Psalm 9 → 140
Reasoning: 10240 Output: 6044 Total: 16284
Argument
Short answer: Psalm 140 reads like a concrete “case file” that applies the programmatic justice theology of Psalm 9 to a live crisis. It echoes Psalm 9’s vocabulary and motifs (judgment for the poor, self-entrapment of the wicked, nets and pits, “knowing” and the “Name,” sitting/establishing, pleas and praise), but focuses them on an “evil/violent man” within Israel rather than on the nations. That is exactly what you would expect to follow a general enthronement-judgment psalm like Psalm 9. Details (ranked by salience per your criteria): Highest-significance lexical/morphological links (identical forms or tight collocations) - Identical snare language and form: - Ps 9:16 “ברֶשֶׁת־זוּ טָמָנוּ נִלְכְּדָה רַגְלָם” (in the net they hid, their foot was caught). - Ps 140:6 “טָמְנוּ־גֵאִים … רֶשֶׁת” (the proud have hidden … a net). - The identical verb form טָמְנוּ (“they hid”) and the noun רֶשֶׁת (“net”) are rare/specific and point to deliberate echo. - The דין–משפט pair with עשה: - Ps 9:5 “עָשִׂיתָ מִשְׁפָּטִי וְדִינִי” - Ps 140:13 “יַעֲשֶׂה יְהוָה דִּין עָנִי מִשְׁפַּט אֶבְיוֹנִים” - Same two juridical nouns with the same verb “to do,” now explicitly applied to עני/אביונים. This looks like 140 is the applied outworking of 9’s claim. - “Know/Name” chain (ידע + שם): - Ps 9:17 “נוֹדַע יְהוָה מִשְׁפָּט עָשָׂה”; 9:11 “יודעי שמך” - Ps 9:21 “יֵדְעוּ גוֹיִם” - Ps 140:13 “יָדַעְתִּי כִּי־יַעֲשֶׂה יְהוָה …”; 140:14 “צַדִּיקִים יוֹדוּ לִשְׁמֶךָ” - Psalm 9 says YHWH is “known” by judgment and that those who “know” his Name trust him; it ends by asking that “the nations know.” Psalm 140 answers, “I know” (first person) and ends with the righteous “giving thanks to your Name.” - ישב / כון / ישר (shared roots, same or closely allied forms): - ישב: Ps 9:8,12 “וַיהוה לְעוֹלָם יֵשֵׁב … יֹשֵׁב צִיּוֹן”; Ps 140:14 “יֵשְׁבוּ יְשָׁרִים אֶת־פָּנֶיךָ” - כון: Ps 9:8 “כּוֹנֵן לַמִּשְׁפָּט כִּסְאוֹ”; Ps 140:12 “אִישׁ לָשׁוֹן בַּל־יִכּוֹן בָּאָרֶץ” - ישר: Ps 9:9 “בְמֵישָׁרִים”; Ps 140:14 “יְשָׁרִים” - The only “established” seat is YHWH’s (Ps 9); the slanderer “will not be established in the land” (Ps 140). And the “upright/straight” frame in 9 (equity) becomes the “upright” people dwelling before God in 140. - “Rise” wordplay (קום): - Ps 9:20 “קוּמָה יְהוָה” (Arise, YHWH!) - Ps 140:11 “בְּמַהֲמֹרוֹת בַּל־יָקוּמוּ” (into pits—let them not rise) - The call for God to rise is answered by the wish that the wicked not rise from the pits. Judgment-of-the-wicked/self-entrapment motif - Auto-retribution: - Ps 9:17 “בְּפֹעַל כַּפָּיו נוֹקֵשׁ רָשָׁע” (the wicked is snared in his own handiwork). - Ps 140:10 “עֲמַל שְׂפָתֵימוֹ יְכַסֵּמוֹ” (the mischief of their own lips cover them), plus 140:11 coals/pits/fire upon them. - Same principle: harm returns upon the perpetrator (hands → lips), now particularized. - Pit/net complex: - Ps 9:16 “בְּשַׁחַת … בְּרֶשֶׁת … נִלְכְּדָה” - Ps 140:6 “פַּח … רֶשֶׁת … מֹקְשִׁים”; 140:11 “בְּמַהֲמֹרוֹת” - 140 multiplies the trap-terms anticipated in 9. The poor/oppressed theme verbalized with the same lexemes - Ps 9:10–11,13,19 “מִשְׂגָּב לַדָּךְ … לֹא שָׁכַח צַעֲקַת עֲנָוִים … לֹא לָנֶצַח יִשָּׁכַח אֶבְיוֹן” - Ps 140:13 “יַעֲשֶׂה יְהוָה דִּין עָנִי מִשְׁפַּט אֶבְיוֹנִים” - The identical pair עני/אביון tied to דין/משפט shows 140 as an explicit fulfillment of 9’s assurances. Praise-and-petition frame - Opening/closing doxology to the Name: - Ps 9 opens with praise and resolves to sing “שִׁמְךָ” (vv. 2–3, 12, 15). - Ps 140 closes with “צַדִּיקִים יוֹדוּ לִשְׁמֶךָ” (v. 14). - Imperatives to YHWH: - Ps 9:20–21 “קוּמָה … שִׁיתָה יְהוָה מוֹרָה לָהֶם” - Ps 140 is saturated with imperatives/jussives: “חַלְּצֵנִי … תִּנְצְרֵנִי … הַאֲזִינָה … אַל־תִּתֵּן … אַל־תָּפֵק” (vv. 2, 5, 7, 9) - 140 reads like the direct petition that Psalm 9 invited. Theology of refuge and battle - Refuge metaphors: - Ps 9:10 “יְהוָה מִשְׂגָּב … לְעִתּוֹת בַּצָּרָה” - Ps 140:8 “עֹז יְשׁוּעָתִי; סַכֹּתָה לְרֹאשִׁי בְּיוֹם נָשֶׁק” - Same theology (YHWH protects in crisis), with a battle-day instantiation in 140. Stylistic and formal similarities - Superscriptional match: both have “לַמְנַצֵּחַ מִזְמוֹר לְדָוִד” (Ps 9 also adds the musical note עַלְמוּת לַבֵּן). - Both are lament-hymns that move from praise to complaint to imprecation to confidence, and both include Selah pauses. - Both use richly parallel cola with tightly clustered legal, military, and cultic vocabulary. Macro-logical flow from Psalm 9 to Psalm 140 - Psalm 9 sets the program: YHWH is enthroned for judgment, judges the world with equity, is a high tower for the crushed, remembers the blood of the oppressed, and makes the wicked fall into their own traps; therefore “Arise, YHWH,” let the nations learn they are but mortal. - Psalm 140 applies the program to a concrete threat: violent, plotting men inside the land lay nets and snares; the psalmist asks God not to grant their desires and invokes the auto-retribution principle (their own lips, coals, pits). He confesses, “I know” YHWH will execute דין/משפט for עני/אביונים and foresees worshipers dwelling before God—exactly the outcome Psalm 9 anticipates (praise in Zion’s gates; YHWH enthroned; the upright before his face). Life-setting/historical plausibility - Psalm 9 reads like a national/royal thanksgiving and enthronement-of-YHWH psalm after victory over “nations.” - Psalm 140 then fits the next, common stage in Israel’s and David’s experience: internal opposition and court intrigue (“אִישׁ חֲמָסִים,” “אִישׁ לָשׁוֹן”) during ongoing warfare (“בְּיוֹם נָשֶׁק”). The shift from “גּוֹיִם” (Ps 9) to “אִישׁ” (Ps 140) is a logical narrative progression from external to internal foes. Summary of the strongest textual hooks - Exact “trap” diction and form: טָמְנוּ + רֶשֶׁת (Ps 9:16; 140:6). - דין/משפט with עשה; focused on עני/אביון (Ps 9:5; 140:13). - ידע/שם network (נודע/יודעי שמך → ידעתי/יודו לשמך). - ישב/יכון/ישר roots: divine enthronement (Ps 9) → human disestablishment and upright dwelling before God (Ps 140). - קום antithesis: “Arise, YHWH” (Ps 9) // “let them not arise” (Ps 140). - Self-entrapment principle: hands (Ps 9) → lips (Ps 140). All told, Psalm 140 reads as an intentional, particularizing continuation of Psalm 9’s themes and lexicon: the same Judge, the same victims (עני/אביון), the same fate for the wicked (their own snares), the same outcome (praise to the Name and the upright before God), now pressed into the specifics of an “evil/violent man” threatening the psalmist.
Evaluation
Score: 6.5
Evaluated at: 2025-12-07T03:47:58 (UTC)
Evaluator model: gpt-5
Evaluator version: v2
Reasoning: 3520 Output: 6876 Total: 10396
Checklist
- Has verse refs: Yes
- Factual error detected: No
- Only generic motifs: No
- Counterargument considered: No
- LXX/MT numbering acknowledged: No
Vocabulary specificity: 4.0 / 10
Multiple precise lexical overlaps (טָמְנוּ + רֶשֶׁת; דין/משפט + עשה; ידע/שם; קוּם antithesis) verified, but these motifs are common; ignores Ps 9–10 acrostic pairing and canonical distance—no editorial linkage.
Prompt
Consider Psalm 9 and Psalm 140 (reproduced below). What arguments could you make to justify that Psalm 140 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 140:
Psalm 140
1. לַמְנַצֵּ֗חַ
מִזְמ֥וֹר
לְדָוִֽד׃
2. חַלְּצֵ֣נִי
יְ֭הוָה
מֵאָדָ֣ם
רָ֑ע
מֵאִ֖ישׁ
חֲמָסִ֣ים
תִּנְצְרֵֽנִי׃
3. אֲשֶׁ֤ר
חָשְׁב֣וּ
רָע֣וֹת
בְּלֵ֑ב
כָּל־
י֝֗וֹם
יָג֥וּרוּ
מִלְחָמֽוֹת׃
4. שָֽׁנֲנ֣וּ
לְשׁוֹנָם֮
כְּֽמוֹ
נָ֫חָ֥שׁ
חֲמַ֥ת
עַכְשׁ֑וּב
תַּ֖חַת
שְׂפָתֵ֣ימוֹ
סֶֽלָה׃
5. שָׁמְרֵ֤נִי
יְהוָ֨ה ׀
מִ֘ידֵ֤י
רָשָׁ֗ע
מֵאִ֣ישׁ
חֲמָסִ֣ים
תִּנְצְרֵ֑נִי
אֲשֶׁ֥ר
חָ֝שְׁב֗וּ
לִדְח֥וֹת
פְּעָמָֽי׃
6. טָֽמְנֽוּ־
גֵאִ֨ים ׀
פַּ֡ח
לִ֗י
וַחֲבָלִ֗ים
פָּ֣רְשׂוּ
רֶ֭שֶׁת
לְיַד־
מַעְגָּ֑ל
מֹקְשִׁ֖ים
שָֽׁתוּ־
לִ֣י
סֶֽלָה׃
7. אָמַ֣רְתִּי
לַ֭יהוָה
אֵ֣לִי
אָ֑תָּה
הַאֲזִ֥ינָה
יְ֝הוָ֗ה
ק֣וֹל
תַּחֲנוּנָֽי׃
8. יְהֹוִ֣ה
אֲ֭דֹנָי
עֹ֣ז
יְשׁוּעָתִ֑י
סַכֹּ֥תָה
לְ֝רֹאשִׁ֗י
בְּי֣וֹם
נָֽשֶׁק׃
9. אַל־
תִּתֵּ֣ן
יְ֭הוָה
מַאֲוַיֵּ֣י
רָשָׁ֑ע
זְמָמ֥וֹ
אַל־
תָּ֝פֵ֗ק
יָר֥וּמוּ
סֶֽלָה׃
10. רֹ֥אשׁ
מְסִבָּ֑י
עֲמַ֖ל
שְׂפָתֵ֣ימוֹ
יכסומו
יְכַסֵּֽמוֹ׃
11. ימיטו
יִמּ֥וֹטוּ
עֲלֵיהֶ֗ם
גֶּֽחָ֫לִ֥ים
בָּאֵ֥שׁ
יַפִּלֵ֑ם
בְּ֝מַהֲמֹר֗וֹת
בָּל־
יָקֽוּמוּ׃
12. אִ֥ישׁ
לָשׁוֹן֮
בַּל־
יִכּ֢וֹן
בָּ֫אָ֥רֶץ
אִישׁ־
חָמָ֥ס
רָ֑ע
יְ֝צוּדֶ֗נּוּ
לְמַדְחֵפֹֽת׃
13. ידעת
יָדַ֗עְתִּי
כִּֽי־
יַעֲשֶׂ֣ה
יְ֭הוָה
דִּ֣ין
עָנִ֑י
מִ֝שְׁפַּ֗ט
אֶבְיֹנִֽים׃
14. אַ֣ךְ
צַ֭דִּיקִים
יוֹד֣וּ
לִשְׁמֶ֑ךָ
יֵשְׁב֥וּ
יְ֝שָׁרִ֗ים
אֶת־
פָּנֶֽיךָ׃