My God, Why?
They open their jaws against me like lions that roar and maul. Psalm 22:13 · Berean Standard Bible
The enemies are violent and aggressive, their mouths open like roaring lions ready to devour him.
The threat is visceral and immediate—not just hostile, but predatory. The comparison to lions emphasizes the savagery; these aren't just opponents, they're creatures bent on destruction.
The psalmist, describing the ferocity of those attacking him.
The imagery shifts from multiple threats to the idea of predatory violence, anticipating the physical violence of crucifixion.
The psalmist depicts these hostile forces opening their jaws like roaring lions, maiming and devouring him—an image of predatory violence.
The shift from *bulls* to *lions* (אָרִי, ari) represents an intensification of predatory imagery. The *opening of jaws* (פְּצוּ פִיהֶם, petzu pihem) combined with *roaring* (שׁוֹאֲגִים, shoagim) invokes not mere aggression but the ritualized violence of killing—predators displaying dominance before consuming prey. The verb *maul* (טָרַף, taraf) denotes tearing flesh, suggesting not quick death but prolonged laceration. This horrific imagery, when read against the crucifixion, becomes almost unbearably precise: the piercing, the tearing of flesh, the public exposure of the body's vulnerability.
The psalmist, escalating the horrific description of violent assault.
The evangelists, particularly John, employ similar language in describing the crucifixion's violence—the piercing (John 19:34), the physical trauma, the reduction of the body to an object of assault. The psalmist's evocation of predatory violence becomes the template through which Christian writers comprehend Christ's Passion as cosmic hostility unleashed upon innocence.
11Be not far from me, for trouble is near and there is no one to help.
12Many bulls surround me; strong bulls of Bashan encircle me.
13They open their jaws against me like lions that roar and maul.
14I am poured out like water, and all my bones are disjointed. My heart is like wax; it melts away within me.
15My strength is dried up like a potsherd, and my tongue sticks to the roof of my mouth. You lay me in the dust of death.
Read all of Psalm 22 — Begins with a cry Jesus echoes on the cross. The anguish is real — but so is the turn toward praise that comes at the end.
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