BELIAL was one of Satan's lieutenants, alluded to in II Corinthians 6:15. The term appears throughout the Bible with a connotation of evil, but especially in Judges 15:22, referring to certain devilish men: "venerunt viri civitatis illius filii Belial, id est, absque iugo--the men of that city came, sons of Belial, that is without bonds or restraints."

The Parson compares bad priests, ParsT 895-898, with the sons of Heli, who are called "sons of Belial," I Kings 2:12.

Belial denotes a worthless person, being a compound of two Hebrew words: b'li (without) and ya'al (usefulness). Absque iugo, which explains Belial in the passage from Judges, appears as sans ioug in the Old French translation. Skeat suggests that Chaucer has misread the words. [Helie: Samuel]