Psalm 2 → 140
Reasoning: 7296 Output: 4780 Total: 12076
Argument
Here are complementary arguments—linguistic, literary, and contextual—that make good sense of Psalm 140 as a logical follow‑on to Psalm 2. Big-picture narrative logic - From royal program to battlefield prayer: Psalm 2 is a royal/oracle psalm announcing YHWH’s installation of his “anointed” (מְשִׁיחוֹ) and warning the world’s rulers. Psalm 140 is a Davidic royal lament spoken by that same anointed figure in the thick of the ensuing conflict with violent opponents. In other words, Psalm 2 sets the agenda; Psalm 140 shows the life of the anointed under attack. - From warning to outcome: Psalm 2 warns hostile leaders to submit (“kiss the son/purity,” serve with fear), or face judgment. Psalm 140 depicts those who did not submit—violent plotters—and prays that the judgment promised in Psalm 2 now fall on them (coals, fire, pits; they will not rise). Root- and lexeme-level links (rarer/stronger first) - Rare root נ-ש-ק in both psalms: - Psalm 2:12 נַשְּׁקוּ־בַר “kiss the son/purity” (verb, Qal impv. pl.). - Psalm 140:8 בְּיוֹם נָשֶׁק “on the day of weaponry/battle” (noun from the same root). - The homonymy is striking and programmatic: those who should “kiss” (submit) in Psalm 2 instead take up “weapons” in Psalm 140. Within the Psalter this root is rare; the double sense appearing across these two psalms is an unusually tight link. - נתן “give” as a dialogic hinge: - Psalm 2:8 שְׁאַל מִמֶּנִּי וְאֶתְּנָה “Ask of me and I will give…” - Psalm 140:9 אַל־תִּתֵּן יְהוָה מַאֲוַיֵּי רָשָׁע “Do not give, O YHWH, the desires of the wicked…” - The “give” offered to the king in Ps 2 becomes the “do not give” requested by the king in Ps 140—an elegant, direct reversal using the same root in volitive form. - Conspiracy/plotting lexicon: - Psalm 2:1–2 רָגְשׁוּ “rage,” יֶהְגוּ־רִיק “mutter/plot emptiness,” נוֹסְדוּ־יָחַד “conspire together.” - Psalm 140:3,5 חָשְׁבוּ רָעוֹת “they devise evils,” יָגֻרוּ מִלְחָמוֹת “they stir up wars,” חָשְׁבוּ לִדְחוֹת פְּעָמָי “they planned to push my steps.” - The shared field of clandestine scheming—rare plurals and collocations—connects the same adversarial behavior across both psalms. - Bond/rope/trap imagery: - Psalm 2:3 “Let us tear off their bonds (מוֹסְרוֹתֵימוֹ) and cast their cords (עֲבֹתֵימוֹ).” - Psalm 140:6 “the proud have hidden a snare (פַּח)… cords (חֲבָלִים)… a net (רֶשֶׁת)… snares (מוֹקְשִׁים).” - The rebels who reject YHWH’s “cords” (Ps 2) turn around and lay their own cords and snares (Ps 140) for the anointed. The ropework imagery is an unusually concrete and memorable overlap. - Judgment lexicon and imagery: - Psalm 2:9 “break with a rod of iron,” “shatter like a potter’s vessel”; 2:5 “speak to them in his wrath.” - Psalm 140:10–12 “coals fall on them,” “cast them into the fire,” “into pits (מַהֲמֹרוֹת) from which they shall not rise,” “man of tongue will not be established in the land.” - Psalm 140’s imprecations function as the specific execution of Psalm 2’s general threat. - שׁפט/מִשְׁפָּט field: - Psalm 2:10 “O judges (שֹׁפְטֵי) of the earth, be warned.” - Psalm 140:13 “YHWH will do justice (דִּין)… and judgment (מִשְׁפָּט) for the needy.” - The role of YHWH/king in adjudication is explicit in both; the failure of earth’s judges (Ps 2) is answered by YHWH’s own judgment for the oppressed (Ps 140). - Way/path terms: - Psalm 2:12 “you will perish in the way (דֶּרֶךְ).” - Psalm 140:5 “to push my steps,” 140:6 “net by the path (מַעְגָּל),” 140:12 “hunt him to ruin (לְמַדְחֵפוֹת, from דחף ‘push’).” - Both psalms work in the “way/path/footsteps” semantic field, now concretized as ambushed pathways in Ps 140. Stylistic and formal affinities - Royal/Davidic voice: Psalm 2 is a royal oracle centered on YHWH’s “anointed.” Psalm 140 is a “mizmor leDavid,” the paradigmatic משיח. The most natural readerly move is to hear Ps 140 as the anointed one’s battlefield prayer after the enthronement proclamation of Ps 2. - Direct speech frame inverted: - Psalm 2:7 “I will recount the decree: YHWH said to me…” - Psalm 140:7 “I said to YHWH… hear the voice of my supplications.” - The reciprocal speech frames (YHWH to king; king to YHWH) form a neat call/response between the two psalms. - Exhortation and outcome: - Psalm 2 ends with counsel and a beatitude: “Serve YHWH with fear… Happy are all who take refuge in him.” - Psalm 140 ends with the positive outcome for the faithful: “Surely the righteous will give thanks to your name; the upright will dwell before your face.” This is the realized state envisioned by Ps 2’s exhortation. Conceptual and historical plausibility - Ancient Near Eastern royal sequence: Enthronement is commonly followed by the subjugation of rebels. Psalm 2 reads like an enthronement/oracle; Psalm 140 like a “day-of-battle” prayer (“you covered my head in the day of weapons,” 140:8). This is precisely the expected sequence in royal ideology and practice. - The enemies match: Psalm 2’s foes are “kings of the earth” and “rulers” who “take counsel together.” Psalm 140’s foes are violent elites—“the proud” (גֵאִים), “the wicked” (רָשָׁע), “a man of violence” (אִישׁ חָמָס)—who scheme and lay coordinated traps. The social profile overlaps (leaders/strongmen fomenting rebellion). - Justice for the oppressed as royal charter: Psalm 140:13 highlights YHWH’s justice for the poor/afflicted, the very kind of justice the Davidic king is commissioned to mediate. That coheres with Psalm 2’s presentation of the king as agent of divine rule over the nations. Smaller but noteworthy echoes - Phonological/semantic play: נָסַכְתִּי “I have installed” (Ps 2:6) and סַכֹּתָה “you have covered” (Ps 140:8) are different roots (נסך vs סכך) but yield a subtle sound echo around the king’s “head” (Ps 140:8) and his installation on Zion (Ps 2:6)—both highly physical acts marking protection/legitimation. - Speech as a weapon: Psalm 2’s “muttering emptiness” and Psalm 140’s “man of tongue,” “the trouble of their lips” converge on the theme of hostile speech as a tool of rebellion, not merely swords. How the two psalms line up event-by-event - Psalm 2: Rebellion planned (2:1–3) → YHWH responds, installs his king on Zion (2:4–6) → Royal decree and mandate to subdue nations (2:7–9) → Call to submit with “kiss” and “fear,” promise to those taking refuge (2:10–12). - Psalm 140: Rebellion enacted by violent men (140:2–6) → The anointed prays on “the day of weapons” (140:7–8) → He asks God not to “give” the wicked their desire (reversing the “I will give” of Ps 2:8) and calls down judgment (140:9–12) → Outcome: the righteous thank and dwell before God (140:13–14), which corresponds to Psalm 2’s “happy are all who take refuge in him.” Bottom line - The rare and pointed root match נ-ש-ק, the “give/do not give” inversion on נתן, the shared scheming and rope/trap lexicon, the royal-Davidic voice, and the canonical royal storyline (enthronement → war with rebels → judgment → secure worship) together provide strong literary and conceptual reasons to read Psalm 140 as a logical, lived-out sequel to the royal program announced in Psalm 2.
Evaluation
No evaluation has been recorded for this pair yet.
Prompt
Consider Psalm 2 and Psalm 140 (reproduced below). What arguments could you make to justify that Psalm 140 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 140: Psalm 140 1. לַמְנַצֵּ֗חַ מִזְמ֥וֹר לְדָוִֽד׃ 2. חַלְּצֵ֣נִי יְ֭הוָה מֵאָדָ֣ם רָ֑ע מֵאִ֖ישׁ חֲמָסִ֣ים תִּנְצְרֵֽנִי׃ 3. אֲשֶׁ֤ר חָשְׁב֣וּ רָע֣וֹת בְּלֵ֑ב כָּל־ י֝֗וֹם יָג֥וּרוּ מִלְחָמֽוֹת׃ 4. שָֽׁנֲנ֣וּ לְשׁוֹנָם֮ כְּֽמוֹ נָ֫חָ֥שׁ חֲמַ֥ת עַכְשׁ֑וּב תַּ֖חַת שְׂפָתֵ֣ימוֹ סֶֽלָה׃ 5. שָׁמְרֵ֤נִי יְהוָ֨ה ׀ מִ֘ידֵ֤י רָשָׁ֗ע מֵאִ֣ישׁ חֲמָסִ֣ים תִּנְצְרֵ֑נִי אֲשֶׁ֥ר חָ֝שְׁב֗וּ לִדְח֥וֹת פְּעָמָֽי׃ 6. טָֽמְנֽוּ־ גֵאִ֨ים ׀ פַּ֡ח לִ֗י וַחֲבָלִ֗ים פָּ֣רְשׂוּ רֶ֭שֶׁת לְיַד־ מַעְגָּ֑ל מֹקְשִׁ֖ים שָֽׁתוּ־ לִ֣י סֶֽלָה׃ 7. אָמַ֣רְתִּי לַ֭יהוָה אֵ֣לִי אָ֑תָּה הַאֲזִ֥ינָה יְ֝הוָ֗ה ק֣וֹל תַּחֲנוּנָֽי׃ 8. יְהֹוִ֣ה אֲ֭דֹנָי עֹ֣ז יְשׁוּעָתִ֑י סַכֹּ֥תָה לְ֝רֹאשִׁ֗י בְּי֣וֹם נָֽשֶׁק׃ 9. אַל־ תִּתֵּ֣ן יְ֭הוָה מַאֲוַיֵּ֣י רָשָׁ֑ע זְמָמ֥וֹ אַל־ תָּ֝פֵ֗ק יָר֥וּמוּ סֶֽלָה׃ 10. רֹ֥אשׁ מְסִבָּ֑י עֲמַ֖ל שְׂפָתֵ֣ימוֹ יכסומו יְכַסֵּֽמוֹ׃ 11. ימיטו יִמּ֥וֹטוּ עֲלֵיהֶ֗ם גֶּֽחָ֫לִ֥ים בָּאֵ֥שׁ יַפִּלֵ֑ם בְּ֝מַהֲמֹר֗וֹת בָּל־ יָקֽוּמוּ׃ 12. אִ֥ישׁ לָשׁוֹן֮ בַּל־ יִכּ֢וֹן בָּ֫אָ֥רֶץ אִישׁ־ חָמָ֥ס רָ֑ע יְ֝צוּדֶ֗נּוּ לְמַדְחֵפֹֽת׃ 13. ידעת יָדַ֗עְתִּי כִּֽי־ יַעֲשֶׂ֣ה יְ֭הוָה דִּ֣ין עָנִ֑י מִ֝שְׁפַּ֗ט אֶבְיֹנִֽים׃ 14. אַ֣ךְ צַ֭דִּיקִים יוֹד֣וּ לִשְׁמֶ֑ךָ יֵשְׁב֥וּ יְ֝שָׁרִ֗ים אֶת־ פָּנֶֽיךָ׃