Psalm 11 → 22
Reasoning: 10880 Output: 5744 Total: 16624
Argument
Here are ways to argue that Psalm 22 is a logical sequel to Psalm 11, moving from trust-in-threat (Ps 11) to a full-blown trial, answered prayer, and public vindication (Ps 22). I group the links by type and weight rarer, tighter correspondences more. Editorial/formal signals - Identical incipit: both begin לַמְנַצֵּחַ … לְדָוִד (Ps 11:1; 22:1), marking them as related “For the director, of David” pieces in the same editorial stream. - Shared genre profile: both are individual prayers that resolve in a gnomic/theological close; Ps 22 simply expands the pattern into lament → vow → public praise. High‑value lexical/theological hooks - Holiness/enthronement pairing (rarely juxtaposed so compactly): - Ps 11:4 יהוה בְּהֵיכַל קָדְשׁוֹ … בַשָּׁמַיִם כִּסְאוֹ - Ps 22:4 וְאַתָּה קָדוֹשׁ יֹשֵׁב תְּהִלּוֹת יִשְׂרָאֵל The same theology—YHWH as the holy, enthroned one—anchors both psalms. - Face/presence: - Ps 11:7 יָשָׁר יֶחֱזוּ פָנֵימוֹ - Ps 22:25 לֹא הִסְתִּיר פָּנָיו מִמֶּנּוּ; 22:28 לְפָנֶיךָ; 22:30 לְפָנָיו The outcome promised in Ps 11 (the upright will see his face) is realized narratively in Ps 22 (God does not hide his face; nations worship before his face). - Righteousness lexeme (same root, prominent in conclusions): - Ps 11:7 כִּי־צַדִּיק יְהוָה צְדָקוֹת אָהֵב - Ps 22:32 וְיַגִּידוּ צִדְקָתוֹ Ps 22’s finale (“they will declare his righteousness”) is the public display of what Ps 11 asserts God loves. - Kingship/enthronement conclusion: - Ps 11:4 “in heaven is his throne” - Ps 22:29 כִּי לַיהוָה הַמְּלוּכָה וּמֹשֵׁל בַּגּוֹיִם Ps 22 universalizes Ps 11’s heavenly enthronement into earthwide acknowledgment. Time and light/darkness motif (coherent narrative arc) - Ps 11:2 depicts the ambush “in darkness” בְּמוֹ־אֹפֶל. - Ps 22 is “על־אַיֶּלֶת הַשַּׁחַר” (“Doe of the dawn”), and the lament spans “day … and night” (22:3). The superscription’s “dawn” implies movement from the night‑ambush of Ps 11 toward morning deliverance (a common lament motif). Trial and testing: from principle (Ps 11) to case study (Ps 22) - Ps 11:4–5 God’s eyes “examine/test” (יֶחֱזוּ … יִבְחֲנוּ) all; “YHWH tests the righteous.” - Ps 22 enacts that testing: isolation (22:2–3), mockery (22:8–9), encirclement by predators (22:13–18), mortal peril (22:16–22), then the pivot of answered prayer (22:22 עֲנִיתָנִי). It is the lived scenario of the “tested righteous” promised vindication in Ps 11. Enemy/violence imagery in parallel fields - Ps 11:2 wicked bend the bow; 11:6 God rains traps, fire, and brimstone—a Sodom‑type judgment. - Ps 22:13–22 enemies as bulls of Bashan, lion, dogs, a sword, horns—ANE “chaos‑beast” imagery. Both psalms use violent, non‑ordinary imagery to portray the threat and God’s counter‑action. - Distribution/judgment imagery: - Ps 11:6 מְנָת כּוֹסָם (their cup/portion). - Ps 22:19 casting lots (יַפִּילוּ גוֹרָל) and dividing (יְחַלְּקוּ) garments—public apportionment; different lexemes, same judicial/portioning field. Vocabulary fields that recur (with some identical forms) - Trust/refuge: - Ps 11:1 בַּיהוָה חָסִיתִי - Ps 22:5–6 בָּטְחוּ (×3) in God; the semantic field of reliance runs through both. - נפש “soul” in both: Ps 11:1; Ps 22:21, 30. - לֵב “heart”: Ps 11:2 (יִשְׁרֵי־לֵב); Ps 22:27 (יְחִי לְבַבְכֶם). - אָדָם: Ps 11:4–5; Ps 22:7 (חֶרְפַּת אָדָם). From private trust to public liturgy (logical sequel in Israelite practice) - Ps 11 is a compact confession of trust under counsel to flee (11:1) and a theological answer (God sees, tests, judges, and the upright will see his face). - Ps 22 traces the expected lifecycle after such trust: - Crisis and plea (22:2–22). - Answer (22:22). - Paying vows and praising in the great assembly (22:23–26: אֲסַפְּרָה … אֲהַלְלֶךָּ; נְדָרַי אֲשַׁלֵּם), with a thanksgiving meal for the poor (22:27), exactly the pattern of a todah‑offering after deliverance. - Expansion to national and universal worship (22:24, 28–32), matching Ps 11’s vision that the upright behold God’s face and extending it to “all families of the nations.” Question–answer links across the pair - Ps 11:3 “If the foundations are destroyed, what can the righteous do?” → Ps 22 answers by modeling what the righteous do: cry out day and night (22:3), remember the fathers’ trust (22:4–6), refuse to flee from God’s presence (“do not be far,” 22:12, 20), and then publicly testify (22:23–26). - Ps 11 stresses that YHWH loves “righteous deeds” and the upright will “see his face” (11:7) → Ps 22 climaxes with the community and the nations worshiping “before” him and declaring “his righteousness” (22:25, 28–32). Mythic/historical frame that makes the sequence plausible - Ps 11 fits a Davidic flight context (counsel to flee to the mountain, 11:1; ambush by archers in the dark, 11:2). - Ps 22 reads like the next stage: capture/encirclement, public humiliation, near‑death, then deliverance, vow‑payment, and communal feast in the sanctuary—precisely the sequence one would expect in Israel’s cultic life after deliverance from mortal danger. In sum: Ps 22 picks up Ps 11’s core theological anchors (holy enthronement; God’s face; righteousness) with several identical or root‑identical lexemes, and it “runs the play” that Ps 11 sketches: the righteous tested by violent foes, refusing to abandon trust, finally vindicated so that the upright (indeed all nations) come before God’s face to declare his righteousness. That is a coherent, logical progression from Ps 11 to Ps 22.
Evaluation
Score: 6.5
Evaluated at: 2025-12-14T03:39:46 (UTC)
Evaluator model: gpt-5
Evaluator version: v2
Reasoning: 3200 Output: 6582 Total: 9782
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
Best evidence: paired ‘holy’ + enthronement (11:4; 22:4), face motif (11:7; 22:25,28–30), and ‘darkness’ vs ‘dawn’ (11:2; 22:1). But these motifs recur widely; superscriptional overlap generic. No caps.
Prompt
Consider Psalm 11 and Psalm 22 (reproduced below). What arguments could you make to justify that Psalm 22 logically follows on from Psalm 11? 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 11:
Psalm 11
1. לַמְנַצֵּ֗חַ
לְדָ֫וִ֥ד
בַּֽיהוָ֨ה ׀
חָסִ֗יתִי
אֵ֭יךְ
תֹּאמְר֣וּ
לְנַפְשִׁ֑י
נודו
נ֝֗וּדִי
הַרְכֶ֥ם
צִפּֽוֹר׃
2. כִּ֤י
הִנֵּ֪ה
הָרְשָׁעִ֡ים
יִדְרְכ֬וּן
קֶ֗שֶׁת
כּוֹנְנ֣וּ
חִצָּ֣ם
עַל־
יֶ֑תֶר
לִיר֥וֹת
בְּמוֹ־
אֹ֝֗פֶל
לְיִשְׁרֵי־
לֵֽב׃
3. כִּ֣י
הַ֭שָּׁתוֹת
יֵֽהָרֵס֑וּן
צַ֝דִּ֗יק
מַה־
פָּעָֽל׃
4. יְהוָ֤ה ׀
בְּֽהֵ֘יכַ֤ל
קָדְשׁ֗וֹ
יְהוָה֮
בַּשָּׁמַ֢יִם
כִּ֫סְא֥וֹ
עֵינָ֥יו
יֶחֱז֑וּ
עַפְעַפָּ֥יו
יִ֝בְחֲנ֗וּ
בְּנֵ֣י
אָדָֽם׃
5. יְהוָה֮
צַדִּ֢יק
יִ֫בְחָ֥ן
וְ֭רָשָׁע
וְאֹהֵ֣ב
חָמָ֑ס
שָֽׂנְאָ֥ה
נַפְשֽׁוֹ׃
6. יַמְטֵ֥ר
עַל־
רְשָׁעִ֗ים
פַּ֫חִ֥ים
אֵ֣שׁ
וְ֭גָפְרִית
וְר֥וּחַ
זִלְעָפ֗וֹת
מְנָ֣ת
כּוֹסָֽם׃
7. כִּֽי־
צַדִּ֣יק
יְ֭הוָה
צְדָק֣וֹת
אָהֵ֑ב
יָ֝שָׁ֗ר
יֶחֱז֥וּ
פָנֵֽימוֹ׃
Psalm 22:
Psalm 22
1. לַ֭מְנַצֵּחַ
עַל־
אַיֶּ֥לֶת
הַשַּׁ֗חַר
מִזְמ֥וֹר
לְדָוִֽד׃
2. אֵלִ֣י
אֵ֭לִי
לָמָ֣ה
עֲזַבְתָּ֑נִי
רָח֥וֹק
מִֽ֝ישׁוּעָתִ֗י
דִּבְרֵ֥י
שַׁאֲגָתִֽי׃
3. אֱֽלֹהַ֗י
אֶקְרָ֣א
י֭וֹמָם
וְלֹ֣א
תַעֲנֶ֑ה
וְ֝לַ֗יְלָה
וְֽלֹא־
דֽוּמִיָּ֥ה
לִֽי׃
4. וְאַתָּ֥ה
קָד֑וֹשׁ
י֝וֹשֵׁ֗ב
תְּהִלּ֥וֹת
יִשְׂרָאֵֽל׃
5. בְּ֭ךָ
בָּטְח֣וּ
אֲבֹתֵ֑ינוּ
בָּ֝טְח֗וּ
וַֽתְּפַלְּטֵֽמוֹ׃
6. אֵלֶ֣יךָ
זָעֲק֣וּ
וְנִמְלָ֑טוּ
בְּךָ֖
בָטְח֣וּ
וְלֹא־
בֽוֹשׁוּ׃
7. וְאָנֹכִ֣י
תוֹלַ֣עַת
וְלֹא־
אִ֑ישׁ
חֶרְפַּ֥ת
אָ֝דָ֗ם
וּבְז֥וּי
עָֽם׃
8. כָּל־
רֹ֭אַי
יַלְעִ֣גוּ
לִ֑י
יַפְטִ֥ירוּ
בְ֝שָׂפָ֗ה
יָנִ֥יעוּ
רֹֽאשׁ׃
9. גֹּ֣ל
אֶל־
יְהוָ֣ה
יְפַלְּטֵ֑הוּ
יַ֝צִּילֵ֗הוּ
כִּ֘י
חָ֥פֵֽץ
בּֽוֹ׃
10. כִּֽי־
אַתָּ֣ה
גֹחִ֣י
מִבָּ֑טֶן
מַ֝בְטִיחִ֗י
עַל־
שְׁדֵ֥י
אִמִּֽי׃
11. עָ֭לֶיךָ
הָשְׁלַ֣כְתִּי
מֵרָ֑חֶם
מִבֶּ֥טֶן
אִ֝מִּ֗י
אֵ֣לִי
אָֽתָּה׃
12. אַל־
תִּרְחַ֣ק
מִ֭מֶּנִּי
כִּי־
צָרָ֣ה
קְרוֹבָ֑ה
כִּי־
אֵ֥ין
עוֹזֵֽר׃
13. סְ֭בָבוּנִי
פָּרִ֣ים
רַבִּ֑ים
אַבִּירֵ֖י
בָשָׁ֣ן
כִּתְּרֽוּנִי׃
14. פָּצ֣וּ
עָלַ֣י
פִּיהֶ֑ם
אַ֝רְיֵ֗ה
טֹרֵ֥ף
וְשֹׁאֵֽג׃
15. כַּמַּ֥יִם
נִשְׁפַּכְתִּי֮
וְהִתְפָּֽרְד֗וּ
כָּֽל־
עַצְמ֫וֹתָ֥י
הָיָ֣ה
לִ֭בִּי
כַּדּוֹנָ֑ג
נָ֝מֵ֗ס
בְּת֣וֹךְ
מֵעָֽי׃
16. יָ֘בֵ֤שׁ
כַּחֶ֨רֶשׂ ׀
כֹּחִ֗י
וּ֭לְשׁוֹנִי
מֻדְבָּ֣ק
מַלְקוֹחָ֑י
וְֽלַעֲפַר־
מָ֥וֶת
תִּשְׁפְּתֵֽנִי׃
17. כִּ֥י
סְבָב֗וּנִי
כְּלָ֫בִ֥ים
עֲדַ֣ת
מְ֭רֵעִים
הִקִּיפ֑וּנִי
כָּ֝אֲרִ֗י
יָדַ֥י
וְרַגְלָֽי׃
18. אֲסַפֵּ֥ר
כָּל־
עַצְמוֹתָ֑י
הֵ֥מָּה
יַ֝בִּ֗יטוּ
יִרְאוּ־
בִֽי׃
19. יְחַלְּק֣וּ
בְגָדַ֣י
לָהֶ֑ם
וְעַל־
לְ֝בוּשִׁ֗י
יַפִּ֥ילוּ
גוֹרָֽל׃
20. וְאַתָּ֣ה
יְ֭הוָה
אַל־
תִּרְחָ֑ק
אֱ֝יָלוּתִ֗י
לְעֶזְרָ֥תִי
חֽוּשָׁה׃
21. הַצִּ֣ילָה
מֵחֶ֣רֶב
נַפְשִׁ֑י
מִיַּד־
כֶּ֝֗לֶב
יְחִידָתִֽי׃
22. ה֭וֹשִׁיעֵנִי
מִפִּ֣י
אַרְיֵ֑ה
וּמִקַּרְנֵ֖י
רֵמִ֣ים
עֲנִיתָֽנִי׃
23. אֲסַפְּרָ֣ה
שִׁמְךָ֣
לְאֶחָ֑י
בְּת֖וֹךְ
קָהָ֣ל
אֲהַלְלֶֽךָּ׃
24. יִרְאֵ֤י
יְהוָ֨ה ׀
הַֽלְל֗וּהוּ
כָּל־
זֶ֣רַע
יַעֲקֹ֣ב
כַּבְּד֑וּהוּ
וְג֥וּרוּ
מִ֝מֶּ֗נּוּ
כָּל־
זֶ֥רַע
יִשְׂרָאֵֽל׃
25. כִּ֤י
לֹֽא־
בָזָ֨ה
וְלֹ֪א
שִׁקַּ֡ץ
עֱנ֬וּת
עָנִ֗י
וְלֹא־
הִסְתִּ֣יר
פָּנָ֣יו
מִמֶּ֑נּוּ
וּֽבְשַׁוְּע֖וֹ
אֵלָ֣יו
שָׁמֵֽעַ׃
26. מֵ֥אִתְּךָ֗
תְּֽהִלָּ֫תִ֥י
בְּקָהָ֥ל
רָ֑ב
נְדָרַ֥י
אֲ֝שַׁלֵּ֗ם
נֶ֣גֶד
יְרֵאָֽיו׃
27. יֹאכְל֬וּ
עֲנָוִ֨ים ׀
וְיִשְׂבָּ֗עוּ
יְהַֽלְל֣וּ
יְ֭הוָה
דֹּ֣רְשָׁ֑יו
יְחִ֖י
לְבַבְכֶ֣ם
לָעַֽד׃
28. יִזְכְּר֤וּ ׀
וְיָשֻׁ֣בוּ
אֶל־
יְ֭הוָה
כָּל־
אַפְסֵי־
אָ֑רֶץ
וְיִֽשְׁתַּחֲו֥וּ
לְ֝פָנֶ֗יךָ
כָּֽל־
מִשְׁפְּח֥וֹת
גּוֹיִֽם׃
29. כִּ֣י
לַ֭יהוָה
הַמְּלוּכָ֑ה
וּ֝מֹשֵׁ֗ל
בַּגּוֹיִֽם׃
30. אָכְל֬וּ
וַיִּֽשְׁתַּחֲוּ֨וּ ׀
כָּֽל־
דִּשְׁנֵי־
אֶ֗רֶץ
לְפָנָ֣יו
יִ֭כְרְעוּ
כָּל־
יוֹרְדֵ֣י
עָפָ֑ר
וְ֝נַפְשׁ֗וֹ
לֹ֣א
חִיָּֽה׃
31. זֶ֥רַע
יַֽעַבְדֶ֑נּוּ
יְסֻפַּ֖ר
לַֽאדֹנָ֣י
לַדּֽוֹר׃
32. יָ֭בֹאוּ
וְיַגִּ֣ידוּ
צִדְקָת֑וֹ
לְעַ֥ם
נ֝וֹלָ֗ד
כִּ֣י
עָשָֽׂה׃