Psalm 10 → 3
Reasoning: 11200 Output: 5399 Total: 16599
Argument
Here are multiple, mutually reinforcing ways to argue that Psalm 3 reads like a logical sequel to Psalm 10. Most probative lexical/formulaic links (rare/identical forms) - Identical imperative formula: קוּמָה יְהוָה. Ps 10:12 and Ps 3:8 both open a climactic plea with the exact same two-word vocative (“Arise, YHWH”). This collocation is relatively rare and concentrated in early laments; seeing it reappear makes Ps 3 sound like the next movement of the same prayer. - Same root, same target, petition → fulfillment: שָׁבַר + רָשָׁע/רְשָׁעִים. Ps 10:15 “שְׁבֹר זְרוֹעַ רָשָׁע” (imperative: break the arm of the wicked); Ps 3:8 “שִׁנֵּי רְשָׁעִים שִׁבַּרְתָּ” (perfect: you have broken the teeth of the wicked). Same root against the same adversary class, with Ps 3’s perfect reading like the realized answer to Ps 10’s imperative. - The “אין … אלהים” challenge. Ps 10:4 “אֵין אֱלֹהִים” (the wicked’s programmatic thought); Ps 3:3 “אֵין יְשׁוּעָתָה לוֹ בֵאלֹהִים” (the opponents’ taunt). The identical string “אין … אלהים” is rhetorically distinctive; both psalms stage a denial of God’s help/presence that the psalmist must answer. - Enemy term from the same root: צָר. Ps 10:5 “כָּל־צוֹרְרָיו” and Ps 3:2 “רַבּוּ צָרָי.” Same root and same word class (noun), framing the conflict similarly. - Mouth/teeth field closed by blow imagery. Ps 10:7 catalogs the wicked mouth (“פִּיהוּ מָלֵא … תַּחַת לְשׁוֹנוֹ”), and Ps 3:8 pictures God smashing the very organ of their speech (“הִכִּיתָ … לֶחִי; שִׁנֵּי רְשָׁעִים שִׁבַּרְתָּ”). This is an unusually tight semantic resolution: the mouth that curses in Ps 10 is silenced by broken teeth in Ps 3. - Hear/answer pairing with matching verbs. Ps 10:17 “שָׁמַעְתָּ … תַּקְשִׁיב אָזְנֶךָ” (You have heard; you incline your ear); Ps 3:5 “קֹולִי אֶל־יְהוָה אֶקְרָא וַיַּעֲנֵנִי” (I cry … and he answers me). Ps 10 promises God’s hearing; Ps 3 narrates the answer. Structural and form-critical fit - Lament → imprecation → trust → doxology. Both psalms move through classic lament elements, but where Ps 10 ends with petition and confession of YHWH’s kingship (10:12–18), Ps 3 immediately picks up with the same “Arise, YHWH” plea (3:8), then turns that plea into realized confidence (3:5–7) and a brief doxology (3:9). Ps 3 reads like the next “act” in the same drama. - Questioning address to the divine name. Ps 10 opens, “לָמָה יְהוָה…?”; Ps 3 opens its body, “יְהוָה מָה…?” Same vocative + interrogative posture of urgent lament. Conceptual/logical development (Ps 10’s open petitions realized in Ps 3) - From distance to presence: Ps 10:1 complains “תַּעֲמֹד בְּרָחוֹק” (you stand far off), “תַעְלִים … בַּצָּרָה” (you hide in trouble). Ps 3 answers with presence and protection: “מָגֵן בַּעֲדִי … וַיַּעֲנֵנִי מֵהַר קָדְשׁוֹ” (shield; he answered from his holy hill), and restful sleep (3:6) as the experiential proof that God is no longer “far.” - The end of human terror vs the end of fear. Ps 10:18 prays that “בַּל־יוֹסִיף עוֹד לַעֲרֹץ אֱנוֹשׁ” (mortal man no longer terrify). Ps 3:7 replies in the first person: “לֹא־אִירָא מֵרִבְבוֹת עָם” (I will not fear multitudes). The communal wish in Ps 10 becomes the individual’s reality in Ps 3. - Height/Zion theology. Ps 10:5 sets God’s justice in the “מָרוֹם”; Ps 3 localizes it as “הַר קָדְשׁוֹ,” the Zion center where YHWH answers. Given Ps 9–10’s Zion frame (cf. Ps 9:12), Ps 3’s “holy hill” sounds like a direct carry-over. - Kingship and people. Ps 10:16 affirms, “יְהוָה מֶלֶךְ עוֹלָם וָעֶד.” Ps 3 is a royal lament (superscription: David fleeing Absalom) that closes with a communal benediction: “לַיהוָה הַיְשׁוּעָה; עַל־עַמְּךָ בִרְכָתֶךָ” (3:9). YHWH’s kingship (Ps 10) flows into the Davidic crisis and the blessing of “your people” (Ps 3). - Speech contest resolved. Ps 10 highlights the wicked’s inner and outer speech (“אָמַר בְּלִבּוֹ” x3; 10:6,11,13). Ps 3 highlights the many who “אֹמְרִים לְנַפְשִׁי: אֵין יְשׁוּעָתָה לוֹ בֵאלֹהִים” (3:3). Ps 3 overturns both the internal boast of the wicked (Ps 10) and the public taunt (Ps 3) by reporting divine answer and deliverance. Event-sequence plausibility (Absalom as the “wicked” of Ps 10) - Absalom exemplifies Ps 10’s portrait of the רָשָׁע: pride (“כְּגֹבַהּ אַפּוֹ,” 10:4), deceit and manipulation (“פִּיהוּ מָלֵא … וּמִרְמוֹת,” 10:7; cf. 2 Sam 15:2–6), predatory ambush imagery (“יֵשֵׁב בְּמַאְרַב… בַּמִּסְתָּרִים,” 10:8; cf. Absalom’s stealthy coup), and presumptuous security (“בַּל־אֶמּוֹט,” 10:6). Psalm 3’s superscription locates the lament precisely in that crisis, letting Ps 3 function as a concrete case of the generalized injustice lamented in Ps 10. - Pursuit and flight motif. Ps 10:2 “בְּגַאֲוַת רָשָׁע יִדְלַק עָנִי” (the wicked hotly pursues the afflicted); Ps 3:1 “בְּבָרְחוֹ” (in his fleeing) supplies the other side of the same chase. - Encirclement/ambush. Ps 10’s ambush setting (“מַאְרָב… מִסְתָּרִים,” 10:8–9) is mirrored by Ps 3:7 “אֲשֶׁר סָבִיב שָׁתוּ עָלַי” (set themselves around me). Further lexical/thematic links (secondary but supportive) - Shared root רו״ם: Ps 10:5 “מָרוֹם מִשְׁפָּטֶיךָ”; Ps 3:4 “וּמֵרִים רֹאשִׁי.” God’s “height” of judgment becomes the lifting of the petitioner’s head. - Blessing verb/root ב־ר־ךְ: Ps 10:3 “וּבֹצֵעַ בֵּרֵךְ” (perverse blessing of a robber) is corrected by Ps 3:9 “עַל־עַמְּךָ בִרְכָתֶךָ” (God’s proper blessing on his people). - Trouble/enemy root צ־ר: Ps 10:1 “בַצָּרָה,” 10:5 “צוֹרְרָיו”; Ps 3:2 “צָרָי.” The same conflict field is in play across both psalms. - From hiddenness to hearing to answer: Ps 10:1 “תַּעְלִים” (you hide) → Ps 10:17 “שָׁמַעְתָּ … תַּקְשִׁיב” (you hear) → Ps 3:5 “וַיַּעֲנֵנִי” (he answered). This is a clean logical arc. How the two psalms “fit” as consecutive scenes - Ps 10 raises unresolved petitions and programmatic claims: “Arise… break the wicked… you hear the humble… judge so that human terror cease… YHWH is king.” Ps 3 immediately re-voices the “Arise, YHWH” line, narrates that God has in fact answered from Zion, depicts the silencing of the wicked’s mouth by broken teeth, and concludes with the compact creed that distills Ps 10’s theology: “לַיהוָה הַיְשׁוּעָה; עַל־עַמְּךָ בִרְכָתֶךָ.” In other words, Ps 3 functions as the experiential realization of Ps 10’s plea. If one weights the evidence by your criteria, the strongest links are: - Identical formula קוּמָה יְהוָה (formally identical and relatively rare). - שָׁבַר against רשע/רשעים (same root, same semantic target; petition in Ps 10 answered in Ps 3). - The “אין … אלהים” pattern (distinctive phraseology anchoring the theological contest). - Matching enemy lexemes (צָר/צוֹרֵר) and the mouth/teeth resolution. - Hearing/answering sequence culminating in Zion (“מרום/הר קדשו”). Together these make a robust case that Psalm 3 can be read as the logical, narrative, and liturgical continuation of Psalm 10.
Evaluation
Score: 6.5
Evaluated at: 2025-12-08T03:43:03 (UTC)
Evaluator model: gpt-5
Evaluator version: v2
Reasoning: 4224 Output: 6218 Total: 10442
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
Strong links: קומה יהוה; שבר + רשעים; ‘אין … אלהים’; mouth/teeth; hearing→answer; credible progress. But motifs recur widely; no editorial marker; Absalom linkage speculative; canonical order not consecutive.
Prompt
Consider Psalm 10 and Psalm 3 (reproduced below). What arguments could you make to justify that Psalm 3 logically follows on from Psalm 10? 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 10:
Psalm 10
1. לָמָ֣ה
יְ֭הוָה
תַּעֲמֹ֣ד
בְּרָח֑וֹק
תַּ֝עְלִ֗ים
לְעִתּ֥וֹת
בַּצָּרָֽה׃
2. בְּגַאֲוַ֣ת
רָ֭שָׁע
יִדְלַ֣ק
עָנִ֑י
יִתָּפְשׂ֓וּ ׀
בִּמְזִמּ֖וֹת
ז֣וּ
חָשָֽׁבוּ׃
3. כִּֽי־
הִלֵּ֣ל
רָ֭שָׁע
עַל־
תַּאֲוַ֣ת
נַפְשׁ֑וֹ
וּבֹצֵ֥עַ
בֵּ֝רֵ֗ךְ
נִ֘אֵ֥ץ ׀
יְהוָֽה׃
4. רָשָׁ֗ע
כְּגֹ֣בַהּ
אַ֭פּוֹ
בַּל־
יִדְרֹ֑שׁ
אֵ֥ין
אֱ֝לֹהִ֗ים
כָּל־
מְזִמּוֹתָֽיו׃
5. יָ֘חִ֤ילוּ
דרכו
דְרָכָ֨יו ׀
בְּכָל־
עֵ֗ת
מָר֣וֹם
מִ֭שְׁפָּטֶיךָ
מִנֶּגְדּ֑וֹ
כָּל־
צ֝וֹרְרָ֗יו
יָפִ֥יחַ
בָּהֶֽם׃
6. אָמַ֣ר
בְּ֭לִבּוֹ
בַּל־
אֶמּ֑וֹט
לְדֹ֥ר
וָ֝דֹ֗ר
אֲשֶׁ֣ר
לֹֽא־
בְרָֽע׃
7. אָלָ֤ה ׀
פִּ֣יהוּ
מָ֭לֵא
וּמִרְמ֣וֹת
וָתֹ֑ךְ
תַּ֥חַת
לְ֝שׁוֹנ֗וֹ
עָמָ֥ל
וָאָֽוֶן׃
8. יֵשֵׁ֤ב ׀
בְּמַאְרַ֬ב
חֲצֵרִ֗ים
בַּֽ֭מִּסְתָּרִים
יַהֲרֹ֣ג
נָקִ֑י
עֵ֝ינָ֗יו
לְֽחֵלְכָ֥ה
יִצְפֹּֽנוּ׃
9. יֶאֱרֹ֬ב
בַּמִּסְתָּ֨ר ׀
כְּאַרְיֵ֬ה
בְסֻכֹּ֗ה
יֶ֭אֱרֹב
לַחֲט֣וֹף
עָנִ֑י
יַחְטֹ֥ף
עָ֝נִ֗י
בְּמָשְׁכ֥וֹ
בְרִשְׁתּֽוֹ׃
10. ודכה
יִדְכֶּ֥ה
יָשֹׁ֑חַ
וְנָפַ֥ל
בַּ֝עֲצוּמָּ֗יו
חלכאים
חֵ֣יל
כָּאִֽים׃
11. אָמַ֣ר
בְּ֭לִבּוֹ
שָׁ֣כַֽח
אֵ֑ל
הִסְתִּ֥יר
פָּ֝נָ֗יו
בַּל־
רָאָ֥ה
לָנֶֽצַח׃
12. קוּמָ֤ה
יְהוָ֗ה
אֵ֭ל
נְשָׂ֣א
יָדֶ֑ךָ
אַל־
תִּשְׁכַּ֥ח
עניים
עֲנָוִֽים׃
13. עַל־
מֶ֤ה ׀
נִאֵ֖ץ
רָשָׁ֥ע ׀
אֱלֹהִ֑ים
אָמַ֥ר
בְּ֝לִבּ֗וֹ
לֹ֣א
תִדְרֹֽשׁ׃
14. רָאִ֡תָה
כִּֽי־
אַתָּ֤ה ׀
עָ֘מָ֤ל
וָכַ֨עַס ׀
תַּבִּיט֮
לָתֵ֢ת
בְּיָ֫דֶ֥ךָ
עָ֭לֶיךָ
יַעֲזֹ֣ב
חֵלֶ֑כָה
יָ֝ת֗וֹם
אַתָּ֤ה ׀
הָיִ֬יתָ
עוֹזֵֽר׃
15. שְׁ֭בֹר
זְר֣וֹעַ
רָשָׁ֑ע
וָ֝רָ֗ע
תִּֽדְרוֹשׁ־
רִשְׁע֥וֹ
בַל־
תִּמְצָֽא׃
16. יְהוָ֣ה
מֶ֭לֶךְ
עוֹלָ֣ם
וָעֶ֑ד
אָבְד֥וּ
ג֝וֹיִ֗ם
מֵֽאַרְצֽוֹ׃
17. תַּאֲוַ֬ת
עֲנָוִ֣ים
שָׁמַ֣עְתָּ
יְהוָ֑ה
תָּכִ֥ין
לִ֝בָּ֗ם
תַּקְשִׁ֥יב
אָזְנֶֽךָ׃
18. לִשְׁפֹּ֥ט
יָת֗וֹם
וָ֫דָ֥ךְ
בַּל־
יוֹסִ֥יף
ע֑וֹד
לַעֲרֹ֥ץ
אֱ֝נ֗וֹשׁ
מִן־
הָאָֽרֶץ׃
Psalm 3:
Psalm 3
1. מִזְמ֥וֹר
לְדָוִ֑ד
בְּ֝בָרְח֗וֹ
מִפְּנֵ֤י ׀
אַבְשָׁל֬וֹם
בְּנֽוֹ׃
2. יְ֭הוָה
מָֽה־
רַבּ֣וּ
צָרָ֑י
רַ֝בִּ֗ים
קָמִ֥ים
עָלָֽי׃
3. רַבִּים֮
אֹמְרִ֢ים
לְנַ֫פְשִׁ֥י
אֵ֤ין
יְֽשׁוּעָ֓תָה
לּ֬וֹ
בֵֽאלֹהִ֬ים
סֶֽלָה׃
4. וְאַתָּ֣ה
יְ֭הוָה
מָגֵ֣ן
בַּעֲדִ֑י
כְּ֝בוֹדִ֗י
וּמֵרִ֥ים
רֹאשִֽׁtי׃
5. ק֖dוֹלִי
אֶל־
יְהוָ֣ה
אֶקְרָ֑א
וַיַּֽעֲנֵ֨נִי
מֵהַ֖ר
קָדְשׁ֣וֹ
סֶֽלָה׃
6. אֲנִ֥י
שָׁכַ֗בְתִּי
וָֽאִ֫ישָׁ֥נָה
הֱקִיצ֑וֹתִי
כִּ֖י
יְהוָ֣ה
יִסְמְכֵֽנִי׃
7. לֹֽא־
אִ֭ירָא
מֵרִבְב֥וֹת
עָ֑ם
אֲשֶׁ֥ר
סָ֝בִ֗יב
שָׁ֣תוּ
עָלָֽtי׃
8. ק֘וּמָ֤ה
יְהוָ֨ה ׀
הוֹשִׁ֘יעֵ֤נִי
אֱלֹהַ֗י
כִּֽי־
הִכִּ֣יתָ
אֶת־
כָּל־
אֹיְבַ֣י
לֶ֑חִי
שִׁנֵּ֖י
רְשָׁעִ֣ים
שִׁבַּֽרְתָּ׃
9. לַיהוָ֥ה
הַיְשׁוּעָ֑ה
עַֽל־
עַמְּךָ֖
בִרְכָתֶ֣ךָ
סֶּֽלָה׃