Psalm 9 → 58

Reasoning: 6720 Output: 6125 Total: 12845

Argument

Here are lines of argument that make Psalm 58 a logical follow‑on to Psalm 9. I group them by kind of evidence and, where possible, point to exact Hebrew forms and rarer or more marked items.

1) Framing: what Psalm 58 “does” to Psalm 9
- Psalm 9 proclaims and prays for YHWH’s just rule over the nations and the earth, and asks God to arise and make the nations know they are only human (9:8–9, 20–21). Psalm 58 then brings the problem of corrupt human judges into focus and petitions God to intervene so forcefully that “man will say… surely there is a God who judges in the earth” (58:12). In other words, Psalm 58 dramatizes the specific crisis Psalm 9 anticipates and supplies the public acknowledgment Psalm 9 seeks.
- Psalm 9 closes with imperatives for God to take judicial action (“קוּמָה יהוה… יִשָּׁפְטוּ גוֹיִם… שִׁיתָה יהוה מוֹרָה לָהֶם,” 9:20–21). Psalm 58 opens by exposing human judging that is not upright and then turns into a set of judicial imperatives directed at God (“הֲרָס… נְתֹץ יהוה,” 58:7), functioning as a concrete, situational sequel to the general prayer of Psalm 9.

2) Forensic/judicial lexicon and identical or near‑identical forms
These are the strongest links because they are both thematic and often lexically marked.
- Root ש־פ־ט (judge)
  - Psalm 9:5 “שׁוֹפֵט צֶדֶק”; 9:8 “כּוֹנֵן לַמִּשְׁפָּט כִּסְאוֹ”; 9:9 “וְהוּא יִשְׁפֹּט־תֵּבֵל… יָדִין לְאֻמִּים בְּמֵישָׁרִים”; 9:20 “יִשָּׁפְטוּ גוֹיִם”
  - Psalm 58:2 “מֵישָׁרִים תִּשְׁפְּטוּ בְּנֵי אָדָם?”; 58:12 “אַךְ יֵשׁ־אֱלֹהִים שֹׁפְטִים בָּאָרֶץ”
  - Note the exact repetition of the rare adverbial “בְּמֵישָׁרִים” (9:9; cf. 58:2 “מֵישָׁרִים”). This is not frequent in the Psalter and tightly binds the two psalms in both word and idea. The closing claim of 58:12 (“אֱלֹהִים שֹׁפְטִים בָּאָרֶץ”) is the experiential echo of 9:9 (“יִשְׁפֹּט־תֵּבֵל… בְּמֵישָׁרִים”).
- Root צ־ד־ק (righteousness)
  - Psalm 9:5 “שׁוֹפֵט צֶדֶק”; 9:9 “יִשְׁפֹּט… בְּצֶדֶק”
  - Psalm 58:2 “צֶדֶק תְּדַבֵּרוּן” (ironically asked of corrupt judges)
- Root ד־י־נ (judge/plead, legal)
  - Psalm 9:5 “מִשְׁפָּטִי וְדִינִי”; 9:9 “יָדִין לְאֻמִּים”
  - Psalm 58:12 focuses the same field by concluding there really is judging happening “בָּאָרֶץ.”
- Root פ־ע־ל (to do/work), used in a judicial-retribution context
  - Psalm 9:17 “בְּפֹעַל כַּפָּיו נוֹקֵשׁ רָשָׁע” (the wicked is trapped by the work of his own hands)
  - Psalm 58:3 “בְּלֵב עֹלוֹת תִּפְעָלוּן” (you work iniquities in your heart)
  - The shared root in an explicitly forensic-retributive setting underlines the same moral calculus: deeds rebound on their doers.
- Summary: Both psalms are saturated with legal/judicial language and even share distinctive forms (“בְּמֵישָׁרִים”), making Psalm 58 feel like a case study and prayer that flows directly out of Psalm 9’s programmatic theology.

3) Blood, vengeance, and the avenger-of-blood motif
- Psalm 9:13 “כִּי־דֹרֵשׁ דָּמִים אוֹתָם זָכָר” (He who requires blood remembers them). “דֹרֵשׁ דָּמִים” evokes the go’el ha‑dam (avenger of blood), a relatively marked legal-ritual idea.
- Psalm 58:11 “יִשְׂמַח צַדִּיק כִּי־חָזָה נָקָם; פְּעָמָיו יִרְחַץ בְּדַם הָרָשָׁע” (the righteous rejoices to see vengeance; he washes his feet in the blood of the wicked).
- The rare, formal legal idea (blood-vengeance) in 9 is pictorially realized in 58. The movement is logical: 9 asserts God as the demander of blood; 58 depicts the enacted vengeance so unmistakably that “אָדָם” will confess divine judgment (58:12).

4) Hearing and not hearing: God vs. the wicked
- Psalm 9:13 “לֹא־שָׁכַח צַעֲקַת עֲנָוִים” (He does not forget/ignore the cry of the humble).
- Psalm 58:5–6 the wicked are likened to a “חֵרֵשׁ” serpent that “לֹא־יִשְׁמַע לְקוֹל מְלַחֲשִׁים” (will not hear). The deaf adder refuses just appeals, but God hears the cry of the afflicted. This antithesis is a tight, thematic bridge.

5) The end of the wicked in both psalms, from two angles (destination and origin)
- Destination/end:
  - Psalm 9:18 “יָשׁוּבוּ רְשָׁעִים לִשְׁאוֹלָה” (the wicked return to Sheol).
  - Psalm 58:8–10 imagery of swift, total dissolution: like water poured out; like a snail that melts; like a stillborn that never sees the sun; before your pots feel the bramble—swept away. These rare images track the same end: the wicked are removed from the living sphere (no “sun,” consumed before maturity), which is a vivid complement to 9’s Sheol statement.
- Origin/nature:
  - Psalm 58:4 “זֹרוּ רְשָׁעִים מֵרָחֶם… דֹּבְרֵי כָזָב” (estranged from the womb, speaking lies).
  - Psalm 9 focuses on the verdict and outcome; Psalm 58 supplies an anthropology of why that verdict is needed—logically explaining the intransigent wickedness that calls forth the divine judging asserted in Psalm 9.

6) Feet imagery in judicial reversal
- Psalm 9:16 “נִלְכְּדָה רַגְלָם” (their foot is caught) in their own net.
- Psalm 58:11 “פְּעָמָיו יִרְחַץ בְּדַם הָרָשָׁע” (his feet wash in the wicked’s blood).
- Both use “feet” at the decisive moment of reversal: in 9 the wicked’s feet are trapped; in 58 the righteous’ feet are vindicated. The specific and relatively marked “feet” motif in a legal-reversal scene strengthens continuity.

7) The knowledge/recognition outcome promised in Psalm 9 is realized in Psalm 58
- Psalm 9:11 “יֹדְעֵי שְׁמֶךָ” trust you; 9:17 “נוֹדַע יהוה מִשְׁפָּט עָשָׂה” (YHWH is made known by executing justice); 9:21 “יֵדְעוּ גוֹיִם אֱנוֹשׁ הֵמָּה” (let the nations know they are but human).
- Psalm 58:12 “וְיֹאמַר אָדָם: אַךְ־פְּרִי לַצַּדִּיק; אַךְ יֵשׁ־אֱלֹהִים שֹׁפְטִים בָּאָרֶץ” (man will say: surely there is reward for the righteous; surely there is a God judging in the earth).
- The desired epistemic outcome of Psalm 9—public recognition of God’s just rule and human limitation—is achieved in the climactic confession of Psalm 58. This is a tight rhetorical payoff.

8) Shared liturgical frame and Davidic voice
- Both begin “לַמְנַצֵּחַ … לְדָוִד” (Ps 9:1; Ps 58:1). While not unique, the matching superscriptional frame and Davidic voice support reading them as coordinated prayers: a hymn of confidence and plea for judgment (Ps 9), followed by a targeted imprecation against specific corrupt judges (Ps 58).

9) Earth/peoples domain of judgment
- Psalm 9:9 “יִשְׁפֹּט־תֵּבֵל… יָדִין לְאֻמִּים”; 9:20 “יִשָּׁפְטוּ גּוֹיִם עַל־פָּנֶיךָ”
- Psalm 58:3, 12 twice “בָּאָרֶץ,” culminating in “אֱלֹהִים שֹׁפְטִים בָּאָרֶץ.”
- The same judicial domain (earth/world; nations/men) recurs with overlapping vocabulary; Psalm 58’s final line is essentially a restatement of Psalm 9:9 in testimonial form.

10) Rarer/marked items that weigh strongly
- “בְּמֵישָׁרִים” appears in both (9:9; 58:2). This form is relatively distinctive in Psalms.
- “דֹרֵשׁ דָּמִים” (9:13) is conceptually matched by “נָקָם” + “דַּם הָרָשָׁע” (58:11).
- The deaf serpent simile (58:5–6) answering the “he does not forget/ignore the cry” (9:13) is a marked, image-level antithesis.
- Foot imagery at the moment of reversal (9:16; 58:11) is a pointed, non-generic echo.

11) Life‑cycle logic of the wicked vs. the righteous
- Psalm 9 describes the collapse of the wicked and the secure refuge of the oppressed (9:10–11, 16–19). Psalm 58 gives the etiological reason (wicked from the womb), demands divine surgery (break teeth), and ends with the social recognition of moral order (reward to the righteous; God judges on earth). That is a coherent narrative arc when read in sequence.

In sum
- Lexically, the two psalms share a dense forensic register (שפט/משפט/דין/צדק/במישרים) and even identical forms (notably “בְּמֵישָׁרִים”), along with rarer, vivid motifs (blood‑vengeance; feet at reversal; hearing vs. deafness) that are thematically and semantically aligned.
- Rhetorically, Psalm 58 provides the concrete conflict and the public verdict that Psalm 9 anticipates: after God’s just throne is proclaimed and invoked (Ps 9), corrupt human judging is exposed and brought under divine judgment so that “man will say” exactly what Psalm 9 wants known—that God judges in the earth (Ps 58).

Evaluation

Score: 7.0

Evaluated at: 2025-12-04T04:04:50 (UTC)

Evaluator model: gpt-5

Evaluator version: v2

Reasoning: 3840 Output: 6989 Total: 10829

Vocabulary specificity: 6.0 / 10

Multiple verified, specific links: שפט/דין/ב(מ)ישרים (9:9; 58:2), דֹרֵש דָּמִים ~ נָקָם/דַם (9:13; 58:11), feet reversal (9:16; 58:11), recognition (9:21→58:12). Strong, but ignores distance/‘אל תשחת’ grouping counterpoints. No caps.

Prompt

Consider Psalm 9 and Psalm 58 (reproduced below). What arguments could you make to justify that Psalm 58 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 58:
Psalm 58
1. לַמְנַצֵּ֥חַ
        אַל־
        תַּשְׁחֵ֗ת
        לְדָוִ֥ד
        מִכְתָּֽם׃
2. הַֽאֻמְנָ֗ם
        אֵ֣לֶם
        צֶ֭דֶק
        תְּדַבֵּר֑וּן
        מֵישָׁרִ֥ים
        תִּ֝שְׁפְּט֗וּ
        בְּנֵ֣י
        אָדָֽם׃
3. אַף־
        בְּלֵב֮
        עוֹלֹ֢ת
        תִּפְעָ֫ל֥וּן
        בָּאָ֡רֶץ
        חֲמַ֥ס
        יְ֝דֵיכֶ֗ם
        תְּפַלֵּֽסֽוּן׃
4. זֹ֣רוּ
        רְשָׁעִ֣ים
        מֵרָ֑חֶם
        תָּע֥וּ
        מִ֝בֶּ֗טֶן
        דֹּבְרֵ֥י
        כָזָֽב׃
5. חֲמַת־
        לָ֗מוֹ
        כִּדְמ֥וּת
        חֲמַת־
        נָחָ֑שׁ
        כְּמוֹ־
        פֶ֥תֶן
        חֵ֝רֵ֗שׁ
        יַאְטֵ֥ם
        אָזְנֽוֹ׃
6. אֲשֶׁ֣ר
        לֹא־
        יִ֭שְׁמַע
        לְק֣וֹל
        מְלַחֲשִׁ֑ים
        חוֹבֵ֖ר
        חֲבָרִ֣ים
        מְחֻכָּֽם׃
7. אֱ‍ֽלֹהִ֗ים
        הֲרָס־
        שִׁנֵּ֥ימוֹ
        בְּפִ֑ימוֹ
        מַלְתְּע֥וֹת
        כְּ֝פִירִ֗ים
        נְתֹ֣ץ ׀
        יְהוָֽה׃
8. יִמָּאֲס֣וּ
        כְמוֹ־
        מַ֭יִם
        יִתְהַלְּכוּ־
        לָ֑מוֹ
        יִדְרֹ֥ךְ
        חצו
        חִ֝צָּ֗יו
        כְּמ֣וֹ
        יִתְמֹלָֽלוּ׃
9. כְּמ֣וֹ
        שַׁ֭בְּלוּל
        תֶּ֣מֶס
        יַהֲלֹ֑ךְ
        נֵ֥פֶל
        אֵ֝֗שֶׁת
        בַּל־
        חָ֥זוּ
        שָֽׁמֶשׁ׃
10. בְּטֶ֤רֶם
        יָבִ֣ינוּ
        סִּֽירֹתֵיכֶ֣ם
        אָטָ֑ד
        כְּמוֹ־
        חַ֥י
        כְּמוֹ־
        חָ֝ר֗וֹן
        יִשְׂעָרֶֽנּוּ׃
11. יִשְׂמַ֣ח
        צַ֭דִּיק
        כִּי־
        חָזָ֣ה
        נָקָ֑ם
        פְּעָמָ֥יו
        יִ֝רְחַ֗ץ
        בְּדַ֣ם
        הָרָשָֽׁע׃
12. וְיֹאמַ֣ר
        אָ֭דָם
        אַךְ־
        פְּרִ֣י
        לַצַּדִּ֑יק
        אַ֥ךְ
        יֵשׁ־
        אֱ֝לֹהִ֗ים
        שֹׁפְטִ֥ים
        בָּאָֽרֶץ׃