Psalm 11 → 79

Reasoning: 10368 Output: 5175 Total: 15543

Argument

Here are the strongest ways to argue that Psalm 79 is a logical sequel to Psalm 11, grouped and (roughly) ranked by “weight” (rarity/precision first, then broader thematic/formal links). Hebrew is cited where it sharpens the link; I note whether the connection is an identical collocation/form, shared root, or thematic echo.

1) Near-quotation/catchword links (highest weight)
- היכל + קדש (identical collocation; only the pronominal suffix changes)
  - Ps 11:4 יהוה בְהֵיכַל קָדְשׁוֹ
  - Ps 79:1 טִמְּאוּ אֶת־הֵיכַל קָדְשֶׁךָ
  - Significance: this is a tight, two-word anchor across the poems. Psalm 11 asserts YHWH is (securely) “in his holy temple,” while Psalm 79 laments that the nations have “defiled your holy temple.” The second psalm thus picks up the very phrase of the first and flips its state, moving from stability to desecration. This is the single strongest lexical seam between the two.

- אמר + interrogative (same root, same speech-act frame, parallel rhetorical function)
  - Ps 11:1 אֵיךְ תֹּאמְרוּ לְנַפְשִׁי "How can you say to my soul…?"
  - Ps 79:10 לָמָּה יֹאמְרוּ הַגּוֹיִם "Why should the nations say…?"
  - Significance: in both psalms the community of faith resists/answers a destabilizing speech from others. In 11, the “you” urge flight; in 79, the nations taunt “Where is their God?” Psalm 79 thus feels like the communal, historical escalation of the same rhetorical problem raised in 11.

- פנים/לפני (same root; presence/face)
  - Ps 11:7 יָשָׁר יֶחֱזוּ פָנֵימוֹ “the upright will behold his face”
  - Ps 79:11 תָּבוֹא לְפָנֶיךָ אֶנְקַת אָסִיר “Let the groaning of the prisoner come before you”
  - Significance: both end in a “before the face/presence” frame: 11 promises the upright will see God’s face; 79 begs that the groans come before God’s face/presence—and later (79:10) asks that justice be made known “before our eyes.” The seeing/being-in-presence motif is continuous, though applied to different parties.

2) Judgement-fire–outpour motifs (shared lexemes and tightly aligned imagery)
- אש (identical noun) and “outpour” imagery
  - Ps 11:6 יַמְטֵר… אֵשׁ וְגָפְרִית וְרוּחַ זִלְעָפוֹת “He will rain… fire and brimstone, and a scorching/terrible wind”
  - Ps 79:5 תִּבְעַר כְּמוֹ־אֵשׁ קִנְאָתֶךָ “Will your jealousy burn like fire?”
  - Ps 79:6 שְׁפֹךְ חֲמָתְךָ… “Pour out your wrath…”
  - Significance: Psalm 11 asserts God’s fiery, stormlike judgment poured from above; Psalm 79 pleads that God now “pour out” that wrath and “burn like fire” against the invading nations. The same judgment-imagery of a divinely poured, burning calamity is first stated as a certainty (11) and then solicited as a prayer (79). “Rain” (ימטר) and “pour out” (שפך) are not the same root, but they are functionally parallel “downpour” verbs in judgment contexts; the shared אש is exact.

- Measure-for-measure retribution
  - Ps 11:6 מְנָת כּוֹסָם “the portion of their cup”
  - Ps 79:12 הָשֵׁב… שִׁבְעָתַיִם אֶל־חֵיקָם “Return sevenfold into their bosom…”
  - Significance: different words, same idea: calibrated retribution. Psalm 11 speaks of “their portion” (cup) from God; Psalm 79 asks for “sevenfold” payback “into their bosom.” The judicial logic is the same; 79 turns 11’s principle into petition.

3) “Seeing” frame (shared lexeme עין and reciprocal vision)
- Ps 11:4 עֵינָיו יֶחֱזוּ “His eyes see”
- Ps 79:10 לְעֵינֵינוּ “before our eyes”
- Significance: God’s seeing in Ps 11 (as sovereign Judge) is matched in Ps 79 by the plea that we see the vindication (נִקְמַת דַּם… לְעֵינֵינוּ). In sequence: God sees (11), so let the vindication be seen (79).

4) Bird and heavens motifs (semantic links; lower weight than exact roots)
- Bird imagery
  - Ps 11:1 נוּדוּ… צִפּוֹר “Flee… like a bird”
  - Ps 79:2 מַאֲכָל לְעוֹף הַשָּׁמַיִם “Food for the birds of the heavens”
  - Significance: In Ps 11 the faithful are told to flee “like a bird”; Ps 79 shows the catastrophe where the dead become food for “the birds of the heavens.” The motif staggers from threatened flight to the grim aftermath of siege/death. Different nouns (ציפור vs עוֹף) but a pointed thematic echo.

- שָּׁמַיִם (shared lexeme, different functions)
  - Ps 11:4 בַּשָּׁמַיִם כִּסְאוֹ “His throne is in the heavens”
  - Ps 79:2 לְעוֹף הַשָּׁמַיִם “to the birds of the heavens”
  - Significance: Psalm 11 elevates to the heavenly throne; Psalm 79 pulls “the heavens” down into the battlefield (scavenger birds). Heaven’s sovereignty vs. heaven’s carrion—a grim, ironic descent that fits a sequel reading.

5) Social order destroyed: from hypothetical to realized (thematic logic)
- Ps 11:3 כִּי הַשָּׁתוֹת יֵהָרֵסוּן מַה־פָּעַל צַדִּיק “If the foundations are destroyed, what can the righteous do?”
- Ps 79:1–3 שָׂמוּ… לְעִיִּים… שָׁפְכוּ דָמָם כַּמַּיִם… וְאֵין קוֹבֵר “They have made Jerusalem a heap… poured out their blood like water… no one to bury”
- Significance: Psalm 11 poses the collapse as a frightening possibility and asks the existential question; Psalm 79 depicts the collapse realized (ruins, defilement, unburied dead). In that sense, 79 answers 11’s “What can the righteous do?” by modeling the communal response: lament, confession, and petition for justice and forgiveness (79:8–12).

6) Class of humanity: “sons of …” (same construction; one phrase is rare)
- Ps 11:4 בְּנֵי אָדָם “sons of mankind”
- Ps 79:11 בְּנֵי תְמוּתָה “sons of death” (rare)
- Significance: The “בני + X” frame is shared; 79’s “sons of death” is an intensified, rare phrase that suits the catastrophe Psalm 11 feared.

7) Violence/cause and effect (conceptual chain with one matching root)
- Ps 11:5 וְאֹהֵב חָמָס… שָׂנְאָה נַפְשׁוֹ “(the) lover of violence—His soul hates”
- Ps 79:3,10 שָׁפְכוּ דָמָם… נִקְמַת דַּם עֲבָדֶיךָ הַשָּׁפוּךְ “They poured out their blood… the vengeance of the blood of your servants that was poured out”
- Significance: Psalm 11 declares God’s stance toward violent men; Psalm 79 documents the violence (bloodshed) and asks for the vengeance implied by God’s character in Ps 11. The shared lexeme is not חמס but the violent act itself (שפך דם), and the logic is tight: if God hates violence (11), avenge the blood (79).

8) Formal progression: from theological assertion to communal petition and vow
- Assertion → Petition:
  - Ps 11 states doctrines in 3rd person (YHWH enthroned; He will judge; He loves righteousness).
  - Ps 79 turns those doctrines into direct 2nd-person prayer: “שְׁפֹךְ חֲמָתְךָ… עָזְרֵנוּ… וְכַפֵּר עַל־חַטֹּאתֵינוּ.”
- Closure:
  - Ps 11 closes with confidence: “יָשָׁר יֶחֱזוּ פָנֵימוֹ.”
  - Ps 79 closes with a communal vow: “וַאֲנַחְנוּ עַמְּךָ… נְסַפֵּר תְּהִלָּתֶךָ” (we will tell your praise).
  - Significance: The vow in 79 enacts what 11 predicted: the upright behold/acknowledge God and respond in worship.

9) Historical/life-cycle logic in Israelite experience
- Psalm 11 reads like an individual trust psalm under threat of social collapse; it roots stability in YHWH’s transcendent kingship “in his holy temple” and forecasts fiery judgment on the wicked.
- Psalm 79 is a communal lament from the other side of that collapse (city in ruins, temple defiled, corpses unburied)—a scenario most naturally mapped to 586 BCE. It “activates” Psalm 11’s theology: if YHWH is in his holy temple and rains fiery judgment (11:4–6), now is the moment to “pour out” that wrath on the nations who defiled that very temple (79:5–6) and to avenge the blood that violent men have spilled (11:5 → 79:10).
- Thus, 79 can be read as the historical sequel to 11’s hypothetical: when “the foundations are destroyed” (11:3), the righteous lament, confess, and petition for precisely the justice 11 has already ascribed to God.

Summary
- The most decisive micro-link is the shared, near-verbatim phrase הֵיכַל קָדְשׁוֹ/קָדְשֶׁךָ (11:4 // 79:1).
- The judgment imagery and lexemes (אש; “rain/pour” from above; measured retribution) in 79 deliberately “pull through” 11’s theology into prayer.
- The rhetorical “what they say” frames (תֹאמְרוּ // יֹאמְרוּ) and the face/eyes motifs bind the two into a coherent call-and-response: 11 asserts who God is when the wicked threaten; 79 asks that God now be that God in the aftermath of ruin.
- Reading 79 after 11, therefore, is not only plausible; it is rhetorically and theologically satisfying: the second psalm is the communal enactment of the first psalm’s convictions.

Evaluation

Score: 6.0

Evaluated at: 2025-12-20T02:33:02 (UTC)

Evaluator model: gpt-5

Evaluator version: v2

Reasoning: 3584 Output: 6000 Total: 9584

Vocabulary specificity: 4.0 / 10

Best link: היכל + קדש (11:4 // 79:1). Several verse-anchored echoes (אמר, פנים, אש), but most are common across Psalms; no editorial markers; far-apart books/authorship (David // Asaph). No cap applied.

Prompt

Consider Psalm 11 and Psalm 79 (reproduced below). What arguments could you make to justify that Psalm 79 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 79:
Psalm 79
1. מִזְמ֗וֹר
        לְאָ֫סָ֥ף
        אֱ‍ֽלֹהִ֡ים
        בָּ֤אוּ
        גוֹיִ֨ם ׀
        בְּֽנַחֲלָתֶ֗ךָ
        טִ֭מְּאוּ
        אֶת־
        הֵיכַ֣ל
        קָדְשֶׁ֑ךָ
        שָׂ֖מוּ
        אֶת־
        יְרוּשָׁלִַ֣ם
        לְעִיִּֽים׃
2. נָֽתְנ֡וּ
        אֶת־
        נִבְלַ֬ת
        עֲבָדֶ֗יךָ
        מַ֭אֲכָל
        לְע֣וֹף
        הַשָּׁמָ֑יִם
        בְּשַׂ֥ר
        חֲ֝סִידֶ֗יךָ
        לְחַיְתוֹ־
        אָֽרֶץ׃
3. שָׁפְכ֬וּ
        דָמָ֨ם ׀
        כַּמַּ֗יִם
        סְֽבִ֘יב֤וֹת
        יְֽרוּשָׁלִָ֗ם
        וְאֵ֣ין
        קוֹבֵֽר׃
4. הָיִ֣ינוּ
        חֶ֭רְפָּה
        לִשְׁכֵנֵ֑ינוּ
        לַ֥עַג
        וָ֝קֶ֗לֶס
        לִסְבִיבוֹתֵֽינוּ׃
5. עַד־
        מָ֣ה
        יְ֭הוָה
        תֶּאֱנַ֣ף
        לָנֶ֑צַח
        תִּ֭tבְעַ֥ר
        כְּמוֹ־
        אֵ֝֗שׁ
        קִנְאָתֶֽךָ׃
6. שְׁפֹ֤ךְ
        חֲמָתְךָ֗
        אֶֽל־
        הַגּוֹיִם֮
        אֲשֶׁ֢ר
        לֹא־
        יְדָ֫ע֥וּךָ
        וְעַ֥ל
        מַמְלָכ֑וֹת
        אֲשֶׁ֥ר
        בְּ֝שִׁמְךָ֗
        לֹ֣א
        קָרָֽאוּ׃
7. כִּ֭י
        אָכַ֣ל
        אֶֽת־
        יַעֲקֹ֑ב
        וְֽאֶת־
        נָוֵ֥הוּ
        הֵשַֽׁמּוּ׃
8. אַֽל־
        תִּזְכָּר־
        לָנוּ֮
        עֲוֺנֹ֢ת
        רִאשֹׁ֫נִ֥ים
        מַ֭הֵר
        יְקַדְּמ֣וּנוּ
        רַחֲמֶ֑יךָ
        כִּ֖י
        דַלּ֣וֹנוּ
        מְאֹֽד׃
9. עָזְרֵ֤נוּ ׀
        אֱלֹ֘הֵ֤י
        יִשְׁעֵ֗נוּ
        עַל־
        דְּבַ֥ר
        כְּבֽוֹד־
        שְׁמֶ֑ךָ
        וְהַצִּילֵ֥נוּ
        וְכַפֵּ֥ר
        עַל־
        חַ֝טֹּאתֵ֗ינוּ
        לְמַ֣עַן
        שְׁמֶֽךָ׃
10. לָ֤מָּה ׀
        יֹאמְר֣וּ
        הַגּוֹיִם֮
        אַיֵּ֢ה
        אֱ‍ֽלֹהֵ֫יהֶ֥ם
        יִוָּדַ֣ע
        בגיים
        בַּגּוֹיִ֣ם
        לְעֵינֵ֑ינוּ
        נִ֝קְמַ֗ת
        דַּֽם־
        עֲבָדֶ֥יךָ
        הַשָּׁפֽוּךְ׃
11. תָּ֤ב֣וֹא
        לְפָנֶיךָ֮
        אֶנְקַ֢ת
        אָ֫סִ֥יר
        כְּגֹ֥דֶל
        זְרוֹעֲךָ֑
        ה֝וֹתֵ֗ר
        בְּנֵ֣י
        תְמוּתָֽה׃
12. וְהָ֘שֵׁ֤ב
        לִשְׁכֵנֵ֣ינוּ
        שִׁ֭בְעָתַיִם
        אֶל־
        חֵיקָ֑ם
        חֶרְפָּ֘תָ֤ם
        אֲשֶׁ֖ר
        חֵרְפ֣וּךָ
        אֲדֹֽcנָי׃
13. וַאֲנַ֤חְנוּ
        עַמְּךָ֨ ׀
        וְצֹ֥אן
        מַרְעִיתֶךָ֮
        נ֤וֹדֶ֥ה
        לְּךָ֗
        לְע֫וֹלָ֥ם
        לְדֹ֥ר
        וָדֹ֑ר
        נְ֝סַפֵּ֗ר
        תְּהִלָּתֶֽךָ׃