Psalm 11 → 26

Reasoning: 8384 Output: 3805 Total: 12189

Argument

Here is a concise case that Psalm 26 can be read as a deliberate “next step” after Psalm 11, moving from the cosmic claim that the Lord tests from his temple to the worshiper’s personal submission to that testing in the temple.

1) A stepwise progression of thought and setting
- From refusal to flee to firm standing:
  - Ps 11:1 “In YHWH I have taken refuge… ‘Flee to your mountain like a bird!’” is rejected.
  - Ps 26:1,12 “In YHWH I have trusted; I shall not slip… my foot stands in a level place.” The threat to stability in 11:3 (“if the foundations are destroyed”) resolves in 26:12 (standing “on level ground”).
- From God’s heavenly/holy temple to the worshiper’s temple approach:
  - Ps 11:4 “YHWH in his holy temple; YHWH—his throne is in heaven.”
  - Ps 26:6–8 “I wash my hands in innocence and go around your altar… I love the dwelling of your house, the place of the abode of your glory.” The cosmic statement (11) becomes cultic practice (26).
- From God’s testing to the supplicant’s invitation to be tested:
  - Ps 11:4–5 “his eyes behold… his eyelids test (יבחנו) the children of man; YHWH tests (יבחן) the righteous.”
  - Ps 26:2 “Test me (בחנני), YHWH; try me; refine my kidneys and my heart.” The general principle (God tests) becomes the psalmist’s explicit prayer to undergo that testing.
- From promise of beatific vision to concrete presence/praise:
  - Ps 11:7 “The upright will behold his face.”
  - Ps 26:7–8,12 “to make heard the voice of thanksgiving… I love the dwelling of your house… in the assemblies I will bless YHWH.” The “face” in 11 is realized as liturgical nearness to God’s “glory” in his house.

2) High‑value lexical links (roots, forms, and semantic fields)
- בחן “to test/examine” (same verb, Qal):
  - Ps 11:4–5 יִבְחָן/יִבְחֲנוּ; Ps 26:2 בְּחָנֵנִי. This is the strongest and most distinctive shared verb, and it sits at the structural center of both psalms.
- ישר “upright/level” (shared root; ethics and footing):
  - Ps 11:2 לִישְׁרֵי־לֵב; 11:7 יָשָׁר; Ps 26:12 בְמִישׁוֹר (“level place,” from ישר). Moral “uprightness” (11) becomes literal “level ground” (26) for the one who trusts.
- אהב “to love” (same root; matching ethical polarities):
  - Ps 11:5 וְאֹהֵב חָמָס (“the lover of violence”); 11:7 צְדָקוֹת אָהֵב (“YHWH loves righteousness”).
  - Ps 26:8 אָהַבְתִּי (“I love the dwelling of your house”). Threefold “love” contrasts alignments: the wicked love violence; YHWH loves righteousness; the psalmist loves God’s house.
- שׂנא “to hate” (same root; distancing from the wicked):
  - Ps 11:5 שָׂנְאָה נַפְשׁוֹ (YHWH “hates” the lover of violence).
  - Ps 26:5 שָׂנֵאתִי קְהַל מְרֵעִים (the psalmist “hates” the assembly of evildoers).
- רשעים / אנשי דמים vs. חמס (violence/bloodshed):
  - Ps 11:2,6 רְשָׁעִים; 11:5 חָמָס.
  - Ps 26:5 רְשָׁעִים; 26:9–10 אַנְשֵׁי דָמִים… יְמִינָם מָלְאָה שֹׁחַד. The same moral contrast class is sustained; the psalmist explicitly disassociates from those God judges in 11:6.
- Temple lexemes (holy place, altar, house, glory):
  - Ps 11:4 בְּהֵיכַל קָדְשׁוֹ.
  - Ps 26:6–8 מִזְבֵּחַ… מְעוֹן בֵּיתֶךָ… מִשְׁכַּן כְּבוֹדֶךָ. Psalm 26 operationalizes Psalm 11’s temple setting.
- Eye/seeing vocabulary (shared vantage theme):
  - Ps 11:4 עֵינָיו יֶחֱזוּ (“his eyes behold”).
  - Ps 26:3 חַסְדְּךָ לְנֶגֶד עֵינָי (“your hesed is before my eyes”). God’s gaze examines in 11; the psalmist trains his own gaze on God’s covenant-love in 26.
- נֶפֶשׁ (identical form class, 1cs):
  - Ps 11:1 לְנַפְשִׁי; Ps 26:9 נַפְשִׁי. The “counsel to my soul” in 11 is answered by “do not gather my soul with sinners” in 26.

3) Form and style
- Both are “Davidic,” first-person, antithetical (righteous vs. wicked), and move from threat/contest to confidence.
- Psalm 11 is a trust-psalm with wisdom coloring; Psalm 26 is an individual plea for vindication with entrance-liturgy traits (washing hands, altar-circuit, thanksgiving proclamation). That is a natural sequence: trust under threat (11) leads to seeking vindication and temple admission (26).
- Stylistic antitheses repeat across both: love/hate; righteous/wicked; seen/hidden (“in darkness” בְּמוֹ־אֹפֶל, 11:2, vs. “the hidden/secretive” נַעֲלָמִים, 26:4); flee vs. stand.

4) Event/cultic logic in an ancient Israelite frame
- Hearing counsel to flee (11:1–3), the faithful one instead approaches YHWH in his temple (11:4) to be examined (11:4–5).
- He then performs the entry/purification and thanksgiving rites (26:6–7), declares separation from the wicked liable to judgment (11:6 ↔ 26:4–5,9–10), asks not to be swept up with them (26:9), and ends with stable footing among the congregation blessing YHWH (26:12)—a lived answer to 11:7’s promise that the upright will behold God’s presence.

5) Notable “weighted” correspondences (by the criteria you gave)
- Strong (same root and same word class, central to both): בחן (test/examine).
- Strong (shared root; recurring motif): ישר → יָשָׁר / מִישׁוֹר.
- Medium (shared root with varied subjects): אהב, שׂנא.
- Medium (shared lemma): רְשָׁעִים; נֶפֶשׁ (1cs).
- Medium (shared cultic field): הֵיכָל / מִזְבֵּחַ / בֵּית / מִשְׁכָּן / כָּבוֹד.
- Medium (shared seeing/eye terms): עֵינַיִם / חָזָה.

Bottom line: Psalm 26 reads like the worshiper’s concrete, cultic enactment of the theology of Psalm 11. The God who tests from his holy temple (11) is met by a servant who invites that testing, disavows the wicked, performs purification, and takes his place on firm, level ground in the house of YHWH (26).

Evaluation

Score: 6.5

Evaluated at: 2025-12-15T03:30:20 (UTC)

Evaluator model: gpt-5

Evaluator version: v2

Reasoning: 3712 Output: 4640 Total: 8352

Vocabulary specificity: 4.5 / 10

Multiple precise links (בחן in 11:4–5/26:2; temple shift 11:4→26:6–8; ישר: 11:2,7/26:12) and coherent progression. Yet motifs are common in Psalms; no editorial markers; counterarguments unaddressed.

Prompt

Consider Psalm 11 and Psalm 26 (reproduced below). What arguments could you make to justify that Psalm 26 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 26:
Psalm 26
1. לְדָוִ֨ד ׀
        שָׁפְטֵ֤נִי
        יְהוָ֗ה
        כִּֽי־
        אֲ֭נִי
        בְּתֻמִּ֣י
        הָלַ֑כְתִּי
        וּבַיהוָ֥ה
        בָּ֝טַ֗חְתִּי
        לֹ֣א
        אֶמְעָֽד׃
2. בְּחָנֵ֣נִי
        יְהוָ֣ה
        וְנַסֵּ֑נִי
        צרופה
        צָרְפָ֖ה
        כִלְיוֹתַ֣י
        וְלִבִּֽי׃
3. כִּֽי־
        חַ֭סְדְּךָ
        לְנֶ֣גֶד
        עֵינָ֑י
        וְ֝הִתְהַלַּ֗כְתִּי
        בַּאֲמִתֶּֽךָ׃
4. לֹא־
        יָ֭שַׁבְתִּי
        עִם־
        מְתֵי־
        שָׁ֑וא
        וְעִ֥ם
        נַ֝עֲלָמִ֗ים
        לֹ֣א
        אָבֽוֹא׃
5. שָׂ֭נֵאתִי
        קְהַ֣ל
        מְרֵעִ֑ים
        וְעִם־
        רְ֝שָׁעִ֗ים
        לֹ֣א
        אֵשֵֽׁב׃
6. אֶרְחַ֣ץ
        בְּנִקָּי֣וֹן
        כַּפָּ֑י
        וַאֲסֹבְבָ֖ה
        אֶת־
        מִזְבַּחֲךָ֣
        יְהוָֽה׃
7. לַ֭שְׁמִעַ
        בְּק֣וֹל
        תּוֹדָ֑ה
        וּ֝לְסַפֵּ֗ר
        כָּל־
        נִפְלְאוֹתֶֽיךָ׃
8. יְֽהוָ֗ה
        אָ֭הַבְתִּי
        מְע֣וֹן
        בֵּיתֶ֑ךָ
        וּ֝מְק֗וֹם
        מִשְׁכַּ֥ן
        כְּבוֹדֶֽךָ׃
9. אַל־
        תֶּאֱסֹ֣ף
        עִם־
        חַטָּאִ֣ים
        נַפְשִׁ֑י
        וְעִם־
        אַנְשֵׁ֖י
        דָמִ֣ים
        חַיָּֽי׃
10. אֲשֶׁר־
        בִּידֵיהֶ֥ם
        זִמָּ֑ה
        וִֽ֝ימִינָ֗ם
        מָ֣לְאָה
        שֹּֽׁחַד׃
11. וַ֭אֲנִי
        בְּתֻמִּ֥י
        אֵלֵ֗ךְ
        פְּדֵ֣נִי
        וְחָנֵּֽנִי׃
12. רַ֭גְלִי
        עָֽמְדָ֣ה
        בְמִישׁ֑וֹר
        בְּ֝מַקְהֵלִ֗ים
        אֲבָרֵ֥ךְ
        יְהוָֽה׃