Psalm 7 → 55
Reasoning: 7872 Output: 6130 Total: 14002
Argument
Here are several ways to argue that Psalm 55 can be read as logically continuing the line of thought and experience set out in Psalm 7. 1) A plausible “life-of-David” sequencing - Psalm 7’s superscription locates it “about the words of Cush the Benjamite,” naturally read against David’s early conflict with Saul’s Benjamite circle (external persecution, wilderness flight). - Psalm 55 presupposes an urban royal setting (“in the house of God we walked together in the throng,” 55:15; “violence and strife in the city,” 55:10), and the betrayal of a close counselor (55:14–15, 21–22), classically linked to the Absalom–Ahithophel episode. That is a later episode in David’s life. - Thus, Psalm 55 can be heard as the next stage after Psalm 7: the persecuted fugitive (Psalm 7) becomes the established ruler in the city who now faces inner-court treachery (Psalm 55). 2) Form-critical/compositional progression - Both are individual laments that move through complaint → plea → imprecation → confidence. Psalm 7 ends with a doxological pledge (7:18), Psalm 55 ends with a wisdom-like exhortation (“Cast your burden on YHWH,” 55:23) plus renewed trust (55:24). - The shift from the raw, impulsive shiggayon (שִׁגָּיוֹן, Ps 7) to a didactic, accompanied maskil (מַשְׂכִּיל… בִּנְגִינוֹת, Ps 55:1) fits a literary “next step”: from a personal oath-plea to reflective instruction for others on how to handle betrayal. 3) Rare or marked lexemes and images that reappear (the strongest lexical thread) - שַחַת “pit/destruction” (rare compared to common words) occurs in both with judicial force: • Psalm 7:16 “fell into the pit (שַׁחַת) he made.” • Psalm 55:24 “You will bring them down to the pit of destruction (שַׁחַת).” This is a striking, direct link: Psalm 7 states the retributive principle; Psalm 55 pronounces its execution. - The “downward” judgment verb ירד paired with that fate: • Psalm 7:17 “his violence will descend (יֵרֵד) on his head.” • Psalm 55:16 “Let them go down (יֵרְדוּ) alive to Sheol.” Same root + same judgment motion. - The triad of moral-violence terms reappears as a marked cluster: • אָוֶן “iniquity”: Ps 7:15; Ps 55:4, 11. • עָמָל “trouble/wicked mischief”: Ps 7:15; Ps 55:11. • חָמָס “violence”: Ps 7:17; Ps 55:10. These are not the most common everyday words; their clustering in both psalms strengthens intertextual linkage and continuity of theme: the same kind of moral world and the same kind of wickedness are in view. - Salvation language from the root י-ש-ע recurs: • Psalm 7:2 הוֹשִׁיעֵנִי “save me.” • Psalm 55:17 יְהוָה יוֹשִׁיעֵנִי “YHWH will save me.” The later psalm voices the confidence that the earlier plea anticipates. - Refuge/deliverance field: • Psalm 7:2 “In you I take refuge… save me… deliver me (וְהַצִּילֵנִי).” • Psalm 55:9 “I would hasten to my refuge (מִפְלָט)…,” and 55:19 “He redeemed (פָּדָה) my life in peace.” - Tsaddiq-theme across both: • Psalm 7:11–12 “God is a righteous judge (שׁוֹפֵט צַדִּיק)…” • Psalm 55:23 “…He will never let the righteous (לַצַּדִּיק) be moved.” Psalm 7 declares God’s righteous judicial character; Psalm 55 applies that to the righteous person’s stability. 4) Imagery of “weapons” reinterpreted across the pair - Psalm 7 pictures the wicked with literal weaponry: “He sharpens his sword… bends his bow… prepares instruments of death; his arrows…” (7:13–14). - Psalm 55 shows the betrayal-violence transposed into rhetorical-weapons: “His words are smoother than oil, yet they are drawn swords (פְּתִחוֹת)” (55:22). The later psalm “follows” by showing the same homicidal intent now cloaked in diplomacy and covenant language (55:21–22), which matches the move from open, external enemies (Psalm 7) to insider treachery (Psalm 55). 5) Innerness and divine discernment carried forward - Psalm 7 emphasizes God as the tester of interior life: “the One who examines hearts and kidneys (בֹּחֵן לִבּוֹת וּכְלָיוֹת), God the righteous” (7:10). - Psalm 55 highlights the wicked’s duplicitous interior: “war is in his heart (וּקְרָב לִבּוֹ)… his words smoother than oil” (55:22). The thematic link is that the God who tests the inner person (Psalm 7) is precisely the one needed when the enemy’s malice is hidden inside the heart (Psalm 55). 6) Judicial scene and assembly/house motifs - Psalm 7 summons the cosmic court: “You commanded judgment… let the assembly of the peoples surround you; over it return on high” (7:7–8). This is the high judicial enthronement context. - Psalm 55 transposes that into the earthly city and cultic space: “In the house of God we walked in throng” (55:15), while the city itself seethes with “violence and strife” and “deceit” (55:10–12). In narrative logic: having invoked God’s court in Psalm 7, Psalm 55 shows the forensic issues playing out on the ground in Zion, with God still enthroned of old (יוֹשֵׁב קֶדֶם, 55:20). 7) Imperative appeals that escalate to imprecation - Psalm 7 clusters imperatives to rouse divine action against enemies: קוּמָה… הִנָּשֵׂא… עוּרָה (7:7). - Psalm 55 echoes with pointed imperatives: “Swallow up, Lord! (בַּלַּע), divide their tongue! (פַּלַּג)” (55:10). The second psalm “follows” by specifying the judgment requested—fitting a betrayal in which divided tongues and duplicitous speech are the weapons. 8) Time-comprehensiveness as theological continuity - Psalm 7:12 “God is angry every day (בְּכָל־יוֹם).” - Psalm 55:18 “Evening, morning, and noon I lament…” Both underscore continual divine governance and continual appeal—another subtle thread of continuity. 9) From personal oath to communal instruction - Psalm 7 contains an oath of clearance and self-curse if guilty (7:4–6). This is lawsuit language. - Psalm 55 culminates in a proverbial instruction for all sufferers: “Cast your burden on YHWH and he will sustain you” (55:23). Reading 55 after 7 presents the natural didactic turn: having staked innocence and seen God’s justice (Psalm 7), the psalmist now teaches others how to live under betrayal (Psalm 55). 10) The retributive principle stated and then applied - Stated in Psalm 7: The evildoer conceives iniquity, digs a pit, and falls into it; his violence returns on his own head (7:15–17). - Applied in Psalm 55: The treacherous companion who violates covenant (55:21) is consigned to the pit (שַׁחַת) and will not reach half his days (55:24). The exact noun שַׁחַת and the descent verb ירד bind the two psalms’ judgments together. Bottom line A coherent reading sequence emerges: Psalm 7 frames the moral-judicial world (God the righteous judge; retributive justice; the plea of a hunted innocent). Psalm 55 shows that world at work inside the city and the cultic community, where betrayal is verbal and covenantal rather than purely military. The most compelling links are the rare/shared judgment vocabulary (שַׁחַת; ירד + שחת; the cluster אָוֶן/עָמָל/חָמָס), the matching movement from plea to imprecation to trust, and the way Psalm 55’s wisdom exhortation (“Cast your burden…”) naturally follows Psalm 7’s legal plea and vow of praise.
Evaluation
Score: 6.8
Evaluated at: 2025-11-24T04:13:15 (UTC)
Evaluator model: gpt-5
Evaluator version: v2
Reasoning: 3072 Output: 6966 Total: 10038
Checklist
- Has verse refs: Yes
- Factual error detected: No
- Only generic motifs: No
- Counterargument considered: No
- LXX/MT numbering acknowledged: No
Vocabulary specificity: 4.5 / 10
Strong, specific links (שחת + ירד; אָוֶן/עָמָל/חָמָס cluster; weapon-to-words; matching imperatives) with correct refs and coherent progression. Yet vocabulary is common, no editorial signal, and counterarguments unaddressed—so not beyond moderate strength.
Prompt
Consider Psalm 7 and Psalm 55 (reproduced below). What arguments could you make to justify that Psalm 55 logically follows on from Psalm 7? 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 7:
Psalm 7
1. שִׁגָּי֗וֹן
לְדָ֫וִ֥ד
אֲשֶׁר־
שָׁ֥ר
לַיהוָ֑ה
עַל־
דִּבְרֵי־
כ֝֗וּשׁ
בֶּן־
יְמִינִֽי׃
2. יְהוָ֣ה
אֱ֭לֹהַי
בְּךָ֣
חָסִ֑יתִי
הוֹשִׁיעֵ֥נִי
מִכָּל־
רֹ֝דְפַ֗י
וְהַצִּילֵֽנִי׃
3. פֶּן־
יִטְרֹ֣ף
כְּאַרְיֵ֣ה
נַפְשִׁ֑י
פֹּ֝רֵ֗ק
וְאֵ֣ין
מַצִּֽיל׃
4. יְהוָ֣ה
אֱ֭לֹהַי
אִם־
עָשִׂ֣יתִי
זֹ֑את
אִֽם־
יֶשׁ־
עָ֥וֶל
בְּכַפָּֽי׃
5. אִם־
גָּ֭מַלְתִּי
שֽׁוֹלְמִ֥י
רָ֑ע
וָאֲחַלְּצָ֖ה
צוֹרְרִ֣י
רֵיקָֽם׃
6. יִֽרַדֹּ֥ף
אוֹיֵ֨ב ׀
נַפְשִׁ֡י
וְיַשֵּׂ֗ג
וְיִרְמֹ֣ס
לָאָ֣רֶץ
חַיָּ֑י
וּכְבוֹדִ֓י ׀
לֶעָפָ֖ר
יַשְׁכֵּ֣ן
סֶֽלָה׃
7. ק֘וּמָ֤ה
יְהוָ֨ה ׀
בְּאַפֶּ֗ךָ
הִ֭נָּשֵׂא
בְּעַבְר֣וֹת
צוֹרְרָ֑י
וְע֥וּרָה
אֵ֝לַ֗י
מִשְׁפָּ֥ט
צִוִּֽיתָ׃
8. וַעֲדַ֣ת
לְ֭אֻמִּים
תְּסוֹבְבֶ֑ךָּ
וְ֝עָלֶ֗יהָ
לַמָּר֥וֹם
שֽׁוּבָה׃
9. יְהוָה֮
יָדִ֢ין
עַ֫מִּ֥ים
שָׁפְטֵ֥נִי
יְהוָ֑ה
כְּצִדְקִ֖י
וּכְתֻמִּ֣י
עָלָֽי׃
10. יִגְמָר־
נָ֬א
רַ֨ע ׀
רְשָׁעִים֮
וּתְכוֹנֵ֢ן
צַ֫דִּ֥יק
וּבֹחֵ֣ן
לִ֭בּ֗וֹת
וּכְלָי֗וֹת
אֱלֹהִ֥ים
צַדִּֽיק׃
11. מָֽגִנִּ֥י
עַל־
אֱלֹהִ֑ים
מ֝וֹשִׁ֗יעַ
יִשְׁרֵי־
לֵֽב׃
12. אֱ֭לֹהִים
שׁוֹפֵ֣ט
צַדִּ֑יק
וְ֝אֵ֗ל
זֹעֵ֥ם
בְּכָל־
יֽוֹם׃
13. אִם־
לֹ֣א
יָ֭שׁוּב
חַרְבּ֣וֹ
יִלְט֑וֹשׁ
קַשְׁתּ֥וֹ
דָ֝רַ֗ךְ
וַֽיְכוֹנְנֶֽהָ׃
14. וְ֭לוֹ
הֵכִ֣ין
כְּלֵי־
מָ֑וֶת
חִ֝צָּ֗יו
לְֽדֹלְקִ֥ים
יִפְעָֽל׃
15. הִנֵּ֥ה
יְחַבֶּל־
אָ֑וֶן
וְהָרָ֥ה
עָ֝מָ֗ל
וְיָ֣לַד
שָֽׁקֶר׃
16. בּ֣וֹר
כָּ֭רָֽה
וַֽיַּחְפְּרֵ֑הוּ
וַ֝יִּפֹּ֗ל
בְּשַׁ֣חַת
יִפְעָֽל׃
17. יָשׁ֣וּב
עֲמָל֣וֹ
בְרֹאשׁ֑וֹ
וְעַ֥ל
קָ֝דְקֳד֗וֹ
חֲמָס֥וֹ
יֵרֵֽד׃
18. אוֹדֶ֣ה
יְהוָ֣ה
כְּצִדְק֑וֹ
וַ֝אֲזַמְּרָ֗ה
שֵֽׁם־
יְהוָ֥ה
עֶלְיֽוֹן׃
Psalm 55:
Psalm 55
1. לַמְנַצֵּ֥חַ
בִּנְגִינֹ֗ת
מַשְׂכִּ֥יל
לְדָוִֽד׃
2. הַאֲזִ֣ינָה
אֱ֭לֹהִים
תְּפִלָּתִ֑י
וְאַל־
תִּ֝תְעַלַּ֗ם
מִתְּחִנָּתִֽי׃
3. הַקְשִׁ֣יבָה
לִּ֣י
וַעֲנֵ֑נִי
אָרִ֖יד
בְּשִׂיחִ֣י
וְאָהִֽימָה׃
4. מִקּ֤וֹל
אוֹיֵ֗ב
מִפְּנֵ֣י
עָקַ֣ת
רָשָׁ֑ע
כִּי־
יָמִ֥יטוּ
עָלַ֥י
אָ֝֗וֶן
וּבְאַ֥ף
יִשְׂטְמֽוּנִי׃
5. לִ֭בִּי
יָחִ֣יל
בְּקִרְבִּ֑י
וְאֵימ֥וֹת
מָ֝֗וֶת
נָפְל֥וּ
עָלָֽי׃
6. יִרְאָ֣ה
וָ֭רַעַד
יָ֣בֹא
בִ֑י
וַ֝תְּכַסֵּ֗נִי
פַּלָּצֽוּת׃
7. וָאֹמַ֗ר
מִֽי־
יִתֶּן־
לִּ֣י
אֵ֭בֶר
כַּיּוֹנָ֗ה
אָע֥וּפָה
וְאֶשְׁכֹּֽנָה׃
8. הִ֭נֵּה
אַרְחִ֣יק
נְדֹ֑ד
אָלִ֖ין
בַּמִּדְבָּ֣ר
סֶֽלָה׃
9. אָחִ֣ישָׁה
מִפְלָ֣ט
לִ֑י
מֵר֖וּחַ
סֹעָ֣ה
מִסָּֽעַר׃
10. בַּלַּ֣ע
אֲ֭דֹנָי
פַּלַּ֣ג
לְשׁוֹנָ֑ם
כִּֽי־
רָאִ֨יתִי
חָמָ֖ס
וְרִ֣יב
בָּעִֽיר׃
11. יוֹמָ֤ם
וָלַ֗יְלָה
יְסוֹבְבֻ֥הָ
עַל־
חוֹמֹתֶ֑יהָ
וְאָ֖וֶן
וְעָמָ֣ל
בְּקִרְבָּֽהּ׃
12. הַוּ֥וֹת
בְּקִרְבָּ֑הּ
וְֽלֹא־
יָמִ֥ישׁ
מֵ֝רְחֹבָ֗הּ
תֹּ֣ךְ
וּמִרְמָֽה׃
13. כִּ֤י
לֹֽא־
אוֹיֵ֥ב
יְחָֽרְפֵ֗נִי
וְאֶ֫שָּׂ֥א
לֹֽא־
מְ֭שַׂנְאִי
עָלַ֣י
הִגְדִּ֑יל
וְאֶסָּתֵ֥ר
מִמֶּֽנּוּ׃
14. וְאַתָּ֣ה
אֱנ֣וֹשׁ
כְּעֶרְכִּ֑י
אַ֝לּוּפִ֗י
וּמְיֻדָּֽעִי׃
15. אֲשֶׁ֣ר
יַ֭חְדָּו
נַמְתִּ֣יק
ס֑וֹד
בְּבֵ֥ית
אֱ֝לֹהִ֗ים
נְהַלֵּ֥ךְ
בְּרָֽגֶשׁ׃
16. ישימות
יַשִּׁ֤י
מָ֨וֶת ׀
עָלֵ֗ימוֹ
יֵרְד֣וּ
שְׁא֣וֹל
חַיִּ֑ים
כִּֽי־
רָע֖וֹת
בִּמְגוּרָ֣ם
בְּקִרְבָּֽם׃
17. אֲ֭נִי
אֶל־
אֱלֹהִ֣ים
אֶקְרָ֑א
וַ֝יהוָ֗ה
יוֹשִׁיעֵֽנִי׃
18. עֶ֤רֶב
וָבֹ֣קֶר
וְ֭צָהֳרַיִם
אָשִׂ֣יחָה
וְאֶהֱמֶ֑ה
וַיִּשְׁמַ֥ע
קוֹלִֽי׃
19. פָּ֘דָ֤ה
בְשָׁל֣וֹם
נַ֭פְשִׁי
מִקֲּרָב־
לִ֑י
כִּֽי־
בְ֝רַבִּ֗ים
הָי֥וּ
עִמָּדִֽי׃
20. יִשְׁמַ֤ע ׀
אֵ֨ל ׀
וְֽיַעֲנֵם֮
וְיֹ֤שֵׁ֥ב
קֶ֗דֶם
סֶ֥לָה
אֲשֶׁ֤ר
אֵ֣ין
חֲלִיפ֣וֹת
לָ֑מוֹ
וְלֹ֖א
יָרְא֣וּ
אֱלֹהִֽים׃
21. שָׁלַ֣ח
יָ֭דָיו
בִּשְׁלֹמָ֗יו
חִלֵּ֥ל
בְּרִיתֽוֹ׃
22. חָלְק֤וּ ׀
מַחְמָאֹ֣ת
פִּיו֮
וּֽקֲרָב־
לִ֫בּ֥וֹ
רַכּ֖וּ
דְבָרָ֥יו
מִשֶּׁ֗מֶן
וְהֵ֣מָּה
פְתִחֽוֹת׃
23. הַשְׁלֵ֤ךְ
עַל־
יְהוָ֨ה ׀
יְהָבְךָ֮
וְה֢וּא
יְכַ֫לְכְּלֶ֥ךָ
לֹא־
יִתֵּ֖ן
לְעוֹלָ֥ם
מ֗וֹט
לַצַּדִּֽיק׃
24. וְאַתָּ֤ה
אֱלֹהִ֨ים ׀
תּוֹרִדֵ֬ם ׀
לִבְאֵ֬ר
שַׁ֗חַת
אַנְשֵׁ֤י
דָמִ֣ים
וּ֖dמִרְמָה
לֹא־
יֶחֱצ֣וּ
יְמֵיהֶ֑ם
וַ֝אֲנִ֗י
אֶבְטַח־
בָּֽךְ׃