Psalm 10 → 113
Reasoning: 7488 Output: 4572 Total: 12060
Argument
Short answer: Psalm 113 reads like the hymn of praise that answers the lament of Psalm 10. Where Psalm 10 asks why God seems distant while the wicked crush the poor, Psalm 113 declares that the Most High stoops to see and actively raises the poor and seats them with princes. Details by category Problem–solution logic (form and flow) - Psalm 10 (individual/community lament) lays out the problem: the arrogant wicked prey on the poor; God seems far; the psalm petitions God to arise, see, judge, and help (10:1, 12–15, 17–18). - Psalm 113 (Hallelujah hymn) is the fitting sequel: it celebrates that the Most High does in fact see and act, raising the poor, reversing fortunes, and ruling over the nations (113:4–9). This movement from lament/petition to praise/answer is a standard Israelite liturgical and editorial pattern. Direct thematic reversals - Distance vs nearness to the lowly: - 10:1 “Why, YHWH, do you stand far off? You hide yourself in times of trouble.” - 113:5–6 “Who is like YHWH our God, who is enthroned on high (המגביהי לשבת), who lowers himself to see (המשפילי לראות) in the heavens and on the earth?” The complaint of hiddenness (10:1) is answered by God’s condescension to “see” (same root ראה; cf. 10:14 ראית “you have seen”). - The fate of the poor: - 10:2, 8–10 The wicked ambush, trap, and crush the עני/חלכאה/דך (“poor/helpless/oppressed”). - 113:7–8 “He raises (מְקִימִי, from קום) the poor (דַל) from the dust; from the ash-heap he lifts (יָרִים, from רום) the needy (אֶבְיוֹן), to seat them with princes.” The very classes assaulted in Ps 10 are publicly elevated in Ps 113. - Blasphemy vs right praise: - 10:3 “The greedy he blesses; he despises YHWH” (בֹצֵעַ בֵרֵךְ, ניאֵץ יהוה) — blessing misdirected and God reviled. - 113:1–3 Triple call to praise and bless the “Name of YHWH” (יהי שם יהוה מבורך). The wrong “blessing” of Ps 10 is corrected by blessing YHWH’s Name universally and perpetually. - Kingship and nations: - 10:16 “YHWH is king forever and ever (עולם ועד); the nations (גויים) have perished from his land.” - 113:4 “YHWH is exalted (רם) above all nations (על כל גוים); his glory above the heavens.” 113 universalizes 10’s kingship claim by locating YHWH above the nations. Lexical and root connections (more weight to rarer/shared forms) - קום “arise/raise”: - 10:12 קוּמָה יהוה “Arise, YHWH.” - 113:7 מְקִימִי “the one who raises” (hiphil participle). The petition (Arise) is answered by a portrait of God as raiser. - רום “high/exalt”: - 10:5 מָרוֹם “on high are your judgments.” - 113:4 רָם “exalted” is YHWH over the nations; 113:7 יָרִים “he will lift” the needy. - ראה “see”: - 10:14 רָאִיתָ “you have seen.” - 113:6 לִרְאוֹת “to see.” In 10 God is urged to see; in 113 he is defined as the One who stoops in order to see. - ישב “sit/dwell/seat”: - 10:8 יֵשֵׁב “he (the wicked) sits in ambush.” - 113 uses the root three times for God’s beneficent rule and action: לָשָׁבֶת (5), לְהוֹשִׁיבִי (8), מוֹשִׁיבִי (9). The wicked “sits” to prey; YHWH “sits enthroned” and “seats” the lowly in honor. - גוים “nations”: identical plural in both (10:16; 113:4). - עולם/עד עולם formulae: - 10:16 עולם ועד “forever and ever.” - 113:2 מעתה ועד עולם “from now and forever.” The shared temporal horizon binds the two psalms. - ברך “bless”: - 10:3 בֵּרֵךְ (piel) misdirected blessing of the greedy and insult to YHWH. - 113:2–3 מְבֹרָךְ (pual participle) “blessed be the Name of YHWH” — the proper object and scope of blessing. Motifs of reversal and household restoration - Psalm 10 ends by affirming God hears the desire of the humble and will judge for the orphan and the crushed (10:17–18). - Psalm 113 culminates in family restoration: “He makes the barren woman (עֲקֶרֶת) a joyful mother of children” (113:9). This extends the same “reversal” logic: those socially vulnerable and shamed are publicly restored. In ancient Israel, the movement from oppression and social vulnerability (poor, orphaned, barren) to secure place in the household and among princes is a standard sign of divine justice realized. High–low axis concentrated across both psalms - Ps 10 clusters “highness” with the wicked’s arrogance and with God’s apparently distant judgments (מָרוֹם, 10:5), generating the lament of hiddenness (10:1). - Ps 113 reclaims “highness” for YHWH himself (רָם, 113:4; המגביהי לשבת, 113:5) but immediately pairs it with condescension (המשפילי לראות, 113:6). This directly resolves the hiddenness problem in 10, by showing that transcendence does not mean absence. Event-sequence and liturgical fit - Israelite lament–deliverance–praise sequence: After petition (Ps 10:12–15) and confession of trust (10:16–18), a hymn of praise naturally follows. Psalm 113, the opening of the Egyptian Hallel (113–118, sung at Passover and other festivals of deliverance), is exactly the sort of hymn placed after laments to celebrate God’s proven help to the poor and his kingship over the nations. - Psalm 113’s language (“raises the poor from the dust… seats them with princes”) echoes Hannah’s song (1 Sam 2:7–8)—another classic biblical reversal hymn—often invoked after deliverance. That deep intertext resonates with Ps 10’s plea for the crushed, the orphan, and the humble. Why these links are strong - Several identical lexemes occur with thematic force (גּוֹיִם; עולם/עד עולם; repeated יהוה; extensive ישב forms). - Multiple shared roots are deployed in semantically pointed ways across both psalms (קום, רום, ראה, ישב, ברך). - The rarer and more “marked” elements in 113 (אשפות “ash-heap,” the participial string המגביהי/המשפילי/מקימי/מושיבי) map directly onto the social categories and needs highlighted in 10 (עני/יתום/דך; the wicked’s predation; God’s seeing and judging). - The structural move from complaint and petition (10) to universal praise of God’s name across time and space (113:1–3: “from sunrise to sunset,” “from now and forever”) is a textbook editorial logic. In sum, Psalm 113 can be read as the hymnic answer to Psalm 10’s lament: the very God who seemed distant is in fact the exalted-yet-condescending King who sees, raises, seats, blesses, and restores the very people Psalm 10 pleads for.
Evaluation
Score: 6.0
Evaluated at: 2025-12-12T03:38:37 (UTC)
Evaluator model: gpt-5
Evaluator version: v2
Reasoning: 3648 Output: 5403 Total: 9051
Checklist
- Has verse refs: Yes
- Factual error detected: No
- Only generic motifs: No
- Counterargument considered: No
- LXX/MT numbering acknowledged: No
Vocabulary specificity: 3.0 / 10
Many accurate, verse-anchored lexical links (ראה; קום/מְקִימִי; ברך; ישב; עולם/גוים) and a plausible lament→praise rationale. But overlaps are common; ignores Ps 9–10 acrostic unity and 113’s Hallel context.
Prompt
Consider Psalm 10 and Psalm 113 (reproduced below). What arguments could you make to justify that Psalm 113 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 113:
Psalm 113
1. הַ֥לְלוּ
יָ֨הּ ׀
הַ֭לְלוּ
עַבְדֵ֣י
יְהוָ֑ה
הַֽ֝לְלוּ
אֶת־
שֵׁ֥ם
יְהוָֽה׃
2. יְהִ֤י
שֵׁ֣ם
יְהוָ֣ה
מְבֹרָ֑ךְ
מֵֽ֝עַתָּ֗ה
וְעַד־
עוֹלָֽם׃
3. מִמִּזְרַח־
שֶׁ֥מֶשׁ
עַד־
מְבוֹא֑וֹ
מְ֝הֻלָּ֗ל
שֵׁ֣ם
יְהוָֽה׃
4. רָ֖ם
עַל־
כָּל־
גּוֹיִ֥ם ׀
יְהוָ֑ה
עַ֖ל
הַשָּׁמַ֣יִם
כְּבוֹדֽוֹ׃
5. מִ֭י
כַּיהוָ֣ה
אֱלֹהֵ֑ינוּ
הַֽמַּגְבִּיהִ֥י
לָשָֽׁבֶת׃
6. הַֽמַּשְׁפִּילִ֥י
לִרְא֑וֹת
בַּשָּׁמַ֥יִם
וּבָאָֽרֶץ׃
7. מְקִֽימִ֣י
מֵעָפָ֣ר
דָּ֑ל
מֵֽ֝אַשְׁפֹּ֗ת
יָרִ֥ים
אֶבְיֽוֹן׃
8. לְהוֹשִׁיבִ֥י
עִם־
נְדִיבִ֑ים
עִ֝֗ם
נְדִיבֵ֥י
עַמּֽוֹ׃
9. מֽוֹשִׁיבִ֨י ׀
עֲקֶ֬רֶת
הַבַּ֗יִת
אֵֽם־
הַבָּנִ֥ים
שְׂמֵחָ֗ה
הַֽלְלוּ־
יָֽהּ׃