Psalm 10 → 39
Reasoning: 10560 Output: 6384 Total: 16944
Argument
Below are converging arguments that Psalm 39 can be read as a logical sequel to Psalm 10. I group them by kind of evidence; within each, I highlight the tighter links first (identical or near-identical forms, rarer items, and then broader thematic connections). 1) Plot/theology: how the “story” of 39 answers 10 - From God’s “distance” to God’s heavy “hand”: Psalm 10 opens with “Why, YHWH, do you stand far off? Why do you hide [תעלים] in times of trouble?” (10:1). In Psalm 39 the psalmist is now under God’s immediate pressure: “Remove from me your plague… from the strife of your hand [מִתִּגְרַת יָדֶךָ] I am consumed” (39:11). 39 thus reads like the follow-up after God “took matters into his hand” (cf. 10:14 “you look… to give with your hand [לָתֵת בְּיָדֶךָ]”), with the psalmist now begging relief from that very hand. - From the wicked’s boast of permanence to wisdom’s correction: In 10:6 the wicked says, “I shall not be moved [בַּל־אֶמּוֹט] for generation and generation.” Psalm 39 corrects that illusion: “Behold, you made my days a handbreadth… surely every human is but a breath [הֶבֶל]… he stands [נִצָּב]” (39:6; cf. 39:7). 39 explicitly reframes the false stability of 10:6 with human ephemerality. - From God’s “silence” to a plea for God not to be silent: The wicked in 10 assumes God will “not inquire” (10:13), and the psalmist laments divine hiding (10:1). In 39:13 the psalmist prays, “Hear my prayer… give ear [הַאֲזִינָה]… do not be silent [אַל־תֶּחֱרַשׁ] to my tears,” directly countering the theology of divine non-response in 10. - From public injustice to personal penitence: Psalm 10 calls for the breaking of the wicked’s arm (10:15); Psalm 39 turns inward: “From all my transgressions deliver me” (39:9), and “With rebukes for iniquity you discipline a man [יְסַּרְתָּ אִישׁ]” (39:12). The move from imprecation against oppressors (10) to confession and discipline (39) is a well-attested lament sequence in Israelite piety. 2) Tight lexical and phrasal ties - Mouth/tongue cluster (rarely aligned this tightly across two psalms): - Psalm 10: “His mouth [פִּיהוּ] is full of cursing and deceit… under his tongue [לְשׁוֹנוֹ] are mischief and iniquity” (10:7). - Psalm 39: “I said, I will guard my ways, that I may not sin with my tongue [בִלְשׁוֹנִי]; I will keep a muzzle for my mouth [לְפִי מַחְסוֹם], while the wicked is before me” (39:2); “I spoke with my tongue [בִּלְשׁוֹנִי]” (39:4). - Note: identical lexemes פֶה/פִּי and לָשׁוֹן recur in both, with 39 explicitly presenting a deliberate response (a “muzzle,” מַחְסוֹם—a rare term) to the wicked mouth of 10. - Way/walking cluster: - Psalm 10: “His ways [דְרָכָיו] prosper at all times” (10:5). - Psalm 39: “I will guard my ways [דְרָכַי]” (39:2); “Surely as a shadow-image a man walks [יִתְהַלֶּךְ]” (39:7). - Identical noun דֶרֶךְ with pronominal suffix in both psalms; 39 reframes “ways” from the wicked’s success (10) to the psalmist’s self-discipline and wisdom realism. - “Before/against” (נֶגֶד) cluster: - Psalm 10: “Your judgments are on high—out of his sight [מִנֶּגְדּוֹ]” (10:5). - Psalm 39: “While the wicked is before me [לְנֶגְדִּי]” (39:2); “my lifetime is as nothing before you [נֶגְדֶּךָ]” (39:6). - The same root נ־ג־ד binds God, the wicked, and the psalmist in a triangulated “before-ness,” tightening the sense that 39 is meditating inside the world staged by 10. - Ear/hearing cluster with near-identical prayer diction: - Psalm 10: “You have heard [שָׁמַעְתָּ] the desire of the humble… you incline your ear [תַּקְשִׁיב אָזְנֶךָ]” (10:17). - Psalm 39: “Hear [שִׁמְעָה] my prayer… give ear [הַאֲזִינָה] to my cry” (39:13). - 10 asserts God hears; 39 appropriates that as petition, as if identifying with those “humble” whose desire God hears in 10:17. - Hand/arm judicial action: - Psalm 10: “Raise your hand [נְשָׂא יָדֶךָ]” (10:12); “to give with your hand [לָתֵת בְּיָדֶךָ]” (10:14); “Break the arm [זְרוֹעַ] of the wicked” (10:15). - Psalm 39: “From the strife of your hand [מִתִּגְרַת יָדְךָ] I am consumed; remove your plague” (39:11). - Identical lexeme יָד “hand” and parallel forensic force (God’s hand intervenes; first pleaded for in 10, then felt in 39). - Heart and inner speech: - Psalm 10: the wicked’s inner speech: “He says in his heart [אָמַר בְּלִבּוֹ]” (10:6, 10:11, 10:13); the humble’s heart prepared by God (10:17 “תָּכִין לִבָּם”). - Psalm 39: “I said [אָמַרְתִּי]… My heart grew hot within me [חַם־לִבִּי בְּקִרְבִּי]” (39:4). - 39 opposes the wicked “inner speech” of 10 with a disciplined, God-facing “I said,” and replaces the wicked’s hard heart with a heart afflicted and then turned into prayer. - The “wicked” themselves still in view: - Psalm 10 repeats רָשָׁע. - Psalm 39:2 explicitly situates the psalmist’s silence “while the wicked is before me [בְּעוֹד רָשָׁע לְנֶגְדִּי],” reading like a direct reaction to the wicked’s verbal violence in 10:7–10. 3) Answering specific lines in 10 with lines in 39 - 10:6 “I shall not be moved” ⇔ 39:6 “Surely every human is a mere breath,” 39:7 “A man walks as a mere semblance (בְּצֶלֶם).” This is a pointed wisdom correction of the wicked’s boast. - 10:11 “He has hidden his face; he will never see” ⇔ 39:13 “Do not be silent to my tears.” The claim that God neither sees nor speaks is answered by petition for God’s seeing/attention. - 10:7 “Under his tongue are mischief and iniquity” ⇔ 39:2 “I will keep a muzzle for my mouth… that I may not sin with my tongue.” The psalmist chooses a different path of speech in the presence of the wicked tongue described in 10. - 10:17 “You prepare the heart of the humble” ⇔ 39:8 “Now, what have I hoped for, my Lord? My hope is in you.” The humble desire in 10 matures into explicit hope in 39. 4) Shared social-ethical frame: vulnerable persons - Psalm 10 repeatedly centers “the poor/helpless/orphan” (עָנִי, דַּךְ, יָתוֹם; 10:2, 10:8–10, 10:14, 10:18). - Psalm 39:13 has the psalmist self-identify as “a stranger/sojourner [גֵר] with you, a resident [תּוֹשָׁב], as all my fathers.” “Ger/toshav” belong to the same protected-vulnerable classes in Israel’s law as “orphan/widow/poor.” In 39 David places himself inside the social category for whom 10 had prayed that God would judge in their favor. 5) Formal and stylistic continuities and developments - Both are individual laments with strong petitionary imperatives: 10: “Arise, YHWH… do not forget…” (10:12–15); 39: “Deliver me… Remove your plague… Hear my prayer… Give ear…” (39:9, 39:11, 39:13–14). - Both use rhetorical “mah/lamah” questions to frame the problem: 10:13 “Al-mah (Why) does the wicked scorn God?”; 39:5 “What is the measure of my days? … what do I hope for?” The questioning stance persists but moves from forensic/theodicy questions (10) to existential/penitential ones (39). - The shift from imprecation (10) to wisdom reflection (39:5–7, 39:12) mirrors a common liturgical arc: petition for justice → introspection about human frailty and sin → request for tempered mercy. 6) Canon-aware but independent logic - 10:16 ends with enthronement (“YHWH is king forever”), asserting God’s permanence. 39:5–7 immediately foregrounds human impermanence. Read together, 39 functions as the personal corollary to 10’s theological claim: because God alone is permanent king, teach me my end and restrain my speech. - 10:18 aims “that man of the earth may no longer terrify” (לֹא יוֹסִיף עוֹד לַעֲרֹץ אֱנוֹשׁ מִן־הָאָרֶץ). 39’s closing (“Before I go and am no more,” 39:14) accepts that “man of the earth” is fleeting, redirecting the resolution from stopping oppressors to finishing one’s own course under God’s discipline with hope. 7) Relative weight (rarer or more distinctive features) - The tight “mouth/tongue” cluster with the rare מַחְסוֹם (39:2) functioning as a deliberate answer to 10:7’s “under his tongue mischief and iniquity” is especially probative. - The repeated, marked use of the נֶגֶד preposition across both psalms (10:5; 39:2, 39:6) sewing together God, the wicked, and the psalmist in a single field of vision. - The direct contradiction of 10:6’s “I shall not be moved” by 39:6–7’s “all humanity is breath/image” is a strong conceptual and lexical counterpoint unusual enough to suggest intentional linkage. In sum: Psalm 39 reads naturally as the next movement after Psalm 10. Where Psalm 10 protests external injustice, demands God’s hand, and asserts that God hears the humble, Psalm 39 shows the humbled speaker choosing guarded speech before the wicked, confessing sin, experiencing God’s hand as discipline, and asking that the God who “hears” now “hear me.” Its rare “muzzle” on the mouth answers the wicked mouth of Psalm 10; its wisdom on human brevity corrects the wicked boast of permanence; and its pleas for God not to be silent (and to lighten his hand) answer Psalm 10’s opening complaint of divine distance by acknowledging that God has, in fact, drawn near.
Evaluation
Score: 5.7
Evaluated at: 2025-12-09T03:44:15 (UTC)
Evaluator model: gpt-5
Evaluator version: v2
Reasoning: 3712 Output: 7207 Total: 10919
Checklist
- Has verse refs: Yes
- Factual error detected: No
- Only generic motifs: No
- Counterargument considered: No
- LXX/MT numbering acknowledged: No
Vocabulary specificity: 3.2 / 10
Many ties are generic (mouth, hand, hear, way); rare “muzzle” isn’t shared. Correct citations but no editorial marker; ignores Ps 9–10 pairing. Plausible correspondences, yet common across Psalms; H0 not overcome.
Prompt
Consider Psalm 10 and Psalm 39 (reproduced below). What arguments could you make to justify that Psalm 39 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 39:
Psalm 39
1. לַמְנַצֵּ֥חַ
לידיתון
לִֽידוּת֗וּן
מִזְמ֥וֹר
לְדָוִֽד׃
2. אָמַ֗רְתִּי
אֶֽשְׁמְרָ֣ה
דְרָכַי֮
מֵחֲט֢וֹא
בִלְשׁ֫וֹנִ֥י
אֶשְׁמְרָ֥ה
לְפִ֥י
מַחְס֑וֹם
בְּעֹ֖ד
רָשָׁ֣ע
לְנֶגְדִּֽי׃
3. נֶאֱלַ֣מְתִּי
ד֭וּמִיָּה
הֶחֱשֵׁ֣יתִי
מִטּ֑וֹב
וּכְאֵבִ֥י
נֶעְכָּֽר׃
4. חַם־
לִבִּ֨י ׀
בְּקִרְבִּ֗י
בַּהֲגִיגִ֥י
תִבְעַר־
אֵ֑שׁ
דִּ֝בַּ֗רְתִּי
בִּלְשֽׁוֹנִי׃
5. הוֹדִ֘יעֵ֤נִי
יְהוָ֨ה ׀
קִצִּ֗י
וּמִדַּ֣ת
יָמַ֣י
מַה־
הִ֑יא
אֵ֝דְעָ֗ה
מֶה־
חָדֵ֥ל
אָֽנִי׃
6. הִנֵּ֤ה
טְפָח֨וֹת ׀
נָ֘תַ֤תָּה
יָמַ֗י
וְחֶלְדִּ֣י
כְאַ֣יִן
נֶגְדֶּ֑ךָ
אַ֥ךְ
כָּֽל־
הֶ֥בֶל
כָּל־
אָ֝דָ֗ם
נִצָּ֥ב
סֶֽלָה׃
7. אַךְ־
בְּצֶ֤לֶם ׀
יִֽתְהַלֶּךְ־
אִ֗ישׁ
אַךְ־
הֶ֥בֶל
יֶהֱמָ֑יוּן
יִ֝צְבֹּ֗ר
וְֽלֹא־
יֵדַ֥ע
מִי־
אֹסְפָֽם׃
8. וְעַתָּ֣ה
מַה־
קִוִּ֣יתִי
אֲדֹנָ֑י
תּ֝וֹחַלְתִּ֗י
לְךָ֣
הִֽיא׃
9. מִכָּל־
פְּשָׁעַ֥י
הַצִּילֵ֑נִי
חֶרְפַּ֥ת
נָ֝בָ֗ל
אַל־
תְּשִׂימֵֽנִי׃
10. נֶ֭אֱלַמְתִּי
לֹ֣א
אֶפְתַּח־
פִּ֑י
כִּ֖י
אַתָּ֣ה
עָשִֽׂיתָ׃
11. הָסֵ֣ר
מֵעָלַ֣י
נִגְעֶ֑ךָ
מִתִּגְרַ֥ת
יָ֝דְךָ֗
אֲנִ֣י
כָלִֽיתִי׃
12. בְּֽתוֹכָ֘ח֤וֹת
עַל־
עָוֺ֨ן ׀
יִסַּ֬רְתָּ
אִ֗ישׁ
וַתֶּ֣מֶס
כָּעָ֣שׁ
חֲמוּד֑וֹ
אַ֤ךְ
הֶ֖בֶל
כָּל־
אָדָ֣ם
סֶֽלָה׃
13. שִֽׁמְעָ֥ה־
תְפִלָּתִ֨י ׀
יְהוָ֡ה
וְשַׁוְעָתִ֨י ׀
הַאֲזִינָה֮
אֶֽל־
דִּמְעָתִ֗י
אַֽל־
תֶּחֱ֫רַ֥שׁ
כִּ֤י
גֵ֣ר
אָנֹכִ֣י
עִמָּ֑ךְ
תּ֝וֹשָׁ֗ב
כְּכָל־
אֲבוֹתָֽי׃
14. הָשַׁ֣ע
מִמֶּ֣נִּי
וְאַבְלִ֑יגָה
בְּטֶ֖רֶם
אֵלֵ֣ךְ
וְאֵינֶֽנִּי׃