Get behind me, Satan

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Get Thee Behind Me, Satan by Ilya Repin; 1895, oil on canvas, 46 x 62 cm, Russian Museum. Ilya Repin - Get Thee Behind Me, Satan - 1895.png
Get Thee Behind Me, Satan by Ilya Repin; 1895, oil on canvas, 46 × 62 cm, Russian Museum.

"Get behind me, Satan," also rendered "Get thee behind me, Satan" and "Go away, Satan," is a saying of Jesus recorded in the New Testament. It appears in Mark 8:33 and Matthew 16:23 as a rebuke to Peter.

Contents

A related form occurs in the temptation narrative, where Matthew 4:10 has "Go away, Satan." Luke 4:8 contains the longer wording in later manuscripts and translations such as the King James Version, while the earliest witnesses lack it and most modern translations omit it. [1] [2] Within each context the phrase functions as a decisive rejection of a proposal judged contrary to the will of God. [3] [4]

Historical context

In Second Temple Jewish literature "Satan" designates the cosmic adversary of God's purposes. The Hebrew noun śāṭān also means "adversary" in a nontechnical sense, as when an opposing figure is called a "satan" in the Old Testament. The Gospel sayings exploit this semantic field. Peter opposes Jesus by counseling a messiahship without suffering. The tempter opposes Jesus by offering authority apart from obedience to God. In both scenes the title "Satan" names the adversarial stance, not an ontological identification of Peter with the devil. [5] [6] [4] [3]

The Latin Vade retro satana became a familiar apotropaic formula in Western Christianity. It is printed in abbreviated form on the Saint Benedict Medal, where the initial letters frame a prayer that rejects temptation. Benedictine sources explain the phrase as a succinct exorcistic command grounded in the gospel. [7] The saying appears in lectionaries and homiletic collections in connection with the confession of Peter and the temptation narratives, where it functions as a model of resistance to evil. [3] [8]

Etymology and translations

The Greek clause behind the familiar English is Greek : Ὕπαγε ὀπίσω μου, Σατανᾶ (Hypage opiso mou, Satana). Greek : Ὕπαγε is a second person singular imperative that means "go" or "go away." Greek : ὀπίσω with the genitive means "behind" or "after" and can mark a follower's position. Greek : Σατανᾶ is the vocative of "Satan," a loanword meaning "adversary" or "accuser." [6]

The Vulgate Latin reads "Vade retro me, Satana," often cited in later devotional and liturgical sources. [1] English translations vary across contexts. In Matthew 16:23 and Mark 8:33 many render "Get behind me, Satan" to preserve the discipleship nuance of "behind." In Matthew 4:10 translations often read "Away with you, Satan" or "Go away, Satan," since the manuscripts there do not include "behind me." In Luke 4:8 the King James Version follows the later reading with "Get thee behind me, Satan," while modern editions follow the shorter text. [2] [8]

Gospel occurrences

Rebuke of Peter

In Mark's narrative, Peter confesses Jesus as the Messiah at Caesarea Philippi, after which Jesus predicts his suffering and death. Peter begins to rebuke Jesus, and Jesus turns and says, "Get behind me, Satan," adding that Peter is setting his mind "not on divine things but on human things" (Mark 8:31–33). Matthew repeats the scene with close wording and adds "you are a stumbling block to me" (Matthew 16:21–23). Commentators commonly note that "behind me" matches the vocabulary of following, so the rebuke both rejects Peter's counsel and restores him to the proper posture of a disciple behind his teacher. [9] [4] [3]

The preposition "behind" echoes the call narratives where disciples follow "after" Jesus, as in Mark 1:17. Many readers therefore take the rebuke to mean both "get out of my way" and "get back in your place as a follower," a reading that fits the immediate context of teaching on suffering discipleship in Mark 8:34–38 and Matthew 16:24–28. [9] [4] [10]

Temptation narratives

Jesus and the Devil depicted in The Temptation of Christ, by Ary Scheffer, 1854 Ary Scheffer - The Temptation of Christ (1854).jpg
Jesus and the Devil depicted in The Temptation of Christ, by Ary Scheffer, 1854

In Matthew 4:1–11 the devil tempts Jesus. At the climax Jesus says, "Go away, Satan," and cites Deuteronomy 6:13 as the warrant for exclusive worship of God. Luke 4:1–13 presents a similar sequence. The longer wording "Get behind me, Satan" is read in later manuscripts and reflected in the Textus Receptus and KJV but is absent from the earliest witnesses, so modern critical editions read simply "It is written, 'You shall worship the Lord your God'." [1] [2] [8] [11] [12]

Textual tradition

The wording in Mark 8:33 and Matthew 16:23 is well attested across the principal Greek manuscript traditions. [1] The most discussed variant concerns Luke 4:8. The longer reading "Get behind me, Satan" is supported by the majority of later Byzantine manuscripts and underlies the Textus Receptus. The earliest Alexandrian witnesses, including Codex Sinaiticus and Codex Vaticanus, read the shorter text without the phrase. United Bible Societies editors judge the shorter reading to be original on both external and internal grounds. [2] [1]

Ancient versions reflect the same diversity. The Vulgate and many later Latin manuscripts include "Vade retro me, Satana" in Luke 4:8, while the earliest Old Latin and the Sahidic Coptic often lack it. The Syriac Peshitta aligns with the longer reading in some traditions and with the shorter in others, which indicates the diffusion of both forms in late antiquity. [2]

Interpretation and reception

Early Christian interpreters read the saying as a rebuke that protects the gospel of the cross. John Chrysostom comments on Matthew 16:23 that Jesus corrects Peter for attempting to deter him from the passion, while also restoring Peter to the place of a follower. [13] Origen takes "Satan" in its adversarial sense and links the command "behind me" with the order of discipleship. [14] Medieval compilations preserved similar readings in homiletic form. [15]

Western scholastic authors associated the rebuke with the distinction between human prudence and divine wisdom. In preaching and catechesis the saying marked the transition from human counsel to obedience modeled on Christ, a theme that appears frequently in the Catena tradition and later sermons. [16]

John Calvin reads the saying as a correction of Peter's well intentioned but misguided effort to divert Jesus from the cross, and he stresses that Christ must be followed on the path of suffering before glory. [17]

Modern commentators discuss the force of the imperative and the nuance of "behind me." Some argue that the clause functions as a sharp rejection of obstructive counsel. Others emphasize the discipleship motif and read the command as "return to your place as follower." Both readings fit the framing in Mark and Matthew where teaching on taking up the cross immediately follows. [9] [4] [3] [10] [12]

Interpreters debate what Jesus means by calling Peter "Satan." Some take it as a metaphor for Peter's adversarial role at that moment. Others see an identification of Peter with the tempter's strategy to avoid the cross, which the surrounding teaching rules out. A related discussion concerns whether "behind me" primarily orders distance or primarily restores the posture of a follower. Scholars often conclude that the phrase does both, since it rejects a temptation and resets the order of disciple and master. [4] [9] [3] [10]

In culture

Ilya Repin's Get Thee Behind Me, Satan is held by the Russian Museum and reflects nineteenth century interest in biblical temptation scenes. [18] In English the phrase "get thee behind me, Satan" entered idiomatic usage for a firm refusal of temptation. Modern dictionaries record it as a set expression that means "I reject your enticement" in humorous or earnest fashion. [19] The phrase also inspired the title of The White Stripes' 2005 album Get Behind Me Satan .

See also

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 Nestle-Aland, ed. (2012), Novum Testamentum Graece (28th ed.), Stuttgart: Deutsche Bibelgesellschaft
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 Metzger, Bruce M. (1994), A Textual Commentary on the Greek New Testament (2nd ed.), Stuttgart: United Bible Societies
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 6 France, R. T. (2007), The Gospel of Matthew, New International Commentary on the New Testament, Grand Rapids: Eerdmans
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Marcus, Joel (2009), Mark 8–16: A New Translation with Introduction and Commentary, Anchor Yale Bible, New Haven: Yale University Press
  5. ↑ Kelly, Henry Ansgar (2006), Satan: A Biography, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press
  6. 1 2 Danker, Frederick W. (2000), A Greek–English Lexicon of the New Testament and Other Early Christian Literature (3rd ed.), Chicago: University of Chicago Press
  7. ↑ The Medal of Saint Benedict, Collegeville, MN: Order of Saint Benedict, retrieved 2025-10-29
  8. 1 2 3 Green, Joel B. (1997), The Gospel of Luke, New International Commentary on the New Testament, Grand Rapids: Eerdmans
  9. 1 2 3 4 Hooker, Morna D. (1991), The Gospel according to Saint Mark, Black's New Testament Commentary, Peabody, MA: Hendrickson
  10. 1 2 3 Luz, Ulrich (2001), Matthew 8–20, Hermeneia, Minneapolis: Fortress Press
  11. ↑ Davies, W. D. (1991), A Critical and Exegetical Commentary on the Gospel according to Saint Matthew, Volume 2: Commentary on Matthew VIII–XVIII, International Critical Commentary, Edinburgh: T&T Clark
  12. 1 2 Keener, Craig S. (1999), A Commentary on the Gospel of Matthew, Grand Rapids: Eerdmans
  13. ↑ Chrysostom, John (1888), Schaff, Philip (ed.), Homilies on the Gospel of Saint Matthew, Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, First Series, Vol. 10, New York: Christian Literature Company
  14. ↑ Origen (2018), Commentary on the Gospel of Matthew, The Fathers of the Church, translated by Heine, Ronald E., Washington, DC: Catholic University of America Press
  15. ↑ Aquinas, Thomas (1841), Catena Aurea: Commentary on the Four Gospels, translated by Newman, John Henry, Oxford: J. H. Parker
  16. ↑ Aquinas, Thomas (1841), Catena Aurea: Commentary on the Four Gospels, Oxford: J. H. Parker
  17. ↑ Calvin, John (1845), Commentary on a Harmony of the Evangelists, Matthew, Mark, and Luke, translated by Pringle, William, Edinburgh: Calvin Translation Society
  18. ↑ Ilya Repin 1844–1930: A Russian Master, St. Petersburg: State Russian Museum, 2011
  19. ↑ "Get thee behind me, Satan", Merriam-Webster Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, retrieved 2025-10-29

Further reading

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