This post is an old-fashioned Bible and word study, with a brief, practical application for ministry.
Let’s begin without a long introduction. Here are the verbs that appear in the New Testament in the context of demonic influence.
As usual, I write to learn, so let me see what I can find out.
I use the Greek lexicon called BDAG, which is an abbreviation for the four main editors who added to it over the decades: Bauer, Danker, Arndt, and Gingrich. Many consider it authoritative. It is a remarkable achievement in any case. I have slightly edited the format for clarity for the general reader.
Verbs
1. daimonizomai
The most common verb is diamonizomai and is pronounced dye-mo-NEE-oh-my. It is used 13 times,12 times in the synoptic Gospel, and once in the Gospel of John (10:21). Greek has the ability to add the suffix -ize- to a noun or adjective and turn it into a verb. Borrowing this ability from Greek, we can also do this in English: modern to modernize and theology to theologize. The Gospel writers attached the suffix to daimōn (pronounced dye-moan), which means “demon” or “evil spirit.”
Now let’s go for a more formal definition. BDAG defines the verb as follows: “be possessed by a hostile spirit.” Simple and clear. However, if you’re not satisfied with this definition because it is too narrow, then translating the verb can be difficult, but in my own translation of Matthew through Acts, I used “demonized” in order to allow the reader to sort out the degree of the control or oppression or possession or attack. So I simply duplicated the Greek by adding the suffix -ize- to the noun “demon.”
Here is an extreme example.
The most terrible case is the Gerasene demoniac (Matt. 8:28-34 // Mark 5:1-20 // Luke 8:26-39). He was totally possessed to the point of bruising himself with stones (self-harm), running around naked, breaking chains, living in the tombs, and scaring passersby. He was possessed by a legion of demons. This legion owned him. People stayed away, but Jesus approached. Mark and Luke say the man ran right up to Jesus but fell at his feet, shrieking. Jesus set him free.
The other cases of being demonized vary in different degrees. Only the context can determine the meaning of daimonizomai, but the context is not always very helpful. The victims often shriek and fall or throw themselves on the ground or sometimes into the fire or water (Mark 9:22). Thus the term is so broad that it is difficult to know with precision how deep the demonic control is. Sometimes the Gospels portray severe control, by which the human loses his ability to stop it on his own. The demon manifests itself, and a severe reaction occurs beyond the victim’s control, yet he is not as bad off as the Gerasene demoniac, who was possessed or owned by a legion of demons. So his extreme case does not seem to represent others.
Further, it is hard to sort out how the spirit world interacts with the mind, which is ensconced in the brain (body), though ultimately separate. What is the interaction between a spirit being, the mind, and the physical brain?
Let’s keep going to see if we can have more clarity.
2. Exō (a demon)
It is the extremely common verb meaning “have” or “hold.” It is pronounced EH-khoh. In its common usage it appears 708 times. However, in the context of “have a demon,” it is used in Mark and in Luke and Acts 10 times: Mark 3:22, 30; 7:25; 9:17; Luke 4:33; 7:33; 8:27; Acts 8:7; 16:16; 19:13. The two verbs “demonized” and “have a demon” are used interchangeably in Luke 8:27, 36, for example. So it looks like the two terms are synonyms. Therefore, I see no substantive clarity between the two verbs to describe the degree of demonic influence or control. Context will have to guide us.
3. katadunasteuō
This verb is used only twice: Acts 10:38 and James 2:6. It is pronounced kah-tah-doo-nah-STEW-oh. The prefix kata denotes a downward action and often adds a negative nuance when it is a prefix. Example: the verb for “judge” is krinō (pronounced kree-noh), and the verb for “condemn” is katakrinō. The main part of the verb, –dunasteuō, has some rich cognates with revealing definitions, such as “able to,” “ability,” “capability,” “power,” “might,” “strength,” or “force” (etc.) But let’s not over-apply those definitions from the related words to this one verb. I note them just to see the range of definitions of the entire word group.
Instead, let’s define katadunasteuō more strictly. BDAG says it simply means: “oppress, exploit, dominate.”
Acts 10:38 is relevant to this post because Peter summarizes Jesus’s entire deliverance ministry as “healing” all those who were “oppressed” by the devil. The NIV has “under the control of.” The Holman translation says “under the Tyranny of.” Most of the others say “oppressed.”
Since the verb appears in a summary of Jesus’s whole ministry, the context of the Gospels still has to determine how deep the control went in each demonized human. Possession? Oppression? Control? Attack? The contexts often portray severe control, but not as bad as the Gerasene demoniac, which looks like a special case of a legion of demons. But beyond this one case, it is difficult, with this verb, to be precise about the severity of the control in the other ones.
4. Plēroō
It is a common verb for “fill” and is pronounced play-RAH-oh. It is used in Acts 5:3 when Peter asked Ananias, “Why has Satan filled your heart?” BDAG has many definitions, but relevant to Acts 5:3 is “fill.”
Since it occurs 86 times, it appears in many different contexts and can also mean “fill” with the Holy Spirit (Acts 13:52; Eph. 5:28) or with joy (2 Tim. 1:4). The boy Jesus was “filled” with wisdom (Luke 2:40). Its most common usage means to “fulfill” (as in Scripture is “fulfilled,” found in many verses). Another definition is “complete” (2 Cor. 10:6).
Back to Acts 5:3. Evidently, Satan filled Ananias’s heart to overflowing to lie to the Holy Spirit. The question remains: was he converted or saved or born again when Satan filled his heart? Does “fill” = “possess”? If so, how can Satan do this when the Spirit occupied Ananias’s born-again heart? He certainly does not seem as bad off as the other cases who were oppressed by the devil in the synoptic Gospels. He was not thrown into a fire or water (Mark 9:22). No, Satan’s attack compelled Ananias to act deceitfully, so his mind was under the influence of Satan; the man was filled by the evil spirit to lie to the Spirit.
For further study, please click on this post:
Why Did Ananias and Sapphira Drop Dead?
5. deō
This verb is used 43 times and pronounced DEH-oh. BDAG defines it as follows: “To confine a person or thing by various kinds of restraints, bind, tie.” Second definition: “To tie something to something, to tie to an animal” (e.g. Matt. 21:2, Mark 11:2, 4; Luke 19:30). Third definition: “To constrain by law and duty” (Rom. 7:2; 1 Cor. 7:27). This third definition refers to marriage. Fourth definition: “bind and loose” (Matt. 16:19; 19:18), which means to permit or prohibit.
For this post, Jesus met an older woman in a synagogue. Satan bound her for 18 years with a disabling spirit or a spirit of infirmity (Luke 13:11, 16). The first definition is relevant to the older woman bound by Satan, and BDAG confirms this by referencing this case under the first definition.
In various other contexts it can mean “bind up” the strong man (Matt. 12:29 // Mark 3:27). It is used in “binding” and loosing (Matt. 16:19; 18:18). Authorities can “bind” a prisoner with chains, as they did to Peter (Acts 12:6) and Paul (Acts 21:33; 22:29). Paul was “compelled” by the Spirit to go to Jerusalem (Acts 20:22). It can mean the “tie” of marriage (1 Cor. 7:27, 39). Satan is “bound” for a thousand years (Rev. 20:2).
Back to the older woman. Somehow Satan got ahold of her body and bent it forward. He controlled it, bound it, but does this mean the demon also controlled her mind? Possibly. She certainly must have been deeply discouraged. But she does not seem to have been as bad off as other cases, which portrays the victim as losing control of his body like convulsing or throwing him to the synagogue floor or even into fire or water. So once again, it is difficult to be precise since the cases are different and yet often severe.
6. kolaphizō
This verb is used 5 times and is pronounced koh-lah-FEE-zo. BDAG defines it as follows: “To strike sharply, especially with the hand, strike with fist, beat, cuff.” Second definition: “To cause physical impairment, torment” which is used figuratively of an illness. The BDAG editors say that in Paul’s case (see below), the verb describes “painful attacks of an illness, described as a physical beating by a messenger of Satan.” Scholars have guessed what the disease is, one guess being a speech impediment. But no firm conclusion has been reached.
In the other four contexts, Jesus was beat with fists (Matt 26:67; Mark 14:66). Paul was brutally treated (1 Cor. 4:11); Slaves can receive an unjust beating from a harsh master, even when they do well (1 Peter 2:20).
The relevant verse is 2 Corinthians 12:7, which says that Satan beat or tormented Paul’s body. So does this mean illness? BDAG, as noted, concludes that it does and cites many cases of physical illnesses in Greek writings, all outside the New Testament.
However, while it may be true that BDAG says Paul’s body was struck by a physical ailment of some kind, what if the term could mean constant, severe persecution? The context from 2 Corinthians 11 seems to indicate this. Also, Paul refers to his torment as a thorn in his flesh. The nations that harassed Israel were thorns in its side (Num. 33:55; Josh. 23:13). Paul could have borrowed from those two verses in the Old Testament. Recall that Paul said he had been brutally treated (1 Cor. 4:11). So the thorn could mean severe persecution.
Yet the bulk of the evidence seems to suggest a physical ailment. Maybe Paul did have a speech impediment. After all, Moses did (Exod. 4:19). However, Paul was the main speaker instead of Barnabas (Acts 14:12). So this is probably not the right answer. Yet physical ailment keeps commending itself because Paul said he had one when he arrived in Galatia (Gal. 4:14). In this verse there is no doubt what the Greek says: fleshly / bodily infirmity / weakness. Something was bothering his body.
So which is it in 2 Corinthians 12:7? physical illness or persecution? Satan can attack or beat or torment the body either by persecution and brutal beatings or by a bodily weakness, an illness. Yet because of Galatians 4:14, the scales tip slightly in favor of a physical infirmity or bodily weakness which Satan had weaponized against the apostle.
Conclusion
Since I write to learn and then share my findings online, what did I learn?
The first thing I learned was that the common belief that there is only one verb (daimonizomai).for oppression or possession or control or attack or influence is inaccurate. There are at least five more verbs. Also, possession is a legitimate translation of daimonizomai and “have a demon.” The Gerasene demoniac is the case in point. Other cases seem severe enough to also be called possession or ownership. Yet it is easy to dispute with this latter conclusion because the human does not seem to be totally owned.
Now what else do the six verbs teach me (and no doubt there are other verbs). Possession, oppression, control, influence, or attack? What do those terms mean in all the verses in the Gospels and Acts and 2 Corinthians?
I learned that the Gerasene demoniac was a unique case because he was possessed by a legion of demons. The other cases varied widely, but not too widely. The synoptic Gospels indicate cases of severe attacks, like victims losing control of their minds and bodies and being thrown down to the floor and convulsing or even being thrown into fire or water. This looks like possession to me. However, in the case of the woman with a disabling spirit, who was bent double, demonic affliction was physical. She may not have lost control of her mental faculties, but she surely must have been discouraged.
The summary verse of Acts 10:38 seems to bundle all of the demonic cases in the synoptic Gospels under the long verb katadunasteuō. So how is this verb distinguished from the other verbs? Since it appears in a summary verse, the answer is not clear (to me at least).
Sorry I can’t give you the Grand Answer that clarifies all questions about possession or oppression or control or influence or attack. Maybe the answer is the one I have alluded to throughout this post. Let the context decide.
Next, the interaction between (1) the body, (2) the mind which is temporarily ensconced in the brain (body), and (3) an evil spirit is mysterious. We have all felt some sort of a demonic attack on some level, at some time during our lives (I certainly have). Defining the terms is for Bible teachers, yet answers are hard to come by.
Now what about the rest of us?
And so the bottom line is this: in terms of practical ministry, what is more relevant than sorting out the nuances of the verbs is the soul and body of the person being attacked by a demon or demons and how deep the attack goes because the person gives the demon or demons access.
The most important point is to set demonized people free in Jesus’s name, as Christians did in Acts.
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