Psalm 10 → 62
Reasoning: 7680 Output: 5483 Total: 13163
Argument
Here are converging arguments—from vocabulary, form, rhetoric, and theme—that Psalm 62 can be read as a deliberate “answer” to Psalm 10. 1) Key identical forms placed in contrast - אֶמּוֹט “I shall not be moved”: - Ps 10:6: the wicked boasts בַּל־אֶמּוֹט (“I shall not be moved”). - Ps 62:3,7: the psalmist twice affirms לֹא אֶמּוֹט (“I shall not be moved”) because God is his rock and stronghold. - This is a pointed “reversal”: the very boast of Ps 10’s rashaʿ is transferred to the righteous who trust in God. - בְכָל־עֵת “at all times”: - Ps 10:5: דְרָכָיו בְכָל־עֵת (“his ways are at all times”)—describing the wicked’s ever-working schemes. - Ps 62:9: בִּטְחוּ בוֹ בְכָל־עֵת (“trust in him at all times”)—redirecting constancy from wicked praxis to constant trust. 2) Mouth–heart duplicity in both, with shared lexemes - “Mouth/inner” hypocrisy: - Ps 10:7: פִּיהוּ מָלֵא אָלָה וּמִרְמוֹת וָתֹךְ; “under his tongue” = עָמָל וָאָוֶן. - Ps 62:5: בְּפִיו יְבָרֵכוּ וּבְקִרְבָּם יְקַלְלוּ—blessing outwardly, cursing inwardly. - Both use the “mouth/inner” contrast (פֶּה/לָשׁוֹן vs. קֶרֶב/לֵב), and both feature deceptive speech. - The rare irony of “blessing” in the mouth of the wicked: - Ps 10:3: וּבֹצֵעַ בֵּרֵךְ נִאֵץ יְהוָה. - Ps 62:5: בְּפִיו יְבָרֵכוּ וּבְקִרְבָּם יְקַלְלוּ. - The BRK root in wicked mouths is a striking commonality; Psalm 62’s “they bless (with mouth) but curse inwardly” sharpens the paradox already flagged in Ps 10. 3) Interior speech vs. proper “heart” posture - Ps 10 repeats אָמַר בְּלִבּוֹ (vv. 6, 11, 13), exposing the wicked’s heart-talk. - Ps 62 redirects the interior: שִׁפְכוּ לְפָנָיו לְבַבְכֶם (v. 9), and the psalmist’s own נַפְשִׁי דּוּמִיָּה לֵאלֹהִים (vv. 2, 6). - Same lexical field (לֵב/לְבָב; נֶפֶשׁ) but repurposed: Ps 10 unveils the heart of the wicked; Ps 62 instructs the faithful what to do with their heart. 4) The complaint of divine distance answered by faithful “silence” - Ps 10:1: “Why, O YHWH, do you stand far off? Why hide in times of trouble?” - Ps 62:2, 6: “Only toward God—silence—my soul… from him is my salvation/hope.” - The hidden/absent God of Ps 10 is met by the worshiper’s “silence” (דּוּמִיָּה) before God in Ps 62—a theological reframing of “distance” into trusting stillness. 5) Justice and divine requital: same problem, explicit answer - Ps 10:13–15: the wicked says “You will not seek (לֹא תִדְרֹשׁ),” and the psalmist prays “seek out the wickedness…” - Ps 62:12–13: “One thing God has spoken… that power belongs to God, and to you, Lord, is steadfast love; for you repay a man according to his work (תְשַׁלֵּם לְאִישׁ כְּמַעֲשֵׂהוּ).” - Psalm 62’s explicit doctrine of recompense is a direct rejoinder to Ps 10’s taunt that God will not “seek/call to account.” 6) Oppression, violence, and predation confronted and forbidden - Ps 10:2, 8–10: predation on the poor; ambush; violence against the innocent (יַהֲרֹג נָקִי). - Ps 62:4–5, 11: the adversaries “push down,” “love falsehood,” and the community is told, “Do not trust in oppression or robbery (אַל־תִּבְטְחוּ בְעֹשֶׁק וּבְגָזֵל).” - Same social evil described, then explicitly prohibited. 7) Rhetorical markers of lament carried forward - Ps 10 opens with לָמָה (“Why?”). - Ps 62:4 employs עַד־אָנָה (“How long?”). - The stock lament interrogatives link the two in genre and emotional trajectory (complaint → instruction/trust). 8) Height and security imagery re-situated - Ps 10:5: “Your judgments are on high (מָרוֹם)…” - Ps 62:3, 7: God is “my high stronghold” (מִשְׂגַּבִּי), and “my rock” (צוּרִי). - The “height” that seemed remote in Ps 10 becomes the believer’s accessible defense in Ps 62. 9) People/humanity set in perspective - Ps 10:18: “that mortals (אֱנוֹשׁ) from the earth may terrify no more.” - Ps 62:10: “Only breath—sons of Adam; a lie—sons of man (בְּנֵי־אָדָם … בְּנֵי אִישׁ)… lighter than a breath together.” - Different lexemes (אֱנוֹשׁ vs. בְּנֵי־אָדָם/אִישׁ), but same anthropology: human power is ephemeral; hence, don’t fear (Ps 10) and don’t trust in them (Ps 62). 10) From individual plea to communal instruction - Ps 10 is an individual lament that ends with a confession of YHWH’s kingship and advocacy for the oppressed (vv. 16–18). - Ps 62 retains trust-language but turns pedagogical: עָם… בִּטְחוּ בוֹ בְכָל־עֵת… שִׁפְכוּ לְפָנָיו לְבַבְכֶם (v. 9). It is the natural next step—moving from the sufferer’s cry to teaching the community how to respond. 11) Plan/counsel vocabulary in both - Ps 10:2, 4: מְזִמּוֹת “schemes/plots.” - Ps 62:5: יָעֲצוּ לְהַדִּיחַ “they counsel to topple.” - Not the same lemma, but the same semantic field of hostile counsel; the wicked’s planning in Ps 10 persists in Ps 62’s foes. 12) Event sequence that makes narrative sense - Ps 10: the wicked ambush and boast “I shall not be moved”; God seems distant; the psalm ends in faith that YHWH hears the humble, will judge, and will end the terror of “man of the earth.” - Ps 62 then shows how the righteous live in that space: wait in silence for God, refuse the tools of the wicked (oppression/robbery), and trust that God will indeed repay every deed. The wicked’s “I shall not be moved” is unmasked; only those set on the Rock can truly say, “I shall not be moved.” Why these links are especially strong - The identical form אֶמּוֹט (same lemma, same person/number) used antithetically is unusually telling. - The recurrence of BRK “bless” in the mouth of deceivers, coupled with mouth/inner duplicity, is a relatively marked convergence. - The exact collocation בְכָל־עֵת occurs in both and is reoriented from wicked constancy to faithful constancy. - The overarching problem (God’s justice “not sought” by the wicked) is explicitly resolved by Ps 62’s theological axiom of recompense. Conclusion Read sequentially, Psalm 62 functions as a crafted theological and lexical answer to Psalm 10. It counters the wicked’s boasts with the same words, redirects the inner life from deceitful “heart-speech” to poured-out trust, forbids the very means the wicked use, and affirms the very justice the wicked deny. The stylistic markers (lament interrogatives, duplicity motifs, constancy “at all times”) and the targeted reuse of rare/identical forms (אֶמּוֹט; BRK irony) make the case that Psalm 62 can plausibly be read as “following on” from Psalm 10.
Evaluation
Score: 6.5
Evaluated at: 2025-12-10T03:43:07 (UTC)
Evaluator model: gpt-5
Evaluator version: v2
Reasoning: 3584 Output: 6320 Total: 9904
Checklist
- Has verse refs: Yes
- Factual error detected: No
- Only generic motifs: No
- Counterargument considered: No
- LXX/MT numbering acknowledged: No
Vocabulary specificity: 3.5 / 10
Strongest links: identical לא אמות (10:6; 62:3,7), בכל־עת (10:5; 62:9), and BRK in deceitful mouths (10:3; 62:5). Yet these are common elsewhere; no editorial marker; distant placement. Solid but not decisive.
Prompt
Consider Psalm 10 and Psalm 62 (reproduced below). What arguments could you make to justify that Psalm 62 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 62:
Psalm 62
1. לַמְנַצֵּ֥חַ
עַֽל־
יְדוּת֗וּן
מִזְמ֥וֹר
לְדָוִֽד׃
2. אַ֣ךְ
אֶל־
אֱ֭לֹהִים
דּֽוּמִיָּ֣ה
נַפְשִׁ֑י
מִ֝מֶּ֗נּוּ
יְשׁוּעָתִֽי׃
3. אַךְ־
ה֣וּא
צ֭וּרִי
וִֽישׁוּעָתִ֑י
מִ֝שְׂגַּבִּ֗י
לֹא־
אֶמּ֥וֹט
רַבָּֽה׃
4. עַד־
אָ֤נָה ׀
תְּה֥וֹתְת֣וּ
עַלc
אִישׁ֮
תְּרָצְּח֢וּ
כֻ֫לְּכֶ֥ם
כְּקִ֥יר
נָט֑וּי
גָּ֝דֵ֗ר
הַדְּחוּֽיָה׃
5. אַ֤ךְ
מִשְּׂאֵת֨וֹ ׀
יָ֥עֲצ֣וּ
לְהַדִּיחַ֮
יִרְצ֢וּ
כָ֫זָ֥ב
בְּפִ֥יו
יְבָרֵ֑כוּ
וּ֝בְקִרְבָּ֗ם
יְקַלְלוּ־
סֶֽלָה׃
6. אַ֣ךְ
לֵ֭אלֹהִים
דּ֣וֹמִּי
נַפְשִׁ֑י
כִּי־
מִ֝מֶּ֗נּוּ
תִּקְוָתִֽי׃
7. אַךְ־
ה֣וּא
צ֭וּרִי
וִֽישׁוּעָתִ֑י
מִ֝שְׂגַּבִּ֗י
לֹ֣א
אֶמּֽוֹט׃
8. עַל־
אֱ֭לֹהִים
יִשְׁעִ֣י
וּכְבוֹדִ֑י
צוּר־
עֻזִּ֥י
מַ֝חְסִ֗י
בֵּֽאלֹהִֽים׃
9. בִּטְח֘וּ
ב֤וֹ
בְכָל־
עֵ֨ת ׀
עָ֗ם
שִׁפְכֽוּ־
לְפָנָ֥יו
לְבַבְכֶ֑ם
אֱלֹהִ֖ים
מַחֲסֶה־
לָּ֣נוּ
סֶֽלָה׃
10. אַ֤ךְ ׀
הֶ֥בֶל
בְּנֵֽי־
אָדָם֮
כָּזָ֢ב
בְּנֵ֫י
אִ֥ישׁ
בְּמֹאזְנַ֥יִם
לַעֲל֑וֹת
הֵ֝֗מָּה
מֵהֶ֥בֶל
יָֽחַד׃
11. אַל־
תִּבְטְח֣וּ
בְעֹשֶׁק֮
וּבְגָזֵ֢ל
אַל־
תֶּ֫הְבָּ֥לוּ
חַ֤יִל ׀
כִּֽי־
יָנ֑וּב
אַל־
תָּשִׁ֥יתוּ
לֵֽב׃
12. אַחַ֤ת ׀
דִּבֶּ֬ר
אֱלֹהִ֗ים
שְׁתַּֽיִם־
ז֥וּ
שָׁמָ֑עְתִּי
כִּ֥י
עֹ֝֗ז
לֵאלֹהִֽים׃
13. וּלְךָֽ־
אֲדֹנָ֥י
חָ֑סֶד
כִּֽי־
אַתָּ֨ה
תְשַׁלֵּ֖ם
לְאִ֣ישׁ
כְּֽמַעֲשֵֽׂהוּ׃