Psalm 12 → 17

Reasoning: 9920 Output: 4289 Total: 14209

Argument

Here are ways to argue that Psalm 17 “follows on” from Psalm 12—stylistically, lexically, thematically, and in life-setting—weighted toward rarer and more specific links.

High‑value keyword and form links (rarer and/or distinctive)
- זו (rare demonstrative “this”/“these”): Ps 12:8 מן־הדור זו; Ps 17:9 מפני רשעים זו. This form is uncommon and strongly suggestive of intentional linkage.
- צרף “refine/test”: Ps 12:7 כסֶף צורף … מזוקק; Ps 17:3 צרפתני. 12 describes YHWH’s words as refined silver; 17 applies the same metallurgical verb to the psalmist himself (“you have refined me”), forging a tight conceptual bridge.
- שדד “plunder/oppress”: Ps 12:6 משֹּׁד עניים; Ps 17:9 זו שַׁדּוּנִי. The same root pinpoints the same social evil across the two psalms.
- שמר “keep/guard”: Ps 12:8 אתה־יהוה תשמרם … תצרנו; Ps 17:4 שמרתי; 17:8 שמרני. 12 affirms God’s guarding; 17 both claims the psalmist has “kept” God’s ways and petitions God to “keep” him.
- אמר/אמרה “saying/utterance (imrah)”: Ps 12:7 אמרות יהוה; Ps 17:6 שמע אמרתי. 12 praises the purity of YHWH’s “utterances”; 17 asks God to hear “my utterance,” aligning the petitioner’s speech with God’s refined speech.
- שפת “lip(s)” and speech ethics: Ps 12:3–5 שפת חלקות; לשון מדברת גדלות; Ps 17:1 בלא שפתי מרמה; 17:4 בדבר שפתיך. Both psalms center on lips/words, contrasting deceitful human speech with true/pure speech.
- ישע “save”: Ps 12:1 הושיעה יהוה; 12:6 אשית בישע; Ps 17:7 מושיע; 17:13 פלטה נפשי (same semantic field).
- סבב/encirclement: Ps 12:9 סביב רשעים יתהלכון; Ps 17:9–11 יקיפו עלי … סבבוני. The same threat picture (wicked surrounding) is continued and intensified.
- רשע “wicked”: Ps 12:9; Ps 17:9, a common word but here embedded in the same surround/oppression scene.
- עתה + קום “now … arise”: Ps 12:6 עתה אקום יאמר יהוה (divine oracle); Ps 17:13 קומה יהוה (human petition). 17 turns the promise of 12 into a liturgical plea—precisely the kind of dialogical linkage redactors often use.

Motif and argument flow (how 17 develops 12’s problem)
- From corrupt speech to purified speech and person:
  - 12 laments a society of double‑hearted, flattering lips; contrasts them with YHWH’s refined “utterances.”
  - 17 opens by asserting the petitioner’s own speech is without deceit (17:1), and that God has tested/refined him (17:3). The psalmist has also kept “by the word of your lips” (17:4)—he conforms to the pure standard lauded in 12.
- From God’s pledge to arise (12:6) to the plea that He arise now (17:13). The editorial logic is call-and-response: oracle → petition for its enactment.
- From general social collapse to a concrete legal plea:
  - 12 sketches the collapse of fidelity (פסו אמונים), the boasting of the powerful, and the oppression of the poor.
  - 17 is framed as a forensic prayer: “Hear, O LORD, justice” (שמע יהוה צדק), “let my judgment come forth from you” (17:2), with testing/examination verbs (בחן, פקד, צרף). It reads like the individual’s case that emerges from 12’s societal indictment.
- From “the poor/oppressed” (עניים/אביונים, 12:6) to “those who take refuge” (חוסים, 17:7) under God’s wings (17:8)—the same vulnerable constituency in different idioms of protection.
- From the wicked’s arrogant speech (12:4–5 מדברת גדלות; “Who is lord over us?”) to their proud mouth (17:10 פימו דברו בגאות) and predatory posture (17:12 lion imagery). 17 gives the detailed profile of the boasters 12 denounced.
- From the wicked roaming “around” (12:9) to their tactical “encirclement” (17:9–11), and then to God’s protective keeping under His wings (17:8)—a narrative resolution of the threat pictured in 12.
- Portions and final outcomes:
  - 12 ends bleakly: “vileness is exalted among the sons of men.”
  - 17 contrasts “men of the world whose portion is in life” (17:14) with “As for me … I shall behold your face” (17:15). This answers the hubris of 12:5 (“Who is lord over us?”) with a higher, Godward portion.

Form and life-setting coherence
- Form-critical sequence: 12 (community lament with an embedded salvation oracle, 12:6–8) naturally leads to an individual’s prayer for vindication (17) that leans on that oracle. This corporate→individual movement is common in Israelite liturgy.
- Legal/judicial setting: 12’s complaint about perjury/double-hearted speech (בלב ולב; שפת חלקות; לשון) plausibly triggers 17’s courtroom petition: “Hear justice … let my judgment come forth from you,” with God as examiner/refiner/judge.
- Worship/liturgy: 12’s oracle “Now I will arise” could be a priestly/prophetic word in assembly; 17 is the worshiper’s follow-up prayer, appealing to that promise and asking for its realization (“Arise, O LORD”).

Additional stylistic textures
- Walking/paths imagery: 12:9 “the wicked walk about” parallels 17:4–5 “I have kept from the paths of the violent … my steps have not slipped.” The psalmist positions his walk as the righteous counter-walk to the roaming wicked of 12.
- Protection lexicon clusters: 12:8 תשמרם … תצרנו; 17:8 שמרני … תסתירני; 17:7 מושיע … בימינך. Same semantic field, now personalized.

Bottom line
- Multiple rare/shared items (זו; צרף; שדד) plus a dense cluster of shared lexemes (שפת, אמר/אמרה, שמר, רשע, סבב) and mirrored motifs (oracle→“Arise,” corrupt speech→pure speech/person, surrounding enemies→winged protection, roaming→encircling→deliverance) make a strong case that Psalm 17 is crafted to pick up and advance the problem and promise articulated in Psalm 12. In editorial terms, 17 reads like a deliberate response to 12’s crisis, moving from God’s pledged action to the individual’s refined plea for that action to occur.

Evaluation

Score: 7.0

Evaluated at: 2026-01-08T02:36:26 (UTC)

Evaluator model: gpt-5

Evaluator version: v2

Reasoning: 4800 Output: 5116 Total: 9916

Vocabulary specificity: 6.5 / 10

Multiple precise links (rare זו; shared צרף; שדד; imrah; lips/surrounding cluster) plus oracle→plea (עתה אקום → קומה יהוה). Strong but common lament lexemes abound; no counter‑arguments addressed. No errors.

Prompt

Consider Psalm 12 and Psalm 17 (reproduced below). What arguments could you make to justify that Psalm 17 logically follows on from Psalm 12? 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 12:
Psalm 12
1. לַמְנַצֵּ֥חַ
        עַֽל־
        הַשְּׁמִינִ֗ית
        מִזְמ֥וֹר
        לְדָוִֽד׃
2. הוֹשִׁ֣יעָה
        יְ֭הוָה
        כִּי־
        גָמַ֣ר
        חָסִ֑יד
        כִּי־
        פַ֥סּוּ
        אֱ֝מוּנִ֗ים
        מִבְּנֵ֥י
        אָדָֽם׃
3. שָׁ֤וְא ׀
        יְֽדַבְּרוּ֮
        אִ֤ישׁ
        אֶת־
        רֵ֫עֵ֥הוּ
        שְׂפַ֥ת
        חֲלָק֑וֹת
        בְּלֵ֖ב
        וָלֵ֣ב
        יְדַבֵּֽרוּ׃
4. יַכְרֵ֣ת
        יְ֭הוָה
        כָּל־
        שִׂפְתֵ֣י
        חֲלָק֑וֹת
        לָ֝שׁ֗וֹן
        מְדַבֶּ֥רֶת
        גְּדֹלֽוֹת׃
5. אֲשֶׁ֤ר
        אָֽמְר֨וּ ׀
        לִלְשֹׁנֵ֣נוּ
        נַ֭גְבִּיר
        שְׂפָתֵ֣ינוּ
        אִתָּ֑נוּ
        מִ֖י
        אָד֣וֹן
        לָֽנוּ׃
6. מִשֹּׁ֥ד
        עֲנִיִּים֮
        מֵאַנְקַ֢ת
        אֶבְי֫וֹנִ֥ים
        עַתָּ֣ה
        אָ֭קוּם
        יֹאמַ֣ר
        יְהוָ֑ה
        אָשִׁ֥ית
        בְּ֝יֵ֗שַׁע
        יָפִ֥יחַֽ
        לֽוֹ׃
7. אִֽמֲר֣וֹת
        יְהוָה֮
        אֲמָר֢וֹת
        טְהֹ֫ר֥וֹת
        כֶּ֣סֶף
        צָ֭רוּף
        בַּעֲלִ֣יל
        לָאָ֑רֶץ
        מְ֝זֻקָּ֗ק
        שִׁבְעָתָֽיִם׃
8. אַתָּֽה־
        יְהוָ֥ה
        תִּשְׁמְרֵ֑ם
        תִּצְּרֶ֓נּוּ ׀
        מִן־
        הַדּ֖וֹר
        ז֣וּ
        לְעוֹלָֽם׃
9. סָבִ֗יב
        רְשָׁעִ֥ים
        יִתְהַלָּכ֑וּן
        כְּרֻ֥ם
        זֻ֝לּ֗וּת
        לִבְנֵ֥י
        אָדָֽם׃

Psalm 17:
Psalm 17
1. תְּפִלָּ֗ה
        לְדָ֫וִ֥ד
        שִׁמְעָ֤ה
        יְהוָ֨ה ׀
        צֶ֗דֶק
        הַקְשִׁ֥יבָה
        רִנָּתִ֗י
        הַאֲזִ֥ינָה
        תְפִלָּתִ֑י
        בְּ֝לֹ֗א
        שִׂפְתֵ֥י
        מִרְמָֽה׃
2. מִ֭לְּפָנֶיךָ
        מִשְׁפָּטִ֣י
        יֵצֵ֑א
        עֵ֝ינֶ֗יךָ
        תֶּחֱזֶ֥ינָה
        מֵישָׁרִֽים׃
3. בָּ֘חַ֤נְתָּ
        לִבִּ֨י ׀
        פָּ֘קַ֤דְתָּ
        לַּ֗יְלָה
        צְרַפְתַּ֥נִי
        בַל־
        תִּמְצָ֑א
        זַ֝מֹּתִ֗י
        בַּל־
        יַעֲבָר־
        פִּֽי׃
4. לִפְעֻלּ֣וֹת
        אָ֭דָם
        בִּדְבַ֣ר
        שְׂפָתֶ֑יךָ
        אֲנִ֥י
        שָׁ֝מַ֗רְתִּי
        אָרְח֥וֹת
        פָּרִֽיץ׃
5. תָּמֹ֣ךְ
        אֲ֭שֻׁרַי
        בְּמַעְגְּלוֹתֶ֑יךָ
        בַּל־
        נָמ֥וֹטּוּ
        פְעָמָֽי׃
6. אֲנִֽי־
        קְרָאתִ֣יךָ
        כִֽי־
        תַעֲנֵ֣נִי
        אֵ֑ל
        הַֽט־
        אָזְנְךָ֥
        לִ֝֗י
        שְׁמַ֣ע
        אִמְרָתִֽי׃
7. הַפְלֵ֣ה
        חֲ֭סָדֶיךָ
        מוֹשִׁ֣יעַ
        חוֹסִ֑ים
        מִ֝מִּתְקוֹמְמִ֗ים
        בִּֽימִינֶֽךָ׃
8. שָׁ֭מְרֵנִי
        כְּאִישׁ֣וֹן
        בַּת־
        עָ֑יִן
        בְּצֵ֥ל
        כְּ֝נָפֶ֗יךָ
        תַּסְתִּירֵֽנִי׃
9. מִפְּנֵ֣י
        רְ֭שָׁעִים
        ז֣וּ
        שַׁדּ֑וּנִי
        אֹיְבַ֥י
        בְּ֝נֶ֗פֶשׁ
        יַקִּ֥יפוּ
        עָלָֽי׃
10. חֶלְבָּ֥מוֹ
        סָּגְר֑וּ
        פִּ֝֗ימוֹ
        דִּבְּר֥וּ
        בְגֵאֽוּת׃
11. אַ֭שֻּׁרֵינוּ
        עַתָּ֣ה
        סבבוני
        סְבָב֑וּנוּ
        עֵינֵיהֶ֥ם
        יָ֝שִׁ֗יתוּ
        לִנְט֥וֹת
        בָּאָֽרֶץ׃
12. דִּמְיֹנ֗וֹ
        כְּ֭אַרְיֵה
        יִכְס֣וֹף
        לִטְר֑וֹף
        וְ֝כִכְפִ֗יר
        יֹשֵׁ֥ב
        בְּמִסְתָּרִֽים׃
13. קוּמָ֤ה
        יְהוָ֗ה
        קַדְּמָ֣ה
        פָ֭נָיו
        הַכְרִיעֵ֑הוּ
        פַּלְּטָ֥ה
        נַ֝פְשִׁ֗י
        מֵרָשָׁ֥ע
        חַרְבֶּֽךָ׃
14. מִֽמְתִ֥ים
        יָדְךָ֨ ׀
        יְהוָ֡ה
        מִֽמְתִ֬ים
        מֵחֶ֗לֶד
        חֶלְקָ֥ם
        בַּֽחַיִּים֮
        וצפינך
        וּֽצְפוּנְךָ֮
        תְּמַלֵּ֢א
        בִ֫טְנָ֥ם
        יִשְׂבּ֥עוּ
        בָנִ֑ים
        וְהִנִּ֥יחוּ
        יִ֝תְרָ֗ם
        לְעוֹלְלֵֽיהֶם׃
15. אֲנִ֗י
        בְּ֭צֶדֶק
        אֶחֱזֶ֣ה
        פָנֶ֑יךָ
        אֶשְׂבְּעָ֥ה
        בְ֝הָקִ֗יץ
        תְּמוּנָתֶֽךָ׃