What Does The Scripture Mean When It Says That One Is Delivered Over To Satan?

There are several Scriptures that refer to this in the Brit Chadasha, but the concept is also found in the Tanak. ! Cor 5. 5 says, “To deliver such a one unto Satan (meaning adversary) for the destruction of his flesh, that his spirit may be saved in the day of the Lord Yeshua.” This can also be seen in 1 Tim. 1.20 where it says, “Among these are Hymenaeus and Alexander, whom I have delivered over to Satan, so that they may be taught not to blaspheme.” To deliver over to Satan is a Hebrew idiom that means one is going to undergo what is called “karet” or a cutting off from congregational fellowship. This practice is based on the practice as seen in the Torah in Exo 12.19; Lev 7.21, 20.17; Num 15.30-31, and many other places. Yeshua said that when a demon goes out of a man, it passes through waterless places, which is the wilderness, seeking rest but does not find it (Matt 12.43). When Israel left Egypt this meant one would be put out of the camp of Israel and put into the wilderness. This meant they were now in the domain of Satan and the demons, and person was going to suffer for their own devices and even face death. In Num 15.15 we have the story of Miriam who gossiped against her brother Moses. She contracted leprosy from Yehovah and was put out of the camp for seven days, or into the wilderness domain of Satan. Moses and the camp did not move until she was restored.

So, in 1 Cor 5.5 there was one who was having a sexual relationship with his father’s wife, and he was put out of the assembly into the “wilderness” of the world, or into Satan’s domain. Later we find out this worked, the man repented, and it seems that he was restored into the assembly in 2 Cor 2.1-8. God uses Satan to accomplish a work in line with God’s plans. In 1 Tim 1.20 we have two individuals who Paul turned over to “karet” and they were cut off from the benefits of the assembly and being put into the domain of Satan, which is the world. Matt 16.23 refers to Satan’s influence on Peter and how it was not in line with what the Lord wanted for Yeshua. In 1 Chron 24.1 Satan is used by the Lord to count Israel and God’s anger rested on David in 2 Sam 24.1. Rom 1.26 tells us that God gives people over to their passions. So, it is clear that being “delivered over to Satan ” means to be cut off from the benefits of an assembly, and it is an idiom for the practice called “karet” or a “cutting off.”