Psalm 5 → 137
Reasoning: 7744 Output: 4286 Total: 12030
Argument
Here are lines of argument you could use to claim that Psalm 137 “logically follows” Psalm 5 in a thematic/editorial sense, even though they sit far apart in the canonical collection. 1) From temple worship to exile: a narrative arc that makes 137 follow 5 - Psalm 5 is a temple-centered morning lament/prayer by an individual: “In the morning you hear my voice… I will enter your house… I will bow toward your holy temple” (5:4, 8). - Psalm 137 is a communal lament in exile without access to the temple: “By the rivers of Babylon… we hung up our lyres… How can we sing the song of YHWH on foreign soil?” (137:1–4). - Read together, 137 looks like the historical sequel to 5: the worshiper of 5 who expects to go to the house/temple (בית, היכל) reappears in 137 as the community that can no longer go, can no longer properly sing, and must remember Jerusalem/Zion from afar. That is, 137 dramatizes the tragic scenario that 5 implicitly wishes to avoid. 2) Music and performance: 137 answers the musical preface of 5 - Psalm 5’s superscription is unusually specific musically: למנצח אל־הנחילות “For the director; on the nehiloth (flutes/wind instruments).” הנחילות is a rare term (hapax in superscriptions). - Psalm 137 pivots on instruments and singing: תלינו כנרותינו “we hung up our lyres,” and the repeated שיר “sing”/“song” (137:3–4). - Thematically, Psalm 137 reads as the negation of the performance setting implied in Psalm 5: a psalm written “for the director” and “for flutes” is followed by a psalm in which instruments are silenced and singing the “Song of YHWH” (שיר יהוה) is declared improper in a foreign land. So 137 functions as an anti-performance sequel to the performance-ready 5. 3) “Song/joy” field: expectation in 5 versus impossibility in 137 - Psalm 5 ends with confident worship language: “Let all who take refuge in you rejoice (וישמחו)… forever they will sing out (ירננו)… let them exult (יעלצו)” (5:12). - Psalm 137 uses the same semantic field but in reversal: captors demand “words of song” (דברי־שיר) and “joy” (שמחה), and the community refuses: “How shall we sing (נשיר) the song of YHWH…?” (137:3–4). Jerusalem must be set “above my joy” (על ראש שמחתי; 137:6). - The root שמח appears in both (5:12; 137:3, 6), but 137 problematizes the joy/singing that 5 anticipates. That makes 137 a later-stage response to the earlier prayerful confidence of 5. 4) Speech organs and the tongue: a pointed lexical link - Psalm 5 denounces the enemies’ speech: “their tongue (לשונם) smooths” (5:10), “their throat (גרונם) is an open grave.” - Psalm 137 features a self-imposed speech-constraint: “Let my tongue (לשוני) stick to my palate if I do not remember you” (137:6). - The identical noun לשון with pronominal suffix (לשונם vs. לשוני) and the shared speech-body imagery tighten the connection. In 5 the wicked misuse the tongue; in 137 the faithful are ready to silence the tongue rather than misuse it by singing YHWH’s song in the wrong place. 5) Enemies and imprecation: general in 5, concrete in 137 - Psalm 5 condemns the wicked in general terms: “workers of iniquity” (פועלי און), “a man of blood and deceit” (איש דמים ומרמה), “destroy… hold them guilty… cast them out” (תאבד… האשימם… הדיחמו; 5:7, 11). - Psalm 137 names the historical agents of wickedness and invokes retributive justice: Edom and Babylon (137:7–9), “Blessed is he who repays you (שישלם) your recompense (גמולך) which you repaid to us” (137:8). - Thus 137 reads like an historical fulfillment and specification of the imprecation of 5: the “blood/deceit” types of 5 now have names (Edom/Babylon), and the requested judgment is articulated in the measure-for-measure language of גמל/שלם. 6) Zion/Temple theology: from access to loss (and memory) - Psalm 5 stresses approach to sacred space: “I will enter your house… I will bow toward your holy temple” (5:8). - Psalm 137 centers on the memory and primacy of Zion/Jerusalem when access is lost: “when we remembered Zion… If I forget you, O Jerusalem… If I do not set Jerusalem above my chief joy” (137:1, 5–6). - Thematically, 137 follows 5 by showing what fidelity looks like when the house/temple of 5 is absent: memory, refusal to profane worship, and appeal for divine remembrance (זכר יהוה; 137:7). 7) Form-critical continuity: lament → imprecation trajectory - Psalm 5 (individual lament) moves from complaint and petition to imprecation (5:11) and ends with confidence/blessing (5:12–13). - Psalm 137 (communal lament) follows the same overall arc: complaint (vv. 1–4), vow/curse (vv. 5–6), imprecation (vv. 7–9). - Read sequentially, 137 carries forward the lament-imprecation structure of 5 from a personal to a national scale; the “logic” of the form is preserved and escalated. 8) “Those who take refuge in you” in 5 become the faithful remnant of 137 - Psalm 5 blesses “all who take refuge in you” (כל־חוסי בך; 5:12) and “those who love your name” (אהבי שמך; 5:12). - Psalm 137 shows what such fidelity entails under duress: refusing to cheapen YHWH’s song for tormentors (תוללינו), binding the tongue if necessary, and elevating Jerusalem over all joy. The community of 137 is precisely the kind of “refuge-taking” and “name-loving” group envisioned in 5. 9) Additional lexical/semantic ties (smaller but cumulative) - שיר “song” (137:3–4) and the cognate field רנן/עלץ/שמח in 5:12 (songs of rejoicing versus prohibited song). - דבר “words” (דברי־כזב, 5:7; דברי־שיר, 137:3): speech acts contrasted—false words of the wicked versus demanded “words of song.” - Head/crowning imagery: Psalm 5 ends with “You surround/crown (תעטרנו) the righteous with favor like a shield” (5:13), an image that implies the head; Psalm 137:6 explicitly features “on the head/top of my joy” (על ראש שמחתי). Not the same root, but the head/encircling axis resonates. 10) Life-cycle and cultic logic shared in Israel’s story - Daily piety: Psalm 5’s morning prayer and temple approach reflect ordinary covenant worship. - Catastrophe and diaspora: Psalm 137 reflects the historical collapse of that routine (586 BCE), where the only faithful “performance” left is memory and imprecation. - As an editorial/theological sequence, 137 naturally follows 5: from the ideal of ordered worship under divine protection to the reality of exile that tests that loyalty and calls for God’s just remembrance. In sum: the two psalms share a strong cluster of connections—musical vocabulary and performance frame, the singing/joy field, explicit tongue/speech imagery, lament-to-imprecation structure, temple/Zion ideology, and the move from generic “wicked” to named imperial foes. Taken together, these make a coherent case that Psalm 137 can be read as the historical, communal follow-on to the individual, temple-centered plea of Psalm 5.
Evaluation
Score: 6.5
Evaluated at: 2025-11-17T04:03:45 (UTC)
Evaluator model: gpt-5
Evaluator version: v2
Reasoning: 2624 Output: 5117 Total: 7741
Checklist
- Has verse refs: Yes
- Factual error detected: No
- Only generic motifs: No
- Counterargument considered: No
- LXX/MT numbering acknowledged: No
Vocabulary specificity: 5.0 / 10
Multiple precise links: temple access (5:8) vs exile silence (137:1–4), rare nehiloth superscription versus instrument hang-up (137:2), shared tongue (5:10; 137:6) and joy/sing lexemes. Yet motifs are common; no editorial markers.
Prompt
Consider Psalm 5 and Psalm 137 (reproduced below). What arguments could you make to justify that Psalm 137 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 137:
Psalm 137
1. עַ֥ל
נַהֲר֨וֹת ׀
בָּבֶ֗ל
שָׁ֣ם
יָ֭שַׁבְנוּ
גַּם־
בָּכִ֑ינוּ
בְּ֝זָכְרֵ֗נוּ
אֶת־
צִיּֽוֹן׃
2. עַֽל־
עֲרָבִ֥ים
בְּתוֹכָ֑הּ
תָּ֝לִ֗ינוּ
כִּנֹּרוֹתֵֽינוּ׃
3. כִּ֤י
שָׁ֨ם
שְֽׁאֵל֪וּנוּ
שׁוֹבֵ֡ינוּ
דִּבְרֵי־
שִׁ֭יר
וְתוֹלָלֵ֣ינוּ
שִׂמְחָ֑ה
שִׁ֥ירוּ
לָ֝֗נוּ
מִשִּׁ֥יר
צִיּֽוֹן׃
4. אֵ֗יךְ
נָשִׁ֥יר
אֶת־
שִׁיר־
יְהוָ֑ה
עַ֝֗ל
אַדְמַ֥ת
נֵכָֽר׃
5. אִֽם־
אֶשְׁכָּחֵ֥ךְ
יְֽרוּשָׁלִָ֗ם
תִּשְׁכַּ֥ח
יְמִינִֽי׃
6. תִּדְבַּֽק־
לְשׁוֹנִ֨י ׀
לְחִכִּי֮
אִם־
לֹ֢א
אֶזְכְּ֫רֵ֥כִי
אִם־
לֹ֣א
אַ֭עֲלֶה
אֶת־
יְרוּשָׁלִַ֑ם
עַ֝֗ל
רֹ֣אשׁ
שִׂמְחָתִֽי׃
7. זְכֹ֤ר
יְהוָ֨ה ׀
לִבְנֵ֬י
אֱד֗וֹם
אֵת֮
י֤וֹם
יְֽרוּשָׁ֫לִָ֥ם
הָ֭אֹ֣מְרִים
עָ֤רוּ ׀
עָ֑רוּ
עָ֝֗ד
הַיְס֥וֹד
בָּֽהּ׃
8. בַּת־
בָּבֶ֗ל
הַשְּׁד֫וּדָ֥ה
אַשְׁרֵ֥י
שֶׁיְשַׁלֶּם־
לָ֑ךְ
אֶת־
גְּ֝מוּלֵ֗ךְ
שֶׁגָּמַ֥לְתְּ
לָֽנוּ׃
9. אַשְׁרֵ֤י ׀
שֶׁיֹּאחֵ֓ז
וְנִפֵּ֬ץ
אֶֽת־
עֹלָלַ֗יִךְ
אֶל־
הַסָּֽלַע׃