Psalm 22:13

Hebrew Bible

10 I have been dependent on you since birth; from the time I came out of my mother’s womb you have been my God. 11 Do not remain far away from me, for trouble is near and I have no one to help me. 12 Many bulls surround me; powerful bulls of Bashan hem me in. 13 They open their mouths to devour me like a roaring lion that rips its prey. 14 My strength drains away like water; all my bones are dislocated. My heart is like wax; it melts away inside me. 15 The roof of my mouth is as dry as a piece of pottery; my tongue sticks to my gums. You set me in the dust of death.

1 Peter 5:8

New Testament

5 In the same way, you who are younger, be subject to the elders. And all of you, clothe yourselves with humility toward one another because God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble. 6 And God will exalt you in due time, if you humble yourselves under his mighty hand 7 by casting all your cares on him because he cares for you. 8 Be sober and alert. Your enemy the devil, like a roaring lion, is on the prowl looking for someone to devour. 9 Resist him, strong in your faith, because you know that your brothers and sisters throughout the world are enduring the same kinds of suffering. 10 And, after you have suffered for a little while, the God of all grace who called you to his eternal glory in Christ will himself restore, confirm, strengthen, and establish you. 11 To him belongs the power forever. Amen.

 Notes and References

"... Particularly notable, however, is Psalm 22:13, where the psalmist laments concerning his enemies who “open wide their mouth at me, as a ravening and a roaring lion” that arguably resembles most closely the language in 1 Peter 5:8 of the devil “as a roaring lion” (ὡς λέων ὠρυόμενος). Consequently, this psalm has frequently been seen as “the apparent source of Peter’s imagery,” with some such as Peter H. Davids more confidently asserting that “the image is surely drawn from Psalm 22:13,” though not all have been persuaded of this connection. Charles Bigg has suggested that 1 Peter 5:8 is a composite reference, drawing partly from the prowling lion in Psalm 22:13 and the prowling slanderer of Job. If so, the roaming of ὁ διάβολος in 1 Peter 5:8 (περιπατέω) would mirror the roaming of ὁ διάβολος in Job 1:7 (περιέρχομαι; compare διαπορεύομαι in 2:2) and in both texts God’s sovereignty would be upheld even when he permits trials from the devil for the testing his servants. Alternatively, Craig S. Keener identifies Ezekiel 22:25, 28 as “the passage that most likely provides some of the wording here” wherein the false prophets “were, as here, like a roaring lion devouring lives.” ..."

Hallstrom, Tyler Like a Lion: Mapping the Leonine Metaphor in 1 Peter 5:8 (pp. 535-552) JETS 65/3, 2022

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