Psalm 11 → 107
Reasoning: 7232 Output: 7305 Total: 14537
Argument
Below are complementary ways to argue that Psalm 107 is a logical continuation or answer to Psalm 11. I group the links by form, lexicon/roots, motifs, and storyline, and I weight rarer/striking correspondences more heavily. 1) Tight lexical hooks (Hebrew) - בני אדם “children of man.” Exact phrase in the same form: - Ps 11:4: “עַפְעַפָּיו יִבְחֲנוּ בְּנֵי אָדָם” (His eyelids test the children of man) - Ps 107:8, 15, 21, 31: “וְנִפְלְאוֹתָיו לִבְנֵי אָדָם” (His wonders for the children of man) Significance: identical phrase (noun + noun construct) is repeated in Ps 107’s refrain and occurs centrally in Ps 11’s theological core. In 11, YHWH examines בני אדם; in 107, בני אדם experience YHWH’s wonders. This creates a theological “test → testimony” progression. - ישר (root Y-Š-R, “upright/straight”): - Ps 11:2: לְיִשְׁרֵי־לֵב “the upright of heart” - Ps 107:7: בְּדֶרֶךְ יְשָׁרָה “in a straight (upright) way” - Ps 107:42: יִרְאוּ יְשָׁרִים “the upright will see and rejoice” Significance: same root across three distinct slots in Psalm 107 (adjective, noun, and as a road metaphor) versus an ethical description in Psalm 11. This is more than thematic; it is a lexical chain that shifts from upright persons under threat (Ps 11) to upright way, upright community, and upright rejoicing (Ps 107). - Seeing language applied to the upright: - Ps 11:7: “יָשָׁר יֶחֱזוּ פָנֵימוֹ” (the upright will behold His face; verb חזה, a marked verb for “see/vision”) - Ps 107:42: “יִרְאוּ יְשָׁרִים וְיִשְׂמָחוּ” (the upright will see and rejoice; verb ראה) Significance: same subject (the upright) + act of seeing God’s reality (in 11, His face; in 107, His saving reversals). The Ps 11 promise becomes realized corporate experience in Ps 107. - לֵב/נֶפֶשׁ “heart/soul” under pressure: - Ps 11:2: “לְיִשְׁרֵי־לֵב” (upright of heart); 11:1 speaks to “לְנַפְשִׁי” - Ps 107 uses נֶפֶשׁ repeatedly for distress/fulfillment (vv. 5, 9, 18) and לִבָּם for humbling (v. 12) Significance: inner life (heart/soul) under threat in Ps 11 becomes the seat of collapse and renewal in Ps 107. 2) Motif-level continuities and intensifications - Darkness vs. deliverance from darkness: - Ps 11:2: “לִירוֹת... בְּמוֹ־אֹפֶל” (to shoot in the dark) — darkness as the cover of the wicked. - Ps 107:10, 14: “יֹשְׁבֵי חֹשֶׁךְ וְצַלְמָוֶת… מֵחֹשֶׁךְ וְצַלְמָוֶת” — darkness as the place of affliction from which YHWH delivers. Significance: the “darkness” that in Ps 11 facilitates the wicked’s violence becomes the environment from which YHWH rescues the afflicted in Ps 107. - Wind and elemental control: - Ps 11:6: “וְרוּחַ זִלְעָפוֹת” (a scorching wind) as judgment on the wicked. - Ps 107:25, 29: “רוּחַ סְעָרָה” (storm-wind) raised and then stilled by God. Significance: same elemental register (רוּחַ + severe condition). In Ps 11, wind is punitive toward the wicked; in Ps 107, wind tests but is turned to salvation for those who call on YHWH. - Sodom-coded imagery: - Ps 11:6: “אֵשׁ וְגָפְרִית” (fire and brimstone) — classic Sodom language. - Ps 107:34: “אֶרֶץ פְּרִי לִמְלֵחָה” (a fruitful land into a salty waste). Deut 29:23 links sulfur, salt, and overthrow as Sodom markers. Ps 107’s “limelachah” evokes the same judgment tradition, suggesting Ps 107 narrates that YHWH also reverses such devastation (vv. 35–38 turn desert to pools and blesses productivity). - Test → deliverance cycle: - Ps 11:4–5: YHWH, enthroned, “tests” (יבחן) humanity and the righteous. - Ps 107: four panels of distress followed by the refrain “וַיִּצְעֲקוּ… וּמִמְּצֻקוֹתֵיהֶם יוֹשִׁיעֵם/יַצִּילֵם” (“they cried out… and He saved/delivered them”). Significance: Ps 107 concretizes Ps 11’s theology of divine testing into lived episodes (wilderness, prison, sickness, storm). The examiner of בני אדם (Ps 11) becomes the rescuer of בני אדם (Ps 107). 3) Structural/formal correspondences - From personal trust to public thanksgiving: - Ps 11 is a compact trust-psalm (individual voice: “בַּיהוָה חָסִיתִי”). - Ps 107 is communal liturgy with a repeated refrain and a call-and-response pattern (“יוֹדוּ לַיהוָה חַסְדּוֹ… וְנִפְלְאוֹתָיו לִבְנֵי אָדָם”). Logical development: the solitary, defiant trust of Ps 11 matures into the gathered thanksgiving of the redeemed in Ps 107 (vv. 2–3, 32). - Question answered by narrative: - Ps 11:3 poses the crisis: “הַשָּׁתוֹת יֵהָרֵסוּן, צַדִּיק מַה־פָּעָל?” (If the foundations are destroyed, what can the righteous do?) - Ps 107 answers in story form: cry to YHWH, who re-establishes order—He leads to “עִיר מוֹשָׁב” (vv. 7, 36), rebuilds economy (vv. 37–38), and vindicates the upright (v. 42). Note especially קוֹנֵן imagery in 107:36 “וַיְכוֹנְנוּ עִיר מוֹשָׁב” (they ‘established’ a city), which is the positive counterpart to “foundations destroyed.” 4) Thematic and scene-by-scene progression (Ps 11 → Ps 107) - “Flee to your mountain like a bird” (11:1) vs. “He led them by a straight way to a city of habitation” (107:7) The panic counsel to escape to the hills is implicitly rejected by the theology of Ps 11 (trust the enthroned LORD), and Ps 107 shows the alternative: do not scatter in fear; cry to YHWH, who gives you a straight road and a city. - The wicked shoot in the dark at the upright (11:2) vs. the afflicted sit in darkness until YHWH breaks their chains (107:10–16) The hidden violence that targets the upright in Ps 11 has its social parallel in Ps 107’s “prisoners of misery and iron,” which God decisively undoes by shattering gates and bars—replacing hidden violence with public liberation. - Heaven-throne oversight (11:4) vs. cosmic reversals (107:33–41) Ps 11 grounds hope in YHWH’s heavenly kingship and scrutiny. Ps 107 shows what that rule looks like on the ground: He flips rivers/deserts, humbles princes, exalts the poor, and stabilizes families—macro-sovereignty expressed as historical reversals. - Promise to the upright (11:7) vs. fulfillment among the upright (107:42–43) “The upright will behold His face” (11:7) dovetails with “The upright will see and rejoice, and all injustice shuts its mouth” (107:42) and the wisdom epilogue (107:43). The end of Ps 107 reads like the didactic seal validating Ps 11’s trust. 5) Shared life-settings and Israel’s story - Exile/return subtext: - Ps 11’s “foundations destroyed” and counsel to flee fits moments of social collapse. - Ps 107 explicitly names regathering “מֵאֲרָצוֹת… מִמִּזְרָח… מִצָּפוֹן וּמִיָּם” (v. 3), guiding to a city, farming, and blessing—classic post-exilic restoration motifs. Thus Ps 107 functions as the macro-historical demonstration that the trust of Ps 11 is not misplaced. - Sodom motif: - Ps 11:6’s “fire and brimstone” and Ps 107:34’s “salty waste” both invoke Deuteronomic curses tied to Sodom. But Ps 107 also narrates blessing-reversal (vv. 35–38), pointing to mercy beyond judgment—a plausible “what comes after” to Ps 11’s threat oracle. 6) Stylistic and rhetorical echoes - Concentration of repeated terms: - Ps 107 consciously builds refrain chains, among them בני אדם and the root ישר, which are already present in Ps 11. The return of these units, and especially the unusual density of בני אדם in 107, binds the two psalms conceptually: the God who tests בני אדם (Ps 11) now shows wonders to בני אדם (Ps 107). - From divine perception to human perception: - Ps 11 focuses on YHWH’s seeing/testing (“עֵינָיו… יֶחֱזוּ… יִבְחֲנוּ”). - Ps 107 emphasizes human seeing/responding (“הֵמָּה רָאוּ… יוֹדוּ… יִרְאוּ יְשָׁרִים… וְיִתְבּוֹנְנוּ”). The epistemic flow reverses: the one who sees (God) produces a people who learn to see (the wise, the upright). 7) Why these links are strong by the “rarity” rule - Exact phrase בני אדם is weighty because 107 repeats it four times and 11 uses it once in a key doctrinal line. This is stronger than a generic thematic overlap. - The root ישר in three different morphological realizations in 107 (דרך ישרה; ישׁרים) and once in 11 (ישׁרי־לב) indicates a designed uprightness motif that spans both psalms. - The Sodom semantic field (גפרית / מלחה) is relatively marked in Psalms; seeing both judgments and reversals across 11 and 107 reinforces intertext. A synthesized reading - Psalm 11 sets the theological axiom: when violent chaos undermines society’s foundations and the fearful urge flight, the faithful fix their trust on the enthroned LORD who examines בני אדם, hates violence, and will judge the wicked; the upright will see His face. - Psalm 107 shows what that axiom looks like in history: four “tests” of בני אדם (desert, prison, sickness, storm), four cries, four rescues, and then societal re-founding—straight paths, a city of habitation, agriculture, fertility, justice reasserted—so that the upright see and rejoice and the wise ponder YHWH’s loyal love. On these grounds—exact lexical hooks (בני אדם; ישר), motif continuities (darkness→deliverance; wind; Sodom imagery), structural progression (individual trust→corporate thanksgiving), and historical logic (collapse→return and reestablishment)—it is cogent to read Psalm 107 as a narrative-liturgical sequel that realizes, answers, and publicly celebrates the theological stance articulated in Psalm 11.
Evaluation
Score: 6.8
Evaluated at: 2025-12-25T02:37:28 (UTC)
Evaluator model: gpt-5
Evaluator version: v2
Reasoning: 4096 Output: 8130 Total: 12226
Checklist
- Has verse refs: Yes
- Factual error detected: No
- Only generic motifs: No
- Counterargument considered: No
- LXX/MT numbering acknowledged: No
Vocabulary specificity: 4.5 / 10
Several precise, verse-anchored links (בני אדם; ישר; darkness; wind; ‘foundations’ vs ויכוננו) and a coherent progression. But no editorial marker, vocabulary is common, and cross‑Book separation weakens causality. No cap.
Prompt
Consider Psalm 11 and Psalm 107 (reproduced below). What arguments could you make to justify that Psalm 107 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 107:
Psalm 107
1. הֹד֣וּ
לַיהוָ֣ה
כִּי־
ט֑וֹב
כִּ֖י
לְעוֹלָ֣ם
חַסְדּֽוֹ׃
2. יֹ֭אמְרוּ
גְּאוּלֵ֣י
יְהוָ֑ה
אֲשֶׁ֥ר
גְּ֝אָלָ֗ם
מִיַּד־
צָֽר׃
3. וּֽמֵאֲרָצ֗וֹת
קִ֫בְּצָ֥ם
מִמִּזְרָ֥ח
וּמִֽמַּעֲרָ֑ב
מִצָּפ֥וֹן
וּמִיָּֽם׃
4. תָּע֣וּ
בַ֭מִּדְבָּר
בִּישִׁימ֣וֹן
דָּ֑רֶךְ
עִ֥יר
מ֝וֹשָׁ֗ב
לֹ֣א
מָצָֽאוּ׃
5. רְעֵבִ֥ים
גַּם־
צְמֵאִ֑ים
נַ֝פְשָׁ֗ם
בָּהֶ֥ם
תִּתְעַטָּֽף׃
6. וַיִּצְעֲק֣וּ
אֶל־
יְ֭הוָה
בַּצַּ֣ר
לָהֶ֑ם
מִ֝מְּצֽוּקוֹתֵיהֶ֗ם
יַצִּילֵֽם׃
7. וַ֭יַּֽדְרִיכֵם
בְּדֶ֣רֶךְ
יְשָׁרָ֑ה
לָ֝לֶ֗כֶת
אֶל־
עִ֥יר
מוֹשָֽׁב׃
8. יוֹד֣וּ
לַיהוָ֣ה
חַסְדּ֑וֹ
וְ֝נִפְלְאוֹתָ֗יו
לִבְנֵ֥י
אָדָֽם׃
9. כִּי־
הִ֭שְׂבִּיעַ
נֶ֣פֶשׁ
שֹׁקֵקָ֑ה
וְנֶ֥פֶשׁ
רְ֝עֵבָה
מִלֵּא־
טֽוֹב׃
10. יֹ֭שְׁבֵי
חֹ֣שֶׁךְ
וְצַלְמָ֑וֶת
אֲסִירֵ֖י
עֳנִ֣י
וּבַרְזֶֽל׃
11. כִּֽי־
הִמְר֥וּ
אִמְרֵי־
אֵ֑ל
וַעֲצַ֖ת
עֶלְי֣וֹן
נָאָֽצוּ׃
12. וַיַּכְנַ֣ע
בֶּעָמָ֣ל
לִבָּ֑ם
כָּ֝שְׁל֗וּ
וְאֵ֣ין
עֹזֵֽר׃
13. וַיִּזְעֲק֣וּ
אֶל־
יְ֭הוָה
בַּצַּ֣ר
לָהֶ֑ם
מִ֝מְּצֻֽקוֹתֵיהֶ֗ם
יוֹשִׁיעֵֽם׃
14. יֽ֭וֹצִיאֵם
מֵחֹ֣שֶׁךְ
וְצַלְמָ֑וֶת
וּמוֹסְר֖וֹתֵיהֶ֣ם
יְנַתֵּֽק׃
15. יוֹד֣וּ
לַיהוָ֣ה
חַסְדּ֑וֹ
וְ֝נִפְלְאוֹתָ֗יו
לִבְנֵ֥י
אָדָֽם׃
16. כִּֽי־
שִׁ֭בַּר
דַּלְת֣וֹת
נְחֹ֑שֶׁת
וּבְרִיחֵ֖י
בַרְזֶ֣ל
גִּדֵּֽעַ׃
17. אֱ֭וִלִים
מִדֶּ֣רֶךְ
פִּשְׁעָ֑ם
וּֽ֝מֵעֲוֺ֥נֹתֵיהֶ֗םt
יִתְעַנּֽוּ׃
18. כָּל־
אֹ֭כֶל
תְּתַעֵ֣ב
נַפְשָׁ֑ם
וַ֝יַּגִּ֗יעוּ
עַד־
שַׁ֥עֲרֵי
מָֽוֶת׃
19. וַיִּזְעֲק֣וּ
אֶל־
יְ֭הוָה
בַּצַּ֣ר
לָהֶ֑ם
מִ֝מְּצֻֽקוֹתֵיהֶ֗ם
יוֹשִׁיעֵֽם׃
20. יִשְׁלַ֣ח
דְּ֭בָרוֹ
וְיִרְפָּאֵ֑ם
וִֽ֝ימַלֵּ֗ט
מִשְּׁחִיתוֹתָֽם׃
8
21. יוֹד֣וּ
לַיהוָ֣ה
חַסְדּ֑וֹ
וְ֝נִפְלְאוֹתָ֗יו
לִבְנֵ֥י
אָדָֽם׃
8
22. וְ֭יִזְבְּחוּ
זִבְחֵ֣י
תוֹדָ֑ה
וִֽיסַפְּר֖וּ
מַעֲשָׂ֣יו
בְּרִנָּֽה׃
8
23. יוֹרְדֵ֣י
הַ֭יָּם
בָּאֳנִיּ֑וֹת
עֹשֵׂ֥י
מְ֝לָאכָ֗ה
בְּמַ֣יִם
רַבִּֽים׃
8
24. הֵ֣מָּה
רָ֭אוּ
מַעֲשֵׂ֣י
יְהוָ֑ה
וְ֝נִפְלְאוֹתָ֗יו
בִּמְצוּלָֽה׃
8
25. וַיֹּ֗אמֶר
וַֽ֭יַּעֲמֵד
ר֣וּחַ
סְעָרָ֑ה
וַתְּרוֹמֵ֥ם
גַּלָּֽיו׃
8
26. יַעֲל֣וּ
שָׁ֭מַיִם
יֵרְד֣וּ
תְהוֹמ֑וֹת
נַ֝פְשָׁ֗ם
בְּרָעָ֥ה
תִתְמוֹגָֽג׃
27. יָח֣וֹגּוּ
וְ֭יָנוּעוּ
כַּשִּׁכּ֑וֹר
וְכָל־
חָ֝כְמָתָ֗ם
תִּתְבַּלָּֽע׃
28. וַיִּצְעֲק֣וּ
אֶל־
יְ֭הוָה
בַּצַּ֣ר
לָהֶ֑ם
וּֽ֝מִמְּצֽוּקֹתֵיהֶ֗ם
יוֹצִיאֵֽם׃
29. יָקֵ֣ם
סְ֭עָרָה
לִדְמָמָ֑ה
וַ֝יֶּחֱשׁ֗וּ
גַּלֵּיהֶֽם׃
30. וַיִּשְׂמְח֥וּ
כִֽי־
יִשְׁתֹּ֑קוּ
וַ֝יַּנְחֵ֗ם
אֶל־
מְח֥וֹז
חֶפְצָֽם׃
31. יוֹד֣וּ
לַיהוָ֣ה
חַסְדּ֑וֹ
וְ֝נִפְלְאוֹתָ֗יו
לִבְנֵ֥י
אָדָֽם׃
32. וִֽ֭ירֹמְמוּהוּ
בִּקְהַל־
עָ֑ם
וּבְמוֹשַׁ֖ב
זְקֵנִ֣ים
יְהַלְלֽוּהוּ׃
33. יָשֵׂ֣ם
נְהָר֣וֹת
לְמִדְבָּ֑ר
וּמֹצָ֥אֵי
מַ֝֗יִם
לְצִמָּאֽוֹן׃
34. אֶ֣רֶץ
פְּ֭רִי
לִמְלֵחָ֑ה
מֵ֝רָעַ֗ת
יֹ֣שְׁבֵי
בָֽהּ׃
35. יָשֵׂ֣ם
מִ֭דְבָּר
לַֽאֲגַם־
מַ֑יִם
וְאֶ֥רֶץ
צִ֝יָּ֗ה
לְמֹצָ֥אֵי
מָֽיִם׃
36. וַיּ֣וֹשֶׁב
שָׁ֣ם
רְעֵבִ֑ים
וַ֝יְכוֹנְנ֗וּ
עִ֣יר
מוֹשָֽׁב׃
37. וַיִּזְרְע֣וּ
שָׂ֭דוֹת
וַיִּטְּע֣וּ
כְרָמִ֑ים
וַ֝יַּעֲשׂ֗וּ
פְּרִ֣י
תְבֽוּאָה׃
38. וַיְבָרֲכֵ֣ם
וַיִּרְבּ֣וּ
מְאֹ֑ד
וּ֝בְהֶמְתָּ֗ם
לֹ֣א
יַמְעִֽיט׃
39. וַיִּמְעֲט֥וּ
וַיָּשֹׁ֑חוּ
מֵעֹ֖צֶר
רָעָ֣ה
וְיָגֽוֹן׃
8
40. שֹׁפֵ֣ךְ
בּ֭וּז
עַל־
נְדִיבִ֑ים
וַ֝יַּתְעֵ֗ם
בְּתֹ֣הוּ
לֹא־
דָֽרֶךְ׃
41. וַיְשַׂגֵּ֣ב
אֶבְי֣וֹן
מֵע֑וֹנִי
וַיָּ֥שֶׂם
כַּ֝צֹּ֗אן
מִשְׁפָּחֽוֹת׃
42. יִרְא֣וּ
יְשָׁרִ֣ים
וְיִשְׂמָ֑חוּ
וְכָל־
עַ֝וְלָ֗ה
קָ֣פְצָה
פִּֽיהָ׃
43. מִי־
חָכָ֥ם
וְיִשְׁמָר־
אֵ֑לֶּה
וְ֝יִתְבּֽוֹנְנ֗וּ
חַֽסְדֵ֥י
יְהוָֽה׃