Psalm 9 → 36
Reasoning: 10624 Output: 5289 Total: 15913
Argument
Here are lines of evidence that Psalm 36 can be read as a deliberate continuation of (or response to) Psalm 9. I group them by type and point to the strongest, rarer, or more exact Hebrew links first. 1) A “fear–knowledge” bracket that runs straight from the end of Psalm 9 into the start of Psalm 36 - Psalm 9 closes by asking God to make the nations fear and to “know” they are mortal: - שיתה יהוה מוֹרָה להם ... ידעו גוים אנוש הם (9:21) - Psalm 36 immediately opens by diagnosing the wicked’s core problem in exactly those terms: - אין־פחד אלהים לנגד עיניו (36:2) - The same two themes—fear of God and knowing—are paired again in 36:11: - משֹׁך חסדך ליֹדְעֶיךָ (36:11) - The repeated use of the ידע root at both ends is significant, especially the identical participial form יֹדְעֵי/יֹדְעֶיךָ: - 9:11 ויבטחו בך יֹדְעֵי שמך - 36:11 משֹׁך חסדך ליֹדְעֶיךָ This is a relatively marked collocation in Psalms and ties the close of 9 (confidence for “those who know your name”) to the petition in 36 (extend loyal-love to “those who know you”). 2) Shared justice vocabulary and structure (משפט/צדק/ישר) - Psalm 9 enthrones God as universal judge: - עשית משפטי ודיני ... שופט צדק (9:5) - כונן למשפט כסאו (9:8) - ישפֹט תבל בצדק ... ידין לאמים במישרים (9:9) - Psalm 36 takes up the same triad and magnifies it cosmically: - צדקתך כהררי־אל, משפטיך תהום רבה (36:7) - וצדקתך לישרי־לב (36:11) - The shared roots and near-forms matter: - צדק in both (צדק/צדקתך) - משפט/משפטיך in both - ישר in both (במישרים, 9:9; לישרי־לב, 36:11) While some forms differ in word-class (מישרים vs ישרי), the repetition of the same justice-lexicon reinforces continuity of theme and argument. 3) The same “who falls/rises” storyline and body-part imagery for attack/defeat - The enemies in Psalm 9 fall and cannot stand: - בשוב אויבי אחור יכשלו ויאבדו מפניך (9:4) - טבעו גוים בשחת עשו ... נלכדה רגלם (9:16) - Psalm 36 climaxes with the very same outcome, in compressed form and with almost proverbial finality: - שם נפלו פעלי און, דֹחוּ ולא־יכלו קום (36:13) - The “foot/hand” imagery matches across both psalms: - 9:16 רגלם is caught in their own net - 36:12 אל־תבואני רגל גאוה; ויד־רשעים אל־תנדני - Even the קום root binds the close of 36 to the plea of 9: - 9:20 קומה יהוה … (call on God to rise) - 36:13 ולא־יכלו קום (the wicked cannot rise) This rise/fall antithesis is an elegant semantic link. 4) Refuge language for the faithful (a Psalm-9 promise realized in Psalm 36) - Psalm 9:10–11 depicts YHWH as a secure refuge for the afflicted and the trust of “those who know your name”: - ויהי יהוה משגב לדך ... ויבטחו בך יֹדְעֵי שמך - Psalm 36 shows what that refuge looks like inside the sanctuary: - ובני אדם בצל כנפיך יחסיון (36:8) - ירוין מדשן ביתך, ונחל עדניך תשׁקם (36:9) The “wing-shadow” and “house” scenes are temple refuge motifs; they concretize the “fortress” and “trust” of Psalm 9 in worship space. 5) Zion → House progression (liturgical logic) - Psalm 9 invites praise to YHWH enthroned in Zion and celebrates proclamation at Zion’s gates: - זמרו ליהוה ישב ציון; הגידו בעמים עלילותיו (9:12) - אשׂפרה ... בשערי בת־ציון (9:15) - Psalm 36 moves inside that same sacred geography: “your house,” “under your wings,” abundant feasting. If 9 is the festival call to Zion, 36 is the temple experience within Zion. This is a natural liturgical sequence. 6) Rare or marked expressions shared or paired - יֹדְעֵי/יֹדְעֶיךָ (not a common collocation; see above) tie 9:11 and 36:11. - “Fear of God” as a compact phrase appears conceptually at the hinge: 9:21’s מוֹרָה (from ירא, fear/dread) matched by 36:2 פחד אלהים. The interplay of ירא/פחד (synonyms) across psalms is rhetorically pointed. - The pair פֹּעַל/פֹּעֲלֵי: - 9:17 נודע יהוה משפט עשה; בפֹּעַל כַּפָּיו נוקש רשע - 36:13 שם נפלו פֹּעֲלֵי און Same root פעל, now specifically “workers of iniquity,” locks back into 9’s “the wicked is ensnared in the work of his hands.” 7) Macro-argument: 36 answers 9’s final petitions - Psalm 9 ends with two imperatives: “Arise, YHWH” (קומה יהוה) and “Set fear upon them” (שיתה יהוה מורה להם), so the nations will “know” they are mortal. - Psalm 36 opens by explaining why that is needed (“there is no fear of God before his eyes”) and closes by showing the effect of YHWH’s intervention (“there they fell … and could not rise”). - In between, Psalm 36 spells out who benefits when YHWH answers Psalm 9’s prayer: “those who know you” and “the upright in heart,” who are sheltered and satiated in God’s house. 8) Stylistic/formal affinities that make the pairing plausible - Both headings are Davidic and for performance: למנצח ... לדוד (9:1; 36:1). Psalm 36’s “לעבד יהוה” strengthens the Davidic court-worship setting implied already in Psalm 9’s Zion frame. - Both mix hymn and petition, and both include embedded performance markers (9:17’s הִגָּיוֹן סֶלָה; 36’s opening נאם-מolded oracle). The hybrid “hymn + wisdom + prayer” profile makes them good neighbors. - Both use sweeping universal scope (9:8–9 “judge the world/peoples”; 36:6–7 “your faithfulness to the skies … your judgments a great deep”) to set a theological backdrop for very concrete local salvation (Zion/gates vs house/wings). 9) Mythic/cosmic and historical-life sequence - Mythic-cosmic: Psalm 9’s “everlasting enthronement for judgment” over the nations is matched by Psalm 36’s vertical cosmic merisms (heavens—mountains—great deep). The same God who sits to judge in 9 is the one whose cosmic-sized חסד/אמונה/צדקה/משפט in 36 grounds hope. - Life sequence: A plausible ancient Israelite sequence is victory and public praise at Zion (Psalm 9), followed by gathered worship and instruction in the temple (Psalm 36), where the community both reflects on the inner logic of wickedness and receives assurance and blessing. In sum - Strong lexical ties (especially the doubled ידע-participle, shared justice lexicon, “rise/fall” verbs, and “hand/foot” imagery), thematic dovetailing (fear/knowledge; judgment; refuge), and liturgical-geographical continuity (Zion → house/under wings) let Psalm 36 read naturally as the next “movement” after Psalm 9: the prayer for dread and knowledge among the nations (9:20–21) is answered by an analysis of godless fearlessness (36:2), an appeal for God’s loyal love to “those who know” him (36:11; cf. 9:11), and the final, irreversible collapse of the wicked (36:13) that Psalm 9 anticipates.
Evaluation
Score: 2.0
Evaluated at: 2025-12-04T03:48:26 (UTC)
Evaluator model: gpt-5
Evaluator version: v2
Reasoning: 2880 Output: 6110 Total: 8990
Checklist
- Has verse refs: Yes
- Factual error detected: Yes
- Only generic motifs: No
- Counterargument considered: No
- LXX/MT numbering acknowledged: No
Vocabulary specificity: 4.5 / 10
Flags: misquote
Multiple precise links (ידע, fear/know hinge, rise/fall, foot/hand), but misquotes 36:7 as משפטיך (MT reads משפטך) → MAX 2 cap; several motifs are common across Psalms.
Prompt
Consider Psalm 9 and Psalm 36 (reproduced below). What arguments could you make to justify that Psalm 36 logically follows on from Psalm 9? 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 9:
Psalm 9
1. לַ֭מְנַצֵּחַ
עַלְמ֥וּת
לַבֵּ֗ן
מִזְמ֥וֹר
לְדָוִֽד׃
2. אוֹדֶ֣ה
יְ֭הוָה
בְּכָל־
לִבִּ֑י
אֲ֝סַפְּרָ֗ה
כָּל־
נִפְלְאוֹתֶֽיךָ׃
3. אֶשְׂמְחָ֣ה
וְאֶעֶלְצָ֣ה
בָ֑ךְ
אֲזַמְּרָ֖ה
שִׁמְךָ֣
עֶלְיֽוֹן׃
4. בְּשׁוּב־
אוֹיְבַ֥י
אָח֑וֹר
יִכָּשְׁל֥וּ
וְ֝יֹאבְד֗וּ
מִפָּנֶֽיךָ׃
5. כִּֽי־
עָ֭שִׂיתָ
מִשְׁפָּטִ֣י
וְדִינִ֑י
יָשַׁ֥בְתָּ
לְ֝כִסֵּ֗א
שׁוֹפֵ֥ט
צֶֽדֶק׃
6. גָּעַ֣רְתָּ
ג֭וֹיִם
אִבַּ֣דְתָּ
רָשָׁ֑ע
שְׁמָ֥ם
מָ֝חִ֗יתָ
לְעוֹלָ֥ם
וָעֶֽד׃
7. הָֽאוֹיֵ֨ב ׀
תַּ֥מּוּ
חֳרָב֗וֹת
לָ֫נֶ֥צַח
וְעָרִ֥ים
נָתַ֑שְׁתָּ
אָבַ֖ד
זִכְרָ֣ם
הֵֽמָּה׃
8. וַֽ֭יהוָה
לְעוֹלָ֣ם
יֵשֵׁ֑ב
כּוֹנֵ֖ן
לַמִּשְׁפָּ֣ט
כִּסְאֽוֹ׃
9. וְה֗וּא
יִשְׁפֹּֽט־
תֵּבֵ֥ל
בְּצֶ֑דֶק
יָדִ֥ין
לְ֝אֻמִּ֗ים
בְּמֵישָֽׁtרִים׃
10. וִ֘יהִ֤י
יְהוָ֣ה
מִשְׂגָּ֣ב
לַדָּ֑ךְ
מִ֝שְׂגָּ֗ב
לְעִתּ֥וֹת
בַּצָּרָֽה׃
11. וְיִבְטְח֣וּ
בְ֭ךָ
יוֹדְעֵ֣י
שְׁמֶ֑ךָ
כִּ֤י
לֹֽא־
עָזַ֖בְתָּ
דֹרְשֶׁ֣יךָ
יְהוָֽה׃
12. זַמְּר֗וּ
לַ֭יהוָה
יֹשֵׁ֣ב
צִיּ֑וֹן
הַגִּ֥ידוּ
בָ֝עַמִּ֗ים
עֲלִֽילוֹתָֽיו׃
13. כִּֽי־
דֹרֵ֣שׁ
דָּ֭מִים
אוֹתָ֣ם
זָכָ֑ר
לֹֽא־
שָׁ֝כַ֗ח
צַעֲקַ֥ת
עניים
עֲנָוִֽים׃
14. חָֽנְנֵ֬נִי
יְהוָ֗ה
רְאֵ֣ה
עָ֭נְיִי
מִשֹּׂנְאָ֑י
מְ֝רוֹמְמִ֗י
מִשַּׁ֥עֲרֵי
מָֽוֶת׃
15. לְמַ֥עַן
אֲסַפְּרָ֗ה
כָּֽל־
תְּהִלָּ֫תֶ֥יךָ
בְּשַֽׁעֲרֵ֥י
בַת־
צִיּ֑וֹן
אָ֝גִ֗ילָה
בִּישׁוּעָתֶֽךָ׃
16. טָבְע֣וּ
ג֭וֹיִם
בְּשַׁ֣חַת
עָשׂ֑וּ
בְּרֶֽשֶׁת־
ז֥וּ
טָ֝מָ֗נוּ
נִלְכְּדָ֥ה
רַגְלָֽם׃
17. נ֤וֹדַ֨ע ׀
יְהוָה֮
מִשְׁפָּ֢ט
עָ֫שָׂ֥ה
בְּפֹ֣עַל
כַּ֭פָּיו
נוֹקֵ֣שׁ
רָשָׁ֑ע
הִגָּי֥וֹן
סֶֽלָה׃
18. יָשׁ֣וּבוּ
רְשָׁעִ֣ים
לִשְׁא֑וֹלָה
כָּל־
גּ֝וֹיִ֗ם
שְׁכֵחֵ֥י
אֱלֹהִֽים׃
19. כִּ֤י
לֹ֣א
לָ֭נֶצַח
יִשָּׁכַ֣ח
אֶבְי֑וֹן
תִּקְוַ֥ת
ענוים
עֲ֝נִיִּ֗ים
תֹּאבַ֥ד
לָעַֽד׃
20. קוּמָ֣ה
יְ֭הוָה
אַל־
יָעֹ֣ז
אֱנ֑וֹשׁ
יִשָּׁפְט֥וּ
ג֝וֹיִ֗ם
עַל־
פָּנֶֽיךָ׃
21. שִׁ֘יתָ֤ה
יְהוָ֨ה ׀
מוֹרָ֗ה
לָ֫הֶ֥ם
יֵדְע֥וּ
גוֹיִ֑ם
אֱנ֖וֹשׁ
הֵ֣מָּה
סֶּֽלָה׃
Psalm 36:
Psalm 36
1. לַמְנַצֵּ֬חַ ׀
לְעֶֽבֶד־
יְהוָ֬ה
לְדָוִֽד׃
2. נְאֻֽם־
פֶּ֣שַׁע
לָ֭רָשָׁע
בְּקֶ֣רֶב
לִבִּ֑י
אֵֽין־
פַּ֥חַד
אֱ֝לֹהִ֗ים
לְנֶ֣גֶד
עֵינָֽיו׃
3. כִּֽי־
הֶחֱלִ֣יק
אֵלָ֣יו
בְּעֵינָ֑יו
לִמְצֹ֖א
עֲוֺנ֣וֹ
לִשְׂנֹֽא׃
4. דִּבְרֵי־
פִ֭יו
אָ֣וֶן
וּמִרְמָ֑ה
חָדַ֖ל
לְהַשְׂכִּ֣יל
לְהֵיטִֽיב׃
5. אָ֤וֶן ׀
יַחְשֹׁ֗ב
עַֽל־
מִשְׁכָּ֫ב֥וֹ
יִ֭תְיַצֵּב
עַל־
דֶּ֣רֶךְ
לֹא־
ט֑וֹב
רָ֝֗ע
לֹ֣א
יִמְאָֽס׃
6. יְ֭הוָה
בְּהַשָּׁמַ֣יִם
חַסְדֶּ֑ךָ
אֱ֝מֽוּנָתְךָ֗
עַד־
שְׁחָקִֽים׃
7. צִדְקָֽתְךָ֨ ׀
כְּֽהַרְרֵי־
אֵ֗ל
מִ֭שְׁפָּטֶךָ
תְּה֣וֹם
רַבָּ֑ה
אָ֤דָֽם־
וּבְהֵמָ֖ה
תוֹשִׁ֣יעַ
יְהוָֽה׃
8. מַה־
יָּקָ֥ר
חַסְדְּךָ֗
אֱלֹ֫הִ֥ים
וּבְנֵ֥י
אָדָ֑ם
בְּצֵ֥ל
כְּ֝נָפֶ֗יךָ
יֶחֱסָיֽוּן׃
9. יִ֭רְוִיֻן
מִדֶּ֣שֶׁן
בֵּיתֶ֑ךָ
וְנַ֖חַל
עֲדָנֶ֣יךָ
תַשְׁקֵֽם׃
10. כִּֽי־
עִ֭מְּךָ
מְק֣וֹר
חַיִּ֑ים
בְּ֝אוֹרְךָ֗
נִרְאֶה־
אֽוֹר׃
11. מְשֹׁ֣ךְ
חַ֭סְדְּךָ
לְיֹדְעֶ֑יךָ
וְ֝צִדְקָֽתְךָ֗
לְיִשְׁרֵי־
לֵֽב׃
12. אַל־
תְּ֭בוֹאֵנִי
רֶ֣גֶל
גַּאֲוָ֑ה
וְיַד־
רְ֝שָׁעִ֗ים
אַל־
תְּנִדֵֽנִי׃
13. שָׁ֣ם
נָ֭פְלוּ
פֹּ֣עֲלֵי
אָ֑וֶן
דֹּ֝ח֗וּ
וְלֹא־
יָ֥כְלוּ
קֽוּם׃