Psalm 2 → 123
Reasoning: 7744 Output: 3592 Total: 11336
Argument
Here are ways to argue that Psalm 123 is a deliberate, logical follow‑on to Psalm 2, grouped by type of evidence and weighted by significance (rarer, tighter verbal matches at the top; broader thematic/formal links lower down).
Direct verbal hooks (highest weight)
- Identical epithet and collocation for God: “the One who sits in the heavens”
- Ps 2:4 יֹשֵׁב בַשָּׁמַיִם
- Ps 123:1 הַיֹּשֵׁב בַשָּׁמָיִם
- This exact collocation is rare. Psalm 123 opens by addressing precisely the figure introduced in Ps 2:4. That looks like an intentional pickup line.
- Shared, comparatively uncommon derision word (same root): לע״ג “mock/deride”
- Ps 2:4 אֲדֹנַי יִלְעַג־לָמוֹ “the Lord will mock them” (verb)
- Ps 123:4 הַלַּעַג … “the scorn” (noun)
- The root לע״ג is not among the most frequent, and both psalms connect it to the One “who sits in the heavens.” Psalm 2 shows God’s derision of rebels; Psalm 123 laments derision poured on the faithful, implicitly asking the enthroned One to reverse it.
- Shared lord/servant lexicon in the same semantic field:
- Root עבד “serve/servant” (identical root, different word classes)
- Ps 2:11 עִבְדוּ אֶת־יְהוָה “serve YHWH” (verb, imperative)
- Ps 123:2 כְעֵינֵי עֲבָדִים “like the eyes of servants” (noun)
- Root אדן “lord/master” in both a divine and human register
- Ps 2:4 אֲדֹנַי “the Lord” (divine title)
- Ps 123:2 אֲדֹנֵיהֶם “their masters” (human lords), while addressing יהוה אֱלֹהֵינוּ
- This creates a tight bridge: Ps 2 orders rulers to become “servants” of YHWH; Ps 123 depicts the faithful as servants whose eyes are fixed on their Lord’s hand. Psalm 123 enacts what Psalm 2 commands.
Second‑order verbal and gesture echoes (medium weight)
- Submission gestures and posture:
- Ps 2:12 נַשְּׁקוּ־בַר “kiss the son” (homage to the royal figure)
- Ps 123:2 “as the eyes of servants to the hand of their masters … so are our eyes to YHWH” (attentive, submissive posture)
- Both portray vassal‑like submission before higher authority, expressed in embodied courtly gestures.
- Instruments of rule and control:
- Ps 2:9 “rod of iron” (שֵׁבֶט בַּרְזֶל)
- Ps 123:2 “the hand” (יַד) of the master to which the servant looks
- Different nouns, same domain: the sovereign’s agency over subordinates. Psalm 2 stresses coercive power; Psalm 123 stresses the servants’ receptive attention to that power for mercy.
Formal and structural affinities (medium weight)
- Two‑voice macro‑movement:
- Ps 2: cosmic proclamation and admonition to rulers → beatitude for those who take refuge (אַשְׁרֵי כָל־חֹוסֵי בוֹ, 2:12)
- Ps 123: the voice of those very “refuge‑takers,” lifting their eyes and waiting “until he is gracious to us” (עַד שֶׁיְחָנֵּנוּ, 123:2), then pleading “Be gracious to us” (חָנֵּנוּ … חָנֵּנוּ, 123:3)
- Functionally, Ps 123 reads as the community’s response to Ps 2’s closing invitation. Those who “take refuge” are now those who “lift up their eyes” and wait for grace.
- Shared four‑movement arc (compressed vs. expanded):
- Psalm 2: rebellion → heavenly enthronement and divine derision → royal decree/installation → call to submit and find safety.
- Psalm 123: address to the enthroned One → posture of servanthood → plea for grace → complaint about derision/oppression.
- Both pivot on the enthroned heavenly sovereign and the issue of derision; both end with an ethical/theological resolution (Ps 2: submit and be blessed; Ps 123: persist in petition until grace arrives).
Cultic‑historical/logical sequence (medium–high weight)
- Zion and the Songs of Ascents:
- Ps 2:6 “I have installed my king on Zion, my holy hill” situates divine kingship at Zion.
- Ps 123 is a “Song of Ascents” (שִׁיר הַמַּעֲלוֹת), a pilgrim genre for those ascending to Zion. It is natural to place a pilgrim community’s prayer to the enthroned King after a royal enthronement proclamation. In other words: Ps 2 declares Zion’s king; Ps 123 supplies the liturgical approach of worshipers ascending to meet him.
- Political theology to lived piety:
- Ps 2 frames world politics (kings/rulers vs. YHWH’s anointed).
- Ps 123 shows the community living under scorn from “the at‑ease” and “the proud,” turning to the same enthroned God. Historically and liturgically, proclamations of kingship (like Ps 2) were followed by petitions/confidence psalms where the people appropriate that kingship in their present distress.
Antithetical mirroring (conceptual but sharp)
- Rebellion vs. servanthood:
- Ps 2:3 “Let us burst their bonds … cast away their cords” is the rebels’ program.
- Ps 123:2 “as the eyes of servants to the hand of their masters” is the faithful’s program.
- The psalms thus set two responses to God’s rule side by side: casting off the yoke vs. watching the master’s hand. Psalm 123 positions itself as the positive alternative to Psalm 2’s negative opening.
- Derision reversed:
- Ps 2:4 God derides the rebels from heaven.
- Ps 123:3–4 the faithful groan under derision from the complacent proud and appeal to the same heavenly throne to act. If read sequentially, Ps 123 is the prayer that the derision‑reversal of Ps 2 be applied on earth.
Smaller pointers (lower weight, but supportive)
- Both psalms are heavy in imperatives:
- Ps 2 to the nations: “serve,” “rejoice,” “kiss.”
- Ps 123 to God: “be gracious to us” (repeated).
- The command scene in Ps 2 yields the plea scene in Ps 123.
- Upward orientation:
- Ps 2 culminates in homage to the royal son installed on the holy hill.
- Ps 123 opens, “To you I lift up my eyes,” fitting the ascent/homage trajectory that Ps 2 prescribes.
A concise “follow‑on” reading
- Psalm 2 establishes the cosmic scene: God, the One who sits in the heavens, laughs and derides rebellious rulers, installs his king on Zion, and summons the earth’s powers to become servants—promising safety to all who take refuge in him.
- Psalm 123 answers as the community of those servants/refuge‑takers: they lift their eyes to that very One who sits in the heavens, adopt the posture of servants attending their master’s hand, plead for grace, and ask for relief from the derision of the proud—anticipating the heavenly derision/reversal promised in Psalm 2.
Because the two psalms share (1) the rare and distinctive epithet “the One who sits in the heavens,” (2) the uncommon derision root לע״ג, (3) the lord/servant lexicon built around עבד and אדון, and (4) a coherent cultic progression from enthronement proclamation to pilgrim petition, there is a strong case that Psalm 123 is crafted to follow Psalm 2 conceptually and liturgically, even if they are far apart in the canonical order.
Evaluation
No evaluation has been recorded for this pair yet.
Prompt
Consider Psalm 2 and Psalm 123 (reproduced below). What arguments could you make to justify that Psalm 123 logically follows on from Psalm 2? Consider stylistic similarities, similarities of form, similarities of vocab or ideas, shared roots (if you're doing the search in Hebrew), connections to sequences of events common in ancient Israelite life, mythology or history shared by the two psalms.
Rarer words are more significant than commoner words. Identical forms are more significant than similar forms. The same word class is more significant than different word classes formed from the same root. Identical roots are more significant than suppletive roots.
Psalm 2:
Psalm 2
1. לָ֭מָּה
רָגְשׁ֣וּ
גוֹיִ֑ם
וּ֝לְאֻמִּ֗ים
יֶהְגּוּ־
רִֽtיק׃
2. יִ֥תְיַצְּב֨וּ ׀
מַלְכֵי־
אֶ֗רֶץ
וְרוֹזְנִ֥ים
נֽוֹסְדוּ־
יָ֑חַד
עַל־
יְ֝הוָה
וְעַל־
מְשִׁיחֽtוֹ׃
3. נְֽ֭נַתְּקָה
אֶת־
מֽוֹסְרוֹתֵ֑ימוֹ
וְנַשְׁלִ֖יכָה
מִמֶּ֣נּוּ
עֲבֹתֵֽימוֹ׃
4. יוֹשֵׁ֣ב
בַּשָּׁמַ֣יִם
יִשְׂחָ֑ק
אֲ֝דֹנָ֗י
יִלְעַג־
לָֽמוֹ׃
5. אָ֤ז
יְדַבֵּ֣ר
אֵלֵ֣ימוֹ
בְאַפּ֑וֹ
וּֽבַחֲרוֹנ֥וֹ
יְבַהֲלֵֽמוֹ׃
6. וַ֭אֲנִי
נָסַ֣כְתִּי
מַלְכִּ֑י
עַל־
צִ֝יּ֗וֹן
הַר־
קָדְשִֽׁי׃
7. אֲסַפְּרָ֗ה
אֶֽ֫ל
חֹ֥ק
יְֽהוָ֗ה
אָמַ֘ר
אֵלַ֥י
בְּנִ֥י
אַ֑תָּה
אֲ֝נִ֗י
הַיּ֥וֹם
יְלִדְתִּֽיךָ׃
8. שְׁאַ֤ל
מִמֶּ֗נִּי
וְאֶתְּנָ֣ה
ג֭וֹיִם
נַחֲלָתֶ֑ךָ
וַ֝אֲחֻזָּתְךָ֗
אַפְסֵי־
אָֽרֶץ׃
9. תְּ֭רֹעֵם
בְּשֵׁ֣בֶט
בַּרְזֶ֑ל
כִּכְלִ֖י
יוֹצֵ֣ר
תְּנַפְּצֵֽם׃
10. וְ֭עַתָּה
מְלָכִ֣ים
הַשְׂכִּ֑ילוּ
הִ֝וָּסְר֗וּ
שֹׁ֣פְטֵי
אָֽרֶץ׃
11. עִבְד֣וּ
אֶת־
יְהוָ֣ה
בְּיִרְאָ֑ה
וְ֝גִ֗ילוּ
בִּרְעָדָֽה׃
12. נַשְּׁקוּ־
בַ֡ר
פֶּן־
יֶאֱנַ֤ף ׀
וְתֹ֬אבְדוּ
דֶ֗רֶךְ
כִּֽי־
יִבְעַ֣ר
כִּמְעַ֣ט
אַפּ֑וֹ
אַ֝שְׁרֵ֗י
כָּל־
ח֥וֹסֵי
בֽוֹ׃
Psalm 123:
Psalm 123
1. שִׁ֗יר
הַֽמַּ֫עֲל֥וֹת
אֵ֭לֶיךָ
נָשָׂ֣אתִי
אֶת־
עֵינַ֑י
הַ֝יֹּשְׁבִ֗י
בַּשָּׁמָֽיִם׃
2. הִנֵּ֨ה
כְעֵינֵ֪י
עֲבָדִ֡ים
אֶל־
יַ֤ד
אֲֽדוֹנֵיהֶ֗ם
כְּעֵינֵ֣י
שִׁפְחָה֮
אֶל־
יַ֢ד
גְּבִ֫רְתָּ֥הּ
כֵּ֣ן
עֵ֭ינֵינוּ
אֶל־
יְהוָ֣ה
אֱלֹהֵ֑ינוּ
עַ֝֗ד
שֶׁיְּחָנֵּֽנוּ׃
3. חָנֵּ֣נוּ
יְהוָ֣ה
חָנֵּ֑נוּ
כִּֽי־
רַ֝֗ב
שָׂבַ֥עְנוּ
בֽוּז׃
4. רַבַּת֮
שָֽׂבְעָה־
לָּ֢הּ
נַ֫פְשֵׁ֥נוּ
הַלַּ֥עַג
הַשַּׁאֲנַנִּ֑ים
הַ֝בּ֗וּז
לִגְאֵ֥יוֹנִֽים׃