Psalm 3 → 72
Reasoning: 5504 Output: 4881 Total: 10385
Argument
Short thesis: Read together, Psalm 3 (David’s crisis while fleeing Absalom) and Psalm 72 (a royal prayer “for Solomon/the king’s son”) form a coherent two‑step movement: from the embattled father‑king’s plea for deliverance to a prayer for the establishment of the son’s just, peace‑bringing reign. That macro‑move (crisis → deliverance → stable succession) matches Israelite royal life and ritual (lament during rebellion → thanksgiving/deliverance → enthronement/royal benediction). Several shared lexemes, motifs, and forms tighten the link. 1) Narrative/ritual logic (strongest “follow‑on” argument) - From “the son who rebelled” to “the son who rules.” Ps 3’s superscription frames David fleeing “from Absalom his son” (אבשלום בנו). Ps 72 addresses “the king” and “the king’s son” (למלך … לבן־מלך), traditionally Solomon (לשלמה). That is exactly the next question after Ps 3’s crisis: what kind of son and kingship should succeed David? Ps 72 answers: a son/king of justice and peace. - Crisis → enthronement. Ps 3 is a personal royal lament during civil war; Ps 72 is a royal enthronement/benediction psalm. In monarchic Israel this is a recognizable sequence: rebellion and deliverance prayers in war-time, followed by prayers for the king’s reign and succession. - From individual to corporate focus. Ps 3 ends by widening from David to the people: “To YHWH belongs salvation; your blessing upon your people” (ליהוה הישועה; על־עמך ברכתך). Ps 72 then unpacks that “people’s blessing” in detail—mountains bringing shalom to the people, justice for the poor, international tribute, universal worship. - Canonical closure signals. Ps 72:20 “The prayers of David son of Jesse are ended” explicitly closes a Davidic collection. If read after Ps 3, the arc goes from David under threat to David’s hopes vested in the son’s reign, capped with a doxology (72:18–19). This is a satisfying canonical “end” to the kind of “beginning” represented by Ps 3. 2) Form and structure - Both are prayers of petition with marked turns to confidence: - Ps 3: complaint (vv. 2–3) → trust (vv. 4–6) → bold petition (vv. 8–9). - Ps 72: petitions/wishes for the king (jussives and imperatives: תן, ידין, ישפֹט, יושיע, ויחי, יהי) → doxology (vv. 18–19). - Liturgical framing: - Ps 3 has three Selah markers and ends with a quasi-liturgical benediction over the people. - Ps 72 culminates in a double Amen and collection‑ending formula. Different devices, same liturgical “finish” function. 3) Shared lexicon and roots (heavier weight on rarer/identical forms) High‑significance overlaps (same lemma/root, same word class, often in parallel functions): - ישע “save/deliver”: - Ps 3:3 “אין ישועתה לו באלהים”; 3:8 “הושיעני”; 3:9 “ליהוה הישועה.” - Ps 72:4 “יושיע לבני אביון”; 72:13 “נפשות אביונים יושיע.” This is the core theological engine in both: salvation belongs to YHWH; in Ps 72 that saving action characterizes the royal program. - ברך “bless”: - Ps 3:9 “על־עמך ברכתך.” - Ps 72:15 “כל־היום יברכנהו”; 72:17 “ויתברכו בו”; 72:19 “וברוך שם כבודו.” Ps 72 multiplies the blessing Ps 3 asks for the people into a global, perpetual blessing through the king. - אויב “enemy”: - Ps 3:2, 8 “צרי… קמים עלי… כל־אויבי.” - Ps 72:9 “ואויביו עפר ילחכו.” Direct continuity: the enemies that rise against David in Ps 3 become the enemies subdued before the king in Ps 72. - כבוד “glory/weight”: - Ps 3:4 “כבודי ומרים ראשי.” - Ps 72:19 “ושם כבודו… ויימלא כבודו את כל הארץ.” David’s personal restoration of “glory” (head lifted) expands into cosmic filling with divine/royal glory. - ירא “fear” (Qal): - Ps 3:7 “לא אירא.” - Ps 72:5 “ייראוך עם־שמש.” The personal negation of fear in Ps 3 yields to the nations’ reverent fear of God/the king in Ps 72. - נפש “life/soul”: - Ps 3:3 “אומרים לנפשי…” - Ps 72:14 “יגאל נפשם.” The threatened “soul” in Ps 3 is what the ideal king safeguards in Ps 72. - הר “mountain”: - Ps 3:5 “מהר קדשו.” - Ps 72:3, 16 “ישאו ההרים שלום… בראש הרים.” Zion’s holy mountain (source of answered prayer) becomes mountains across the land bearing shalom—geography of grace broadens from Zion outward. Medium‑significance echoes (same root or close semantic field): - Crushing the wicked: - Ps 3:8 “שִנֵּי רשעים שִבַּרְתָּ” (שבר, “break”). - Ps 72:4 “וידכא עושק” (דכא, “crush”). Different roots but tightly related judicial violence against oppressors. - ראש “head”: - Ps 3:4 “מרים ראשי.” - Ps 72:16 “בראש הרים.” Same noun; in Ps 3 raised head = personal vindication; in Ps 72 “top of the mountains” = apex of abundance. 4) Motif development across the pair - Night/day → sun/moon: Ps 3’s sleep/wake (vv. 6–7) marks one night of preserved life under siege. Ps 72 scales that protection out to cosmic time: “they fear you with the sun… before the moon… until there is no moon” (vv. 5, 7). Personal, nightly preservation becomes perpetual, cosmic stability. - From encircled by multitudes to ruling multitudes: Ps 3:7 “מרבבות עם אשר סביב שתו עלי.” Ps 72:8–11 extends the king’s reign “from sea to sea,” with nations and kings bringing tribute—a reversal of being surrounded by hostile crowds to being surrounded by willing vassals. - Zion source → world saturation: Ps 3:5 “He answered me from his holy mountain.” Ps 72:19 “may his glory fill the whole earth.” The point of origin (Zion) is now the point of diffusion. 5) Historical/life‑cycle fit in Israel’s story - Davidic crisis under Absalom (2 Sam 15–18) → restoration → succession by Solomon (1 Kgs 1–2). Ps 3 belongs naturally to the first phase; Ps 72, a Solomonic/royal ideal, to the last. Read as a pair, they trace the arc from the king’s last, hardest trial to the hoped‑for golden reign. - Royal ideology: Ps 3 petitions God to act as David’s shield and savior (מגן בעדי… הושיעני). Ps 72 turns that divine saving character into royal policy: justice for the poor, crushing oppressors, abundance and peace. 6) Stylistic signatures that link the two - Dense, repeated key words typical of early Davidic laments (Ps 3: רבו/רבים, ישע) are answered by disciplined royal/jussive diction in Ps 72 (יהי, ידין, ישפֹט, יושיע, ויחי), shaping a dialog between “urgent cry” and “formulated royal prayer.” - Both end with liturgical closures: Ps 3 with Selah and a benediction over the people; Ps 72 with a double Amen and a doxology. This shared “liturgical awareness” makes Ps 72 feel like a proper formal sequel to Ps 3’s raw crisis. Bottom line: On narrative grounds (Absalom → Solomon), form-critical grounds (lament → enthronement blessing), and lexical/motif grounds (ישע, ברך, אויב, כבוד, ירא, נפש, הר; plus the movement from personal preservation to global peace), Psalm 72 can be read as the logical follow‑on to Psalm 3: the prayer for deliverance of the embattled Davidic king maturing into the prayer for the just reign of his son and the blessing of God’s people and world.
Evaluation
No evaluation has been recorded for this pair yet.
Prompt
Consider Psalm 3 and Psalm 72 (reproduced below). What arguments could you make to justify that Psalm 72 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 72:
Psalm 72
1. לִשְׁלֹמֹ֨ה ׀
אֱֽלֹהִ֗ים
מִ֭שְׁפָּטֶיךָ
לְמֶ֣לֶךְ
תֵּ֑ן
וְצִדְקָתְךָ֥
לְבֶן־
מֶֽלֶךְ׃
2. יָדִ֣ין
עַמְּךָ֣
בְצֶ֑דֶק
וַעֲנִיֶּ֥יךָ
בְמִשְׁפָּֽט׃
3. יִשְׂא֤וּ
הָרִ֓ים
שָׁ֘ל֥וֹם
לָעָ֑ם
וּ֝גְבָע֗וֹת
בִּצְדָקָֽה׃
4. יִשְׁפֹּ֤ט ׀
עֲֽנִיֵּי־
עָ֗ם
י֭וֹשִׁיעַ
לִבְנֵ֣י
אֶבְי֑וֹן
וִֽידַכֵּ֣א
עוֹשֵֽׁק׃
5. יִֽירָא֥וּךָ
עִם־
שָׁ֑מֶשׁ
וְלִפְנֵ֥י
יָ֝רֵ֗חַ
דּ֣וֹר
דּוֹרִֽים׃
6. יֵ֭רֵד
כְּמָטָ֣ר
עַל־
גֵּ֑ז
כִּ֝רְבִיבִ֗ים
זַרְזִ֥יף
אָֽרֶץ׃
7. יִֽפְרַח־
בְּיָמָ֥יו
צַדִּ֑יק
וְרֹ֥ב
שָׁ֝ל֗וֹם
עַד־
בְּלִ֥י
יָרֵֽחַ׃
8. וְ֭יֵרְדְּ
מִיָּ֣ם
עַד־
יָ֑ם
וּ֝מִנָּהָ֗ר
עַד־
אַפְסֵי־
אָֽרֶץ׃
9. לְ֭פָנָיו
יִכְרְע֣וּ
צִיִּ֑ים
וְ֝אֹיְבָ֗יו
עָפָ֥ר
יְלַחֵֽכוּ׃
10. מַלְכֵ֬י
תַרְשִׁ֣ישׁ
וְ֭אִיִּים
מִנְחָ֣ה
יָשִׁ֑יבוּ
מַלְכֵ֥י
שְׁבָ֥א
וּ֝סְבָ֗א
אֶשְׁכָּ֥ר
יַקְרִֽיבוּ׃
11. וְיִשְׁתַּחֲווּ־
ל֥וֹ
כָל־
מְלָכִ֑ים
כָּל־
גּוֹיִ֥ם
יַֽעַבְדֽוּהוּ׃
12. כִּֽי־
יַ֭צִּיל
אֶבְי֣וֹן
מְשַׁוֵּ֑עַ
וְ֝עָנִ֗י
וְֽאֵין־
עֹזֵ֥ר
לֽוֹ׃
13. יָ֭חֹס
עַל־
דַּ֣ל
וְאֶבְי֑וֹן
וְנַפְשׁ֖וֹת
אֶבְיוֹנִ֣ים
יוֹשִֽׁיעַ׃
14. מִתּ֣וֹךְ
וּ֖dמֵחָמָס
יִגְאַ֣ל
נַפְשָׁ֑ם
וְיֵיקַ֖ר
דָּמָ֣ם
בְּעֵינָֽיו׃
15. וִיחִ֗י
וְיִתֶּן־
לוֹ֮
מִזְּהַ֢ב
שְׁ֫בָ֥א
וְיִתְפַּלֵּ֣ל
בַּעֲד֣וֹ
תָמִ֑יד
כָּל־
הַ֝יּ֗וֹם
יְבָרֲכֶֽנְהֽוּ׃
16. יְהִ֤י
פִסַּת־
בַּ֨ר ׀
בָּאָרֶץ֮
בְּרֹ֢אשׁ
הָ֫רִ֥ים
יִרְעַ֣שׁ
כַּלְּבָנ֣וֹן
פִּרְי֑וֹ
וְיָצִ֥יצוּ
מֵ֝עִ֗יר
כְּעֵ֣שֶׂב
הָאָֽרֶץ׃
17. יְהִ֤י
שְׁמ֨וֹ ׀
לְֽעוֹלָ֗ם
לִפְנֵי־
שֶׁמֶשׁ֮
ינין
יִנּ֢וֹן
שְׁ֫מ֥וֹ
וְיִתְבָּ֥רְכוּ
ב֑וֹ
כָּל־
גּוֹיִ֥ם
יְאַשְּׁרֽוּהוּ׃
18. בָּר֤וּךְ ׀
יְהוָ֣ה
אֱ֭לֹהִים
אֱלֹהֵ֣י
יִשְׂרָאֵ֑ל
עֹשֵׂ֖ה
נִפְלָא֣וֹת
לְבַדּֽוֹ׃
19. וּבָר֤וּךְ ׀
שֵׁ֥ם
כְּבוֹד֗וֹ
לְע֫וֹלָ֥ם
וְיִמָּלֵ֣א
כְ֭בוֹדוֹ
אֶת־
כֹּ֥ל
הָאָ֗רֶץ
אָ֘מֵ֥ן ׀
וְאָמֵֽן׃
20. כָּלּ֥וּ
תְפִלּ֑וֹת
דָּ֝וִ֗ד
בֶּן־
יִשָֽׁי׃