Psalm 7 → 90
Reasoning: 10240 Output: 6266 Total: 16506
Argument
Here is a concise case that Psalm 90 can be read as logically following Psalm 7, organized from the most concrete textual ties to broader thematic and historical continuities. I prioritize rarer, identical forms and then widen out to form and idea. 1) Shared and distinctive lexemes and forms (with identical forms and rarer items first) - באפך “in your anger” (identical form): - Ps 7:7 קומה יהוה באפך - Ps 90:7 כי־כלינו באפך; cf. 90:11 מי־יודע עוז אפך This is a tight hook: the exact form in 7:7 is picked up in 90:7, and 90:11 intensifies it with “עוז אפך.” - שוב/שובה “return/turn back” (clustered and programmatic): - Ps 7:8 … ועליה למרום שובה; 7:17 ישוב עמלו בראשו - Ps 90:3 תשב אנוש עד־דכא; שובו בני־אדם; 90:13 שובה יהוה עד־מתי The same root governs both psalms, but 90 expands it dramatically: God returns to the heights (7:8) becomes God returning humans to dust (90:3), humans called to return (90:3), and the community pleading for God to return to them in mercy (90:13). This creates a clear semantic bridge and a theological development. - כון (Hiphil) “establish”: - Ps 7:10 ותכונן צדיק - Ps 90:17 ומעשה ידינו כוננה עלינו … כוננהו Both use Hiphil forms of כון to ask God to “establish” something: in 7 the righteous themselves; in 90 the work of the community’s hands. Same root, same causative stem, petitionary context. - עמל and און “trouble/toil” and “mischief/iniquity”: - Ps 7:15 הנה יחבל־און … והרה עמל … וילד שקר - Ps 90:10 … ורהבם עמל וָאָוֶן The pair עמל/און are rare together; 7 uses pregnancy/birth imagery to portray the wicked birthing און and עמל; 90 sums up human life as characterized by עמל וָאָוֶן. This is a strong lexical and imagistic echo. - יל”ד + חול/חיל (conception/birth/travail imagery): - Ps 7:15 הנה יחבל־און … והרה עמל וילד שקר - Ps 90:2 בטרם הרים יֻלָּדוּ וַתְּחוֹלֵל ארץ ותבל Both psalms deploy conception-travail-birth imagery in tight clusters, a relatively distinctive stylistic fingerprint. Psalm 7 uses it for the genesis of evil; Psalm 90 for the genesis of creation. Read consecutively, Psalm 90 “answers” Psalm 7 by contrasting counterfeit birth (of שקר) with God’s true birthing of the cosmos. - לב/לבב (the inner human): - Ps 7:10–11 … ובֹחן לבות וכליות … מושיע ישרי־לב - Ps 90:12 … ונביא לבב חכמה; 90:8 עלֻמינו למאור פניך Both focus on the interior—God as tester of “hearts and kidneys” (7) and the exposure of what is “hidden” (עלֻמינו) before God’s face (90:8), culminating in the petition for a “wise heart” (90:12). The movement is from God’s testing of the heart (7) to the community’s request to be given the right kind of heart (90). - Time/day formulas: - Ps 7:12 א־ל זועם בכל־יום - Ps 90:4–15 compressed meditations on days/years; כל־ימינו (90:9), בכל־ימינו (90:14) The “every day” anger of God (7:12) rhetorically opens into Psalm 90’s long meditation on days and years under divine anger, climaxing in the request to teach us to “number our days” (90:12). - Death/dust descent: - Ps 7:6 … וכבודי לעפר ישכן - Ps 90:3 תשב אנוש עד־דכא Not the same lexeme (עפר vs. דכא), but tightly related images: descent to dust/crushing under God’s decree. - Height/dwelling vocabulary: - Ps 7:8 … למרום שובה; 7:18 שם יהוה עליון - Ps 90:1 אדני מָעון אתה היית לנו; cf. Deut 26:15 ממעון קדשך (semantic field: high dwelling) Psalm 7’s “return to the heights” and “Most High” dovetail naturally into Psalm 90’s “dwelling-place” (a term elsewhere used of God’s heavenly abode). This makes 90 feel like it resumes the “heights” perspective 7 invokes. - Refuge motif: - Ps 7:2 יהוה אלהי בך חסיתי - Ps 90:1 אדני מעון אתה היית לנו Same motif with a pronoun shift: the individual “I have taken refuge” (חסיתי) becomes the corporate “You have been our dwelling/refuge” (מעון). 2) Stylistic and formal links - Imperative strings addressed to YHWH: - Ps 7:7–8 קומה … הינשא … ועורה … שובה - Ps 90:13–17 שובה … והנחם … שַׂבְּעֵנוּ … שַׂמְּחֵנוּ … כוננה Both psalms feature a rapid-fire sequence of imperatives/jussives that drive the prayer forward. Psalm 90 can be read as answering Psalm 7’s summons to God to act—first in wrath and judicial exaltation (7), next in compassion and restoration (90). - Rhetorical frames: - Psalm 7 has an “If… If… If…” protestation of innocence (7:4–5), invoking judicial process. - Psalm 90 has a “Who knows…?” rhetorical question (90:11) that reframes the issue of anger: the real problem is the sheer power of divine anger, not merely the guilt of “my pursuers.” This makes Psalm 90 a theological deepening of Psalm 7’s judicial scene. - The closing/opening seam: - Psalm 7 ends with resolved praise to the “Name of YHWH Most High” (7:18). - Psalm 90 opens with a high, sovereign address “אדני … אתה אל … מעולם עד עולם” (90:1–2). The seam from praise of עליון (7) to confession of the everlasting אל (90) is smooth; both are enthronement-toned addresses. 3) Thematic/logical progression when read one after the other - From judicial wrath to existential wrath: - Psalm 7 asks God to “rise in Your anger” against specific enemies and to judge the nations, picturing divine weaponry and retribution (7:7–14, 16–17). - Psalm 90 reflects on the power of that anger over all humanity: “Who knows the power of Your anger?” (90:11), “we are consumed by Your anger” (90:7). Read as a sequence, 90 is a sober meditation on the very anger 7 has just invoked. It is as though the community steps back to say: invoking divine wrath is no light thing, for we too are under it. - From individual innocence to communal penitence and wisdom: - Psalm 7: “If I have done this… if there is injustice in my palms…” (7:4–5) — a strong claim to innocence. - Psalm 90: “You have set our iniquities before You, our hidden things in the light of Your face” (90:8); “teach us to number our days that we may gain a wise heart” (90:12). The communal voice acknowledges endemic guilt and mortality. The logic: after the judge is summoned (Psalm 7), the community recognizes it must stand under that Judge too (Psalm 90). - From establishing the righteous to establishing the work: - Psalm 7: “Establish the righteous” (ותכונן צדיק, 7:10). - Psalm 90: “Establish the work of our hands” (כוננה, 90:17). The same Hiphil root marks the movement from forensic vindication to constructive restoration. Psalm 90’s closing “כוננה/כוננהו” sounds like a liturgical response to 7’s “ותכונן צדיק.” - From counterfeit generation to true generation: - Psalm 7: the wicked “conceives mischief… and gives birth to falsehood” (7:15). - Psalm 90: before the mountains were born and the earth was “brought forth” (90:2). The “birth” of evil (7) is relativized by the Creator’s cosmic birth (90), and the whole human race is returned to dust at His word (90:3). That supplies the metaphysical grounding for 7’s court scene. - From “every day” divine anger to joy “all our days”: - Psalm 7: “God is angry every day” (בכל־יום, 7:12). - Psalm 90: petition to be satisfied with covenant-love “in the morning,” and to sing and rejoice “all our days” (בכל־ימינו, 90:14–15). The sequel turns the daily anger problem into a plea for daily mercy and joy. 4) Links to Israel’s larger story - David → Moses as a deliberate literary pivot: - Psalm 7 is a Davidic “שִׁגָּיוֹן,” a rare genre marker of personal crisis. - Psalm 90 is a “תְּפִלָּה לְמֹשֶׁה,” the one psalm of Moses. Moving from David’s courtroom to Moses’ wilderness wisdom traces Israel’s history from royal litigation to pre-monarchic dependence—an editorial move that elsewhere (notably after Psalm 89) reorients hope from kingship to God Himself. As a pair, 7 → 90 enacts that same reorientation: from the king’s cause to the people’s survival under God’s eternity. - Assembly of peoples vs. generations: - Psalm 7:8 “ועדת לאמים תסובבך … למרום שובה” — a cosmic court surrounded by nations. - Psalm 90:1 “מעון אתה היית לנו בדור ודור” — God as refuge “in every generation.” The setting shifts from geopolitical courtroom to trans-generational pilgrimage, but the “Most High in His dwelling” carries over (מרום/מעון; עליון). - Wilderness-refuge logic: - Psalm 7:2 “בך חסיתי” (I took refuge in You). - Psalm 90:1 “מעון אתה היית לנו” (You have been our dwelling). The personal flight language (fleeing pursuers in 7) scales up into a communal wilderness motif (90), consistent with Israel’s formative experience under Moses. 5) A possible macro-reading of the sequence - Psalm 7 summons the Judge to rise in wrath, convene the nations, vindicate the righteous, and let retribution boomerang upon the wicked. Psalm 90, as a sequel, steps into the courtroom’s silent aftermath and says: this Judge is the Eternal Creator before whom a thousand years are a day; His anger consumes not just “my enemies” but us; therefore we do not only ask for victory but for mercy, wisdom, joy, and the establishment of good work. The shared hooks—באפך, שוב/שובה, כונן in Hiphil, the עמל/און cluster, the labor/birth imagery, “heart” language, dust/descent, high dwelling—make the transition textually tight. Thematically, it is a natural progression from forensic lament to communal wisdom-prayer. In short: there are unusually strong lexical and imagistic hooks (especially באפך; שוב/שובה; כונן Hiphil; עמל/און; יל”ד/חול birth imagery) and a compelling thematic logic (from invoking wrath to reckoning with its reach; from individual innocence to communal penitence; from establishing the righteous to establishing the work) that justify reading Psalm 90 as a deliberate and meaningful follow-on to Psalm 7.
Evaluation
Score: 6.5
Evaluated at: 2025-11-26T03:54:57 (UTC)
Evaluator model: gpt-5
Evaluator version: v2
Reasoning: 4160 Output: 7093 Total: 11253
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
Multiple accurate lexical correspondences (באפך; שוב; כונן-Hiphil; עמל/און; birth imagery) and a plausible progression; however most terms are common, links not unique, no editorial marker, and canonical distance unaddressed. Solid but not decisive.
Prompt
Consider Psalm 7 and Psalm 90 (reproduced below). What arguments could you make to justify that Psalm 90 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 90:
Psalm 90
1. תְּפִלָּה֮
לְמֹשֶׁ֢ה
אִֽישׁ־
הָאֱלֹ֫הִ֥ים
אֲֽדֹנָ֗י
מָע֣וֹן
אַ֭תָּה
הָיִ֥יתָ
לָּ֗נוּ
בְּדֹ֣ר
וָדֹֽר׃
2. בְּטֶ֤רֶם ׀
הָ֘רִ֤ים
יֻלָּ֗דוּ
וַתְּח֣וֹלֵֽל
אֶ֣רֶץ
וְתֵבֵ֑ל
וּֽמֵעוֹלָ֥ם
עַד־
ע֝וֹלָ֗ם
אַתָּ֥ה
אֵֽל׃
3. תָּשֵׁ֣ב
אֱ֭נוֹשׁ
עַד־
דַּכָּ֑א
וַ֝תֹּ֗אמֶר
שׁ֣וּבוּ
בְנֵי־
אָדָֽם׃
4. כִּ֤י
אֶ֪לֶף
שָׁנִ֡ים
בְּֽעֵינֶ֗יךָ
כְּי֣וֹם
אֶ֭תְמוֹל
כִּ֣י
יַעֲבֹ֑ר
וְאַשְׁמוּרָ֥ה
בַלָּֽיְלָה׃
5. זְ֭רַמְתָּם
שֵׁנָ֣ה
יִהְי֑וּ
בַּ֝בֹּ֗קֶר
כֶּחָצִ֥יר
יַחֲלֹֽף׃
6. בַּ֭בֹּקֶר
יָצִ֣יץ
וְחָלָ֑ף
לָ֝עֶ֗רֶב
יְמוֹלֵ֥ל
וְיָבֵֽשׁ׃
7. כִּֽי־
כָלִ֥ינוּ
בְאַפֶּ֑ךָ
וּֽבַחֲמָתְךָ֥
נִבְהָֽלְנוּ׃
8. שת
שַׁתָּ֣ה
עֲוֺנֹתֵ֣ינוּ
לְנֶגְדֶּ֑ךָ
עֲ֝לֻמֵ֗נוּ
לִמְא֥וֹר
פָּנֶֽיךָ׃
9. כִּ֣י
כָל־
יָ֭מֵינוּ
פָּנ֣וּ
בְעֶבְרָתֶ֑ךָ
כִּלִּ֖ינוּ
שָׁנֵ֣ינוּ
כְמוֹ־
הֶֽגֶה׃
10. יְמֵֽי־
שְׁנוֹתֵ֨ינוּ
בָהֶ֥ם
שִׁבְעִ֪ים
שָׁנָ֡ה
וְאִ֤ם
בִּגְבוּרֹ֨ת ׀
שְׁמ֘וֹנִ֤ים
שָׁנָ֗ה
וְ֭רָהְבָּם
עָמָ֣ל
וָאָ֑וֶן
כִּי־
גָ֥ז
חִ֝֗ישׁ
וַנָּעֻֽפָה׃
11. מִֽי־
י֭וֹדֵעַ
עֹ֣ז
אַפֶּ֑ךָ
וּ֝כְיִרְאָתְךָ֗
עֶבְרָתֶֽךָ׃
12. לִמְנ֣וֹת
יָ֭מֵינוּ
כֵּ֣ן
הוֹדַ֑ע
וְ֝נָבִ֗א
לְבַ֣ב
חָכְמָֽה׃
13. שׁוּבָ֣ה
יְ֭הוָה
עַד־
מָתָ֑י
וְ֝הִנָּחֵ֗ם
עַל־
עֲבָדֶֽיךָ׃
14. שַׂבְּעֵ֣נוּ
בַבֹּ֣קֶר
חַסְדֶּ֑ךָ
וּֽנְרַנְּנָ֥ה
וְ֝נִשְׂמְחָ֗ה
בְּכָל־
יָמֵֽינוּ׃
15. שַׂ֭מְּחֵנוּ
כִּימ֣וֹת
עִנִּיתָ֑נוּ
שְׁ֝נ֗וֹת
רָאִ֥ינוּ
רָעָֽה׃
16. יֵרָאֶ֣ה
אֶל־
עֲבָדֶ֣יךָ
פָעֳלֶ֑ךָ
וַ֝הֲדָרְךָ֗
עַל־
בְּנֵיהֶֽם׃
17. וִיהִ֤י ׀
נֹ֤עַם
אֲדֹנָ֥י
אֱלֹהֵ֗ינוּ
עָ֫לֵ֥ינוּ
וּמַעֲשֵׂ֣ה
יָ֭דֵינוּ
כּוֹנְנָ֥ה
עָלֵ֑ינוּ
וּֽמַעֲשֵׂ֥ה
יָ֝דֵ֗ינוּ
כּוֹנְנֵֽהוּ׃