How did the idea of Satan emerge in the Jewish tradition?
Growing up in the Seventh Day Adventist church, I was told of a celestial battle between good and evil for the souls of every person on earth. The main characters in this spiritual war were the trinitarian God ( i.e. , God the Father, Jesus and the Holy Spirit) on the 'good' side and the Devil / Satan / Lucifer on the 'evil' side. I understood that Satan was, at one time, an important angel in Heaven (leader of the Heavenly choir, no less) who rebelled against God and was then cast out of God's presence and bound to the earth. I was taught that, ever since his fall from grace, Satan spends all his time tempting people to reject God. Adventists don't believe in the eternal conscious torment of hell, but they do preach that God will cast those who reject Him into a lake of fire where they will die a painful death and cease to exist. Those who are 'saved' will be rewarded with eternal life in Heaven. On this view, Satan, the great deceiver, is respo