Psalm 10 → 87
Reasoning: 10304 Output: 4942 Total: 15246
Argument
Here are several ways to argue that Psalm 87 “logically follows” Psalm 10—moving from plea and judgment to Zion’s establishment and the nations’ incorporation—using form, style, ideas, and Hebrew links (with rarer/stricter correspondences given more weight). 1) Narrative/theological flow (lament → kingship/judgment → Zion’s order with nations) - Psalm 10 moves from complaint about the hiddenness of God and the success of the wicked (10:1–11), to an imperative for God to arise and judge (10:12–15), to a climactic confession: “YHWH is King forever and ever; the nations perish from his land” (10:16), and a promise of justice for the orphan and crushed (10:17–18). - Psalm 87 reads like the next scene: Zion is now publicly established as the beloved city of the King (“His foundation is in the holy mountains,” 87:1; “YHWH loves the gates of Zion,” 87:2; “the Most High will establish her,” 87:5), and instead of hostile “nations” being a threat, the nations are now enumerated and registered as belonging to Zion (“YHWH will count when he writes up the peoples,” 87:6), even former enemies (Rahab/Egypt, Babylon, Philistia, Tyre, Cush, 87:4). This reads like the ordered aftermath of the judgment proclaimed in Psalm 10:16–18. 2) Strong lexical/root correspondences (higher weight) - כון “establish, set firm” in the same binyan: - Psalm 10:17 תָּכִין לִבָּם “you will establish/prepare their heart.” - Psalm 87:5 יְכוֹנְנֶהָ עֶלְיוֹן “the Most High will establish her.” The same Hifil verb (different persons/objects) moves from God establishing the hearts of the oppressed (inner restoration) to God establishing Zion itself (outer, civic/cosmic order). - Memory/record vs. forgetting: - Psalm 10 stresses “forgetting/hiddenness”: “Why do you hide (תַּעְלִים) …?” (10:1), “He says in his heart: ‘God has forgotten (שָׁכַח)’ … he will never see” (10:11), “Do not forget (אַל־תִּשְׁכַּח) the afflicted” (10:12). - Psalm 87 answers with explicit remembering/recording: “I will mention/remember (אַזְכִּיר) Rahab and Babylon” (87:4), “YHWH will count (יִסְפֹּר) when he writes (בִּכְתֹב) up the peoples” (87:6). The wicked’s boast that God forgets is overturned by God’s public ledger. 3) Height/exaltation imagery tightened across the seam (medium–high weight) - Psalm 10:5 “Your judgments are on high (מָרוֹם מִשְׁפָּטֶיךָ).” - Psalm 87:1 “His foundation is in the holy mountains (בְּהַרְרֵי־קֹדֶשׁ),” and 87:5 calls God עֶלְיוֹן “Most High.” The “highness” of God’s judgments in Psalm 10 becomes the “high place” (Zion’s holy mountains) where those judgments reside embodied in a city. 4) Nations: from threat to enrollment (medium–high weight) - Psalm 10:16 “The nations (גּוֹיִם) have perished from his land.” - Psalm 87:4–6 lists the world-powers by name (Rahab/Egypt, Babylon, Philistia, Tyre, Cush) and depicts their new status as “born there” (זֶה יוּלַּד־שָׁם), registered by YHWH. After hostile “goyim” are removed in judgment, the “peoples” (עַמִּים) who remain are those willing to be counted as citizens of Zion. Judgment leads to ordered inclusion. 5) Vulnerable persons re-framed by “birth” and belonging (medium–high weight) - Psalm 10 ends with justice “to the orphan and the crushed” (לִשְׁפֹּט יָתוֹם וָדָךְ, 10:18). It also uses the rare noun for “helpless/poor” (חֵלְכָה, 10:9, 14). - Psalm 87 answers with a birth/adoption motif repeated three times (יֻלַּד): “This one was born there” (87:4, 6), “Man and man was born in her” (87:5). The fatherless/helpless now receive a mother city (Zion) and legal standing through recorded birth. That is an idealized juridical completion of 10:18. 6) From secrecy/ambush to the justice of the gate (medium weight) - Psalm 10:8–9 is saturated with concealment: “He sits in ambush (בְּמַאְרַב) … in hiding places (בַּמִּסְתָּרִים).” - Psalm 87:2 celebrates “the gates (שַׁעֲרֵי) of Zion,” the public place of judgment and civic order in Israelite society. The setting shifts from the wicked’s hidden violence to the City’s open gates where justice is done. 7) Kingship/city logic (medium weight) - Psalm 10:16 “YHWH is King forever and ever.” - Psalm 87:3 “Glorious things are spoken of you, city of God,” with “the Most High will establish her” (87:5). A king entails a capital—Zion is that capital, now celebrated once the kingship asserted in 10:16 has been vindicated. 8) “Private inner speech” vs “public proclamation/registration” (medium weight) - Psalm 10 repeats “He says in his heart” (אָמַר בְּלִבּוֹ, 10:6, 11, 13)—the clandestine psychology of the wicked. - Psalm 87 shifts to public speech: “It will be said of Zion (יֵאָמַר), ‘Man after man was born in her’” (87:5), and to formal writing/registration (87:6). Hidden interior boasting gives way to communal, notarized truth. 9) Possible root play: חיל/חול (lower–medium weight but suggestive) - Psalm 10:5 יָחִילוּ (commonly read from חִיל, “to writhe/be in labor/to be strong/prosper”), used of the wicked’s ways “succeeding.” - Psalm 87:7 חֹלְלִים (from חוּל/חלל, “to dance/whirl” or “play pipes”). The root cluster חו”ל/חי”ל often shades from “labor/writhe” to “dance/whirl.” What was pain or perverse “prospering” in 10 becomes festal dance/piping in Zion. It is at least a phonetic-semantic echo from turmoil to celebration. 10) Mythic-historical arc (medium weight) - Psalm 10 opens with “In the pride (בְּגַּאֲוַת) of the wicked…” (10:2). - Psalm 87 names רַהַב (Egypt), a term that connotes arrogance/boasting, and Babylon, both archetypal oppressors in Israel’s memory. The oppressors of laments are precisely those whom 87 now surprisingly counts as “born” in Zion—i.e., their arrogance judged, their status transformed. 11) Editorial/liturgical fit (medium weight) - Canonically many psalms move from lament and plea to Zion/kingship celebration (cf. Pss 46–48; 76). The sequence “lament of oppression” → “YHWH enthroned and Zion established” is liturgically natural. - Psalm 87’s water-and-dancing finale (“singers as pipers/dancers … all my springs are in you,” 87:7) fits the post-judgment festal vision (think Sukkot’s water celebration) that could follow the “Days of Awe” tenor of 10 with its judgment language and God’s book/record motif (87:6 echoes the idea of a divine registry). Summary - Psalm 10 ends with: God has seen (10:14), risen to judge (10:12–15), is confessed King (10:16), and will secure justice for the vulnerable (10:17–18), removing the terror of mere mortals from the land. - Psalm 87 begins as if the result is now visible: Zion is firmly established by the Most High (יכוננה), loved by YHWH, and stands as the public, high place where God records the nations as citizens. The wicked’s claims that God “forgets” are answered by God’s book; the fatherless/crushed are answered by “born there”; hidden ambush yields to the justice of the gates; enemies-turned-peoples are peacefully enrolled, and the city bursts into song and springs. On balance, the tightest linguistic anchors are: - The Hifil of כון (תָּכִין, 10:17 :: יְכוֹנְנֶהָ, 87:5). - The forget/remember/write complex (שׁכח/תַּעְלִים in 10 :: אַזְכִּיר/יִסְפֹּר/בִּכְתֹב in 87). - The highness motif (מָרוֹם, 10:5 :: הַרְרֵי־קֹדֶשׁ and עֶלְיוֹן, 87:1, 5). - The nations motif (גּוֹיִם judged, 10:16 :: עַמִּים enrolled, 87:6; with named historical enemies in 87:4). - The vulnerable-to-birth/legal belonging shift (יָתוֹם/דַּךְ, 10:18 :: יֻלַּד, 87:4–6). These create a persuasive case that Psalm 87 can be read as the logical sequel to Psalm 10.
Evaluation
Score: 6.5
Evaluated at: 2025-12-10T04:15:39 (UTC)
Evaluator model: gpt-5
Evaluator version: v2
Reasoning: 3520 Output: 5800 Total: 9320
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
Multiple text-anchored links (כון Hifil 10:17::87:5; forget/record 10:1,11–12::87:4,6; ‘אמר בלבו’ vs יֵאָמַר/יִסְפֹּר 10:6,11,13::87:5–6) and coherent flow, but many motifs are common; no editorial markers; psalms far apart.
Prompt
Consider Psalm 10 and Psalm 87 (reproduced below). What arguments could you make to justify that Psalm 87 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 87:
Psalm 87
1. לִבְנֵי־
קֹ֖dרַח
מִזְמ֣וֹר
שִׁ֑יר
יְ֝סוּדָת֗וֹ
בְּהַרְרֵי־
קֹֽדֶשׁ׃
2. אֹהֵ֣ב
יְ֭הוָה
שַׁעֲרֵ֣י
צִיּ֑וֹן
מִ֝כֹּ֗ל
מִשְׁכְּנ֥וֹת
יַעֲקֹֽב׃
3. נִ֭כְבָּדוֹת
מְדֻבָּ֣ר
בָּ֑ךְ
עִ֖יר
הָאֱלֹהִ֣ים
סֶֽלָה׃
4. אַזְכִּ֤יר ׀
רַ֥הַב
וּבָבֶ֗ל
לְֽיֹ֫דְעָ֥י
הִנֵּ֤ה
פְלֶ֣שֶׁת
וְצ֣וֹר
עִם־
כּ֑וּשׁ
זֶ֝֗ה
יֻלַּד־
שָֽׁם׃
5. וּֽלֲצִיּ֨וֹן ׀
יֵאָמַ֗ר
אִ֣ישׁ
וְ֭אִישׁ
יֻלַּד־
בָּ֑הּ
וְה֖וּא
יְכוֹנְנֶ֣הָ
עֶלְיֽוֹן׃
6. יְֽהוָ֗ה
יִ֭סְפֹּר
בִּכְת֣וֹב
עַמִּ֑ים
זֶ֖ה
יֻלַּד־
שָׁ֣ם
סֶֽלָה׃
7. וְשָׁרִ֥ים
כְּחֹלְלִ֑ים
כָּֽל־
מַעְיָנַ֥י
בָּֽךְ׃