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Chapter 19 of 25

General Exhortation

General Exhortation

General Exhortation

1 Peter 5:8–11

Stand Firm in God (5:8–11)

5:8

Stay disciplined and watchful. Your opponent the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, looking for somebody to devour.

5:9

Stand firm against him in faith, knowing that your spiritual family throughout the world is experiencing the same sorts of sufferings.

5:10

Now may the God of all grace himself, who called you to his eternal glory in Christ, after you have suffered for a little while, restore, strengthen, fortify, and establish you.

5:11

The power is his forever and ever! Amen.

5:8

The call for vigilance1 in 5:8 fits early Christian preaching (1 Thess. 5:6) and motifs derived from Jesus (see comment on 1 Pet. 1:13; 4:7). Satan’s activity on earth could suit the final tribulation (Rev. 12:10–12).2 Whereas some other sections of 1 Peter address relationships with people generally (2:13–17; 3:8–13) or with fellow believers (4:7–11), or more specifically household relationships (2:18–3:7), Peter here addresses one relationship where submission is inappropriate. The real enemy is not human authorities, although they may become instruments of demonic intention; the real enemy is spiritual (as in Eph. 6:12; for spiritual powers behind the earthly ones, cf. comment on 1 Pet. 3:22).

Exhortations to moral or spiritual vigilance were common;3 some may evoke the image of literal military vigilance. The vigilance of sentinels was essential,4 for entire units and armies could be destroyed through their failure to watch adequately.5 This was because warfare typically ended at night,6 making night attacks all the more unexpected and deadly.7 Roman cities had vigiles to maintain nocturnal security, though they were more concerned with fire than robbers.8 Being “watchful” or vigilant was appropriate for guards of all sorts, but in this context (1 Pet. 5:1–4) it is particularly notable that it was appropriate behavior for shepherds.9 Careful shepherds might count the sheep twice a day to make certain none were lost.10

Leaders must guard themselves so as not to abuse the flock. Leaders abusing their subordinates appear commonly in ancient (no less than modern) sources.11 The responsibility of shepherds caring for the flock might evoke Ezek. 34, in view of the Chief Shepherd in 1 Pet. 5:4.12

In a forensic context,13 the term for opponent (antidikos) here could signify the accuser, which was certainly a role of Satan in Scripture (Zech. 3:1–2; especially the title in Job 1:6–2:7) and in Jewish tradition.14 The devil also appears as the “enemy” (Matt. 13:39; Luke 10:19), the ruler of those spirits against whom believers contend (Eph. 6:12).15 The Hebrew word sātān means “adversary,” fitting the depiction in 1 Pet. 5:8;16 the Greek word diabolos (devil), the term here, is the one that the LXX always uses to translate sātān;17 used generically, the term also means “slanderer.” Although early Christians were informed especially by their reading of Scripture, some more developed Jewish traditions also may have helped shape their reading (cf. Jude 9), thus the present excursus “Satan / the Devil in Early Jewish Understanding.”18

A CLOSER LOOK

Satan / the Devil in Early Jewish Understanding

Early Jewish sources comment frequently on Satan (usually synonymous with the devil, Belial, Beliar, Mastema, and often Sammael),19 and conceptualized his activity in several primary spheres.20 First, Satan functioned as accuser, a role derived from Scripture (cf. Job 1:6–2:7; Zech. 3:1–2).21 Thus Satan might tempt (the second role) and then accuse the person who succumbed to temptation. Second, he functioned as tempter (cf. Luke 4:2; Matt. 4:3; 1 Thess. 3:5; cf. 1 Chron. 21:1).22 Later rabbis underlined this role by telling of famous rabbis deceived nearly to the point of destruction when Satan disguised himself as a beautiful woman.23

Finally, he acted as deceiver (John 8:44), a category admittedly overlapping with that of tempter (temptation being the object of the deception).24 Although Jewish belief accepted God’s sovereignty over Satan’s limited sphere of activity,25 it understood Satan’s activity and motivation as hostile.26 Thus Satan was usually thought to be in deliberate rebellion against God,27 and in some sense to rule the sinful world.28 Satan was thought to move some people against others,29 or by “filling” them inspire them to speak evil.30 In some Jewish sources Satan targeted the righteous.31 When God’s servants prevailed, Satan (Mastema) was shamed.32 His fate was ultimately eschatological subjugation.33

Enemies could be depicted as roaring lions.34 Some envision here a backdrop of lions in the arena, to whom Christians could be fed,35 though the biblical background (see further below) is likelier dominant here. The translation prowls around suits a lion, but it could otherwise be translated “walking around,” and is suitable to the Satan in Job 1:7; 2:2.36 Somebody is missing in one of the earliest Greek manuscripts; its presence is better attested than its absence, but it would seem necessary to supply in translation even if it were missing in the original.

Predators were particularly dangerous to vulnerable sheep, and shepherds (cf. 5:1–4) worked hard to protect them.37 Ancient writers often contrasted shepherds, who sought to preserve the sheep, with the latter’s predators.38 Thus a caring shepherd protects his flock, but robbers, wolves, and other predators endangered the flock if he proved remiss in his duties.39 When pursued by wolves, helpless domestic animals had no protection except their shepherds or herders.40 Speakers could thus compare a good leader to a good shepherd warding off the wolves.41 Sheep faced various dangers,42 such as thieves,43 and ancient literature often employs the image of wolves as predators,44 for example, of cattle,45 asses,46 of people,47 and especially sheep.48 Lions, however, were the most powerful predators,49 also striking cattle,50 people,51 and—particularly vulnerable—sheep.52

Figurative use of the predator image was common and well understood. (That is, no one needed to look for any detailed, one-to-one correspondence between the figure and the reality.)53 Writers often used the image of “beast” figuratively for a terrible person.54 Wolves, for example, were thought to be deceitful55 and eager to plunder;56 figurative wolves could prove treacherous, unfaithful, and hostile,57 though sometimes fearing shepherds.58 Jewish tradition also uses the image of the predatory wolf,59 including for Israel’s enemies60 and evil leaders.61

The predatory image of lions, however, is still more terrifying, since lions were more formidable than wolves.62 Lions are a conventional image of courage,63 strength,64 savage ferocity,65 and the object of fear;66 they could represent enemies,67 from whom the Lord might deliver.68 Sometimes both wolf and lion predatory images could be conjoined.69 Here are a few examples of the image of the dangerous lion:

  • Alexander glares at someone fiercely, “like a lion.”70
  • The Achaian hero Ajax, glaring “like lions preparing to attack.”71
  • Pharaoh considers himself a lion among the nations, but really he is like a dragon.72
  • The emperor’s death is announced as, “The lion is dead.”73

    • Dangerous lions are often depicted as “roaring,”74 an image sometimes applied to enemies75 (or wicked leaders)76 of the righteous or God’s people. In the passage that most likely provides some of the wording here, Ezekiel compares the false prophets of his day with greedy lions (Ezek. 22:25, 28); they were, as here, like a roaring lion77 devouring78 lives (22:25). The Lord, however, could deliver from the lion’s mouth.79

    5:9

    The admonition to resist (using anthistēmi, as here for stand firm) the devil also appears in James 4:7, although the devil’s role there is as tempter, and here Satan’s role may be especially as persecutor (5:9), or as tempter especially to apostasy.80 Likewise, Eph. 6:13 uses the verb in connection with standing firm in resistance, in a context in which the battle is against spiritual powers (6:12); similarly, in Eph. 4:27 believers must not give place to the devil. Without a direct background in the Septuagint,81 the parallel of these admonitions suggests a wider source in early Christianity.82

    Your spiritual family is literally “your fellowship of brothers and sisters”; on this term (adelphotēs), see comment on 2:17, the only other reference in the NT (but cf. 1 Clem. 2:4); and comments on fictive kinship language at 1:22; 3:6. In this context, “in the world” (en kosmō or en tō kosmō) likely means throughout the world.83 This certainly includes their fellow believers in “Babylon” (5:13). Knowing that they are not alone in suffering is meant to console rather than discourage them; it is a corporate battle, not a merely individual one. All believers face temptation and attack (1 Cor. 10:13). Recognizing others’ sufferings was a common counsel for putting one’s own sufferings in perspective.84

  • You will learn self-control “if, when you are in trouble, you contemplate the misfortunes of others and remind yourself that you are human.”85
  • To stop a friend from grief, Solon showed him how many others had cause to grieve, and warned him to stop grieving as if mortal sufferings were peculiar to him.86
  • A Stoic notes that his hardships (illness, financial difficulties, etc.) are the sort common to all;87 it is “unfair to complain about what has happened to one man but is in store for all.”88
  • Experiencing the eruption of Vesuvius, one noted, “I . . . derived some poor consolation in my mortal lot from the belief that the whole world was dying with me.”89
  • Terrible as are one’s sufferings, “they are such as mankind is subject to and as have ere now befallen many,” so one must endure them with right thinking.90
  • Grief-counseling advice: “Console a mourner by representing to him the ills of other people.”91
  • Suffering is common to all.92

    • Although I have rendered epiteleisthai more cautiously and generically as experiencing, it often carries the thought of fulfilling or completing; like some other early Christian authors (Col. 1:24; Rev. 6:10–11), Peter may believe that a certain amount of suffering must be completed before the end, perhaps in connection with the proclamation of the good news (Mark 13:9–11) or simply the honor of God’s justice.

    5:10

    Peter keeps reminding his audience that God himself called them (1:15; 2:9, 21; 3:9; 5:10). God’s initiative in their salvation can encourage believers under pressure. Here he has called them to his eternal glory, probably meaning to share in glory (i.e., when they are glorified [5:1, 4]).93 That glory is in Christ,94 the means of salvation and access to God. That God approaches them as a God of all grace will also encourage them; this grace addresses their future full deliverance (1:10, 13; 3:7; cf. 5:12) and is present with them in suffering (2:19–20), serving (4:10), and submitting (5:5).

    God will exalt them (5:6) and strengthen them (5:10). Peter’s term for establish (themelioō) fits both Christian maturation (Eph. 3:17; Col. 1:23)95 and the image of being founded (Matt. 7:25; cf. Luke 6:48–49), relevant to the image of the church as a building (cf. Rom. 15:20; 1 Cor. 3:10–12; Eph. 2:20) as in 1 Pet. 2:5–6. Yet despite each term perhaps adding some nuances, the semantic overlap among restore, strengthen, fortify, and establish is considerable. Piling up multiple, virtually synonymous terms fits both traditional biblical96 and bombastic, so-called Asianic rhetoric.97 Such rhetoric could include, as here, strengthening language; for example, “I will strengthen you and help you and confirm you” (Isa. 41:10);98 “I will bring back the wandering and bind up the broken and strengthen the failing” (Ezek. 34:16); or “May you be empowered with all power according to his glorious might” (Col. 1:11; cf. Eph. 1:19; 3:16; 6:10; perhaps 1 Cor. 16:13; Phil. 4:13). People prayed for God to “strengthen” his servants for the work ahead,99 and blessings could also include strength.100 Two of Peter’s terms may have become conventional in Christian prayers or blessings for believers to hold firm.101

    What does Peter mean by after you have suffered for a little while? The little while of their sufferings (also 1:6) is such by God’s standards, not necessarily theirs (cf. the same term, oligos, in Rev. 12:12; 17:10); but it does remind them that triumph will conclude their period of testing, which is of finite duration. One might compare Wis. 3:5: God tests the righteous “a little” (or, “for a little while”; oliga) through martyrdom (cf. 3:2–4), but afterward grants them great reward.102

    5:11

    Although the him to whom power is ascribed here could refer to Christ, it probably refers to the God of all grace, the subject of the preceding sentence (cf. 4:11, probably also ascribing glory to the Father). Amen is a frequent closing in doxologies (e.g., Rom. 1:25; 9:5; 11:36). It was a common affirmation, especially for blessings, curses, and prayers.103 Hearers were to respond “Amen,” showing agreement or confirmation.104

    1. I borrow the following comments on vigilance from Keener, Acts, 3:3030.

    2. With, e.g., Kelly, Peter, 209.

    3. See, e.g., Luke 12:37; Mark 13:34–35, 37; Matt. 24:42–43; 25:13; 1 Cor. 16:13; Col. 4:2; 1 Thess. 5:6, 10; 1 Pet. 5:8; Rev. 3:2–3; 16:15; Did. 16:1; Ignatius, Pol. 1:3. Cf. 1 En. 82:3; 4Q418 frg. 55.4, 7, 9; Song Rab. 5:2, §1; for spiritual awakeness or sleep, see, e.g., Maximus of Tyre, Or. 10.6; Marcus Aurelius, Medit. 6.31 (cf. also M. Aurelius in Fronto, M. Caes. 1.4); for recognition of danger as “awakening,” see, e.g., Valerius Maximus, Mem. 7.2.3; Tacitus, Hist. 3.55; cf. Rom. 13:11; Velleius Paterculus, Comp. 2.1.1. For figurative comparison with night vigilance (on a ship), see Dio Chrysostom, Or. 3.65; Lucian, Doub. Ind. 2.

    4. E.g., Xenophon, Cyr. 3.3.28; 5.3.44; Anab. 4.5.19; Livy, Hist. 24.28.2; 24.37.4; cf. Tacitus, Hist. 3.76; Fronto, Ver. imp. 2.1.19. For the night watch, see also, e.g., Polybius, Hist. 14.3.6; for texts praising soldiers staying awake for the army’s good, Homer, Il. 10.159, 164; Silius Italicus, Pun. 9.4–5; Dio Cassius, Hist. rom. 73.3–5; Josephus, Ant. 3.50; for faithful servants watching for masters, Aeschylus, Ag. 1–25. The captain of the temple guard could beat any guard he found asleep (m. Mid. 1:2).

    5. Homer, Il. 10.309–12, 416–21; Thucydides, Hist. 4.32.1; Xenophon, Cyr. 1.6.35; Polybius, Hist. 11.3.1; Virgil, Aen. 9.314–66, 375–45; Diodorus Siculus, Libr. Hist. 3.55.1; 19.95.5–6; Dionysius of Halicarnassus, Rom. Ant. 5.47.1; 7.11.2–3; 9.34.4; Livy, Hist. 24.46.4; 36.23.10–36.24.6; 44.33.8–9; Sallust, Jug. 58.1; Tacitus, Ann. 4.48; Plutarch, Cam. 23.6; 33.4; Josephus, Ant. 18.356, 370; J.W. 6.68–69; Life 405; cf. Polybius, Hist. 3.67.2; Dio Chrysostom, Or. 5.20. For the taking of cities thus, see, e.g., Thucydides, Hist. 2.2.3; Xenophon, Cyr. 7.5.21; Polybius, Hist. 7.15.6; 7.18.1–10; Plutarch, Cam. 35.3; for escape from cities thus, Polybius, Hist. 1.19.12.

    6. Homer, Il. 2.387; 7.282; 8.529–30; 11.209; 14.259–61; Arrian, Anab. 1.19.2.

    7. Homer, Il. 10.100–101; Arrian, Anab. 1.4.1. The same was true for midday attacks, when guards might take naps (Thucydides, Hist. 6.100.1; Polybius, Hist. 9.17.3; Josephus, Ant. 7.48).

    8. See Dio Cassius, Hist. rom. 55.26.4–5; Suetonius, Aug. 30.1; Purcell, “Vigiles”; Panzram, “Vigiles”; Clarke, “Italy,” 472–73.

    9. E.g., Alciphron, Farm. 18 (Eunapē to Glaucē), 3.21, ¶1; Philostratus, Her. 4.3. Some rabbis viewed teachers of the law as Israel’s true guardians (Pesiq. Rab Kah. 15:5; y. Ḥag. 1:7, §2).

    10. Virgil, Ecl. 3.34. The strict owner of a flock could require a shepherd to pay compensation for any sheep found missing (Gen. 31:38–39), and David apparently assumed that his protection of sheep against animals and bandits would be welcomed (1 Sam. 25:7, 15–16).

    11. Cf., e.g., tyrants’ sexual abuse of subordinates (Dionysius of Halicarnassus, Rom. Ant. 4.36.1; 7.8.1; 11.10.3; Livy, Hist. 3.44.4–3.48.9; Suetonius, Dom. 1.3; Josephus, Ag. Ap. 1.100–101; 2.212; Life 259).

    12. Shepherds (and kings) should protect rather than mistreat their flocks (Dio Chrysostom, Or. 4.44); sheep and goats might rebel against abusive keepers (Dio Chrysostom, Or. 49.2).

    13. Goppelt (Peter, 361n17) notes that the earliest sense of antidikos was “courtroom opponent” (as in LXX Prov. 18:17; Matt. 5:25; Luke 18:3), but he views its sense here more generally as “adversary” (as in LXX Esther 8:11). Satan is an “adversary” in L.A.E. 33.

    14. Jub. 1:20; 17:16; 48:15–16; 1 En. 40:7 (“satans”); 3 En. 14:2; 26:12; b. Ber. 60a, bar.; Gen. Rab. 38:7; 84:2; Exod. Rab. 21:7; 31:2; 43:1; Lev. Rab. 21:10; Eccl. Rab. 3:2, §2; Rev. 12:9–10. Cf. also accusing angels, in Apoc. Zeph. 3:8; 6:17; 3 En. 4:6–7; t. Šabb. 17:3; t. ʿAbod. Zar. 1:18; Gen. Rab. 55:4; Exod. Rab. 31:14; Ruth Rab. proem 1; Song Rab. 2:1, §3; 8:8, §1; Pesiq. Rab Kah. 24:11; cf. y. Sanh. 10:2, §7. Later tradition normally exempted the day of atonement (b. Yoma 20a; Lev. Rab. 21:4; Num. Rab. 18:21; Pesiq. Rab. 47:4), but cf. Tg. Job on 2:1.

    15. In Christian devotion, he could take on the role of the enemy in the Psalms.

    16. With, e.g., Ladd, Theology, 49n15; pace Gershenson (“Satan”), who proposes “Titan” (which probably presupposes too late a date for Job and the Chronicler). The LXX once uses satan for “adversary” (1 Kings 11:14).

    17. LXX 1 Chron. 21:1; Job 1–2; Zech. 3:1–2; it also appears in Wis. 2:24.

    18. Mostly from Keener, Acts, 2:1189–90.

    19. See Elgvin, “Belial”; e.g., CD 4.13, 15; 5.18; 8.2; 12.2; 19.14; 1QS 1.24; 2.4–5; 10.21; 1QM 1.1, 5, 13; 4.2; 11.8; 13.4, 11; 14.9; 15.3; 18.1, 3; 1QHa 10.18, 24 (and passim for Belial); Jub. 10:8, 11; 11:5, 11; 36:2 (often Mastema in Jubilees); 1 En. 41:9; 53:3; 54:6; b. Ber. 60a; for “satans” (pl.), see 1 En. 40:7; 65:6. In the form of Azazel, cf. Shea, “Azazel.” For a summary of some early Christian perspectives, see Arnold, “Satan.” Satan, God’s subordinate, differs starkly from dualistic Zoroastrianism’s Ahriman (Yamauchi, Persia, 460), but Jewish thoughts about Satan seem to have developed especially during the exile (1 Chron. 21:1; Job 1:6–2:7; Zech. 3:1–2).

    20. On the diverse range of views, see also Best, Temptation, 55.

    21. Again, note, e.g., Jub. 1:20; 17:16; 48:15, 18; 3 En. 14:2; 26:12; Gen. Rab. 38:7; 57:4; 84:2; Exod. Rab. 18:5; 21:7; 31:2; 43:1; Lev. Rab. 21:10; Eccl. Rab. 3:2, §2; Rev. 12:10; in the plural, 1 En. 40:7. Cf. 4Q225 frg. 2, col. 1.9–10. Later rabbis said he could not accuse on Yom Kippur (b. Yoma 20a; Lev. Rab. 21:4; Num. Rab. 18:21; Pesiq. Rab. 45:2; 47:4; though cf. Tg. Job on 2:1).

    22. E.g., CD 12.2; 1QS 10.21; 4Q174 frg. 1 2.i.9; 4Q225 frg. 2, col. 1.9–10; 11Q5 col. 19.15; Jub. 10:8, 11; 17:16; T. Reu. 4:11; T. Jos. 7:4; T. Iss. 7:7; T. Ash. 3:2; 3 Bar. 9:7; b. B. Bat. 16a; Gen. Rab. 70:8; Exod. Rab. 19:2; 41:7; cf. 1QS 3.24; Gen. Rab. 22:6; Eph. 4:26–27; persecution in 2 Cor. 12:7; 1 Pet. 5:8; Rev. 12:3–4, 13, 17; much later, cf., e.g., Qur’an 7.20.

    23. b. Qidd. 81a (the apocryphal accounts surround R. Akiba and R. Meir); y. Šabb. 1:3, §5.

    24. E.g., CD 4.15–16; T. Benj. 6:1; T. Dan 3:6; T. Levi 3:3; T. Jud. 25:3; T. Job 3:3/4; 3:6/5; 26:6/7; 27:1; Eph. 6:11; 2 Thess. 2:9; Rev. 12:9; 20:8; much later, cf. Qur’an 43.62; 47.25; see discussion in Keener, John, 760–61.

    25. E.g., Jub. 10:8–9; 49:2; T. Job 20:3. Sometimes a later text attributes to Satan something that an earlier text attributed to God’s judgment, as if Satan is an agent of such judgment (2 Sam. 24:1 with 1 Chron. 21:1; Exod. 4:24 with Jub. 48:2–3; Exod. 12:29 with Jub. 49:2; cf. a Masada text versus Exod. 4:24 [Eshel, “Mastema’s Attempt”]; to some extent, Gen. 22:1 with Jub. 17:15–18). See the helpful balance in Garrett, Temptations, 45–48.

    26. Satan’s absence yields peace and corresponds to the absence of evil (Jub. 23:29; 40:9; 46:2; 50:5). For prayer for protection from Satan, see, e.g., 11Q5 19.15; Jub. 19:28; Matt. 6:13.

    27. E.g., L.A.E. 12:1; 2 En. 29:4–5 (expanded and late material); cf. Anderson, “Exaltation.” Views defending him (e.g., b. B. Bat. 16a) are rare.

    28. E.g., 1QS 1.18, 23–24; 2.19; 1QM 1.1, 5, 13, 15; 4.2; 11.8; 13.2, 4, 11; 14.9; 15.3, 17; 16.11; 17.15; 18.1, 3; 4Q174 frg. 1 2.i.8; 4Q176 frg. 13, col. 1.16; 4Q177 frg. 12 13.i.11; 1 John 5:19; cf. perhaps Col. 1:13. He was especially powerful (e.g., 3 En. 14:2; Ascen. Isa. 2:4).

    29. E.g., 1 Chron. 21:1; T. Sim. 2:7; John 13:21, 27.

    30. T. Job 41:5/7; cf. the late Apoc. Sedr. 5:4–5.

    31. Thus Beelzeboul sought to stir sinful desires in holy people and chosen priests (T. Sol. 6:4); Dan sought to kill Joseph because one of Belial’s spirits was working in him (T. Dan 1:7). Note also the rabbis noted above in b. Qidd. 81a.

    32. Jub. 18:12; 48:12; T. Job 27:6.

    33. See, e.g., 1 En. 10:4–6; 69:28; Jub. 23:29–30; 50:5; in Evans, “Inaugurating”; Hauw, Function, 54.

    34. LXX Ps. 21:14 (ET 22:13); Jer. 2:15; cf. Zech. 11:3; corrupt leaders, Ezek. 22:25; Zeph. 3:3; more positively, Ps. 103:21 (ET 104:21); Philo, Dreams 1.108; God himself in Hosea 11:10. Cf. Virgil, Aen. 7.15–16, in Macrobius, Sat. 5.8.1; Homer, Il. 3.23–28, in Macrobius, Sat. 5.10.8 (eager to devour).

    35. Mounce, Peter, 88, as one possibility; Paschke, “Execution.” The beasts themselves were often the victims in the arena (Shelton, Romans, 351; Lindstrøm, “Animals”; Pucchi, “Arenas,” 111; Yamauchi, Cities, 92), and could drink blood (Pliny E., Nat. 28.2.4). A successful combatant against beasts might be freed (Fronto, M. Caes. 1.8.2), but battling beasts was frequently used as a death sentence (Suetonius, Cal. 27.1; Marcus Aurelius, saying 6 [Haines, LCL, pp. 362–63, from Dio Cassius, Hist. rom. 71.29.3]; Cary and Haarhoff, Life, 162; Schiemann, “Decollatio”; Pucchi, “Arenas,” 113). This grew worse under Nero (Suetonius, Nero 12.1). Later, Christian emperors suppressed the practice (Carcopino, Life, 247; cf. earlier Tatian, Or. Graec. 23). Beast displays were most typical of Rome (Moffatt, First Corinthians, 254–55).

    36. Often noted; e.g., Basil the Great, On Renunciation of the World 2 (FC 9:18; Bray, Peter, 124).

    37. I borrow the following esp. from Keener, Acts, on 20:28–30.

    38. E.g., Homer, Il. 3.10–11; Maximus of Tyre, Or. 19.2; Isa. 31:4; Jer. 49:19; 50:44; Amos 3:12; Zech. 11:3; John 10:1–2, 10; 1 En. 89:65; 4 Ezra 5:18; see MacMullen, Social Relations, 2; Keener, John, 812–13.

    39. E.g., Themistios, Or. 1.9d–10d (from 317 to 388 CE); John 10:12.

    40. E.g., Aeschylus, Suppl. 352–53. Sheep flee strangers but follow their shepherd’s signals (Polybius, Hist. 12.4.2–4; John 10:3–4).

    41. Maximus of Tyre, Or. 6.7; Philostratus, Vit. Apoll. 8.22 (Conzelmann, Acts, 175). Lone wolves rarely ventured into farm country (Aratus, Phaen. 1124–28), though cf. farmers battling wolves in Libanius, Comp. 5.10.

    42. E.g., storms (Aratus, Phaen. 1104–12).

    43. Cf. MacMullen, Social Relations, 2; Shelton, Romans, 159 (citing Fronto, Ep. graec. 2.12). For reports of shepherd-bandits, cf. Rutherford, “Boukoloi.”

    44. E.g., Pindar, Pyth. 2.84; Virgil, Ecl. 2.63; Georg. 1.130; Phaedrus, Fab. 1.8; Babrius, Fab. 53.1–2; 94; Longus, Daphn. 2.16, 22; 4.15; Alciphron, Farm. 18 (Eunapē to Glaucē), 3.21, ¶¶1, 3; Callimachus, Iam. 12.202.70; Apollodorus, Bibl. 2.5.6; Lycophron, Alex. 102–3, 147; Aeschylus, Ag. 1259; fawns in Aeschylus, Frag. 23 (Glaucus [Smyth, LCL, 2:393]); baby goats in Callimachus, Iam. 12.202.70; birds in Apollodorus, Bibl. 2.5.6; domestic animals in Philostratus, Her. 33.14. Wolves are fierce, though kind to their cubs (Philostratus, Vit. Apoll. 2.14). Lucan (Civ. W. 7.826) portrays them as scavengers, but this is rare. On the often violent portrayal of wolves, see also Hünemörder, “Wolf,” 691.

    45. Aeschylus, Suppl. 351.

    46. Lucian, Lucius 33.

    47. E.g., Xenophon, Ages. 1.22; y. Ber. 1:5, §8; y. Šeqal. 5:1.

    48. E.g., Homer, Il. 22.263; Aristophanes, Wasps 952; Apollonius Rhodius, Argon. 2.123–24; Virgil, Aen. 9.566; Ecl. 3.80; 5.60; 8.52; Ovid, Metam. 1.232–37, 304, 505; 5.626–27; 6.527–28; Fasti 2.85–86, 800; Ep. Ponto 1.2.17–18; Tibullus, Eleg. 1.1.33–34; 2.1.20; 2.5.88; Phaedrus, Fab. 1.1; Babrius, Fab. 89; 93.3–11; 102.8; 105.1; 113.2–4; 132.1–4; Longus, Daphn. 1.11, 21–22; Apollodorus, Bibl. 1.9.2; Statius, Theb. 10.42–48; Plutarch, Demosth. 23.4; Pseudo-Callisthenes, Alex. 1.2; 2.7; Libanius, Fables 1 (Gibson, p. 3n1, cites also Aesop, Fables 158); Luke 10:3; Matt. 7:15.

    49. E.g., Ovid, Metam. 1.505; Martial, Epigr. 1.60; Babrius, Fab. 97; 103; 105.2–3; 106.15; 107.1; 136; Phaedrus, Fab. 2.1; used of Rome in Sib. Or. 11:290–91. On lions, see further Pliny E., Nat. 8.17.42–58.

    50. Epictetus, Diatr. 1.2.30.

    51. Homer, Il. 22.262; Philostratus, Vit. Apoll. 3.39; Num. Rab. 18:22.

    52. E.g., Homer, Il. 10.485; Statius, Theb. 9.189–91; Martial, Epigr. 9.71; Mic. 5:8; 1 En. 89:55. A shepherd might fear one (Maximus of Tyre, Or. 32.1; cf. Ps. 152:2 [5 Apoc. Syr. Pss. 4]), but cf. the courage in 1 Sam. 17:34–37.

    53. The following is adapted esp. from Keener, Acts, 3:3041–43.

    54. E.g., Cicero, Mil. 12.32; 31.85; Pis. 1.1; 1 Cor. 15:32; 2 Pet. 2:12; for wolves, see, e.g., Lycophron, Alex. 102–3, 147; Cicero, Mil. 21.55; as predators, Ovid, Fasti 2.800; Plutarch, Demosth. 23.4; again, Lycophron, Alex. 102–3, 147.

    55. Phaedrus, Fab. 1.8.5–12; 1.10.9; Libanius, Fables 1.1 (sheep being very gullible, 1.2). In addition to Matt. 7:15 one may think of the fable of the wolf in sheepskin (Wojciechowski, “Aesopic Tradition,” 106, suggesting a possible common source). The theme of dressing in skins to deceive is common, including a human trying to sneak forward disguised in a wolfskin (Euripides, Rhes. 209–15; Longus, Daphn. 1.21), sealskin (Homer, Od. 4.435–55), an ass disguised in a lionskin (Babrius, Fab. 139), or Odysseus’s men escaping Polyphemus under the sheep (Homer, Od. 9.425–63; cf. Apollodorus, Epit. 7.8; Libanius, Encom. 2.17).

    56. Velleius Paterculus, Comp. 2.27.2 (Romans, according to their enemies); Phaedrus, Fab. 1.16.5; Musonius Rufus, 14, p. 92.21–22; Gen. 49:27; a rapacious enemy in Artemidorus, Onir. 2.12; cf. Paris as a “hungry” wolf in Lycophron, Alex. 147. In a Greek novel, one goatherd complained that no wolf had successfully seized any goats, but that now the enemy (invaders) had taken the goats and would harm them (Longus, Daphn. 2.22). Thieves and wolves are often listed together as enemies of one’s animals (Virgil, Georg. 3.406–8, which also lists roving “Spaniards” in a sense equivalent to “robbers”; Babrius, Fab. 128.14).

    57. E.g., Lycophron, Alex. 102–3; Epictetus, Diatr. 1.3.7, 9; Lucian, Tim. 8. Alciphron, Farm. 21 (Philopoemen to Moschion), 3.24, ¶¶1–3; Alciphron, Farm. 5 (Agelarchides to Pytholaüs), 1.26, ¶3. Cf. all the selfish in Musonius Rufus, 14, p. 92.20–25.

    58. Statius, Theb. 4.361–63, 368–69.

    59. Isa. 11:6; 65:25; Matt. 7:15; 10:16; Luke 10:3; John 10:12; Acts 20:29; 4 Ezra 5:18.

    60. Jer. 5:6; Hab. 1:8; Matt. 10:16 // Luke 10:3; 1 En. 56:5–6; 89:55; also Exod. Rab. 5:20; Lam. Rab. 1:17, §52; contrast Sipre Num. 137 (in Johnston, “Interpretations,” 596).

    61. Ezek. 22:27; cf. Zeph. 3:3. For false teachers, see Matt. 7:15; John 10:12; Acts 20:29; Did. 16:3; Ignatius, Phld. 2:2; Justin, Dial. 35.3; 1 Apol. 16.13 (Conzelmann, Acts, 175); for other negative wolves, see 2 Clem. 5:2–4.

    62. Aeschylus, Ag. 1259; Cornutus, Summary of Greek Theology 31, §63.20; Babrius, Fab. 101, 105 (cf. 90–91, 95); y. Ber. 1:5, §8; also compared to foxes, Plutarch, Lys. Sull. 3.1; Pesiq. Rab Kah. 11:24; stronger than other beasts in Achilles Tatius, Leuc. Clit. 2.21.1. Cf. 1 Sam. 17:34–37; Mic. 5:8. A wolf rarely ventured by itself into farm country (Aratus, Phaen. 1124–28).

    63. E.g., Seneca Y., Dial. 4.11.4; Dio Chrysostom, Or. 62.7; Babrius, Fab. 1; Phaedrus, Fab. 1.5; Philostratus, Her. 27.3; 1 Macc. 3:4; cf. Pindar, Pyth. 5.58; “lion-hearted” in Homer, Il. 7.228; Od. 11.267. The image was a regular one for warriors, e.g., Homer, Il. 5.136, 161, 299, 476, 782; 7.256; 10.297, 485; 11.239, 548; 12.293, 299; 13.198; 15.592; 16.752, 756, 823; 17.109, 133; 18.161, 318–22; 20.164; 24.572; Od. 4.724 (bravery); 6.130 (strength); 22.402; 23.48 (MSS); Virgil, Aen. 12.6; Philostratus, Her. 35.2; a general in Plutarch, Luc. 12.1.

    64. E.g., Artemidorus, Onir. 1.37; 2.12; Babrius, Fab. 65; Maximus of Tyre, Or. 25.3; Philostratus, Vit. soph. 1.14.497; Her. 33.21; 35.6; 48.3. For rulers, e.g., Gen. 49:9–10; Rev. 5:5; Alexander waging war, Plutarch, Alex. 2.3; Pseudo-Callisthenes, Alex. 1.8; 2.7; in some other societies, cf. Mbiti, Religions, 242. Some claimed that lions had the keenest vision and never slept (Manetho, frg. 88, from Etymologicum Magnum s.v. Λεοντοκόμος).

    65. E.g., Cornelius Nepos, Gen. 18 (Eumenes), 11.1; Epictetus, Diatr. 1.3.7; Dio Chrysostom, Or. 2.29; Babrius, Fab. 65; Macrobius, Sat. 1.21.8, 16–17; Philostratus, Her. 25.15; pitiless (here, of Achilles) in Homer, Il. 24.41 (contrast Pliny E. [Nat. 8.19.48], who fancies that lions show mercy); 1QHa 13.9. Because the lion was king of beasts (e.g., Martial, Epigr. 1.60.1–5; Babrius, Fab. 65.6; 98.5; 102.1; Phaedrus, Fab. 4.14.2), it appears readily as a metaphor for tyrants or evil rulers, Apollonius Rhodius, Argon. 2.26–29; Philostratus, Vit. Apoll. 7.30; Ezek. 32:2; 4Q167 frg. 2, line 2; Josephus, Ant. 18.228; 2 Tim. 4:17; gentile oppressors in 1 En. 89:55; Pesiq. Rab Kah. 13:15. But for tamed lions, see, e.g., Statius, Silv. 2.5; Ach. 1.858–60; Philostratus, Her. 33.21.

    66. Statius, Ach. 861–62; Babrius, Fab. 92, 139; Macrobius, Sat. 1.20.12; cf. Menander Rhetor, Treat. 2.6, 402.5–6; T. Ab. 17:14 A.

    67. E.g., 1QHa 13.9; 4Q167 f2.2; 4Q169 f3–4.1.5–6.

    68. E.g., Ps. 35:17; Nah. 2:13; 1QHa 13.11, 15; 4Q169 f3–4.1.10; cf. Ps. 34:10, between verses earlier quoted in this letter (Ps. 34:8, 12–16).

    69. Ezek. 22:25–28; 1 En. 56:5.

    70. Dio Chrysostom, Or. 2.29; also Alexander in Pseudo-Callisthenes, Alex. 2.7 (cf. 1.8).

    71. Philostratus, Her. 35.2 (trans. Maclean and Aitken, 117).

    72. Ezek. 32:2.

    73. Josephus, Ant. 18.228.

    74. E.g., LXX Judg. 14:5; Zech. 11:3; Philo, Dreams 1.108; God in Hosea 11:10.

    75. LXX Ps. 21:14 (ET 22:13) (cf. Justin, Dial. 98, 102–3); Jer. 2:15; cf. also b. Ḥul. 53a.

    76. Zeph. 3:3.

    77. The LXX form differs only by being plural.

    78. The LXX uses katesthiō rather than Peter’s katapinō, but they are functionally equivalent; the LXX sometimes uses esthiō or katesthiō for lions devouring their prey, including figuratively (Num. 23:24; Ezek. 19:3, 6; cf. Jer. 2:30; 27:17 [ET 50:17]). The devil as an old, wild lion trying to devour (katapinō) appears in a version of Jos. Asen. 12:9, and Satan is also a lion in T. Job 27:1, but both works are likely significantly later than 1 Peter. Katapinō was no less appropriate for the devouring of God’s people (e.g., LXX Ps. 123:3 [ET 124:3]; Isa. 49:19; Hosea 8:8; Pss. Sol. 8:30), and could suit the image of devouring prey (Kelly, Peter, 210, citing Jon. 2:1 [ET 1:17]; Tob. 6:2 [ET 6:3]; Josephus, Ant. 2.246). Cf. Satan’s agents “devouring” God’s word from people’s hearts in Mark 4:4 (using a mostly synonymous Greek term; and seeking to devour Jesus in Rev. 12:4; cf. Satan’s agents in 2 Cor. 11:20). For an evil beast devouring, cf. Gen. 37:20, 33; LXX Lev. 26:22; Hosea 2:14; 13:8 (God devouring like a lion, in judgment); as wicked kingdoms, Dan. 7:5, 19; Satan bringing fire that devours, Job 1:16 (but attributed to God).

    79. Pss. 21:22 (ET 22:21); 57:7 (58:6); 2 Tim. 4:17; Heb. 11:33; 1QHa 13.11, 15; cf. 1 Sam. 17:37.

    80. The date of the Greek Testaments of the Twelve Patriarchs is uncertain, but the image of the evil one fleeing before the righteous, as in James 4, appears in T. Iss. 7:7; T. Dan 5:1; T. Naph. 8:4, all using pheuxetai (from pheugo). A later rabbi speaks of resisting the devil’s temptation “with the words of the Torah” (Gen. Rab. 22:6; trans. Freedman, 1:186).

    81. No one could “resist” (anthistēmi) God as lion in LXX Jer. 27:44 (ET 50:44); 30:13 (49:19).

    82. The later resistance against the spirit of anger in Herm. 34:8 might, but need not, depend on this tradition. Later Hilary of Arles waxes homiletical: “If you resist God, he will destroy you, but if you resist the devil, you will destroy him” (Comm. 1 Pet. [PL Supp. 3:105; Bray, Peter, 125]).

    83. Cf., e.g., 1 Cor. 14:10; Sib. Or. 14:212; T. Ab. 10:3 A; 3 Bar. 6:16; although one might expect “in all the world,” as in Matt. 26:13; Rom. 1:8; Col. 1:6; Josephus, Ant. 19.290. It probably differs from the more common NT (esp. Johannine) sense of “in the sphere of the world system.” It might in effect mean “other locations besides those of his audience”; Robinson (Redating, 160) tentatively suggests that “the world” here in effect means the provinces (i.e., outside Rome). Like Mark (14:9), 1 Peter (5:9) stems “from the center of the world” (Barnett, Making, 124).

    84. The following examples probably would repress grief, hence are not good grief counseling; but they were the sort of “comfort” ancient moralists often offered.

    85. Isocrates, Demon. 21 (trans. Norlin, LCL, 1:17).

    86. Valerius Maximus, Mem. 7.2.ext. 2b (trans. Bailey, LCL, 2:117).

    87. Seneca Y., Lucil. 96.1–2.

    88. Seneca Y., Lucil. 99.6 (trans. Gummere, LCL, 3:133).

    89. Pliny Y., Ep. 6.20.17 (trans. Radice, LCL, 1:447).

    90. Dio Chrysostom, Ep. 4 (trans. Crosby, LCL, 5:357). Cf. also Marcus Aurelius, Medit. 5.18 (in Grant, Paul, 38); 1 Cor. 10:13.

    91. Philostratus, Apoll. ep. 94 (from Stobaeus, Flor. 124.37 [Conybeare, LCL, 2:481]).

    92. Ps.-Phoc. 27; 1 Cor. 10:13.

    93. For God calling people to his glory, see also 1 Thess. 2:12; 2 Thess. 2:14. In Wis. 10:14; Josephus, Ant. 15.376 (cf. 13.63), the phrase translated as “eternal glory” can mean “eternal fame,” but the early Christian understanding of glorification is more relevant (Rom. 8:18, 21, 30; 1 Cor. 15:43; Phil. 3:21; 2 Thess. 1:10–12; cf. Eph. 5:27; Rev. 21:11), with background in biblical imagery regarding the restoration of God’s people (Isa. 55:5; 60:1–3, 19).

    94. Significant manuscript support favors the reading “Christ Jesus,” but scribes seemed likelier to expand than to contract the reading. Whether the original reads “Christ Jesus” or “Christ,” however, makes no difference regarding Peter’s theology, as he clearly views Jesus as the Christ (1:1–3, 7, 13; 2:5; 3:21; 4:11). Yet he is well able to speak of “Christ” without specifically attaching the name “Jesus” in 1:11, 19; 2:21; 3:15–16, 18; 4:1, 13–14; 5:1, 14.

    95. As also Peter’s words katartizō (2 Cor. 13:11; 1 Thess. 3:10; Heb. 13:21) and stērizō (Rom. 1:11; 16:25; 1 Thess. 3:2, 13; 2 Thess. 2:17; 3:3; 2 Pet. 1:12).

    96. E.g., Deut. 6:4; cf. “right and good” in Deut. 6:18; 12:28; 1 Sam. 12:23; 2 Chron. 14:2; 31:20 (the combination is idiomatic, not distinctly theological; see Josh. 9:25; 2 Sam. 15:3; Jer. 26:14; 40:4; Josephus, Ant. 13.431; parallelism in Job 34:4; Ps. 52:3). Their function in these passages is cumulative even if a slight difference of nuance is possible.

    97. Pliny Y., Ep. 9.26.8, 10; Lincoln (Ephesians, xliv–xlvi) characterizes the pattern in Ephesians as the grand epideictic or sublime style, as well as resembling Hebrew poetry. In Jewish praise texts, cf., e.g., P. Alexander on 3 Enoch in OTP 1:225, 247; Newsom, “Songs”; Rev. 4:11; 5:9.

    98. The LXX raises the level of Greek style by changing the first verb to a participle.

    99. E.g., LXX Neh. 6:9; Ps. 118:28 (ET 119:28); 4 Ezra 12:6, 8; Eph. 3:16; cf. Pss. Sol. 16:12. God provides strength also in, e.g., Pss. 17:33 (ET 18:32); 137:3 (138:3); Col. 1:11.

    100. Jub. 21:25; 22:10; 22:14.

    101. Cf. stērizō in 1 Thess. 3:13; 2 Thess. 2:16–17; katartizō in 2 Cor. 13:11; Heb. 13:20–21; report of prayer in 1 Thess. 3:10.

    102. Cf. also T. Jos. 2:6.

    103. E.g., Deut. 27:15–26; Ps. 41:13; Tob. 8:8; 1QS 1.20; 2.10, 18; 4Q286 f7.i.7; t. Ber. 3:26; Sipre Deut. 320.3.1; CIJ 1:434, §599; 1:466, §650; 1:474–75, §661; 2:77–78, §828b; 2:87, §845; 2:96, §856; 2:97, §857; 2:98, §858; 2:98, §859; 2:167–68, §982; PGM 22b.21, 25. See discussion in Oesterley, Liturgy, 147–48.

    104. Le Cornu, Galatians, 24.

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