osphus denotes the waist region, used for girding, for descent from a father, and figuratively for mental readiness.

The attested uses most often point to the waist region in scenes of a belt or girding; other verses use it in statements of descent from a father, while 1 Peter 1:13 applies the image to the mind.

1. Waist area in girding or belt imagery · dominant

   In Matthew 3:4 and Mark 1:6, the accusative singular occurs in the clause about a leather belt around John’s body; the APB renders the surrounding descriptions with “loins” and “waist.” In Luke 12:35 the nominative plural stands in the command that the hearers be girded, and in Ephesians 6:14 the accusative singular occurs with being girded with truth.

   Matthew 3:4Mark 1:6Luke 12:35Ephesians 6:14
2. Ancestral descent from a father · common

   Acts 2:30 places the genitive singular in the statement that one from the “fruit” of David’s body would sit on his throne. Hebrews 7:5 and Hebrews 7:10 use singular forms in clauses about people coming out of Abraham and being in a father when Melchizedek met him.

   Acts 2:30Hebrews 7:5Hebrews 7:10
3. Figurative image of mental readiness · occasional

   In 1 Peter 1:13, the accusative plural is joined to “your mind” in the instruction to have it girded; the APB renders the clause “having girded up the loins of your mind” before the calls to sobriety and hope.

   1 Peter 1:13

In the Anselm Project Bible: The APB presents the term with “loins” in several girding and descent clauses, while Mark 1:6 uses “waist.” It also preserves the figurative expression “loins of your mind” in 1 Peter 1:13; these are verse-level renderings rather than definitions.