Psalm 2 → 129
Reasoning: 6400 Output: 3448 Total: 9848
Argument
Here are several mutually reinforcing ways to argue that Psalm 129 “follows on” from Psalm 2.
1) Hard lexical hooks (rare/shared words, identical forms)
- עֲבוֹת “cords” (same noun, same sense):
- Ps 2:3 עֲבֹתֵימוֹ “their cords” (of YHWH and his anointed, which the rebels want to cast off).
- Ps 129:4 עֲבוֹת רְשָׁעִים “the cords of the wicked” (which YHWH cuts).
This is a strong, rare, same‑form, same‑class lexeme that flips the agency: in Ps 2 the rebels try to sever the cords binding them to YHWH; in Ps 129 YHWH severs the cords that empower the wicked. It is an intentional-looking reversal on the same noun.
- צִיּוֹן “Zion” (same proper noun):
- Ps 2:6 “I have installed my king on Zion, my holy hill.”
- Ps 129:5 “May all who hate Zion be ashamed and turn back.”
Zion is the stage in Ps 2; the enemies are now explicitly “haters of Zion” in Ps 129. The same locus ties the two.
- Antithetical motion verbs (close formal echo):
- Ps 2:2 יִתְיַצְּבוּ “they take their stand” (the kings).
- Ps 129:5 יִסֹּגוּ אָחוֹר “may they retreat backward” (the haters of Zion).
The adversaries’ defiant “standing” in Ps 2 becomes their enforced retreat in Ps 129. The parallel is compact and elegant.
2) Shared motifs and their reversals
- Bondage/yoke imagery:
- Ps 2:3 “Let us break their bonds (מוֹסְרוֹתֵימוֹ) and cast away their cords (עֲבֹתֵימוֹ).”
- Ps 129:4 “YHWH is righteous; he cut off (קִצֵּץ) the cords (עֲבֹת) of the wicked.”
The very bondage the nations claim YHWH imposes is recast as the wicked’s own cords, which YHWH cuts. Psalm 129 reads like the fulfillment of Ps 2 from Israel’s side.
- Zion and rulership:
- Ps 2 enthrones the king on Zion; Ps 129 calls down shame on “all who hate Zion.” The same conflict has moved from royal decree (Ps 2) to communal imprecation (Ps 129), but Zion remains central.
- Fragility of the enemies:
- Ps 2:9 “You will shatter them like a potter’s vessel.”
- Ps 129:6 “Let them be like roof-grass that withers before it is pulled.” Different images, same idea: the enemies are breakable/ephemeral.
- Shame/derision:
- Ps 2:4 “The Lord mocks them” (יִלְעַג־לָמוֹ).
- Ps 129:5 “May they be ashamed” (יֵבֹשׁוּ). Both end in the adversaries’ humiliation.
3) Structural/formal correspondences
- Four-move arc appears in both (opposition → divine action → outcome → admonition/blessing):
- Psalm 2:
1–3: Global revolt
4–6: YHWH’s response, enthronement on Zion
7–9: Royal decree of subjugation
10–12: Admonition to submit; beatitude (“אַשְׁרֵי...חֹוסֵי בוֹ”)
- Psalm 129:
1–3: Longstanding oppression (“רַבַּת צְרָרוּנִי”)
4: YHWH’s decisive act (“קִצֵּץ עֲבוֹת רְשָׁעִים”)
5–7: Curse on enemies (shame, retreat, withering)
8: Liturgical closure with (withheld) blessing formula (contrast to Ps 2’s beatitude)
The shapes match: conflict is named, YHWH intervenes, enemies are undone, a closing exhortation/blessing element appears.
4) The “son/beginning → youth → affliction” line
- Ps 2:7: “Today I have begotten you” (royal sonship).
- Ps 129:1–2: “Much have they afflicted me from my youth” (מִנְּעוּרָי, twice).
In Israel’s theology, king and people are corporate. The “begetting” of the king (Ps 2) and Israel’s “youth” (Ps 129; cf. Exod 4:22; Hos 11:1; Jer 2:2) are adjacent motifs: birth/installation is followed by a youth marked by hostile pressure, through which YHWH proves faithful.
5) Political actors reframed but continuous
- Ps 2: “nations/peoples/kings/judges” rebel against YHWH and his anointed.
- Ps 129: the same adversary bloc appears as “all who hate Zion.” The labels shift from geopolitical titles to a cultic-pilgrimage designation, but the antagonists are the same coalition opposing YHWH’s Zion-king order.
6) Liturgy and life-cycle plausibility
- Psalm 2 is an enthronement/royal psalm centered on Zion.
- Psalm 129 is a Song of Ascents, a pilgrim psalm likely voiced at or toward Zion.
In Israel’s ritual calendar, royal/Zion ideology frames the pilgrim’s hope. Reading Ps 129 after Ps 2 makes liturgical sense: after the king is installed in Zion (Ps 2), the worshiping community, often embattled, ascends and prays that the promise be realized against the “haters of Zion” (Ps 129). The communal prayer becomes the historical outworking of the royal decree.
7) Ending contrast around blessing
- Ps 2 closes with a positive beatitude for those who submit (“אַשְׁרֵי כָּל־חֹוסֵי בוֹ”).
- Ps 129 closes by withholding the customary harvest blessing from the enemies (“וְלֹא אָמְרוּ הָעֹבְרִים: בִּרְכַּת־יְהוָה עֲלֵיכֶם…”).
Both end with “blessing” language, but Psalm 129 applies it by exclusion, consistent with Ps 2’s warning to rebels.
In sum: the rare, identical noun עֲבוֹת, the shared locus צִיּוֹן, the stand/retreat antithesis, the parallel four-step structure, the sonship/youth motif, the consistent enemy set recast as “haters of Zion,” and the blessing endings together make a strong case that Psalm 129 is a communal, pilgrim realization of the royal program announced in Psalm 2.
Evaluation
No evaluation has been recorded for this pair yet.
Prompt
Consider Psalm 2 and Psalm 129 (reproduced below). What arguments could you make to justify that Psalm 129 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 129:
Psalm 129
1. שִׁ֗יר
הַֽמַּ֫עֲל֥וֹת
רַ֭בַּת
צְרָר֣וּנִי
מִנְּעוּרַ֑י
יֹֽאמַר־
נָ֝א
יִשְׂרָאֵֽל׃
2. רַ֭בַּת
צְרָר֣וּנִי
מִנְּעוּרָ֑י
גַּ֝ם
לֹא־
יָ֥כְלוּ
לִֽי׃
3. עַל־
גַּ֭בִּי
חָרְשׁ֣וּ
חֹרְשִׁ֑ים
הֶ֝אֱרִ֗יכוּ
למענותם
לְמַעֲנִיתָֽם׃
4. יְהוָ֥ה
צַדִּ֑יק
קִ֝צֵּ֗ץ
עֲב֣וֹת
רְשָׁעִֽים׃
5. יֵ֭בֹשׁוּ
וְיִסֹּ֣גוּ
אָח֑וֹר
כֹּ֝֗ל
שֹׂנְאֵ֥י
צִיּֽוֹן׃
6. יִ֭הְיוּ
כַּחֲצִ֣יר
גַּגּ֑וֹת
שֶׁקַּדְמַ֖ת
שָׁלַ֣ף
יָבֵֽשׁ׃
7. שֶׁלֹּ֤א
מִלֵּ֖א
כַפּ֥וֹ
קוֹצֵ֗ר
וְחִצְנ֥וֹ
מְעַמֵּֽר׃
8. וְלֹ֤א
אָֽמְר֨וּ ׀
הָעֹבְרִ֗ים
בִּרְכַּֽת־
יְהוָ֥ה
אֲלֵיכֶ֑ם
בֵּרַ֥כְנוּ
אֶ֝תְכֶ֗ם
בְּשֵׁ֣ם
יְהוָֽה׃