Psalm 7 → 91
Reasoning: 11008 Output: 5816 Total: 16824
Argument
Short thesis: Read Psalm 91 as the promised divine answer to the plea of Psalm 7. Psalm 7 is an individual lament and courtroom appeal in which the supplicant claims integrity, seeks refuge, and asks God to arise and judge. Psalm 91 is a trust-psalm plus oracle of salvation in which God (and a priestly/wise voice) affirms refuge, commands angelic protection, reverses the threats of Psalm 7, and grants honor and long life. The two are tied by a mesh of shared vocabulary, rare epithets, identical roots, and mirrored images. Most probative lexical links (rarer/identical forms and roots first): - עליון “Most High” - Ps 7:18: וַאֲזַמְּרָה שֵׁם־יְהוָה עֶלְיוֹן - Ps 91:1: בְּסֵתֶר עֶלְיוֹן; 91:9: עֶלְיוֹן שַׂמְתָּ מְעוֹנֶךָ - Rare divine epithet; identical form; prominent in both conclusions/openings. - חסה “seek refuge” - Ps 7:2: יְהוָה אֱלֹהַי בְּךָ חָסִיתִי - Ps 91:2: מַחְסִי; 91:4: תֶּחְסֶה; 91:9: יְהוָה מַחְסִי - Same root across verb and noun; Ps 91 elaborates the single claim in Ps 7. - רמס “trample” - Ps 7:6: וְיִרְמֹס לָאָרֶץ חַיָּי (enemy trampling me) - Ps 91:13: תִּרְמֹס כְּפִיר וְתַנִּין (you trampling beasts) - Identical root and near-identical form; the action is dramatically reversed. - חלץ “deliver, draw out” - Ps 7:5: וָאֲחַלְּצָה צֹרְרִי רֵיקָם - Ps 91:15: אֲחַלְּצֵהוּ - Same root and binyan; in Ps 7 the speaker asserts deliverance; in Ps 91 God promises it. - צוה “command” - Ps 7:7: מִשְׁפָּט צִוִּיתָ - Ps 91:11: מַלְאָכָיו יְצַוֶּה־לָּךְ - Same root; in Ps 7 God “commanded judgment,” in Ps 91 God “commands angels”—both judicial/authoritative acts in the supplicant’s favor. - ישע “save” - Ps 7:2: הוֹשִׁיעֵנִי; 7:11: מוֹשִׁיעַ יִשְׁרֵי־לֵב - Ps 91:16: בִּישׁוּעָתִי - Same salvation root bookending plea (Ps 7) and fulfillment (Ps 91). - חץ “arrow” - Ps 7:13–14: קַשְׁתּוֹ דָרַךְ… חִצָּיו - Ps 91:5: מֵחֵץ יָעוּף יוֹמָם - Identical lexeme; in Ps 7 God arms for judgment; in Ps 91 the faithful need not fear the arrow. - נפל “fall” - Ps 7:16: וַיִּפֹּל בְּשַׁחַת - Ps 91:7: יִפֹּל מִצִּדְּךָ אֶלֶף - Same root and (yiqtol/wayyiqtol) forms; the “fall” theme shifts from the wicked’s downfall to mass protection of the faithful. - רשע “wicked, evildoer” - Ps 7:10: יִגְמָר־נָא רַע רְשָׁעִים - Ps 91:8: וְשִׁלֻּמַת רְשָׁעִים תִּרְאֶה - Same noun; Ps 7 petitions the end of wickedness; Ps 91 promises to see its recompense. - כבד “glory/honor” - Ps 7:6: וּכְבוֹדִי לֶעָפָר יַשְׁכֵּן (threat to my “glory”) - Ps 91:15: וַאֲכַבְּדֵהוּ (God will “honor” him) - Same root; threat reversed into honor. - ימין “right hand” - Ps 7:1: כּוּשׁ בֶּן־יְמִינִי (Benjaminite; same root) - Ps 91:7: וּרְבָבָה מִימִינֶךָ - Shared root; in Ps 91 the right side is the place where ten thousand fall away from you. - פן “lest” - Ps 7:3: פֶּן־יִטְרֹף כְּאַרְיֵה נַפְשִׁי - Ps 91:12: פֶּן־תִּגֹּף בָּאֶבֶן רַגְלֶךָ - Same particle framing feared outcomes, both negated by divine help. - שֵׁם “name” - Ps 7:18: וַאֲזַמְּרָה שֵׁם־יְהוָה עֶלְיוֹן - Ps 91:14: כִּי־יָדַע שְׁמִי - “Name” is the object of praise in Ps 7 and the basis for protection in Ps 91. - דרך “way” - Ps 7:13: קַשְׁתּוֹ דָרַךְ (verb “bend/tread”) - Ps 91:11: לִשְׁמָרְךָ בְּכָל־דְּרָכֶיךָ (noun “ways”) - Same root (different word class); God “sets/bends” his bow in Ps 7; safeguards the worshiper’s “ways” in Ps 91. Motif-level parallels and reversals: - Lion imagery: - Ps 7:3: “lest he tear like a lion” - Ps 91:13: “you will tread the lion (שַׁחַל, כְּפִיר)” - Fear becomes mastery; the same threat turns into the believer’s victory. - Trampling and lifting: - Ps 7:6: the enemy “tramples” me to the ground and lays my “glory” in the dust. - Ps 91:12: angels “lift you up on their palms”; 91:15 “I will honor him.” - From being pressed into the dust to being borne up and honored. - Weapons and projectiles: - Ps 7:13–14: God’s sharpened sword, bent bow, prepared arrows of death. - Ps 91:5: “You will not fear the arrow that flies by day.” - Judgment imagery in Ps 7 becomes immunity imagery in Ps 91. - Snares and pits: - Ps 7:16: the wicked “digs a pit” and “falls into the hole he made.” - Ps 91:3: “He will rescue you from the snare of the fowler.” - Same trap motif; Ps 7 stresses boomerang justice; Ps 91 stresses prior rescue from such snares. - Judicial retribution seen: - Ps 7:17: the evildoer’s violence “descends on his own head.” - Ps 91:8: “You will look with your eyes and see the recompense of the wicked.” - The outcome Ps 7 prays for is precisely what Ps 91 promises the faithful will witness. - Height/exaltation language: - Ps 7:7–8: קוּמָה… הִנָּשֵׂא… לַמָּרוֹם שׁוּבָה (rise up, be lifted up, return on high) - Ps 91:14: אֲשַׂגְּבֵהוּ (I will set him on high) - The exaltation asked of God in Ps 7 becomes exaltation granted to the suppliant in Ps 91. Form and rhetorical sequence: - Psalm 7 is a classic individual lament with an oath of innocence (vv. 4–6), courtroom summons (vv. 7–9), and appeal to God’s righteous judgment (vv. 9–12), ending in a vow of praise (v. 18). - Psalm 91 is a psalm of trust (vv. 1–13), crowned by a divine oracle (vv. 14–16) in the first person: “I will deliver him… I will answer him… I will honor him… I will satisfy him.” - In Israelite liturgical practice, lament often elicited a priestly or divine “oracle of salvation.” Psalm 91:14–16 reads like precisely that kind of response to Psalm 7: it answers the earlier plea, validates the trust, and promises concrete protection. Further suggestive ties (lighter weight but supportive): - Shield imagery: - Ps 7:11: מָגִנִּי עַל־אֱלֹהִים - Ps 91:4: צִנָּה וְסֹחֵרָה אֲמִתּוֹ - “Right hand” and Benjamin: - The superscription’s יְמִינִי in Ps 7 and מִימִינֶךָ in Ps 91:7 share the ימן root and evoke strength/protection. - Wordplay potential: - Ps 7:1 עַל־דִּבְרֵי (“because of the words of…”) vs Ps 91:3, 6 מִדֶּבֶר (“from pestilence”)—homographic in consonants דבר; the latter is rarer and in a different sense, so low weight but an audible resonance. A plausible life-setting sequence: - An individual wrongly pursued/slurred (“Cush the Benjaminite,” Ps 7 title) comes to the sanctuary, asserts innocence, and calls on YHWH to judge and save (Ps 7). - A cultic responder affirms refuge in YHWH (Ps 91:1–13), and an oracle in God’s own voice promises deliverance, elevation, honor, and long life (Ps 91:14–16). - The specific reversals (lion, trampling, arrows, snares) make Ps 91 read like the narrated outcome of Ps 7’s fears. Bottom line: The two psalms share a dense web of identical roots and rare epithets (עליון; חסה; רמס; חלץ; צוה; ישע; חץ; נפל; רשע; כבד; ימין; פן; שֵׁם), mirror images (lion, trampling, arrows, snares, exaltation), and complementary forms (lament → oracle of salvation). On literary, lexical, and form-critical grounds, Psalm 91 can be read as a logical, even programmatic, follow-up to Psalm 7.
Evaluation
Score: 6.5
Evaluated at: 2025-11-26T03:56:00 (UTC)
Evaluator model: gpt-5
Evaluator version: v2
Reasoning: 3520 Output: 6644 Total: 10164
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
Numerous correct lexeme links (עליון, חסה, רמס, חלץ, חץ) and reversals, but many terms are common; no editorial markers or adjacency; some weak ties (ימיני/מימינך, דרך). Moderate support; no caps applied.
Prompt
Consider Psalm 7 and Psalm 91 (reproduced below). What arguments could you make to justify that Psalm 91 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 91:
Psalm 91
1. יֹ֭שֵׁב
בְּסֵ֣תֶר
עֶלְי֑וֹן
בְּצֵ֥ל
שַׁ֝דַּ֗י
יִתְלוֹנָֽן׃
2. אֹמַ֗ר
לַֽ֭יהוָה
מַחְסִ֣י
וּמְצוּדָתִ֑י
אֱ֝לֹהַ֗י
אֶבְטַח־
בּֽוֹ׃
3. כִּ֤י
ה֣וּא
יַ֭צִּֽילְךָ
מִפַּ֥ח
יָק֗וּשׁ
מִדֶּ֥בֶר
הַוּֽוֹת׃
4. בְּאֶבְרָת֨וֹ ׀
יָ֣סֶךְ
לָ֭ךְ
וְתַֽחַת־
כְּנָפָ֣יו
תֶּחְסֶ֑ה
צִנָּ֖ה
וְֽסֹחֵרָ֣ה
אֲמִתּֽוֹ׃
5. לֹא־
תִ֭ירָא
מִפַּ֣חַד
לָ֑יְלָה
מֵ֝חֵ֗ץ
יָע֥וּף
יוֹמָֽם׃
6. מִ֭דֶּבֶר
בָּאֹ֣פֶל
יַהֲלֹ֑ךְ
מִ֝קֶּ֗טֶב
יָשׁ֥וּד
צָהֳרָֽיִם׃
7. יִפֹּ֤ל
מִצִּדְּךָ֨ ׀
אֶ֗לֶף
וּרְבָבָ֥ה
מִימִינֶ֑ךָ
אֵ֝לֶ֗יךָ
לֹ֣א
יִגָּֽשׁ׃
8. רַ֭ק
בְּעֵינֶ֣יךָ
תַבִּ֑יט
וְשִׁלֻּמַ֖ת
רְשָׁעִ֣ים
תִּרְאֶֽה׃
9. כִּֽי־
אַתָּ֣ה
יְהוָ֣ה
מַחְסִ֑י
עֶ֝לְי֗וֹן
שַׂ֣מְתָּ
מְעוֹנֶֽךָ׃
10. לֹֽא־
תְאֻנֶּ֣ה
אֵלֶ֣יךָ
רָעָ֑ה
וְ֝נֶ֗גַע
לֹא־
יִקְרַ֥ב
בְּאָהֳלֶֽךָ׃
11. כִּ֣י
מַ֭לְאָכָיו
יְצַוֶּה־
לָּ֑ךְ
לִ֝שְׁמָרְךָ֗
בְּכָל־
דְּרָכֶֽיךָ׃
12. עַל־
כַּפַּ֥יִם
יִשָּׂא֑וּנְךָ
פֶּן־
תִּגֹּ֖ף
בָּאֶ֣בֶן
רַגְלֶֽךָ׃
13. עַל־
שַׁ֣חַל
וָפֶ֣תֶן
תִּדְרֹ֑ךְ
תִּרְמֹ֖ס
כְּפִ֣יר
וְתַנִּֽין׃
14. כִּ֤י
בִ֣י
חָ֭שַׁק
וַאֲפַלְּטֵ֑הוּ
אֲ֝שַׂגְּבֵ֗הוּ
כִּֽי־
יָדַ֥ע
שְׁמִֽי׃
15. יִקְרָאֵ֨נִי ׀
וְֽאֶעֱנֵ֗הוּ
עִמּֽוֹ־
אָנֹכִ֥י
בְצָרָ֑ה
אֲ֝חַלְּצֵ֗הוּ
וַֽאֲכַבְּדֵֽהוּ׃
16. אֹ֣רֶךְ
יָ֭מִים
אַשְׂבִּיעֵ֑הוּ
וְ֝אַרְאֵ֗הוּ
בִּֽישׁוּעָתִֽי׃