Psalm 3 → 20
Reasoning: 7872 Output: 3786 Total: 11658
Argument
Here are lines of argument—moving from broader form to tighter lexical hooks—that can justify reading Psalm 20 as a logical follow‑on to Psalm 3.
Form/setting: how the storyline can continue
- From solo crisis to communal liturgy. Psalm 3 is an individual royal lament (“Mizmor leDavid … when he fled from Absalom”), spoken by the king in acute danger; Psalm 20 is a communal royal liturgy (“Lamnatzeach, mizmor leDavid”) in which the people intercede for the king before battle. That is an entirely natural sequence in Israel: the king’s personal night‑crisis (Ps 3) is followed by the army’s/public’s pre‑battle service (Ps 20).
- From “flight” to “muster.” Ps 3 reflects the flight stage (2 Sam 15–16), whereas Ps 20 matches the pre‑engagement prayer before the decisive battle (2 Sam 17–18). The inclusion of sacrifices in Ps 20:4 (“יזכור כל־מנחתך”) and the sanctuary/Zion language (“מקדש … מציון”) is exactly what you would expect once the immediate flight has stabilized into a formal muster and ritual intercession.
- A pointed historical echo: 2 Sam 15:1 notes Absalom’s chariots and horses; Ps 20:8 contrasts trust “ברכב … בסוסים” with trust “בשם יהוה.” That is a sharp, context‑specific response to Absalom’s royal posturing.
Shared structure and stylistic features
- Both are “מזמור לדוד,” a Davidic frame; both use Selah (Ps 3:3,5,9; Ps 20:4), marking musical/liturgical staging points and suggesting performance‑oriented pieces.
- Both close with a short, punchy salvation formula: Ps 3:9 “ליהוה הישועה,” Ps 20:10 “יהוה הושיעה,” framing the same core claim with near‑identical lexemes.
Tightly parallel formulas and lexemes (rarer/identical forms highlighted)
- Answer from the holy locus:
- Ps 3:5 “בקולי אל־יהוה אקרא, ויענני מהר קדשו” (answered “from his holy mountain”).
- Ps 20 clusters the same idea, intensifying it:
- v.2 “יענך יהוה ביום צרה”
- v.3 “ישלח עזרך מקדש; ומציון יסעדך”
- v.7 “יענהו משמי קדשו”
- The identical form “קָדְשׁוֹ” occurs in both (Ps 3:5; 20:7), and “מקדש/ציון” in Ps 20 matches Ps 3’s “הר קדשו” (Zion theology).
- Call–answer word‑pair (קרא/ענה), same roots and closely similar forms:
- Ps 3:5 “אקרא … ויענני”
- Ps 20:2 “יענך”; 20:7 “יענהו”; 20:10 “יעננו … ביום קרֵאנו”
- This progression moves from “I call/He answered me” (Ps 3) to “May He answer you/him/us” in communal liturgy (Ps 20).
- Salvation vocabulary (ישע) clustered in both:
- Ps 3:3 “אין ישועתה לו באלהים”; 3:8 “הושיעני”; 3:9 “ליהוה הישועה”
- Ps 20:6 “נרננה בישועתך”; 20:7 “בגבורות ישע ימינו”; 20:10 “יהוה הושיעה”
- Note the high‑value near‑identical ending formulas: “ליהוה הישועה” (Ps 3:9) vs “יהוה הושיעה” (Ps 20:10).
- “Holy” cluster (קדש) with identical suffix:
- Ps 3:5 “מהר קדשו”
- Ps 20:3 “מקֹדש”; 20:7 “משמי קדשו” (identical “קדשו”)
- Name theology (שם): Ps 20 makes explicit what Ps 3 implies.
- Ps 3’s detractors: “אין ישועתה לו באלהים” (denying deliverance “in God”).
- Ps 20 answers with “ישגבך שם אלהי יעקב” (v.2), “ובשם אלהינו נדגל” (v.6), “בשם יהוה אלהינו נזכיר” (v.8). The Name becomes the decisive resource against the earlier taunt about “no salvation in God.”
- “Rise/fall” reversal built on קום:
- Ps 3:2 “רבים קמים עלי” (enemies rise against me)
- Ps 20:9 “המה כרעו ונפלו, ואנחנו קמנו ונתעודד” (they fall; we rise and stand firm). The same root turns the tables: those who rose against the king (Ps 3) now collapse; the king’s side rises.
- Protection imagery, same semantic field:
- Ps 3:3 “יהוה מגן בעדי” (shield all around me)
- Ps 20:2 “ישגבך שם אלהי יעקב” (set you on high/protect you). מגן and שׂגב are stock, close synonyms in protection diction; Psalm 20 echoes Psalm 3’s protection claim in cultic wish form.
- Support/strength verbs in parallel semantic field:
- Ps 3:6 “יהוה יסמכני” (He sustains me)
- Ps 20:3 “ומציון יסעדך” (may He support you), v.9 “ונתעודד” (we regain strength). Different roots (סמך/סעד/עוד) but same field of stabilization/resilience, showing development from nocturnal sustaining (Ps 3) to battlefield steadiness (Ps 20).
Motifs/events that line up
- Night to day movement:
- Ps 3 narrates the perilous night and safe awakening (“שכבתי … ואישנה; הקיצותי”).
- Ps 20 opens with “ביום צרה” and ends “ביום קרֵאנו.” The crisis has moved into the day of battle; now the community prays around the king.
- Zion presence at a distance:
- In Ps 3 the king hears an answer “מהר קדשו” while away from Jerusalem (matching David’s flight).
- In Ps 20 the king is still away in the field; the prayer asks help “מקדש … מציון,” which fits the historical note that David left the ark/sanctuary in Zion when he fled (2 Sam 15:25–29).
- Weapons vs. trust contrast tailored to Absalom:
- Ps 20:8 “אלה ברכב ואלה בסוסים” answers Absalom’s conspicuous chariots and horses (2 Sam 15:1) and aligns with David’s theology: victory is by the Name, not hardware.
Transitions and resolutions across the two psalms
- The taunt in Ps 3:3 (“אין ישועתה לו באלהים”) is explicitly reversed in Ps 20:6–8 (“נרננה בישועתך … בשם … נזכיר … עתה ידעתי כי הושיע יהוה משיחו”).
- The plea “קומה יהוה הושיעני” (Ps 3:8) is matched by the communal cry “יהוה הושיעה” (Ps 20:10), and the result is enacted: “קמים עלי” (Ps 3:2) becomes “אנחנו קמנו” (Ps 20:9), while the foes “כרעו ונפלו.”
- Ps 3 ends, uniquely for an individual lament, with a communal benediction: “על עמך ברכתך.” Ps 20 is precisely the people’s prayer for that same king and people to prosper—an apt corporate continuation of Ps 3’s horizon.
Bottom line
- On form grounds (individual royal lament → communal royal liturgy), on thematic grounds (call/answer; salvation; holy locus; protection), on lexical grounds (repeated roots and even identical forms like קָדְשׁוֹ), and on historical plausibility (Absalom’s chariots; king away from Zion), Psalm 20 reads naturally as the next scene after Psalm 3: the night‑crisis of the anointed king moves into the public, cultic day‑of‑battle intercession for that same king, carrying forward and resolving the vocabulary, claims, and tensions of Psalm 3.
Evaluation
No evaluation has been recorded for this pair yet.
Prompt
Consider Psalm 3 and Psalm 20 (reproduced below). What arguments could you make to justify that Psalm 20 logically follows on from Psalm 3? 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 3:
Psalm 3
1. מִזְמ֥וֹר
לְדָוִ֑ד
בְּ֝בָרְח֗וֹ
מִפְּנֵ֤י ׀
אַבְשָׁל֬וֹם
בְּנֽוֹ׃
2. יְ֭הוָה
מָֽה־
רַבּ֣וּ
צָרָ֑י
רַ֝בִּ֗ים
קָמִ֥ים
עָלָֽי׃
3. רַבִּים֮
אֹמְרִ֢ים
לְנַ֫פְשִׁ֥י
אֵ֤ין
יְֽשׁוּעָ֓תָה
לּ֬וֹ
בֵֽאלֹהִ֬ים
סֶֽלָה׃
4. וְאַתָּ֣ה
יְ֭הוָה
מָגֵ֣ן
בַּעֲדִ֑י
כְּ֝בוֹדִ֗י
וּמֵרִ֥ים
רֹאשִֽׁtי׃
5. ק֖dוֹלִי
אֶל־
יְהוָ֣ה
אֶקְרָ֑א
וַיַּֽעֲנֵ֨נִי
מֵהַ֖ר
קָדְשׁ֣וֹ
סֶֽלָה׃
6. אֲנִ֥י
שָׁכַ֗בְתִּי
וָֽאִ֫ישָׁ֥נָה
הֱקִיצ֑וֹתִי
כִּ֖י
יְהוָ֣ה
יִסְמְכֵֽנִי׃
7. לֹֽא־
אִ֭ירָא
מֵרִבְב֥וֹת
עָ֑ם
אֲשֶׁ֥ר
סָ֝בִ֗יב
שָׁ֣תוּ
עָלָֽtי׃
8. ק֘וּמָ֤ה
יְהוָ֨ה ׀
הוֹשִׁ֘יעֵ֤נִי
אֱלֹהַ֗י
כִּֽי־
הִכִּ֣יתָ
אֶת־
כָּל־
אֹיְבַ֣י
לֶ֑חִי
שִׁנֵּ֖י
רְשָׁעִ֣ים
שִׁבַּֽרְתָּ׃
9. לַיהוָ֥ה
הַיְשׁוּעָ֑ה
עַֽל־
עַמְּךָ֖
בִרְכָתֶ֣ךָ
סֶּֽלָה׃
Psalm 20:
Psalm 20
1. לַמְנַצֵּ֗חַ
מִזְמ֥וֹר
לְדָוִֽד׃
2. יַֽעַנְךָ֣
יְ֭הוָה
בְּי֣וֹם
צָרָ֑ה
יְ֝שַׂגֶּבְךָ֗
שֵׁ֤ם ׀
אֱלֹהֵ֬י
יַעֲקֹֽב׃
3. יִשְׁלַֽח־
עֶזְרְךָ֥
מִקֹּ֑דֶשׁ
וּ֝מִצִיּ֗וֹן
יִסְעָדֶֽךָּ׃
4. יִזְכֹּ֥ר
כָּל־
מִנְחֹתֶ֑ךָ
וְעוֹלָתְךָ֖
יְדַשְּׁנֶ֣ה
סֶֽלָה׃
5. יִֽתֶּן־
לְךָ֥
כִלְבָבֶ֑ךָ
וְֽכָל־
עֲצָתְךָ֥
יְמַלֵּֽא׃
6. נְרַנְּנָ֤ה ׀
בִּ֘ישׁ֤וּעָתֶ֗ךָ
וּבְשֵֽׁם־
אֱלֹהֵ֥ינוּ
נִדְגֹּ֑ל
יְמַלֵּ֥א
יְ֝הוָ֗ה
כָּל־
מִשְׁאֲלוֹתֶֽיךָ׃
7. עַתָּ֤ה
יָדַ֗עְתִּי
כִּ֤י
הוֹשִׁ֥יעַ ׀
יְהוָ֗ה
מְשִׁ֫יח֥וֹ
יַ֭עֲנֵהוּ
מִשְּׁמֵ֣י
קָדְשׁ֑וֹ
בִּ֝גְבֻר֗וֹת
יֵ֣שַׁע
יְמִינֽוֹ׃
8. אֵ֣לֶּה
בָ֭רֶכֶב
וְאֵ֣לֶּה
בַסּוּסִ֑ים
וַאֲנַ֓חְנוּ ׀
בְּשֵׁם־
יְהוָ֖ה
אֱלֹהֵ֣ינוּ
נַזְכִּֽיר׃
9. הֵ֭מָּה
כָּרְע֣וּ
וְנָפָ֑לוּ
וַאֲנַ֥חְנוּ
קַּ֝֗מְנוּ
וַנִּתְעוֹדָֽד׃
10. יְהוָ֥ה
הוֹשִׁ֑יעָה
הַ֝מֶּ֗לֶךְ
יַעֲנֵ֥נוּ
בְיוֹם־
קָרְאֵֽנוּ׃