UBS Dictionary of the Greek New Testament

Sense 1: demon, evil spirit

Semantic entry: 12.37

Semantic domains: Supernatural Beings and Powers

Subdomains: Supernatural Beings

Definition: an evil supernatural being or spirit

Notes: While in a number of languages the Devil may be spoken of as ‘the chief of the demons,’ sometimes the demons are simply called ‘the spirits of the Devil’ or ‘the servants of the Devil.’|In a number of languages the difficulty in terminology for demons is not the absence of a term, but the abundance of different terms for different kinds of demons, each one of which may be responsible for particular kinds of human behavior, for example, insanity, depression, epilepsy, sex perversion, and violent assault. Sometimes demons are classified as ‘those of the home’ and ‘those of the forest,’ in which case the latter are normally regarded as more violent and virulent. When there is an abundance of different terms for demons and no generic term for all types of demons, one can usually select a class of demons which parallels most closely the descriptions of demon activity in the NT and use such a term with appropriate contextual qualifications so as to suggest that such a term is to be understood in a general sense.