Psalm 5 → 12

Reasoning: 6976 Output: 4687 Total: 11663

Argument

Here are lines of argument that make it plausible to read Psalm 12 as a logical sequel to Psalm 5. I group them by kind of evidence and note where the linkage is especially strong (rarer lexemes, identical forms, and same word-class).

1) Narrative/logical progression (macro-level)
- Prayer → waiting → answer: Ps 5 is a morning petition (“In the morning you hear my voice… I arrange [my prayer] for you and I watch,” 5:4). Ps 12 supplies the response: “Now I will arise, says YHWH” (12:6) and then extols “the words of YHWH” (12:7). This is an elegant prayer–oracle sequence: the individual prays and waits (Ps 5), then the divine oracle comes (Ps 12).
- Problem specified → problem intensified/focused: Ps 5 sketches the foes and their deceitful speech (5:6–11). Ps 12 zooms in on exactly that sin—corrupt speech—and escalates it to a societal crisis where “the faithful [חסיד] have vanished” and “the trustworthy [אמונים] have disappeared” (12:2).
- Petition for judgment → explicit sentence: Ps 5 prays “Declare them guilty… cast them out” (5:11). Ps 12 pronounces the specific sentence: “May YHWH cut off all smooth lips” (12:4), followed by YHWH’s own “Now I arise” pledge (12:6).

2) Lexical chains across the two psalms (with weight)
High-significance links (shared rare/marked vocabulary and tightly overlapping word fields)
- The “smooth/flattering” speech cluster (root חלק) with mouth-parts:
  • Ps 5: “their tongue they smooth” לְשׁוֹנָם יַחֲלִיקוּן (5:10; Hiphil verb of חלק).
  • Ps 12: “smooth lips” שִׂפְתֵי חֲלָקוֹת (12:3–4; adj. from חלק).
  Same root, same semantic field (flattery), same discourse target (the wicked), same body-part field (mouth/lips/tongue). This is the single strongest verbal bridge.
- Tongue/lips/mouth/throat imagery:
  • Ps 5: “no stability in his mouth [בפיהו]… their throat [גרונם] is an open grave; their tongue [לשונם] smooths” (5:10).
  • Ps 12: “smooth lips [שפתי חלקות]… a tongue [לשון] speaking great things” (12:4); “to our tongue [ללשוננו] we will prevail” (12:5). 
  Identical nouns (לשון; also שפתים) recur with the same vice (deceptive speech).
- “Words” as a theological counterpoint (אמר/אמרות):
  • Ps 5 opens with the suppliant’s “my words” אֲמָרַי (5:2).
  • Ps 12 climaxes with “the words of YHWH are pure words” אִמֲרוֹת יְהוָה… אֲמָרוֹת טְהֹרוֹת (12:7), immediately after “says YHWH” יֹאמַר יְהוָה (12:6).
  The movement is from human words presented to God (Ps 5) to God’s answering words (Ps 12).
- Judgment on speech:
  • Ps 5: “You destroy speakers of lies” תְּאַבֵּד דֹּבְרֵי כָזָב (5:7).
  • Ps 12: “May YHWH cut off all smooth lips… the tongue that speaks great things” יַכְרֵת יְהוָה כָּל־שִׂפְתֵי חֲלָקוֹת לָשׁוֹן מְדַבֶּרֶת גְּדֹלוֹת (12:4).
  Same target (lying/boastful speech), now with the cutting-off formula.
- Protection vocabulary and “surrounding”:
  • Ps 5: “You cover over them” תָּסֵךְ עָלֵימוֹ and “as a shield you surround him with favor” כַּצִּנָּה רָצוֹן תַּעְטְרֶנּוּ (5:12–13).
  • Ps 12: “You, YHWH, will keep them” אַתָּה יְהוָה תִּשְׁמְרֵם; “You will guard us” תִּצְּרֶנּוּ (12:8).
  Different verbs, same semantic field: divine encirclement/preservation amid wicked speech.
- Temporal refrain “forever” לעולם:
  • Ps 5: “Let them ever rejoice” לְעוֹלָם יְרַנֵּנוּ (5:12).
  • Ps 12: “You will guard us from this generation forever” מִן־הַדּוֹר זוּ לְעוֹלָם (12:8).
  Both close by projecting protection/joy into perpetuity.
- Righteous/devout word-field:
  • Ps 5: “You bless the righteous” צַדִּיק (5:13), “in the abundance of your kindness” בְּרֹב חַסְדֶּךָ (5:8).
  • Ps 12: “The devout [חָסִיד] has ceased… the trustworthy [אֱמוּנִים] have vanished” (12:2).
  Same covenantal vocabulary (חסד/חסיד/אמונים), now with the crisis that motivates God’s arising.

Medium-significance links (same idea or common lexemes, but less marked)
- Wickedness set against YHWH:
  • Ps 5: “You are not a God who delights in wickedness [רֶשַׁע]” (5:5), “they have rebelled against you” מָרוּ בָךְ (5:11).
  • Ps 12: “All around the wicked walk” סָבִיב רְשָׁעִים יִתְהַלָּכוּן (12:9).
- Postures/movement of the wicked:
  • Ps 5: “the boastful shall not stand [לא יתיצבו] before your eyes” (5:6).
  • Ps 12: “the wicked walk about [יתהלכון]” (12:9).
  A shared moral-kinetic metaphor (standing vs. strutting about) marking the impudence of the wicked.
- Boast vs. YHWH’s kingship:
  • Ps 5: “my King and my God” מַלְכִּי וֵאלֹהָי (5:3).
  • Ps 12: the wicked say, “Who is lord over us?” מִי אָדוֹן לָנוּ (12:5).
  The defiant anti-lordship claim in Ps 12 answers the kingship claim in Ps 5.

3) Form and stylistic parallels
- Superscriptions: Both are “למנצח … מזמור לדוד,” each with an instrumental tag (“על הנחילות” Ps 5; “על השמינית” Ps 12). That common performance frame makes a back-to-back liturgical use plausible.
- Genre sequence: Ps 5 is an individual lament with imprecation and a trust/blessing conclusion; Ps 12 is a communal lament (note the plural preserving “them/us” in 12:8) featuring an embedded divine oracle (12:6–7). It is natural for a private morning lament to be followed by a communal complaint and an oracle of assurance.
- Sound/play parallels: Ps 5 duplicates “בֹקֶר … בֹקֶר” (5:4), while Ps 12 duplicates “בְּלֵב וָלֵב” (12:3) and tightly clusters alliteration around lips/tongue. Both psalms are rhetorically crafted around speech/hearing.

4) A plausible life-setting sequence
- Morning temple prayer: Ps 5 explicitly locates itself at daybreak and in relation to the sanctuary (“I will enter your house… bow toward your holy temple,” 5:8). The speaker lays out his case and waits (ואצפה).
- Social crisis heard during the day: Ps 12 reflects a public crisis of speech—boasting elites, perjury, and oppression of the poor (“from the plundering of the poor… from the groaning of the needy,” 12:6). In such a setting, an oracle—perhaps delivered by a priest/prophet/cultic official—answers the morning plea: “Now I will arise, says YHWH” (12:6), promising preservation (12:8). Thus Ps 12 reads naturally as the day’s “answer psalm” to the morning’s “watching” psalm.

5) Where the links are strongest (if you need just a few points)
- The חלק “smooth/flattering” speech nexus with mouth terms (Ps 5:10 ↔ Ps 12:3–5) is a highly significant, distinctive bridge.
- “I arrange and watch” (Ps 5:4) ↔ “Now I arise, says YHWH” (Ps 12:6) provides a clean prayer–oracle sequence.
- Judgment on lying speech (Ps 5:7, 11) ↔ explicit sentence “cut off… lips” (Ps 12:4).
- Protection imagery (cover/shield/surround in Ps 5:12–13) ↔ keep/guard forever in Ps 12:8.

Conclusion
Read this way, Psalm 12 is not just thematically similar to Psalm 5; it advances Psalm 5’s morning lament into a divine response that targets the very vice Psalm 5 highlighted—deceitful, flattering speech—and seals the movement from petition and waiting to judgment and preservation. The shared and distinctive lexemes (especially the חלק/לשון/שפת field), the prayer–oracle logic, and the matched protection promises make the sequencing compelling.

Evaluation

Score: 6.0

Evaluated at: 2025-11-13T03:55:55 (UTC)

Evaluator model: gpt-5

Evaluator version: v2

Reasoning: 3072 Output: 5516 Total: 8588

Vocabulary specificity: 5.0 / 10

Multiple precise, verified links (חלק/tongue cluster; אמרי→אמרות; judgment-to-oracle; guarding lexemes) support a prayer–oracle progression. However, speech motifs and protection language recur elsewhere; superscriptional similarity is generic; Ps 12’s non-adjacency weakens sequencing.

Prompt

Consider Psalm 5 and Psalm 12 (reproduced below). What arguments could you make to justify that Psalm 12 logically follows on from Psalm 5? 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 5:
Psalm 5
1. לַמְנַצֵּ֥חַ
        אֶֽל־
        הַנְּחִיל֗וֹת
        מִזְמ֥וֹר
        לְדָוִֽד׃
2. אֲמָרַ֖י
        הַאֲזִ֥ינָה ׀
        יְהוָ֗ה
        בִּ֣ינָה
        הֲגִֽיגִי׃
3. הַקְשִׁ֤יבָה ׀
        לְק֬וֹל
        שַׁוְעִ֗י
        מַלְכִּ֥י
        וֵאלֹהָ֑י
        כִּֽי־
        אֵ֝לֶ֗יךָ
        אֶתְפַּלָּֽל׃
4. יְֽהוָ֗ה
        בֹּ֭קֶר
        תִּשְׁמַ֣ע
        קוֹלִ֑י
        בֹּ֥קֶר
        אֶֽעֱרָךְ־
        לְ֝ךָ֗
        וַאֲצַפֶּֽה׃
5. כִּ֤י ׀
        לֹ֤א
        אֵֽל־
        חָפֵ֘ץ
        רֶ֥שַׁע ׀
        אָ֑תָּה
        לֹ֖א
        יְגֻרְךָ֣
        רָֽע׃
6. לֹֽא־
        יִתְיַצְּב֣וּ
        הֽ֭וֹלְלִים
        לְנֶ֣גֶד
        עֵינֶ֑יךָ
        שָׂ֝נֵ֗אתָ
        כָּל־
        פֹּ֥עֲלֵי
        אָֽוֶן׃
7. תְּאַבֵּד֮
        דֹּבְרֵ֢י
        כָ֫זָ֥ב
        אִישׁ־
        דָּמִ֥ים
        וּמִרְמָ֗ה
        יְתָ֘עֵ֥ב ׀
        יְהוָֽה׃
8. וַאֲנִ֗י
        בְּרֹ֣ב
        חַ֭סְדְּךָ
        אָב֣וֹא
        בֵיתֶ֑ךָ
        אֶשְׁתַּחֲוֶ֥ה
        אֶל־
        הֵֽיכַל־
        קָ֝דְשְׁךָ֗
        בְּיִרְאָתֶֽךָ׃
9. יְהוָ֤ה ׀
        נְחֵ֬נִי
        בְצִדְקָתֶ֗ךָ
        לְמַ֥עַן
        שׁוֹרְרָ֑י
        הושר
        הַיְשַׁ֖ר
        לְפָנַ֣י
        דַּרְכֶּֽךָ׃
10. כִּ֤י
        אֵ֪ין
        בְּפִ֡יהוּ
        נְכוֹנָה֮
        קִרְבָּ֢ם
        הַ֫וּ֥וֹת
        קֶֽבֶר־
        פָּת֥וּחַ
        גְּרוֹנָ֑ם
        לְ֝שׁוֹנָ֗ם
        יַחֲלִֽיקוּן׃
11. הַֽאֲשִׁימֵ֨ם ׀
        אֱ‍ֽלֹהִ֗ים
        יִפְּלוּ֮
        מִֽמֹּעֲצ֢וֹתֵ֫יהֶ֥ם
        בְּרֹ֣ב
        פִּ֭שְׁעֵיהֶם
        הַדִּיחֵ֑מוֹ
        כִּי־
        מָ֥רוּ
        בָֽךְ׃
12. וְיִשְׂמְח֨וּ
        כָל־
        ח֪וֹסֵי
        בָ֡ךְ
        לְעוֹלָ֣ם
        יְ֭רַנֵּנוּ
        וְתָסֵ֣ךְ
        עָלֵ֑ימוֹ
        וְֽיַעְלְצ֥וּ
        בְ֝ךָ֗
        אֹהֲבֵ֥י
        שְׁמֶֽךָ׃
13. כִּֽי־
        אַתָּה֮
        תְּבָרֵ֢ךְ
        צַ֫דִּ֥יק
        יְהוָ֑ה
        כַּ֝צִּנָּ֗ה
        רָצ֥וֹן
        תַּעְטְרֶֽנּוּ׃

Psalm 12:
Psalm 12
1. לַמְנַצֵּ֥חַ
        עַֽל־
        הַשְּׁמִינִ֗ית
        מִזְמ֥וֹר
        לְדָוִֽד׃
2. הוֹשִׁ֣יעָה
        יְ֭הוָה
        כִּי־
        גָמַ֣ר
        חָסִ֑יד
        כִּי־
        פַ֥סּוּ
        אֱ֝מוּנִ֗ים
        מִבְּנֵ֥י
        אָדָֽם׃
3. שָׁ֤וְא ׀
        יְֽדַבְּרוּ֮
        אִ֤ישׁ
        אֶת־
        רֵ֫עֵ֥הוּ
        שְׂפַ֥ת
        חֲלָק֑וֹת
        בְּלֵ֖ב
        וָלֵ֣ב
        יְדַבֵּֽרוּ׃
4. יַכְרֵ֣ת
        יְ֭הוָה
        כָּל־
        שִׂפְתֵ֣י
        חֲלָק֑וֹת
        לָ֝שׁ֗וֹן
        מְדַבֶּ֥רֶת
        גְּדֹלֽוֹת׃
5. אֲשֶׁ֤ר
        אָֽמְר֨וּ ׀
        לִלְשֹׁנֵ֣נוּ
        נַ֭גְבִּיר
        שְׂפָתֵ֣ינוּ
        אִתָּ֑נוּ
        מִ֖י
        אָד֣וֹן
        לָֽנוּ׃
6. מִשֹּׁ֥ד
        עֲנִיִּים֮
        מֵאַנְקַ֢ת
        אֶבְי֫וֹנִ֥ים
        עַתָּ֣ה
        אָ֭קוּם
        יֹאמַ֣ר
        יְהוָ֑ה
        אָשִׁ֥ית
        בְּ֝יֵ֗שַׁע
        יָפִ֥יחַֽ
        לֽוֹ׃
7. אִֽמֲר֣וֹת
        יְהוָה֮
        אֲמָר֢וֹת
        טְהֹ֫ר֥וֹת
        כֶּ֣סֶף
        צָ֭רוּף
        בַּעֲלִ֣יל
        לָאָ֑רֶץ
        מְ֝זֻקָּ֗ק
        שִׁבְעָתָֽיִם׃
8. אַתָּֽה־
        יְהוָ֥ה
        תִּשְׁמְרֵ֑ם
        תִּצְּרֶ֓נּוּ ׀
        מִן־
        הַדּ֖וֹר
        ז֣וּ
        לְעוֹלָֽם׃
9. סָבִ֗יב
        רְשָׁעִ֥ים
        יִתְהַלָּכ֑וּן
        כְּרֻ֥ם
        זֻ֝לּ֗וּת
        לִבְנֵ֥י
        אָדָֽם׃