entity, or something else?

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    For comparison, in Judaism, the satan is regarded either as symbolic of personal temptation, or as in the case of Job, as an angel appointed to notice and accuse people's acts of sin (e.g. as a legal prosecutor). I.e. satan isn't so much the one that tempts people to sin as the one that is standing by when someone is contemplating sin.
    – Ray Butterworth
    Jul 9, 2022 at 13:34
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    I believe (and I'm not a Christadelphian) that they would just point out the original Hebrew just means "the accuser", which could be some other entity. I've heard some progressive Christians argue the same thing.
    – Luke Hill
    Jul 9, 2022 at 16:10

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This is a bit of a straw man question. It's founded on the statement "the Christadelphian view that Satan is not a person" backed up by repeating the text of another question from a non-christadelphian as fact... and not the answers to that question from Christadelphians themselves.

Many satans (adversaries) not one

I am Christadelphian, and I'm not going to repeat the answers to the linked question here, except to answer the more specific question about the satan in Job. I think it's more accurate to say the Christadelphian view that Satan is not a single person. We don't believe there is a being that has existed from the time of the garden of Eden until now, that is referred to as "Satan" i.e. the Satan. The original idea of the Hebrew word is "an adversary" or "to be avesarial", and so in that sense we would say there have been many adversaries to many people throughout history.

Peter was an adversary to Christ in the moment he tried to stop him going up to Jerusalem. Moments before this incident, Christ praised Peter for his faith. To be a satan (adversary) to someone can be a mild single point in time verbal objection not understanding the consequences (as in Peter's case), or a more long term stronger ongoing physical persecution. Context is key in interpreting scripture.

Who is Job's adversary?

The question of who the satan (adversary) to Job was in that moment is an open question within the Christadelphian community. You will hear many suggestions varying from and angel of Yahweh, a jealous israelite, to Elihu, and many other things in between. The simple fact is we just don't know for sure, I don't personally have a strong view on the identity of the adversary.

Our general approach in these situations is that if it was really important that we knew exactly who the satan was to Job, then we would have been told... or it would be obvious to work out. Having said that it's this kind of thing that Christadelphians love to argue about (I mean "discuss"). There is a risk here to over emphasis small details (arguing over the exact identity of the adversary) and miss the bigger picture of the message God is trying to convey to us. The old adage, "strain at a Gnat and swallow a Camel" is perhaps an appropriate phrase. I think the focus in scripture seems to be more on Jobs response to the persecution, and his three well intentioned but misguided friends, than the satan that was used as a tool to start it off.

Personally I would say it's the same with what happened in the garden and the satan (adversary there). Our response to fallen nature and the trials of life is surely more important than the exact nature of serpent who was (I believe) an unwitting adversary to Adam and Eve, used by God to bring us into a situation where we have to use our free will to demonstrate love and obedience to God in our lives. We can blame others for our actions (as Adam and Eve did) or we can take responsibility for our failings and do our best to develop God's character in us as his sons and daughters... part of his family.

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