Psalm 10 → 46
Reasoning: 7808 Output: 4956 Total: 12764
Argument
Here are ways to argue that Psalm 46 is a fitting, logical sequel to Psalm 10, moving from lament/petition to assurance/answer. I group them by strength: rarer words and tighter verbal/formal links first, then thematic and liturgical logic. 1) Tighter verbal links (same word or root, and/or distinctive collocations) - מוט “to totter/be moved” with the same “bal … mot” collocation: • Ps 10:6: בל־אמוט (“I shall not be moved,” the wicked’s boast). • Ps 46:6: בל־תמוט (“she shall not be moved,” the city with God in her midst). • Ps 46:3, 7 add the same root for creation and kingdoms: ובמוט הרים; מטו ממלכות. This is a pointed reversal: what the rasha‘ claims for himself in Ps 10 becomes true only of God’s city in Ps 46, while everything else (mountains, kingdoms) really does “totter.” - צר “trouble/distress” with near-identical forms: • Ps 10:1: לעיתות בצרה (“times of trouble”). • Ps 46:2: עזרה בצרות נמצא מאד (“a help in troubles, very present”). The complaint “Why do you hide in times of trouble?” (10:1) is answered by “God … a very present help in troubles” (46:2). - עזר “help” (same root, two occurrences in Ps 46): • Ps 10:14: יתום אתה היית עוזר (“You have been the helper of the orphan”). • Ps 46:2: עזרה … נמצא מאד; 46:6: יעזרה אלהים (“God will help her at daybreak”). The personal plea of 10 becomes corporate and Zion-focused in 46. - שבר “break” directed against the oppressor: • Ps 10:15: שבור זרוע רשע (“Break the arm of the wicked”). • Ps 46:10: קשת ישבר … משבית מלחמות (“He breaks the bow … makes wars cease”). The prayer of 10:15 is enacted in 46:10: God disarms the violent. - רום “high/exalted”: • Ps 10:5: מרום משפטיך (“Your judgments are on high,” beyond the wicked’s purview). • Ps 46:11: ארום בגוים ארום בארץ (“I will be exalted among the nations, in the earth”). What is “on high” in 10 becomes God’s publicly acknowledged exaltation in 46. - גוים / ארץ as a pair: • Ps 10:16, 18: אבדו גוים מארצו … לערץ אנוש מן־הארץ (“The nations perish from His land … terrify no more on the earth”). • Ps 46:7, 11: המו גוים … תמוג ארץ; ארום בגוים … בארץ. Psalm 46 universalizes 10’s closing hope: God’s rule subdues nations and settles the earth. - “Distance vs presence” expressed with near-echoing diction: • Ps 10:1: למה … תעמד ברחוק; תעלים (“Why do you stand far off? Why do you hide?”). • Ps 46:2, 6, 8, 12: נמצא מאד (“very present”), בקרבה (“in her midst”), עמנו (“with us,” refrain). This is perhaps the most decisive narrative answer: from “far/hidden” in 10:1 to “with us/in the midst” in 46. 2) Thematic inversions and resolutions (idea-level) - From fear to fearlessness: • Ps 10 is dominated by the terror caused by the wicked (10:2, 8–10, 18). • Ps 46 opens with לכן לא נירא (“Therefore we will not fear,” 46:3) despite cosmic upheaval. - From the wicked’s destructive speech to God’s effective speech: • Ps 10:7: פיהו מלא … מרמות … תחת לשונו עמל ואון (violence/deceit from the rasha‘’s mouth). • Ps 46:7: נתן בקולו תמוג ארץ (God’s voice melts the earth). The power of speech is decisively God’s. - From plea “Arise/lift your hand” to oracle “Be still/know”: • Ps 10:12: קומה … נשא ידך (“Arise… lift your hand”). • Ps 46:11: הרפו ודעו כי־אנכי אלהים (“Be still, and know that I am God”), culminating in the divine “I will be exalted.” - From the predation of the poor to protection of the city: • Ps 10 focuses on ambush and snare against the עני/יתום/דך/חלכה. • Ps 46 shifts to communal protection: עיר אלהים … אלהים בקרבה בל תמוט … משגב לנו אלהי יעקב. Individual suffering leads into communal assurance under Zion theology. 3) Form-critical and liturgical logic (how one would “follow” the other in lived worship/history) - Genre sequence: Ps 10 is a lament/petition; Ps 46 is a Zion song of trust with a quoted divine oracle (46:11). In Israelite liturgy, laments regularly lead to assurance hymns and/or oracular responses. - Historical scenario that fits both: Ps 10 portrays predatory oppression and God’s seeming hiddenness (suitable to internal injustice or siege conditions). Ps 46 reads naturally in the wake of deliverance of Jerusalem (e.g., the 701 BCE Assyrian crisis): “God will help her at daybreak” (לפנות בקר) and “He makes wars cease … breaks the bow.” Thus Ps 46 can be read as the communal thanksgiving/enthronement affirmation after the plea of Ps 10. - Zion/King motif carries through: Ps 10 ends with יהוה מלך עולם ועד; Ps 46 repeatedly grounds trust in Zion-presence and culminates with God’s worldwide exaltation (ארום בגוים … בארץ). Ps 46 thus elaborates the kingship claim of Ps 10:16. 4) Additional, lighter ties (weaker but still suggestive) - Same negative particle + verb collocation: בל + imperfect in Ps 10:6, 11 and Ps 46:6 (not common in everyday speech; the echoes feel intentional). - Root נצח appears across superscription and body: Ps 10:11 לנצח (“forever”); Ps 46:1 למנצח (“for the choirmaster”). Different senses/word-classes, so weaker, but a noticeable visual echo. - Root עלם across “תעלים” (hide; Ps 10:1) and the musical term עלמות in Ps 46:1 (by/for “maidens”/soprano voices). Different senses/word-classes; at most a poetic punning resonance. Putting it together as a proposed sequence - Complaint: Ps 10 opens, “Why do you stand far away? Why hide in times of trouble?” It catalogs the wicked’s predation and prays, “Arise … break the arm of the wicked; judge the orphan” (10:12–15), asserting “YHWH is King forever” (10:16). - Answer: Ps 46 answers each point: God is not far but “very present” help “in troubles,” with us and in our midst; the wicked’s boast “I shall not be moved” is exposed as false while only Zion “shall not be moved”; God’s action breaks weapons and ends wars (answering “break the arm”); God’s kingship is publicly exalted among the nations; fear is replaced with fearless trust. Given these specific lexical correspondences (especially the rare and pointed מוט/בל־אמוט ~ בל־תמוט; the tight צר/עזר links across both psalms), and the clear thematic inversion (hiddenness → presence; fear → trust; plea → oracle), Psalm 46 reads exceptionally well as the liturgical and theological follow-on to Psalm 10.
Evaluation
Score: 7.8
Evaluated at: 2025-12-09T03:52:12 (UTC)
Evaluator model: gpt-5
Evaluator version: v2
Reasoning: 4096 Output: 5778 Total: 9874
Checklist
- Has verse refs: Yes
- Factual error detected: No
- Only generic motifs: No
- Counterargument considered: No
- LXX/MT numbering acknowledged: No
Vocabulary specificity: 6.0 / 10
Multiple precise lexical echoes (בל אמוט/בל תמוט; בצרה/עזרה; far→with us) with verse refs and a coherent lament→Zion-trust reversal. However motifs are common across Psalms; no editorial markers. Strong but not decisive.
Prompt
Consider Psalm 10 and Psalm 46 (reproduced below). What arguments could you make to justify that Psalm 46 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 46:
Psalm 46
1. לַמְנַצֵּ֥חַ
לִבְנֵי־
קֹ֑רַח
עַֽל־
עֲלָמ֥וֹת
שִֽׁיר׃
2. אֱלֹהִ֣ים
לָ֭נוּ
מַחֲסֶ֣ה
וָעֹ֑ז
עֶזְרָ֥ה
בְ֝צָר֗וֹת
נִמְצָ֥א
מְאֹֽד׃
3. עַל־
כֵּ֣ן
לֹא־
נִ֭ירָא
בְּהָמִ֣יר
אָ֑רֶץ
וּבְמ֥וֹט
הָ֝רִ֗ים
בְּלֵ֣ב
יַמִּֽים׃
4. יֶהֱמ֣וּ
יֶחְמְר֣וּ
מֵימָ֑יו
יִֽרְעֲשֽׁוּ־
הָרִ֖ים
בְּגַאֲוָת֣וֹ
סֶֽלָה׃
5. נָהָ֗ר
פְּלָגָ֗יו
יְשַׂמְּח֥וּ
עִיר־
אֱלֹהִ֑ים
קְ֝דֹ֗שׁ
מִשְׁכְּנֵ֥י
עֶלְיֽוֹן׃
6. אֱלֹהִ֣ים
בְּ֭קִרְבָּה
בַּל־
תִּמּ֑וֹט
יַעְזְרֶ֥הָ
אֱ֝לֹהִ֗ים
לִפְנ֥וֹת
בֹּֽקֶר׃
7. הָמ֣וּ
ג֭וֹיִם
מָ֣טוּ
מַמְלָכ֑וֹת
נָתַ֥ן
בְּ֝קוֹל֗וֹ
תָּמ֥וּג
אָֽרֶץ׃
8. יְהוָ֣ה
צְבָא֣וֹת
עִמָּ֑נוּ
מִשְׂגָּֽב־
לָ֝נוּ
אֱלֹהֵ֖י
יַעֲקֹ֣ב
סֶֽלָה׃
9. לְֽכוּ־
חֲ֭זוּ
מִפְעֲל֣וֹת
יְהוָ֑ה
אֲשֶׁר־
שָׂ֖ם
שַׁמּ֣וֹת
בָּאָֽרֶץ׃
10. מַשְׁבִּ֥ית
מִלְחָמוֹת֮
עַד־
קְצֵ֢ה
הָ֫אָ֥רֶץ
קֶ֣שֶׁת
יְ֭שַׁבֵּר
וְקִצֵּ֣ץ
חֲנִ֑ית
עֲ֝גָל֗וֹת
יִשְׂרֹ֥ף
בָּאֵֽשׁ׃
11. הַרְפּ֣וּ
וּ֭דְעוּ
כִּי־
אָנֹכִ֣י
אֱלֹהִ֑ים
אָר֥וּם
בַּ֝גּוֹיִ֗ם
אָר֥וּם
בָּאָֽרֶץ׃
12. יְהוָ֣ה
צְבָא֣וֹת
עִמָּ֑נוּ
מִשְׂגָּֽב־
לָ֝נוּ
אֱלֹהֵ֖י
יַעֲקֹ֣ב
סֶֽלָה׃