Psalm 10 → 104
Reasoning: 9536 Output: 7749 Total: 17285
Argument
Below are ways to argue that Psalm 104 “logically follows” Psalm 10, grouped by strength (rarer/identical forms first), then by shared imagery and finally by form/life-setting. Verse numbers follow the Hebrew you provided. High‑salience lexical/morphological links (identical or near‑identical Hebrew forms) - “Hide your face” as the crux: Ps 10:11 הִסְתִּיר פָּנָיו … בַּל־רָאָה לָנֶצַח (“He has hidden his face; he will never see”) is directly answered in Ps 104:29 תַּסְתִּיר פָּנֶיךָ יִבָּהֵלוּן (“You hide your face—they are dismayed”), 29–30 תֹּסֵף רוּחָם … תְּשַׁלַּח רוּחֲךָ יִבָּרֵאוּן (“You take away their breath; … You send forth your spirit; they are created”). Same lexeme סתר + פּנים, now explained: divine “hiddenness” is not indifference (as the wicked claim) but the hinge of life and death for all creatures. - “Not be moved” with identical negative + root: Ps 10:6 בַּל אֶמּוֹט (“I shall not be moved”—the wicked’s boast) versus Ps 104:5 בַּל תִּמּוֹט עוֹלָם וָעֶד (“it [the earth] shall not be moved forever and ever”). Same negation בַּל + same root מוט. Psalm 104 reassigns immovability from the arrogant individual to the creation God established. - “Forever and ever”: Ps 10:16 יְהוָה מֶלֶךְ עוֹלָם וָעֶד (“YHWH is king forever and ever”) is taken up in Ps 104:5 בַּל־תִּמּוֹט עוֹלָם וָעֶד and 104:31 יְהִי כְבוֹד יְהוָה לְעוֹלָם. The rare collocation עוֹלָם וָעֶד is shared. - God’s “hand” as the mode of help/provision: Ps 10:12 קוּמָה … נְשָׂא יָדֶךָ (“Arise… lift Your hand”) answered by Ps 104:28 תִּפְתַּח יָדְךָ יִשְׂבְּעוּן־טוֹב (“You open Your hand—they are satisfied with good”). Same noun יָד with distinct but complementary verbs (lift to judge vs open to provide). - “Bless” (root ברך) redirected from misuse to right use: Ps 10:3 וּבֹצֵעַ בֵּרֵךְ נִאֵץ יְהוָה (the wicked “blesses” the greedy and reviles YHWH—“ברך” as euphemistic/ironic) is countered by Ps 104:1 בָּרֲכִי נַפְשִׁי אֶת־יְהוָה and 104:35 הַלְלוּ־יָהּ—true blessing/praise of YHWH. - “From the earth / no more”: Ps 10:16–18 אָבְדוּ גוֹיִם מֵאַרְצוֹ … בַּל יוֹסִיף עוֹד לַעֲרֹץ אֱנוֹשׁ מִן־הָאָרֶץ (“nations perish from his land… that mortal man no longer terrify from the earth”) resonates with Ps 104:35 יִתַּמּוּ חַטָּאִים מִן־הָאָרֶץ וּרְשָׁעִים עוֹד אֵינָם (“may sinners be consumed from the earth; and the wicked—no more”). Shared “מן/מֵ־הָארֶץ” + “עוֹד”. - “Times/seasons” under God’s control: Ps 10:1 תַּעְלִים לְעִתּוֹת בַּצָּרָה (“You hide… in times of trouble”) contrasts with Ps 104:27 לָתֵת אָכְלָם בְּעִתּוֹ (“to give them their food in its time”) and 104:19 עָשָׂה יָרֵחַ לְמוֹעֲדִים (moon for appointed times). Same noun עת recurs; in Psalm 10 “times” feel abandoned; in 104 they are providentially ordered. Shared imagery/themes that look like deliberate answers - Predator/lion motif reframed: In Ps 10:8–9 the wicked ambush “like a lion in his covert” (כְאַרְיֵה בְסֻכּוֹ) to devour the poor. Ps 104 re-situates predation inside God’s ordered world: the young lions “seek from God their food” at night (104:20–21), and then withdraw at sunrise as humans go to work (104:22–23). What is chaos in 10 is ecology under providence in 104. - Hiddenness/darkness reframed: Ps 10 emphasizes “hiding places” (בְּמִסְתָּרִים) for murder (10:8). Ps 104:20 “You set darkness, and it is night; in it all the animals of the forest creep” shifts “concealment” from moral evil to divinely set rhythms of night and day. - Dependence of the vulnerable vs universal dependence: Ps 10:14 “Upon you the helpless leaves it” (עָלֶיךָ יַעֲזֹב חֵלְכָה; rare חֵלְכָה) and “You have been the helper of the orphan” is broadened in Ps 104:27–28 “All of them look to you” (כֻּלָּם אֵלֶיךָ יְשַׂבֵּרוּן) for food in its time—human vulnerability becomes a universal creaturely dependence on God’s open hand. - Kingship claim developed into enthronement imagery: Ps 10:16 asserts kingship (“YHWH king forever and ever”). Ps 104 opens by clothing the king: “You have clothed Yourself with majesty and splendor” (104:1–2), stretches out the heavens as a tent, builds His upper chambers, rides on the clouds (104:2–3). Psalm 104 reads like the visual enthronement that Psalm 10 declared. Stylistic tics that make the pair sound alike - Repeated בַּל negations: Ps 10 uses בַּל 4× (10:4, 6, 11; implicit in 15); Ps 104 uses it 3× (104:5, 9×2). That particle is less common than לֹא/אַל and gives both poems an archaizing feel. - Concentrated “earth” vocabulary: Ps 10 closes with מֵאַרְצוֹ / מִן־הָאָרֶץ (10:16, 18). Ps 104 saturates the frame with הָאָרֶץ / אֲדָמָה / עָפָר (vv. 5, 9, 13–15, 24, 29–31), even “renew the face of the ground” (104:30) versus 10:11 “He has hidden his face” (פָּנָיו). - “Not seeing/being seen” vs “looking”: Ps 10:11 “He will never see” (בַּל־רָאָה לָנֶצַח). Ps 104 repeatedly features divine seeing/looking and its effects (104:32 הַמַּבִּיט לָאָרֶץ וַתִּרְעָד; 104:27 creatures “look to you,” by שׂ־ב־ר but functionally parallel). Form-critical and life-setting logic (lament → praise; social disorder → cosmic order) - Genre sequence: Psalm 10 is an individual lament over social injustice and divine distance; Psalm 104 is a grand creation hymn. In Israelite worship, lament often moves to praise; here the move is maximized—from the court of justice (Ps 10:15–18) to the cosmic throne (Ps 104 entire). Psalm 104 can function as the “resolution” to the petition of Psalm 10:12–18. - Day–night–work cycle as lived answer: Psalm 104:19–23 maps the day: God sets the moon and sun; lions hunt at night; people work by day “until evening.” That ordinary, providential rhythm answers Psalm 10’s crisis of disorder by reinstating the patterned world in which humans can “go out to his work.” - Festival logic: Psalm 104’s creation motifs (taming the Deep, setting bounds for waters, feeding all life, Leviathan at play) are typical of enthronement/creation celebrations. Psalm 10 ends: “YHWH is king forever” (10:16), a liturgical cue that naturally blossoms into Psalm 104’s enthronement hymn. Teleological closure (both aim at the same end) - Removal of the wicked: Psalm 10 petitions God to “break the arm of the wicked” and “seek out his wickedness till you find none” (10:15), “so that man no longer terrify from the earth” (10:18). Psalm 104 ends with the wish-fulfillment: “May sinners be consumed from the earth and the wicked be no more” (104:35). Same goal, same “earth” frame, same “no more/עוד אינם” idiom. Summary snapshot of the strongest ties - Exact phraseology: הִסְתִּיר/תַּסְתִּיר פָּנָיו/פָּנֶיךָ; בַּל + מוט; עוֹלָם וָעֶד; יָד + action; מן־הארץ + עוֹד. - Imagery recast: predator/ambush ↔ lions in God’s ecology; times of trouble ↔ appointed times/seasons and “its time” for food. - Theological arc: From “Why do you stand far off?” (10:1) to “You are everywhere sustaining” (104 entire); from the wicked’s false security to the earth’s true stability; from misdirected blessing to right blessing; from plea for justice to its cosmic, liturgical consummation. Taken together, these lexical anchors, mirrored images, and genre dynamics make a compelling case that Psalm 104 can be read as a deliberate, logical follow‑on to Psalm 10—an editorial/theological “answer” moving from the experience of injustice to the confession of the Creator‑King who orders, sustains, judges, and renews the world.
Evaluation
Score: 7.5
Evaluated at: 2025-12-11T03:38:05 (UTC)
Evaluator model: gpt-5
Evaluator version: v2
Reasoning: 4608 Output: 8620 Total: 13228
Checklist
- Has verse refs: Yes
- Factual error detected: No
- Only generic motifs: No
- Counterargument considered: Yes
- LXX/MT numbering acknowledged: No
Vocabulary specificity: 4.0 / 10
Multiple precise links: הִסְתִּיר/תַּסְתִּיר פָּנֶיךָ (10:11; 104:29–30), בַּל+מוט (10:6; 104:5), מן־הָאָרֶץ + עוֹד (10:18; 104:35), lion reframing (10:9; 104:20–21). But these lexemes recur elsewhere; no structural signal.
Prompt
Consider Psalm 10 and Psalm 104 (reproduced below). What arguments could you make to justify that Psalm 104 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 104:
Psalm 104
1. בָּרֲכִ֥י
נַפְשִׁ֗י
אֶת־
יְה֫וָ֥ה
יְהוָ֣ה
אֱ֭לֹהַי
גָּדַ֣לְתָּ
מְּאֹ֑ד
ה֖וֹד
וְהָדָ֣ר
לָבָֽשְׁתָּ׃
2. עֹֽטֶה־
א֭וֹר
כַּשַּׂלְמָ֑ה
נוֹטֶ֥ה
שָׁ֝מַ֗יִם
כַּיְרִיעָֽה׃
3. הַ֥מְקָרֶֽה
בַמַּ֗יִם
עֲֽלִיּ֫וֹתָ֥יו
הַשָּׂם־
עָבִ֥ים
רְכוּב֑וֹ
הַֽ֝מְהַלֵּ֗ךְ
עַל־
כַּנְפֵי־
רֽוּחַ׃
4. עֹשֶׂ֣ה
מַלְאָכָ֣יו
רוּח֑וֹת
מְ֝שָׁרְתָ֗יו
אֵ֣שׁ
לֹהֵֽט׃
5. יָֽסַד־
אֶ֭רֶץ
עַל־
מְכוֹנֶ֑יהָ
בַּל־
תִּ֝מּ֗וֹט
עוֹלָ֥ם
וָעֶֽד׃
6. תְּ֭הוֹם
כַּלְּב֣וּשׁ
כִּסִּית֑וֹ
עַל־
הָ֝רִ֗ים
יַ֖עַמְדוּ־
מָֽיִם׃
7. מִן־
גַּעֲרָ֣תְךָ֣
יְנוּס֑וּן
מִן־
ק֥וֹל
רַֽ֝עַמְךָ֗
יֵחָפֵזֽוּן׃
8. יַעֲל֣וּ
הָ֭רִים
יֵרְד֣וּ
בְקָע֑וֹת
אֶל־
מְ֝ק֗וֹם
זֶ֤ה ׀
יָסַ֬דְתָּ
לָהֶֽם׃
9. גְּֽבוּל־
שַׂ֭מְתָּ
בַּל־
יַֽעֲבֹר֑וּן
בַּל־
יְ֝שׁוּב֗וּן
לְכַסּ֥וֹת
הָאָֽרֶץ׃
10. הַֽמְשַׁלֵּ֣חַ
מַ֭עְיָנִים
בַּנְּחָלִ֑ים
בֵּ֥ין
הָ֝רִ֗ים
יְהַלֵּכֽוּן׃
11. יַ֭שְׁקוּ
כָּל־
חַיְת֣וֹ
שָׂדָ֑י
יִשְׁבְּר֖וּ
פְרָאִ֣ים
צְמָאָֽם׃
12. עֲ֭לֵיהֶם
עוֹף־
הַשָּׁמַ֣יִם
יִשְׁכּ֑וֹן
מִבֵּ֥ין
עֳ֝פָאיִ֗ם
יִתְּנוּ־
קֽוֹל׃
13. מַשְׁקֶ֣ה
הָ֭רִים
מֵעֲלִיּוֹתָ֑יו
מִפְּרִ֥י
מַ֝עֲשֶׂ֗יךָ
תִּשְׂבַּ֥ע
הָאָֽרֶץ׃
14. מַצְמִ֤יחַ
חָצִ֨יר ׀
לַבְּהֵמָ֗ה
וְ֭עֵשֶׂב
לַעֲבֹדַ֣ת
הָאָדָ֑ם
לְה֥וֹצִיא
לֶ֝֗חֶם
מִן־
הָאָֽרֶץ׃
15. וְיַ֤יִן ׀
יְשַׂמַּ֬ח
לְֽבַב־
אֱנ֗וֹשׁ
לְהַצְהִ֣יל
פָּנִ֣ים
מִשָּׁ֑מֶן
וְ֝לֶ֗חֶם
לְֽבַב־
אֱנ֥וֹשׁ
יִסְעָֽד׃
16. יִ֭שְׂבְּעוּ
עֲצֵ֣י
יְהוָ֑ה
אַֽרְזֵ֥י
לְ֝בָנ֗וֹן
אֲשֶׁ֣ר
נָטָֽע׃
17. אֲשֶׁר־
שָׁ֭ם
צִפֳּרִ֣ים
יְקַנֵּ֑נוּ
חֲ֝סִידָ֗ה
בְּרוֹשִׁ֥ים
בֵּיתָֽהּ׃
18. הָרִ֣ים
הַ֭גְּבֹהִים
לַיְּעֵלִ֑ים
סְ֝לָעִ֗ים
מַחְסֶ֥ה
לַֽשְׁפַנִּֽים׃
19. עָשָׂ֣ה
יָ֭רֵחַ
לְמוֹעֲדִ֑ים
שֶׁ֝֗מֶשׁ
יָדַ֥ע
מְבוֹאֽוֹ׃
20. תָּֽשֶׁת־
חֹ֭שֶׁךְ
וִ֣יהִי
לָ֑יְלָה
בּֽוֹ־
תִ֝רְמֹ֗שׂ
כָּל־
חַיְתוֹ־
יָֽעַר׃
21. הַ֭כְּפִירִים
שֹׁאֲגִ֣ים
לַטָּ֑רֶף
וּלְבַקֵּ֖שׁ
מֵאֵ֣ל
אָכְלָֽם׃
22. תִּזְרַ֣ח
הַ֭שֶּׁמֶשׁ
יֵאָסֵפ֑וּן
וְאֶל־
מְ֝עוֹנֹתָ֗ם
יִרְבָּצֽוּן׃
23. יֵצֵ֣א
אָדָ֣ם
לְפָעֳל֑וֹ
וְֽלַעֲבֹ֖דָת֣וֹ
עֲדֵי־
עָֽרֶב׃
24. מָֽה־
רַבּ֬וּ
מַעֲשֶׂ֨יךָ ׀
יְֽהוָ֗ה
כֻּ֭לָּם
בְּחָכְמָ֣ה
עָשִׂ֑יתָ
מָלְאָ֥ה
הָ֝אָ֗רֶץ
קִנְיָנֶֽךָ׃
25. זֶ֤ה ׀
הַיָּ֥ם
גָּדוֹל֮
וּרְחַ֢ב
יָ֫דָ֥יִם
שָֽׁם־
רֶ֭מֶשׂ
וְאֵ֣ין
מִסְפָּ֑ר
חַיּ֥וֹת
קְ֝טַנּ֗וֹת
עִם־
גְּדֹלֽוֹת׃
26. שָׁ֭ם
אֳנִיּ֣וֹת
יְהַלֵּכ֑וּן
לִ֝וְיָתָ֗ן
זֶֽה־
יָצַ֥רְתָּ
לְשַֽׂחֶק־
בּֽוֹ׃
27. כֻּ֭לָּם
אֵלֶ֣יךָ
יְשַׂבֵּר֑וּן
לָתֵ֖ת
אָכְלָ֣ם
בְּעִתּֽוֹ׃
28. תִּתֵּ֣ן
לָ֭הֶם
יִלְקֹט֑וּן
תִּפְתַּ֥ח
יָֽ֝דְךָ֗
יִשְׂבְּע֥וּן
טֽוֹב׃
29. תַּסְתִּ֥יר
פָּנֶיךָ֮
יִֽבָּהֵ֫ל֥וּן
תֹּסֵ֣ף
ר֭וּחָם
יִגְוָע֑וּן
וְֽאֶל־
עֲפָרָ֥ם
יְשׁוּֽבוּ֥ן׃t
30. תְּשַׁלַּ֣ח
ר֭וּחֲךָ
יִבָּרֵא֑וּן
וּ֝תְחַדֵּ֗שׁ
פְּנֵ֣י
אֲדָמָֽה׃
31. יְהִ֤י
כְב֣וֹד
יְהוָ֣ה
לְעוֹלָ֑ם
יִשְׂמַ֖ח
יְהוָ֣ה
בְּמַעֲשָֽׂיו׃
32. הַמַּבִּ֣יט
לָ֭אָרֶץ
וַתִּרְעָ֑ד
יִגַּ֖ע
בֶּהָרִ֣ים
וְֽיֶעֱשָֽׁנוּ׃
33. אָשִׁ֣ירָה
לַיהוָ֣ה
בְּחַיָּ֑י
אֲזַמְּרָ֖ה
לֵאלֹהַ֣י
בְּעוֹדִֽי׃
34. יֶעֱרַ֣ב
עָלָ֣יו
שִׂיחִ֑י
אָ֝נֹכִ֗י
אֶשְׂמַ֥ח
בַּיהוָֽה׃
35. יִתַּ֤מּוּ
חַטָּאִ֨ים ׀
מִן־
הָאָ֡רֶץ
וּרְשָׁעִ֤ים ׀
ע֤וֹד
אֵינָ֗ם
בָּרֲכִ֣י
נַ֭פְשִׁי
אֶת־
יְהוָ֗ה
הַֽלְלוּ־
יָֽהּ׃