Psalm 11 → 111

Reasoning: 7808 Output: 3847 Total: 11655

Argument

Here are several mutually reinforcing ways to argue that Psalm 111 “follows on” from Psalm 11.

1) Genre/logic of experience: from crisis-trust to public praise-wisdom
- Psalm 11 is an individual trust psalm framed by a crisis: “In YHWH I take refuge” (11:1), with the wicked poised to shoot “in darkness” (11:2), the “foundations” threatened (11:3), and God testing humankind (11:4–5), judging the wicked (11:6), and promising vision for the upright (11:7).
- Psalm 111 is a communal hymn of praise with wisdom overtones. It is exactly the sort of public thanksgiving and instruction that would logically follow an ordeal like Psalm 11: “I will thank YHWH with all my heart, in the council of the upright and the assembly” (111:1), recounting God’s works, justice, covenant, and redemption (vv. 2–9), and culminating in the maxim “The fear of YHWH is the beginning of wisdom” (111:10).
- In Israelite life, lament/trust commonly moves to praise/thanksgiving once deliverance is recognized. Psalm 111 reads like the communal, liturgical answer to the private crisis confession of Psalm 11.

2) Temple-to-assembly movement
- Psalm 11:4 places us liturgically/theologically: “YHWH is in his holy temple; YHWH—his throne is in heaven.”
- Psalm 111:1 locates the response: “in the council of the upright and the congregation.” The crisis-perception of God enthroned (11:4) issues in public praise in the assembly (111:1), a natural cultic sequence.

3) The “foundations destroyed” question in Psalm 11 is answered point-by-point in Psalm 111
- Psalm 11:3: “When the foundations (הַשָּׁתוֹת, a rare noun) are destroyed, what can the righteous do (מַה־פָּעָל)?”
- Psalm 111 answers with a cascade of stability terms:
  - “His righteousness stands forever (עֹמֶדֶת לָעַד)” (111:3).
  - “Faithful (נֶאֱמָנִים) are all his precepts” (111:7).
  - “They are established forever and ever (סְמוּכִים לָעַד לְעוֹלָם)” (111:8).
- In other words: even if human “foundations” shake (11:3), God’s moral and covenantal order is firm, faithful, and forever (111:3,7–8).

4) The “what can the righteous do?” (מה־פעל) in 11:3 is answered by a dense “do/work” cluster in 111
- Psalm 11:3 uses פָּעַל (“do/work”) in the pointed question.
- Psalm 111 deliberately saturates the poem with “work/do” vocabulary as an answer:
  - פָּעֳלוֹ “his work” (111:3, same root as 11:3’s פעל)
  - מַעֲשֵׂי/מַעֲשָׂיו “the works [of YHWH]” (111:2,6,7)
  - “done” (עֲשׂוּיִם) in truth and uprightness (111:8)
  - “Good sense to all who do them” (עֹשֵׂיהֶם, i.e., do his precepts) (111:10)
- Thus 111 specifically answers: What should the righteous “do” when foundations totter? Study, trust, and do YHWH’s precepts, which are true and upright and stand forever.

5) Uprightness (ישר) and righteousness (צדק) tie the two psalms tightly
- Psalm 11:2 speaks of “the upright in heart” (לִישְׁרֵי־לֵב); 11:7 ends “the upright (יָשָׁר) will behold his face.”
- Psalm 111 frames the praise “in the council of the upright” (יְשָׁרִים, 111:1) and says God’s precepts are “done in truth and uprightness” (בֶּאֱמֶת וְיָשָׁר, 111:8).
- Psalm 11 centers on God’s righteousness: “For righteous is YHWH; he loves righteous deeds (צְדָקוֹת)” (11:7). Psalm 111 matches this: “His righteousness (צִדְקָתוֹ) stands forever” (111:3). Same root (צדק), consciously echoed.

6) Holiness and theophany carried forward
- Psalm 11:4: “YHWH is in his holy temple (בְּהֵיכַל קָדְשׁוֹ).”
- Psalm 111:9: “Holy and awesome is his name (קָדוֹשׁ וְנוֹרָא שְׁמוֹ).”
- The holiness vision of Psalm 11 becomes the holiness confession of Psalm 111.

7) God’s scrutiny in Psalm 11 mirrors the worshiper’s study in Psalm 111
- Psalm 11:4–5: God’s “eyes behold” and his “eyelids test” (עֵינָיו יֶחֱזוּ … עַפְעַפָּיו יִבְחָנוּ) the sons of humankind; “YHWH tests the righteous” (יְהוָה צַדִּיק יִבְחָן).
- Psalm 111:2: “Great are the works of YHWH, sought/examined (דְּרוּשִׁים) by all who delight in them.” As God examines people in 11, the faithful examine God’s works in 111. The semantic field of testing/seeking links the two.

8) Allocation imagery: the wicked’s cup in 11 vs. the faithful’s portion in 111
- Psalm 11:6: For the wicked: “fire and brimstone … this is the portion of their cup (מְנַת כּוֹסָם).”
- Psalm 111:5–6: For those who fear him: “He gives food (טֶרֶף) to those who fear him; … to give them the inheritance of nations (נַחֲלַת גּוֹיִם).”
- Both psalms speak in terms of allotted portion, but with opposite moral outcomes.

9) Heart and fear as the right response
- Psalm 11:2 marks “upright of heart” (לִישְׁרֵי־לֵב).
- Psalm 111 opens “I will thank YHWH with all my heart (בְּכָל־לֵבָב)” (111:1) and climaxes “The fear of YHWH is the beginning of wisdom” (111:10), identifying the posture that sustains the upright in adversity.

10) Justice/violence contrast resolved
- Psalm 11:5 = God hates “one who loves violence” (וְאֹהֵב חָמָס שָׂנְאָה נַפְשׁוֹ).
- Psalm 111:7 = “The works of his hands are truth and justice (אֱמֶת וּמִשְׁפָּט); faithful are all his precepts.” The moral universe that Psalm 11 begs for is affirmed and codified in Psalm 111.

11) From promise of sight to practice of praise
- Psalm 11 ends with the promise: “the upright will behold his face” (11:7).
- Psalm 111 enacts the proper human corollary: standing in the assembly and praising, remembering his wonders, keeping his precepts (111:1–10). The vision of God (11:7) issues in wisdom and worship (111:10).

12) Stylistic/structural reinforcement
- Both are tightly crafted, Yahweh-focused poems with dense theological vocabulary (יְהוָה occurs prominently; holiness, righteousness, justice themes).
- Psalm 111 is an alphabetic acrostic—an intentional “A-to-Z” ordering—which reads like an editorially ideal response to the disordered world of Psalm 11. Where Psalm 11 sees chaos (foundations destroyed), Psalm 111 presents ordered, A-to-Z praise of God’s ordered, enduring works.

In sum:
- Psalm 11 raises the crisis: foundations are shaking; what can the righteous do? God examines and will judge; the upright will see his face.
- Psalm 111 supplies the response: gather with the upright and give thanks; study and recount YHWH’s works; trust his enduring righteousness and precepts; fear YHWH and do them; receive his provision and redemption. Lexically (פעל/מעשה/עשה; ישר; צדק; קדש), thematically (testing vs. seeking; foundation vs. permanence; cup vs. inheritance), and liturgically (temple perception to congregational praise), Psalm 111 reads like the logical, liturgical, and wisdom-shaped sequel to Psalm 11.

Evaluation

Score: 6.5

Evaluated at: 2025-12-26T02:31:52 (UTC)

Evaluator model: gpt-5

Evaluator version: v2

Reasoning: 3776 Output: 4687 Total: 8463

Vocabulary specificity: 3.0 / 10

Multiple text-anchored links (פעל 11:3 vs פָּעֳלוֹ 111:3; ישר/צדק; permanence 111:3,7–8) and plausible sequence, but motifs are common, 111 is editorially paired with 112, and no decisive inter-psalm structure. No cap.

Prompt

Consider Psalm 11 and Psalm 111 (reproduced below). What arguments could you make to justify that Psalm 111 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 111:
Psalm 111
1. הַ֥לְלוּ
        יָ֨הּ ׀
        אוֹדֶ֣ה
        יְ֭הוָה
        בְּכָל־
        לֵבָ֑ב
        בְּס֖וֹד
        יְשָׁרִ֣ים
        וְעֵדָֽה׃
2. גְּ֭דֹלִים
        מַעֲשֵׂ֣י
        יְהוָ֑ה
        דְּ֝רוּשִׁ֗ים
        לְכָל־
        חֶפְצֵיהֶֽם׃
3. הוֹד־
        וְהָדָ֥ר
        פָּֽעֳל֑וֹ
        וְ֝צִדְקָת֗וֹ
        עֹמֶ֥דֶת
        לָעַֽד׃
4. זֵ֣כֶר
        עָ֭שָׂה
        לְנִפְלְאֹתָ֑יו
        חַנּ֖וּן
        וְרַח֣וּם
        יְהוָֽה׃
5. טֶ֭רֶף
        נָתַ֣ן
        לִֽירֵאָ֑יו
        יִזְכֹּ֖ר
        לְעוֹלָ֣ם
        בְּרִיתֽוֹ׃
6. כֹּ֣חַ
        מַ֭עֲשָׂיו
        הִגִּ֣יד
        לְעַמּ֑וֹ
        לָתֵ֥ת
        לָ֝הֶ֗ם
        נַחֲלַ֥ת
        גּוֹיִֽם׃
7. מַעֲשֵׂ֣י
        יָ֭דָיו
        אֱמֶ֣ת
        וּמִשְׁפָּ֑ט
        נֶ֝אֱמָנִ֗ים
        כָּל־
        פִּקּוּדָֽיו׃
8. סְמוּכִ֣ים
        לָעַ֣ד
        לְעוֹלָ֑ם
        עֲ֝שׂוּיִ֗ם
        בֶּאֱמֶ֥ת
        וְיָשָֽׁר׃
9. פְּד֤וּת ׀
        שָׁ֘לַ֤ח
        לְעַמּ֗וֹ
        צִוָּֽה־
        לְעוֹלָ֥ם
        בְּרִית֑וֹ
        קָד֖וֹשׁ
        וְנוֹרָ֣א
        שְׁמֽוֹ׃
10. רֵ֘אשִׁ֤ית
        חָכְמָ֨ה ׀
        יִרְאַ֬ת
        יְהוָ֗ה
        שֵׂ֣כֶל
        ט֭וֹב
        לְכָל־
        עֹשֵׂיהֶ֑ם
        תְּ֝הִלָּת֗וֹ
        עֹמֶ֥דֶת
        לָעַֽד׃