1. 1 Peter 5:8 (ESV)
  2. Exposition

What significance is there in the use of the term “devil” instead of, say, Satan?

1 Peter 5:8 (ESV)

8 Be sober-minded; be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour.

The term translated as “devil” (diabolos) means to throw around and hence to confuse. Peter seeks to highlight the deviousness of this adversary. He would certainly seek to use the suffering Peter’s readers experienced (1 Peter 4:12) to befuddle God’s people and so win them for himself.