Psalm 9 → 85

Reasoning: 11200 Output: 5921 Total: 17121

Argument

Short thesis: Psalm 9 celebrates and petitions YHWH’s just kingship that puts hostile nations down and protects the oppressed; Psalm 85 is the logical next scene—after the enemies are turned back, God “turns” (שוב) toward His people to restore them, speak peace, and make the land fruitful. The two psalms share form-critical moves, key roots and phrases (esp. שוב, צדק, ישע/ישועה), and a common Israelite life-cycle (holy war/judgment → return/restoration → shalom/fertility), so Psalm 85 can be read as the answer and outcome to the petitions and declarations of Psalm 9.

Arguments, ordered from higher to lower salience (rarer items, identical forms/word-classes first):

1) A shared leitwort that drives the plot: שוב “turn/return”
- Psalm 9 uses שוב for reversing fortunes of the nations/wicked:
  - בשוב־אויבי אחור “when my enemies turn back” (9:4, Qal inf. cstr. with ב־).
  - ישובו רשעים לשאולה “the wicked will return to Sheol” (9:18, Qal impf. 3mp).
- Psalm 85 makes שוב the hinge of Israel’s restoration, applied to God and His people:
  - שַׁבְתָּ שְׁבִית יעקב “you restored the fortunes of Jacob” (85:2, idiom with שוב).
  - הֱשִׁיבוֹתָ מֵחֲרוֹן אַפֶּךָ “you turned back your burning anger” (85:4, Hif. 2ms).
  - שׁוּבֵנוּ אֱלֹהֵי יִשְׁעֵנוּ “turn us, God of our salvation” (85:5, Hif. impv. 2ms).
  - הֲלֹא־אַתָּה תָּשׁוּב תְּחַיֵּנוּ “will you not return and revive us?” (85:7, Qal impf. 2ms).
  - וְאַל־יָשׁוּבוּ לְכִסְלָה “and let them not return to folly” (85:9, Qal impf. jussive nuance).
Logical follow-on: Psalm 9’s “turning back” of enemies and “return” of the wicked to Sheol is matched by Psalm 85’s multi-directional “turning” that restores Israel, turns away wrath, and guards the people from “returning” to folly. The same root, densely clustered in both, carries the narrative from judgment to restoration.

2) Identical justice noun that frames divine rule: צֶדֶק “righteousness”
- Psalm 9: שֹׁפֵט צֶדֶק (9:5); ישפֹּט תֵּבֵל בְּצֶדֶק (9:9).
- Psalm 85: צֶדֶק וְשָׁלוֹם נָשָׁקוּ (85:11); וְצֶדֶק מִשָּׁמַיִם נִשְׁקָף (85:12); צֶדֶק לְפָנָיו יְהַלֵּךְ (85:14).
Logical follow-on: Psalm 9 enthrones YHWH as the righteous judge; Psalm 85 shows what that righteous rule yields: harmony (“צדק ושלום נשקו”), heavenly-earthly alignment (85:12), and a righteous path laid out before God (85:14). The same noun (same form, same word class) moves from courtroom to cosmos.

3) Shared salvation root in nominal form: ישע/ישועה
- Psalm 9: בִּישׁוּעָתֶךָ “in your salvation” (9:15, noun).
- Psalm 85: אֱלֹהֵי יִשְׁעֵנוּ “God of our salvation” (85:5, noun); וְיִשְׁעֲךָ תִּתֵּן־לָנוּ “give us your salvation” (85:8, noun); קָרוֹב לִירֵאָיו יִשְׁעוֹ (85:10).
Logical follow-on: the “salvation” celebrated and vowed in Psalm 9 (9:15) becomes the explicit gift requested and promised in Psalm 85 (85:5,8,10). Same root, same nominal word-class across both psalms.

4) Presence-in-the-land motif moving from enthronement in Zion to indwelling glory
- Psalm 9: זַמְּרוּ לַיהוָה יֹשֵׁב צִיּוֹן “sing to YHWH, enthroned in Zion” (9:12); praise at “the gates of Daughter Zion” (9:15).
- Psalm 85: לִשְׁכֹּן כָּבוֹד בְּאַרְצֵנוּ “that glory may dwell in our land” (85:10).
Logical follow-on: the One “enthroned in Zion” (9) comes to “dwell” (שכן, a presence-verb) with His glory in the land (85). Different but synonymous verbs (ישב/שכן) serve one presence motif; the progression is from royal enthronement to intimate indwelling and land-renewal.

5) Structural/form-critical progression is the same, with Psalm 85 carrying Psalm 9’s arc to completion
- Psalm 9:
  - Past acts/praise: God judged enemies, is enthroned (vv. 2–9).
  - Petition: “Be gracious to me” (חָנְנֵנִי, v.14).
  - Universalizing prayer: “Arise… Judge the nations” (vv. 20–21).
- Psalm 85:
  - Past acts: restoration and forgiveness recalled (vv. 2–4).
  - Petition: “Turn us… will you not revive us?” (vv. 5–8).
  - Oracle/assurance: “He will speak peace… glory will dwell… righteousness will go before him” (vv. 9–14).
Logical follow-on: the same liturgical sequence (past grace → present plea → divine answer), but Psalm 85 supplies the explicit salvation oracle and land-fertility outcome that Psalm 9 anticipates when it calls for God to arise and judge.

6) From judgment on nations to peace for the faithful: a deliberate antithetical complement
- Psalm 9 ends with: “Set dread upon them… let the nations know they are mortal” (שִׁיתָה… מוֹרָה; יֵדְעוּ גוֹיִם אֱנוֹשׁ הֵמָּה, 9:21).
- Psalm 85 answers with: “I will listen to what God YHWH will speak—for he will speak peace (שָׁלוֹם) to his people and to his faithful” (85:9).
Logical follow-on: after the nations are humbled under judgment in Psalm 9, the next scene is God’s word of shalom to His own in Psalm 85. Humbling there; healing here.

7) Identical praise-phrase with שמח “rejoice” + בך “in you”
- Psalm 9: אֶשְׂמְחָה… בָּךְ (9:3).
- Psalm 85: וְעַמְּךָ יִשְׂמְחוּ־בָךְ (85:7).
The identical lexeme (שמח) with the identical prepositional complement בך signals the same theological posture—joy in God Himself—now broadened from the individual (Ps 9) to the community (Ps 85).

8) Two psalms that bookend the “holy-war → restoration” cycle common in Israel’s story
- Psalm 9 depicts divine “rebuke of nations” and ruin of their cities (גערת גוים… ערים נתשת, 9:6–7), enthronement for judgment (9:8–9), and protection of the oppressed.
- Psalm 85 moves to return-and-repair: forgiveness of sin (נשאת עון… כסית חטאתם, 85:3), turning away wrath (85:4–6), revival (תחיינו, 85:7), peace, and agricultural blessing (וְאַרְצֵנוּ תִּתֵּן יְבוּלָהּ, 85:13).
This is the classic ANE/Israelite sequence: combat and judgment → enthronement → oracle of peace → fertility/abundance.

9) Justice vocabulary cluster: משפט/דין // צדק // מֵישָׁרִים
- Psalm 9: עשית מִשְׁפָּטִי וְדִינִי (9:5); יִשְׁפֹּט… בְּצֶדֶק; יָדִין… בְּמֵישָׁרִים (9:9).
- Psalm 85: concentrates the outcome in “צדק” three times (85:11–12,14).
Even where משפט/דין drop out in Psalm 85, their effect is realized as צֶדֶק shaping history (“walks before him,” 85:14). The shared forensic field ties the psalms.

10) Liturgy markers and style
- Both have the shared superscription frame: לַמְנַצֵּחַ … מִזְמוֹר (9:1; 85:1).
- Both use Selah at a structural hinge (9:17; 85:3).
- Both employ rapid parataxis with ו־ and terse parallel cola; both pivot from “I/We” to “nations”/“peoples.”

11) From “tell among the peoples” to “listen to what he will speak”
- Psalm 9: הַגִּידוּ בָּעַמִּים עֲלִילוֹתָיו “announce among the peoples his deeds” (9:12).
- Psalm 85: אֶשְׁמְעָה מַה־יְדַבֵּר “I will listen to what [he] will speak” (85:9).
The dialogical shape tightens: proclamation (9) elicits attention to divine speech (85).

12) Pastoral outcome that answers Psalm 9’s social concern for the lowly
- Psalm 9: YHWH is a מִשְׂגָּב to the crushed (דך), hears the cry of the עֲנָוִים, will not let the hope of the עֲנִיִּים perish (9:10–11, 13, 19).
- Psalm 85: the community is “revived” and “rejoices,” hears peace, and enjoys a healed land (85:7–13).
Psalm 85 delivers the social and material stability Psalm 9 seeks from YHWH’s just kingship.

Narrative synthesis: Read together, Psalm 9 prays, “Arise and judge; make the nations know their limits; do not forget the afflicted.” Psalm 85 is the logical next chapter: “You turned back your wrath, turn us as well; speak peace; let righteousness and peace embrace; let the land yield.” The shared roots (שוב; צדק; ישע/ישועה), identical forms (צדק; ישמחו/אשמחה + בך; למנצח / מזמור), parallel form (past grace → plea → assurance), and the Israelite holy-war-to-restoration arc make a strong case that Psalm 85 reads naturally as the theological and liturgical sequel to Psalm 9.

Evaluation

Score: 6.0

Evaluated at: 2025-12-05T03:57:43 (UTC)

Evaluator model: gpt-5

Evaluator version: v2

Reasoning: 3456 Output: 6750 Total: 10206

Vocabulary specificity: 3.0 / 10

Accurate, verse-specific links (שוב clusters; צֶדֶק framing; ישועה nouns; Zion→dwelling) and a coherent judgment→restoration arc. But lexis is common, no decisive editorial marker, and counterpoints (distance, genre-common) unaddressed. Score 6.

Prompt

Consider Psalm 9 and Psalm 85 (reproduced below). What arguments could you make to justify that Psalm 85 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 85:
Psalm 85
1. לַמְנַצֵּ֬חַ ׀
        לִבְנֵי־
        קֹ֬רַח
        מִזְמֽוֹר׃
2. רָצִ֣יתָ
        יְהוָ֣ה
        אַרְצֶ֑ךָ
        שַׁ֝֗בְתָּ
        שבות
        שְׁבִ֣ית
        יַעֲקֹֽב׃
3. נָ֭שָׂאתָ
        עֲוֺ֣ן
        עַמֶּ֑ךָ
        כִּסִּ֖יתָ
        כָל־
        חַטָּאתָ֣ם
        סֶֽלָה׃
4. אָסַ֥פְתָּ
        כָל־
        עֶבְרָתֶ֑ךָ
        הֱ֝שִׁיב֗וֹתָ
        מֵחֲר֥וֹן
        אַפֶּֽךָ׃
5. שׁ֭וּבֵנוּ
        אֱלֹהֵ֣י
        יִשְׁעֵ֑נוּ
        וְהָפֵ֖ר
        כַּֽעַסְךָ֣
        עִמָּֽנוּ׃
6. הַלְעוֹלָ֥ם
        תֶּֽאֱנַף־
        בָּ֑נוּ
        תִּמְשֹׁ֥ךְ
        אַ֝פְּךָ֗
        לְדֹ֣ר
        וָדֹֽר׃
7. הֲֽלֹא־
        אַ֭תָּה
        תָּשׁ֣וּב
        תְּחַיֵּ֑נוּ
        וְ֝עַמְּךָ֗
        יִשְׂמְחוּ־
        בָֽךְ׃
8. הַרְאֵ֣נוּ
        יְהוָ֣ה
        חַסְדֶּ֑ךָ
        וְ֝יֶשְׁעֲךָ֗
        תִּתֶּן־
        לָֽנוּ׃
9. אֶשְׁמְעָ֗ה
        מַה־
        יְדַבֵּר֮
        הָאֵ֢ל ׀
        יְה֫וָ֥ה
        כִּ֤י ׀
        יְדַבֵּ֬ר
        שָׁל֗וֹם
        אֶל־
        עַמּ֥וֹ
        וְאֶל־
        חֲסִידָ֑יו
        וְֽאַל־
        יָשׁ֥וּבוּ
        לְכִסְלָֽה׃
10. אַ֤ךְ ׀
        קָר֣וֹב
        לִירֵאָ֣יו
        יִשְׁע֑וֹ
        לִשְׁכֹּ֖ן
        כָּב֣וֹד
        בְּאַרְצֵֽנוּ׃
11. חֶֽסֶד־
        וֶאֱמֶ֥ת
        נִפְגָּ֑שׁוּ
        צֶ֖דֶק
        וְשָׁל֣וֹם
        נָשָֽׁקוּ׃
12. אֱ֭מֶת
        מֵאֶ֣רֶץ
        תִּצְמָ֑ח
        וְ֝צֶ֗דֶק
        מִשָּׁמַ֥יִם
        נִשְׁקָֽף׃
13. גַּם־
        יְ֭הוָה
        יִתֵּ֣ן
        הַטּ֑וֹב
        וְ֝אַרְצֵ֗נוּ
        תִּתֵּ֥ן
        יְבוּלָֽהּ׃
14. צֶ֭דֶק
        לְפָנָ֣יו
        יְהַלֵּ֑ךְ
        וְיָשֵׂ֖ם
        לְדֶ֣רֶךְ
        פְּעָמָֽיו׃