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This article explores the semantic value of ἀλήθεια in Ephesians with special attention given to its polyvalent nature and its potentiality for communicating the notion of 'faithfulness' rather than 'truth'. First, an examination of instances of where ἀλήθεια indicates faithfulness in the lxx and the nt provides a broad hermeneutical viability for this enterprise. Second, a study of ἀλήθεια in Eph. 1:13; 4:21, 24, 25; 5:9; and 6:14 reveals a semantic shift in 5:9 and 6:14 wherein the author's exhortation centers not on doctrinal truth, but embodying faithfulness as a child of the light and as a defense against the Devil's schemes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article examines the conceptual backgrounds of the lion metaphor in 1 Peter 5:8. Utilizing the framework for mapping leonine metaphors in the Old Testament by Troy W. Martin, it compares the Jewish background with the Greco-Roman background proposed by Boris A. Paschke, who argues that the ad bestias execution informs the metaphor. In contrast to the tendency to offer highly particularized interpretations of the metaphor by drawing from one background, the synthesized view offered here argues that the text draws simultaneously from both backgrounds and centers on the metaphorical transfer of ferociousness. This focus on ferociousness avoids overspecification of the metaphor, heightens the urgency of shepherding the flock in 1 Peter 5:1-5, and broadens the imperatives of 1 Peter 5:8-9 beyond the ultimate concern for apostasy to include the variegated threats of the devil against Christians. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]