Psalm 10 → 137

Reasoning: 12800 Output: 5500 Total: 18300

Argument

Here is a compact “case” you could make that Psalm 137 would logically follow Psalm 10 if the Psalter were ordered by thematic and lexical seams rather than by the current canonical sequence.

Macro‑plot (from hiddenness and oppression to exile and retributive hope)
- Psa 10 opens with divine hiddenness amid oppression: “Why, YHWH, do you stand far off? … at times of trouble” (10:1), and details the triumph of the רָשָׁע over the עָנִי/דַּךְ/חֵלְכָה (vv. 2–11), then petitions for decisive justice (vv. 12–15) and confesses YHWH’s kingship (v. 16).
- Psa 137 depicts the historical consequence of such unchecked wickedness: the people are in Babylonian exile, unable to sing YHWH’s song “on foreign soil” (137:4), vowing fidelity to Zion (vv. 5–6), and calling for lex talionis against Edom and Babylon (vv. 7–9).
- In short: Psalm 10 = the problem and prayer; Psalm 137 = what it looked like “on the ground” in exile and the sharpened demand for payback.

A strong catchword seam: forget/remember
- Psalm 10:11 “שָׁכַח אֵל” (the wicked says “God has forgotten”); 10:12 “אַל־תִּשְׁכַּח עֲנָוִים” (do not forget the afflicted).
- Psalm 137 rings with the antiphonal counterpart: 137:1 “בְּזָכְרֵנוּ אֶת־צִיּוֹן”, 137:5 “אִם־אֶשְׁכָּחֵךְ יְרוּשָׁלָ͏ִם”, 137:6 “אִם־לֹא אֶזְכְּרֵכִי”, 137:7 “זְכֹר יְהוָה לִבְנֵי אֱדוֹם”.
- The covenantal pair “זכור/אל תשכח” is programmatic in Torah (e.g., Deut 25:17–19). Psalm 137 picks up Psalm 10’s “don’t forget” plea by explicitly commanding “remember,” and by vowing “I will not forget.”

Hand/arm/right‑hand motif (instruments of power vs. incapacitation)
- Psa 10:12 “קֻמָה … נְשָׂא יָדֶךָ” (lift your hand), 10:14 “לָתֵת בְּיָדֶךָ” (to put it in your hand), 10:15 “שְׁבֹר זְרוֹעַ רָשָׁע” (break the arm of the wicked).
- Psa 137:5 “תִּשְׁכַּח יְמִינִי” (may my right hand forget its skill) if Jerusalem is forgotten.
- The sequence is tight: Psalm 10 asks for YHWH’s hand to shatter the oppressor’s arm; Psalm 137 binds the worshiper’s own right hand to fidelity to Zion (even to the point of paralysis if disloyal). Hands/arms are theologically loaded in both psalms.

Mouth/tongue focus (speech as instrument of injustice vs. silenced fidelity)
- Psa 10:7 “אָלָה פִּיהוּ מָלֵא … תַּחַת לְשׁוֹנוֹ עָמָל וָאָוֶן” (his mouth is full of oaths… under his tongue mischief and iniquity).
- Psa 137:6 “תִּדְבַּק לְשׁוֹנִי לְחִכִּי” (may my tongue cling to my palate) if Jerusalem is not remembered; 137:3 the captors “asked of us words of song.”
- Both psalms unusually localize the tongue inside the mouth (תחת לשונו vs. ללחִכי). In Psalm 10 the tongue is an instrument of harm; in Psalm 137 the tongue is voluntarily immobilized rather than profane YHWH’s song.

“Land” seam and reversal
- Psa 10:16 “אָבְדוּ גּוֹיִם מֵאַרְצוֹ”; 10:18 “אֱנוֹשׁ מִן־הָאָרֶץ.”
- Psa 137:4 “עַל אַדְמַת נֵכָר” (on foreign soil).
- Psalm 10 hopes that nations be expelled “from His land”; Psalm 137 laments that Israel is now on “a foreign land.” The word‑field ארץ/אדמה provides a clean hinge with a dramatic reversal.

“Sit” seam and posture
- Psa 10:8 “יֵשֵׁב בְּמַאְרַב” (the wicked sits in ambush).
- Psa 137:1 “שָׁם יָשַׁבְנוּ גַּם־בָּכִינוּ” (there we sat and also wept).
- “Sitting” moves from predatory posture to mournful posture, tracking the narrative from threat to consequence (exile).

Rhetorical questions and quoted speech
- Psa 10 opens and argues with pointed questions: “לָמָה …?” (v. 1), “עַל־מֶה …?” (v. 13); it also reports the oppressor’s interior speech three times “אָמַר בְּלִבּוֹ” (vv. 6, 11, 13).
- Psa 137 poses the exilic counterpart: “אֵיךְ נָשִׁיר אֶת־שִׁיר־יְהוָה עַל אַדְמַת נֵכָר?” (v. 4) and quotes the enemy’s cry “הָאֹמְרִים: עָרוּ עָרוּ” (v. 7).
- The technique of dramatizing the wicked by quoting their words is common to both.

Identification and escalation of the oppressor
- Psa 10’s oppressor is the generic רָשָׁע and, climactically, “גּוֹיִם” removed “from His land” (10:16).
- Psa 137 names them historically: “בבל” and “בני אדום,” which supplies the concrete historical sequel to the abstract profile in Psalm 10.
- The lion image in 10:9 (“כְּאַרְיֵה בְּסֻכֹּה”) is the very figure prophets use for the Mesopotamian invader (cf. Jer 4:7 “the lion has come up from his thicket”), anticipating Babylon’s role in 137.

Justice and lex talionis: from petition to beatitude
- Psa 10 petitions: “שְׁבֹר זְרוֹעַ רָשָׁע … תִּדְרוֹשׁ רִשְׁעוֹ” (10:15).
- Psa 137 pronounces: “אַשְׁרֵי שֶׁיִּשַׁלֶּם לָךְ אֶת־גְּמוּלֵךְ … אַשְׁרֵי שֶׁיֹּאחֵז וְנִפֵּץ” (137:8–9).
- The move is from request for retributive inquiry/punishment (דרש) to a beatitude on the avenger who executes measure‑for‑measure repayment (גְּמוּל).

Kingship and “songs of Zion”
- Psa 10 climaxes with enthronement faith: “יְהוָה מֶלֶךְ עוֹלָם וָעֶד” (10:16).
- Psa 137 features the captors’ taunt, “שִׁירוּ לָנוּ מִשִּׁיר צִיּוֹן” (v. 3), and the exiles’ refusal to sing “שִׁיר יְהוָה” in exile (v. 4).
- Read consecutively, 137 “answers” 10: the reality of exile makes singing YHWH’s kingship songs outside Zion a paradox, hence the vow rather than the performance.

Bodies and worship reoriented
- Psalm 10 catalogs the oppressor’s body as a toolkit of evil: nose/face (10:4), mouth/tongue (10:7), eyes (10:8), hand/arm (10:12, 15).
- Psalm 137 binds the worshiper’s hands and tongue to Zion (right hand, tongue), and even hangs up the instruments (כִּנֹּרוֹת, v. 2). Instruments that in Psalm 10 were tools of oppression become, in 137, either devoted to Zion or deliberately silenced.

From individual to communal voice
- Psa 10 largely speaks in the singular (the wicked “says in his heart,” the “orphan,” the “poor”), then widens to nations.
- Psa 137 is corporate from the first line (“יָשַׁבְנוּ”)—a natural “next step” as a personal lament blooms into a communal memory and vow in exile.

A plausible historical sequence in Israel’s story
- Psalm 10 fits a pre‑exilic or crisis‑in‑the‑land setting: predation within the land and threat from nations.
- Psalm 137 is unmistakably exilic. Reading 137 after 10 maps a recognizable arc in Israel’s history: injustice → divine hiddenness → conquest/exile → memory of Zion → plea for retribution on the conquerors.

Why these links are more than generic
- The dense cluster of זכר/שכח terms across the seam (10:11–12 → 137:1, 5–7) is unusually tight and covenantally charged; it is the strongest lexical bridge.
- The coordinated hand/arm/right‑hand and tongue‑in‑mouth imagery is rarer than simple shared vocabulary and shows a crafted, embodied theology carried from one psalm into the next.
- The move from petition (שְׁבֹר… תִּדְרוֹשׁ) to beatitude for retribution (אַשְׁרֵי… יְשַׁלֵּם/יִנְפֵּץ) shows deliberate intensification rather than mere repetition.

In sum: If one were arranging the psalms by thematic and lexical seams, Psalm 137 can be read as the historical and rhetorical sequel to Psalm 10: the wickedness lamented in 10 has culminated in exile; the “don’t forget” plea of 10 is answered by a flurry of “remember/if I forget” in 137; the hand/arm and mouth/tongue that were instruments of oppression in 10 become objects of oath and sanction in 137; and the demand for justice in 10 hardens into lex‑talionis beatitudes against Babylon in 137.

Evaluation

Score: 6.0

Evaluated at: 2025-12-13T03:39:38 (UTC)

Evaluator model: gpt-5

Evaluator version: v2

Reasoning: 3648 Output: 6344 Total: 9992

Vocabulary specificity: 4.0 / 10

Multiple precise seams: זכור/שכח (10:11–12; 137:1,5–7), hand/arm↔ימין (10:12–15; 137:5), mouth/tongue (10:7; 137:6). Yet motifs are common across Psalms; no editorial marker; distant canonical positions.

Prompt

Consider Psalm 10 and Psalm 137 (reproduced below). What arguments could you make to justify that Psalm 137 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 137:
Psalm 137
1. עַ֥ל
        נַהֲר֨וֹת ׀
        בָּבֶ֗ל
        שָׁ֣ם
        יָ֭שַׁבְנוּ
        גַּם־
        בָּכִ֑ינוּ
        בְּ֝זָכְרֵ֗נוּ
        אֶת־
        צִיּֽוֹן׃
2. עַֽל־
        עֲרָבִ֥ים
        בְּתוֹכָ֑הּ
        תָּ֝לִ֗ינוּ
        כִּנֹּרוֹתֵֽינוּ׃
3. כִּ֤י
        שָׁ֨ם
        שְֽׁאֵל֪וּנוּ
        שׁוֹבֵ֡ינוּ
        דִּבְרֵי־
        שִׁ֭יר
        וְתוֹלָלֵ֣ינוּ
        שִׂמְחָ֑ה
        שִׁ֥ירוּ
        לָ֝֗נוּ
        מִשִּׁ֥יר
        צִיּֽוֹן׃
4. אֵ֗יךְ
        נָשִׁ֥יר
        אֶת־
        שִׁיר־
        יְהוָ֑ה
        עַ֝֗ל
        אַדְמַ֥ת
        נֵכָֽר׃
5. אִֽם־
        אֶשְׁכָּחֵ֥ךְ
        יְֽרוּשָׁלִָ֗ם
        תִּשְׁכַּ֥ח
        יְמִינִֽי׃
6. תִּדְבַּֽק־
        לְשׁוֹנִ֨י ׀
        לְחִכִּי֮
        אִם־
        לֹ֢א
        אֶזְכְּ֫רֵ֥כִי
        אִם־
        לֹ֣א
        אַ֭עֲלֶה
        אֶת־
        יְרוּשָׁלִַ֑ם
        עַ֝֗ל
        רֹ֣אשׁ
        שִׂמְחָתִֽי׃
7. זְכֹ֤ר
        יְהוָ֨ה ׀
        לִבְנֵ֬י
        אֱד֗וֹם
        אֵת֮
        י֤וֹם
        יְֽרוּשָׁ֫לִָ֥ם
        הָ֭אֹ֣מְרִים
        עָ֤רוּ ׀
        עָ֑רוּ
        עָ֝֗ד
        הַיְס֥וֹד
        בָּֽהּ׃
8. בַּת־
        בָּבֶ֗ל
        הַשְּׁד֫וּדָ֥ה
        אַשְׁרֵ֥י
        שֶׁיְשַׁלֶּם־
        לָ֑ךְ
        אֶת־
        גְּ֝מוּלֵ֗ךְ
        שֶׁגָּמַ֥לְתְּ
        לָֽנוּ׃
9. אַשְׁרֵ֤י ׀
        שֶׁיֹּאחֵ֓ז
        וְנִפֵּ֬ץ
        אֶֽת־
        עֹלָלַ֗יִךְ
        אֶל־
        הַסָּֽלַע׃