Psalm 10 → 30
Reasoning: 12096 Output: 5109 Total: 17205
Argument
Here are several mutually reinforcing lines of argument that Psalm 30 can be read as a logical sequel to Psalm 10. Verbal and lexical links (weighted by rarity and form) - Identical phrase, same form: בל אמוט “I shall not be moved” (Ps 10:6; Ps 30:7). In Ps 10 it is the boast of the רשע; in Ps 30 the psalmist confesses that he himself once said it “בשלוי” (in complacent ease), which God corrected. This is a rare collocation and a very strong hinge. - Same rare root ב-צ-ע “profit/gain”: Ps 10:3 בֹצֵעַ (“the greedy/profiteer”) vs Ps 30:10 מַה־בֶצַע (“what profit [is there] in my blood?”). The root is uncommon in Psalms; its reuse creates an ironic reversal: from the wicked person’s unjust gain to the psalmist’s plea that God “gain” no praise if he dies. - Same lexeme and image: הסתר פנים “hiding the face.” Ps 10:1, 11 accuse God of hiding (תעלים; הסתיר פניו); Ps 30:8 acknowledges it personally (“הסתרת פניך הייתי נבהל”). Same root + same noun; the second psalm answers the first’s complaint by narrating what that hiding felt like and how it ended. - Same lexeme: עֹזֵר “helper.” Ps 10:14 “יָתוֹם אַתָּה הָיִיתָ עֹזֵר”; Ps 30:11 “יְהוָה… הֱיֵה־עֹזֵר לִי.” Identical noun, picking up the earlier claim “you have been a helper” and turning it into a fresh plea in Ps 30 that is then met with rescue (Ps 30:2–4, 12–13). - Adversary theme with closely related terms: Ps 10:5 “כָּל־צֹרְרָיו” (his adversaries); Ps 30:2 “וְלֹא־שִׂמַּחְתָּ אֹיְבַי לִי” (you did not let my enemies gloat). Both center on enemy gloating; Ps 30 reports its prevention as an answer to Ps 10’s crisis. - Height/exaltation vocabulary built on רום: Ps 10:5 “מָרוֹם מִשְׁפָּטֶיךָ” (your judgments are on high); Ps 30:1 “אֲרוֹמִמְךָ” (I will exalt you). The semantic field of “height” is carried forward, now as praise. - Same root עמד with theological reversal: Ps 10:1 “לָמָה… תַּעֲמֹד בְּרָחוֹק” (why do you stand far off?); Ps 30:8 “הֶעֱמַדְתָּ… עֹז” (you set/established my mountain as strong). God’s “standing far” in Ps 10 is answered by his “establishing” in Ps 30. - Hearing verbs: Ps 10:17 “תַּאֲוַת עֲנָוִים שָׁמַעְתָּ” (you have heard); Ps 30:11 “שְׁמַע־יְהוָה וְחָנֵּנִי” (hear, O LORD, and be gracious). The plea to hear in Ps 30 matches the confidence of hearing in Ps 10. - Temporal eternity markers: Ps 10:16 “יְהוָה מֶלֶךְ עוֹלָם וָעֶד”; Ps 30:7 “בַּל־אֶמּוֹט לְעוֹלָם,” 30:13 “לְעוֹלָם אוֹדֶךָּ.” The “forever” of God’s kingship (Ps 10) meets the “forever” of the psalmist’s thanksgiving (Ps 30). Shared imagery and semantic fields - Hiddenness to presence; night to morning: Ps 10 laments divine hiddenness “תַּעְלִים… בַּצָּרָה” (10:1). Ps 30 describes evening weeping and morning joy (30:6), narrating the very turn sought in Ps 10. - Downward/upward movement: Ps 10 pictures the poor dragged into nets, sinking and falling (10:9–10). Ps 30 answers with upward rescue: “דִּלִּיתָנִי” (you drew me up), “הֶעֱלִיתָ מִשְּׁאוֹל נַפְשִׁי” (you brought up my soul from Sheol), “חִיִּיתַנִי… מִיּרְדֵי־בוֹר” (30:2–4). The verbs and images invert the earlier descent. - Mouths re-purposed: Ps 10:7 “אָלָה… פִיהוּ מָלֵא… וּמִרְמוֹת” (his mouth is full of cursing and deceit); Ps 30 is saturated with praise verbs to redirect the mouth: “אֲרוֹמִמְךָ… זַמְּרוּ… וְהוֹדוּ… יְזַמֶּרְךָ… אוֹדֶךָּ” (30:1, 5, 13). Form-critical and structural fit - Lament → Thanksgiving sequence: Ps 10 is a classic lament with complaint (10:1–11), petition (10:12, 15), confidence (10:16–18). Ps 30 is a thanksgiving/hymn for deliverance, complete with communal summons (30:5) and vowed praise (30:13). As a pair, they model the canonical movement from crisis to praise. - Petition answered: Ps 10’s key cries—“קוּמָה יְהוָה… אַל־תִּשְׁכַּח” (10:12), “שְׁבוֹר זְרוֹעַ רָשָׁע” (10:15)—anticipate the report in Ps 30 that enemies’ gloating was stopped (30:2) and death was turned back (30:3–4, 10–12). Theological and rhetorical development - Hubris exposed and corrected: The identical “בל אמוט” links the wicked’s creed (Ps 10:6) to the psalmist’s former complacency (Ps 30:7). Ps 30 confesses that God’s “hiding of the face” shattered that presumption and produced proper dependence (30:8–11). - From “God has forgotten/hidden” to “God hears and heals”: Ps 10:11 (שָׁכַח אֵל; הִסְתִּיר פָּנָיו) is overturned by Ps 30’s emphases on hearing (30:11), healing (30:3), and turning mourning to dancing (30:12). - Justice to praise: Ps 10 highlights God as king who judges on behalf of the ענוים/יתום (10:16–18). Ps 30 shows how that justice yields doxology among the חסידים (30:5) and a vow of lifelong thanks (30:13). Life-setting, historical, and mythic resonances - Common life-sequence in Israel’s worship: individual/community lament in distress → deliverance → thanksgiving offered at the sanctuary. Ps 30’s superscription “שִׁיר חֲנֻכַּת הַבָּיִת” aligns naturally as the liturgical “after” of Ps 10’s “during.” - Mythic descent/ascent: Ps 10’s imagery of the righteous being dragged down by a predatory foe fits the broader biblical descent motif; Ps 30 explicitly frames deliverance as ascent from Sheol/the Pit, the classic mythic reversal that vindicates YHWH’s kingship proclaimed in Ps 10:16. In short: tightly shared and relatively rare diction (בל אמוט; הסתר פנים; בצע; עוזר), parallel semantic fields (hiddenness vs presence; descent vs ascent; enemy gloating vs public praise), and a textbook lament→thanksgiving progression combine to make Psalm 30 read naturally as the experiential and liturgical sequel to Psalm 10.
Evaluation
Score: 6.5
Evaluated at: 2025-12-08T04:14:24 (UTC)
Evaluator model: gpt-5
Evaluator version: v2
Reasoning: 4096 Output: 5946 Total: 10042
Checklist
- Has verse refs: Yes
- Factual error detected: No
- Only generic motifs: No
- Counterargument considered: No
- LXX/MT numbering acknowledged: No
Vocabulary specificity: 5.0 / 10
Accurate, verse-anchored links (בל־אמות; בצע; הסתר/הסתרת פנים; עֹזֵר) and plausible lament→thanksgiving arc, but much is common psalmic diction; no decisive editorial marker or adjacency; counterpoints unaddressed. Moderately overcomes H₀.
Prompt
Consider Psalm 10 and Psalm 30 (reproduced below). What arguments could you make to justify that Psalm 30 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 30:
Psalm 30
1. מִזְמ֡וֹר
שִׁיר־
חֲנֻכַּ֖ת
הַבַּ֣יִת
לְדָוִֽד׃
2. אֲרוֹמִמְךָ֣
יְ֭הוָה
כִּ֣י
דִלִּיתָ֑נִי
וְלֹא־
שִׂמַּ֖חְתָּ
אֹיְבַ֣י
לִֽי׃
3. יְהוָ֥ה
אֱלֹהָ֑י
שִׁוַּ֥עְתִּי
אֵ֝לֶ֗יךָ
וַתִּרְפָּאֵֽנִי׃
4. יְֽהוָ֗ה
הֶֽעֱלִ֣יתָ
מִּן־
שְׁא֣וֹל
נַפְשִׁ֑י
חִ֝יִּיתַ֗נִי
מיורדי־
מִיָּֽרְדִי־
בֽוֹר׃
5. זַמְּר֣וּ
לַיהוָ֣ה
חֲסִידָ֑יו
וְ֝הוֹד֗וּ
לְזֵ֣כֶר
קָדְשֽׁוֹ׃
6. כִּ֤י
רֶ֨גַע ׀
בְּאַפּוֹ֮
חַיִּ֢ים
בִּרְצ֫וֹנ֥וֹ
בָּ֭עֶרֶב
יָלִ֥ין
בֶּ֗כִי
וְלַבֹּ֥קֶר
רִנָּֽה׃
7. וַ֭אֲנִי
אָמַ֣רְתִּי
בְשַׁלְוִ֑י
בַּל־
אֶמּ֥וֹט
לְעוֹלָֽם׃
8. יְֽהוָ֗ה
בִּרְצוֹנְךָ֮
הֶעֱמַ֢דְתָּה
לְֽהַרְרִ֫י
עֹ֥ז
הִסְתַּ֥רְתָּ
פָנֶ֗יךָ
הָיִ֥יתִי
נִבְהָֽל׃
9. אֵלֶ֣יךָ
יְהוָ֣ה
אֶקְרָ֑א
וְאֶל־
אֲ֝דֹנָ֗י
אֶתְחַנָּֽן׃
10. מַה־
בֶּ֥צַע
בְּדָמִי֮
בְּרִדְתִּ֢י
אֶ֫ל
שָׁ֥חַת
הֲיוֹדְךָ֥
עָפָ֑ר
הֲיַגִּ֥יד
אֲמִתֶּֽךָ׃
11. שְׁמַע־
יְהוָ֥ה
וְחָנֵּ֑נִי
יְ֝הוָה
הֱֽיֵה־
עֹזֵ֥ר
לִֽי׃
12. הָפַ֣כְתָּ
מִסְפְּדִי֮
לְמָח֢וֹל
לִ֥י
פִּתַּ֥חְתָּ
שַׂקִּ֑י
וַֽתְּאַזְּרֵ֥נִי
שִׂמְחָֽה׃
13. לְמַ֤עַן ׀
יְזַמֶּרְךָ֣
כָ֭בוֹד
וְלֹ֣א
יִדֹּ֑ם
יְהוָ֥ה
אֱ֝לֹהַ֗י
לְעוֹלָ֥ם
אוֹדֶֽךָּ׃