Psalm 3 → 71

Reasoning: 6528 Output: 5435 Total: 11963

Argument

Here are ways to argue that Psalm 71 “logically follows” Psalm 3, drawing on form, style, vocabulary (including Hebrew roots and identical forms), and a plausible life-setting.

1) Narrative/time-of-life logic
- Psalm 3 speaks from a crisis of flight and immediate danger (David fleeing Absalom). It is morning-after language: “I lay down and slept; I awoke, for the LORD sustains me” (Ps 3:6), with the enemies’ taunt ringing in his ears (3:3).
- Psalm 71 reads like the same voice years later: a seasoned believer in old age under pressure again (“Do not cast me off in the time of old age,” 71:9; “even to old age and gray hairs,” 71:18). The enemies’ taunt has become more pointed: “God has forsaken him; pursue and seize him, for there is no rescuer” (71:11). That taunt closely reprises Ps 3:3 but in “old age” form. Thus Psalm 71 can be heard as the mature, expanded, life-long sequel to the emergency prayer of Psalm 3.

2) Form and genre: the same template, expanded
- Both are individual laments with the classic elements: invocation to YHWH, complaint about numerous adversaries, the enemies’ reported speech, urgent petition for deliverance, confession of trust, and a turn to praise/confidence.
- Psalm 71 essentially lengthens each unit found in Psalm 3: the opening trust/petition (3:2–4) becomes 71:1–8; the enemies’ plot (3:2–3) becomes 71:10–13; the climactic appeal (3:8–9) becomes a series of appeals and vows of praise (71:12–24).

3) The enemies’ taunt: the sharpest verbal bridge
- Psalm 3:3: רבים אמרים לנפשי “אין ישועתה לו באלהים סלה” – “Many are saying of my life/soul, ‘There is no salvation for him in God.’”
- Psalm 71:10–11: כי אמרו אויבי לי … לאמר “אלהים עזבו, רדפו ותפשוהו כי אין מציל” – “For my enemies say … saying, ‘God has forsaken him; pursue and seize him, for there is no rescuer.’”
- Observations:
  - The structure of reported speech with לאמר is shared.
  - The content is nearly identical: “אין ישועתה לו באלהים” (no salvation for him in God) ⇄ “אלהים עזבו … כי אין מציל” (God has forsaken him … for there is no rescuer).
  - The presence of נפש/נפשי frames the taunt (3:3; 71:10, 23), tightening the link.
  - This is a relatively marked and specific rhetorical pattern; it carries much more weight than generic “enemy” language.

4) Identical or near-identical Hebrew forms/roots with high significance
- הושיעני (Hiphil imperative 2ms + 1cs suffix “save me”): Ps 3:8; Ps 71:2. An exact repeated cry anchors both psalms’ petitions.
- אויבי (“my enemies”): Ps 3:8; Ps 71:10. Same form and function.
- סמך “to support/sustain”: Ps 3:6 יְהוָה יִסְמְכֵנִי; Ps 71:6 עָלֶיךָ נִסְמַכְתִּי. Same root, same semantic field, now expanded from “last night” (3:6) to “from the womb” and through old age (71:6, 9, 18).
- ישע “save/salvation”: Ps 3:3, 8–9 (ישועה; הושיעני; ליהוה הישועה); Ps 71:2, 15 (והושיעני; תשועתך). The closing declaration of Ps 3:9 “Salvation is YHWH’s” reappears in Ps 71 as the theme the psalmist vows to tell “all day” (71:15).
- קדש “holy”: Ps 3:5 מהר קדשו “his holy hill”; Ps 71:22 קדוש ישראל “the Holy One of Israel.” The root is not rare in the Psalter, but the pairing underscores continuity of the same God-location: from his holy mountain to the “Holy One of Israel.”
- רבים “many”: Ps 3:2–3 uses רבים repeatedly; Ps 71:7 “I have been a sign to many” (לרבים), and 71:20 “many troubles” (צרות רבות). This repeated “many”-pressure motif threads both psalms.
- סביב/סבב “around/encircle/turn”: Ps 3:7 “רבבות עם אשר סביב שתו עלי” (masses who “around” set themselves against me); Ps 71:21 ותסֹב תנחמני (you will “surround/turn and comfort me”). The threat that encircles in Ps 3 becomes divine comfort that encircles in Ps 71.

5) The protection imagery evolves but stays in the same semantic field
- Psalm 3: “shield around me” (מגן בעדי), “you lift my head.”
- Psalm 71: “rock of habitation,” “my rock and fortress,” “my strong refuge” (צור מעון; סלעי ומצודתי; מחסי עוז).
- The metaphors differ, but both psalms organize themselves around God as the protective environment. The move from battlefield shield (Ps 3) to enduring refuge/fortress (Ps 71) fits the life-course progression.

6) The mouth/voice line: crying out then lifelong proclamation
- Psalm 3: “With my voice I cry to YHWH” (קולי אל־יהוה אקרא) and “he answers me” (ויענני).
- Psalm 71: “My mouth will be filled with your praise,” “my mouth will tell your righteousness … your salvation all day,” “my lips will shout for joy,” “my tongue all day will meditate your righteousness” (71:8, 15, 23–24).
- Psalm 71 reads like the promised follow-up to Psalm 3’s rescue: after God answers, the psalmist fills the rest of his life with testimony about that salvation.

7) Life-from-death motif, morning to resurrection-like renewal
- Psalm 3:6 “I lay down and slept; I awoke, for YHWH sustains me”—a nightly mini-deliverance from the brink, in the teeth of danger.
- Psalm 71:20–21 explicitly escalates the motif: “You have shown me many and grievous troubles; you will revive me again (תשוב תחייני); from the depths of the earth you will bring me up again (תשוב תעלני).”
- Psalm 71 thus “follows” by universalizing the nightly rescue of Psalm 3 into a lifetime pattern culminating in near-resurrection hope.

8) Shared strategy toward enemies: divine reversal
- Psalm 3: God strikes enemies on the jaw and breaks the teeth of the wicked—decisive humiliation.
- Psalm 71: enemies are brought to shame and consumed; covered with reproach and disgrace (יבשו, יכלו … חֶרְפָּה וכלימה). The imagery differs, but the end is the same: God reverses the enemies’ taunt.

9) Macro-claim echoed and expanded
- Psalm 3 closes: “Salvation belongs to YHWH; your blessing upon your people” (3:9).
- Psalm 71 turns that into a program: “I will tell of your righteousness and your salvation all the day” (71:15); “Who is like you?” (71:19); and culminates in musical praise to the “Holy One of Israel” (71:22–24). It is the liturgical expansion of Ps 3’s doxology.

10) Historical plausibility
- David’s flight from Absalom (Psalm 3’s superscription) took place when David was already older; Psalm 71’s explicit old-age frame (“do not forsake me in old age”) coheres with the same later-life period. The taunt “God has forsaken him” fits a king thought to be past his prime and vulnerable, just as in the Absalom crisis. Even though Psalm 71 lacks a Davidic heading, its internal cues align with the same historical-lifecycle setting.

Summary
- The most probative links are: the identical plea הושיעני; the near-verbatim enemies’ taunt “no salvation/no rescuer” set as reported speech; the shared סמך root (sustain/support) marking the move from nightly sustaining (Ps 3) to lifelong reliance (Ps 71); the sustained “many”/encirclement pressure; and the turn from crisis plea to lifelong proclamation of God’s salvation. Taken together—in form, diction, and life-setting—Psalm 71 reads like a deliberate, mature sequel to Psalm 3.

Evaluation

No evaluation has been recorded for this pair yet.

Prompt

Consider Psalm 3 and Psalm 71 (reproduced below). What arguments could you make to justify that Psalm 71 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 71:
Psalm 71
1. בְּךָֽ־
        יְהוָ֥ה
        חָסִ֑יתִי
        אַל־
        אֵב֥וֹשָׁה
        לְעוֹלָֽם׃
2. בְּצִדְקָתְךָ֗
        תַּצִּילֵ֥נִי
        וּֽתְפַלְּטֵ֑נִי
        הַטֵּֽה־
        אֵלַ֥י
        אָ֝זְנְךָ֗
        וְהוֹשִׁיעֵֽנִי׃
3. הֱיֵ֤ה
        לִ֨י ׀
        לְצ֥וּר
        מָע֡וֹן
        לָב֗וֹא
        תָּמִ֗יד
        צִוִּ֥יתָ
        לְהוֹשִׁיעֵ֑נִי
        כִּֽי־
        סַלְעִ֖י
        וּמְצוּדָתִ֣י
        אָֽתָּה׃
4. אֱ‍ֽלֹהַ֗י
        פַּ֭לְּטֵנִי
        מִיַּ֣ד
        רָשָׁ֑ע
        מִכַּ֖ף
        מְעַוֵּ֣ל
        וְחוֹמֵץ׃
5. כִּֽי־
        אַתָּ֥ה
        תִקְוָתִ֑י
        אֲדֹנָ֥י
        יְ֝הוִ֗ה
        מִבְטַחִ֥י
        מִנְּעוּרָֽי׃
6. עָלֶ֤יךָ ׀
        נִסְמַ֬כְתִּי
        מִבֶּ֗טֶן
        מִמְּעֵ֣י
        אִ֭מִּי
        אַתָּ֣ה
        גוֹזִ֑י
        בְּךָ֖
        תְהִלָּתִ֣י
        תָמִֽיד׃
7. כְּ֭מוֹפֵת
        הָיִ֣יתִי
        לְרַבִּ֑ים
        וְ֝אַתָּ֗ה
        מַֽחֲסִי־
        עֹֽז׃
8. יִמָּ֣לֵא
        פִ֭י
        תְּהִלָּתֶ֑ךָ
        כָּל־
        הַ֝יּ֗וֹם
        תִּפְאַרְתֶּֽךָ׃
9. אַֽל־
        תַּ֭שְׁלִיכֵנִי
        לְעֵ֣ת
        זִקְנָ֑ה
        כִּכְל֥וֹת
        כֹּ֝חִ֗י
        אַֽל־
        תַּעַזְבֵֽנִי׃
10. כִּֽי־
        אָמְר֣וּ
        אוֹיְבַ֣י
        לִ֑י
        וְשֹׁמְרֵ֥י
        נַ֝פְשִׁ֗י
        נוֹעֲצ֥וּ
        יַחְדָּֽו׃
11. לֵ֭אמֹר
        אֱלֹהִ֣ים
        עֲזָב֑וֹ
        רִֽדְפ֥וּ
        וְ֝תִפְשֻׂ֗וּהוּ
        כִּי־
        אֵ֥ין
        מַצִּֽיל׃
12. אֱ֭לֹהִים
        אַל־
        תִּרְחַ֣ק
        מִמֶּ֑נִּי
        אֱ֝לֹהַ֗י
        לְעֶזְרָ֥תִי
        חישה
        חֽוּשָׁה׃
13. יֵבֹ֣שׁוּ
        יִכְלוּ֮
        שֹׂטְנֵ֢י
        נַ֫פְשִׁ֥י
        יַֽעֲט֣וּ
        חֶ֭רְפָּה
        וּכְלִמָּ֑ה
        מְ֝בַקְשֵׁ֗י
        רָעָתִֽי׃
14. וַ֭אֲנִי
        תָּמִ֣יד
        אֲיַחֵ֑ל
        וְ֝הוֹסַפְתִּ֗י
        עַל־
        כָּל־
        תְּהִלָּתֶֽךָ׃
15. פִּ֤י ׀
        יְסַפֵּ֬ר
        צִדְקָתֶ֗ךָ
        כָּל־
        הַיּ֥וֹם
        תְּשׁוּעָתֶ֑ךָ
        כִּ֤י
        לֹ֖א
        יָדַ֣עְתִּי
        סְפֹרֽוֹת׃
16. אָב֗וֹא
        בִּ֭גְבֻרוֹת
        אֲדֹנָ֣י
        יְהִ֑cוה
        אַזְכִּ֖יר
        צִדְקָתְךָ֣
        לְבַדֶּֽךָ׃
17. אֱ‍ֽלֹהִ֗ים
        לִמַּדְתַּ֥נִי
        מִנְּעוּרָ֑י
        וְעַד־
        הֵ֝֗נָּה
        אַגִּ֥יד
        נִפְלְאוֹתֶֽיךָ׃
18. וְגַ֤ם
        עַד־
        זִקְנָ֨ה ׀
        וְשֵׂיבָה֮
        אֱלֹהִ֢ים
        אַֽל־
        תַּעַ֫זְבֵ֥נִי
        עַד־
        אַגִּ֣יד
        זְרוֹעֲךָ֣
        לְד֑וֹר
        לְכָל־
        יָ֝ב֗וֹא
        גְּבוּרָתֶֽךָ׃
19. וְצִדְקָתְךָ֥
        אֱלֹהִ֗ים
        עַד־
        מָ֫ר֥וֹם
        אֲשֶׁר־
        עָשִׂ֥יתָ
        גְדֹל֑וֹת
        אֱ֝לֹהִ֗ים
        מִ֣י
        כָמֽוֹךָ׃
20. אֲשֶׁ֤ר
        הראיתנו
        הִרְאִיתַ֨נִי ׀
        צָר֥וֹת
        רַבּ֗וֹת
        וְרָ֫ע֥וֹת
        תָּשׁ֥וּב
        תחיינו
        תְּחַיֵּ֑ינִי
        וּֽמִתְּהֹמ֥וֹת
        הָ֝אָ֗רֶץ
        תָּשׁ֥וּב
        תַּעֲלֵֽנִי׃
21. תֶּ֤רֶב ׀
        גְּֽדֻלָּתִ֗י
        וְתִסֹּ֥ב
        תְּֽנַחֲמֵֽנִי׃
22. גַּם־
        אֲנִ֤י ׀
        אוֹדְךָ֣
        בִכְלִי־
        נֶבֶל֮
        אֲמִתְּךָ֢
        אֱלֹ֫הָ֥י
        אֲזַמְּרָ֣ה
        לְךָ֣
        בְכִנּ֑וֹר
        קְ֝ד֗וֹשׁ
        יִשְׂרָאֵֽל׃
23. תְּרַנֵּ֣נָּ֣ה
        שְׂ֭פָתַי
        כִּ֣י
        אֲזַמְּרָה־
        לָּ֑ךְ
        וְ֝נַפְשִׁ֗י
        אֲשֶׁ֣ר
        פָּדִֽיתָ׃
24. גַּם־
        לְשׁוֹנִ֗י
        כָּל־
        הַ֭יּוֹם
        תֶּהְגֶּ֣ה
        צִדְקָתֶ֑ךָ
        כִּי־
        בֹ֥שׁוּ
        כִֽי־
        חָ֝פְר֗וּ
        מְבַקְשֵׁ֥י
        רָעָתִֽי׃