Psalm 12 → 70

Reasoning: 8960 Output: 4117 Total: 13077

Argument

Here are ways to argue that Psalm 70 can be read as a logical sequel to Psalm 12, grouped by type of evidence. I note exact forms, shared roots, and rarer items where they matter more.

Superscription and form
- Identical opening formulae: both begin לַמְנַצֵּחַ … לְדָוִד. That exact two‑word sequence is a strong formal link.
- Performance rubrics that suit a liturgical sequence: Ps 12 “עַל־הַשְּׁמִינִית” (performance/tuning); Ps 70 “לְהַזְכִּיר” (“to cause to remember,” i.e., a memorial/invocation piece; cf. Lev 24:7; Num 10:10). A plausible scenario: communal lament (Ps 12) followed by a memorial/urgent plea (Ps 70) that “reminds” God to enact the promise just announced.

Macro‑structure and storyline
- Ps 12 moves: plea (v.2) → description of corrupt speech (vv.3–5) → divine oracle of intervention (v.6) → affirmation of God’s words and protection (vv.7–8) → yet the wicked still prowl (v.9). That unresolved final line invites an immediate, urgent follow‑up prayer.
- Ps 70 is exactly that: a compressed urgent plea for the promised help to arrive now (vv.2, 6), imprecation against the wicked (vv.3–4), and a pivot to the praise of God by the faithful (v.5). As a narrative sequence: “YHWH says ‘Now I arise’ (Ps 12:6) → ‘Hurry!’ (Ps 70:2, 6).”

Time and urgency words
- Ps 12: “עַתָּה אָקוּם” (Now I will arise, v.6).
- Ps 70: “חֽוּשָׁה” (hurry, v.2; again v.6), “אַל־תְּאַחַר” (do not delay, v.6).
These adverbs/verbs of time create a tight temporal linkage: God’s “now” (Ps 12) is met by the psalmist’s “hurry/don’t delay” (Ps 70).

Speech motif (strong stylistic continuity)
- Ps 12 is saturated with speech terms: שָׁוְא יְדַבְּרוּ … שְׂפַת חֲלָקוֹת … לָשׁוֹן מְדַבֶּרֶת גְּדֹלוֹת … אֲמָרוֹת יְהוָה (vv.3–7). It pits human words vs. YHWH’s pure words.
- Ps 70 picks up the same motif: “הָאֹמְרִים הֶאָח הֶאָח” (mockers’ speech, v.4) versus “וְיֹאמְרוּ תָמִיד יִגְדַּל אֱלֹהִים” (the faithful’s speech of praise, v.5). So the contest of tongues in Ps 12 continues as imprecation against mockers and the institutionalizing of right speech (constant praise) in Ps 70.
- Shared root אמר in both (12:5–7; 70:4–5). Ps 12 uniquely has the noun אִמֲרוֹת (rarer than the verb), but 70 answers with cohortative “וְיֹאמְרוּ תָמִיד”—the community now “says” what accords with God’s pure “sayings.”

Deliverance lexicon (shared roots and exact collocations)
- Root יש״ע:
  - Ps 12:2 “הוֹשִׁיעָה יְהוָה”; v.6 “אָשִׁית בְּיֵשַׁע”.
  - Ps 70:2 “אֱלֹהִים לְהַצִּילֵנִי”; v.5 “אֹהֲבֵי יְשׁוּעָתֶךָ.”
  This is more than generic; Ps 12 contains a divine promise “I will set in safety,” and Ps 70 is the claimant community/person asking for that very salvation to be realized and praised.
- The “poor and needy” pair (a pointed, programmatic link):
  - Ps 12:6 “מִשֹּׁד עֲנִיִּים מֵאַנְקַת אֶבְיוֹנִים … עַתָּה אָקוּם … אָשִׁית בְּיֵשַׁע.”
  - Ps 70:6 “וַאֲנִי עָנִי וְאֶבְיוֹן … אֱלֹהִים חוּשָׁה־לִּי.”
  The exact collocation עני/אביון in both is key. In Ps 12 it is God’s stated reason to arise; in Ps 70 the speaker self‑identifies with that class to “activate” the promise. This is one of the strongest sequel signals.
- Help/deliverance titles for God:
  - Ps 12:8 “תִּשְׁמְרֵם … תִּצְּרֶנּוּ” (keep/preserve).
  - Ps 70:2 “יְהוָה לְעֶזְרָתִי חוּשָׁה”; v.6 “עֶזְרִי וּמְפַלְטִי אַתָּה.”
  Different verbs/roots, same semantic field, with Ps 70 explicitly invoking the help that Ps 12 assured.

Pivot on the root גד״ל (pointed, meaningful reuse)
- Ps 12:4 “לָשׁוֹן מְדַבֶּרֶת גְּדֹלוֹת” (boastful “great things”).
- Ps 70:5 “יִגְדַּל אֱלֹהִים” (may God be made great).
This is a sharp rhetorical reversal: in Ps 12 the tongue magnifies itself; in Ps 70 the faithful magnify God. Same root, different (and corrected) object.

Shame/reversal of the wicked (matching imprecation)
- Ps 12 calls for judgment on corrupt speech: “יַכְרֵת יְהוָה כָּל־שִׂפְתֵי חֲלָקוֹת” (v.4).
- Ps 70 petitions parallel reversals: “יֵבֹשׁוּ וְיַחְפְּרוּ … יִסֹּגוּ אָחוֹר … וְיִכָּלְמוּ” (vv.3–4). The result in both is divine humiliation of the boasters.

“Now” vs. “forever/continually” (temporal framing)
- Ps 12:8 “תִּשְׁמְרֵם … לְעוֹלָם” (keep forever), even while v.9 concedes ongoing prowling.
- Ps 70:5 “וְיֹאמְרוּ תָמִיד” (say continually). The sequel sketches how the “forever” protection is inhabited: an ongoing liturgy of praise (“continually”) while God is implored to act “now/hurry.”

From social breakdown to personal peril (scene development)
- Ps 12 surveys societal collapse—duplicity “בְּלֵב וָלֵב” (v.3), arrogant speech, and a generation where “סָבִיב רְשָׁעִים יִתְהַלָּכוּן” (v.9).
- Ps 70 narrows to the representative sufferer (Davidic voice) under direct threat: “מְבַקְשֵׁי נַפְשִׁי … חֲפֵצֵי רָעָתִי” (v.3). This is a natural literary progression from communal diagnosis to the king’s/individual’s urgent petition within that same crisis.

Liturgical logic (Sitz im Leben)
- Ps 12 contains a divine oracle (v.6) embedded in the lament—typical of temple‑mediated assurance. Ps 70’s “לְהַזְכִּיר” fits the next liturgical step: a memorial invocation that “reminds” God of the oracle (“עַתָּה אָקוּם … אָשִׁית בְּיֵשַׁע”) and publicly shifts the community’s speech from boasting and mockery to doxology (“יִגְדַּל אֱלֹהִים”).
- The identification “וַאֲנִי עָנִי וְאֶבְיוֹן” (Ps 70:6) deliberately aligns the petitioner with the protected class named in Ps 12:6, as would happen in a royal/communal liturgy where the king embodies the people’s plight.

Weighting by rarity/significance
- High‑value overlaps:
  - The exact collocation עני/אביון in both psalms (12:6; 70:6).
  - The same root יש״ע in promise/request forms (12:2, 6; 70:2, 5).
  - The rhetorical reuse of גד״ל to reverse the boast (12:4 → 70:5).
  - The dense speech motif in both, including rare nominal אִמֲרוֹת (Ps 12) balanced by cohortative speaking formulas in Ps 70.
- Medium‑value overlaps:
  - Shared superscriptional sequence לַמְנַצֵּחַ לְדָוִד.
  - Shame/turn‑back formulas (Ps 70) answering the cut‑off/judgment wish (Ps 12).
- Ps 12’s rare words (e.g., זֻלּוּת; בַּעֲלִיל) do not reappear, but the thematic slot they occupy (a culture where worthlessness is “exalted”) is intentionally inverted in Ps 70 by exalting God (“יִגְדַּל אֱלֹהִים”).

In sum: Psalm 12 lays the theological and liturgical groundwork—diagnosing a society of corrupt speech, announcing God’s “now” to save the poor and needy, and affirming the reliability of God’s words—yet ends with the wicked still on the move. Psalm 70 reads perfectly as the next move: the poor/needy petitioner “reminds” God to hurry the promised salvation, calls for the boasters’ shame, and installs the community’s right speech (“Let God be magnified”) as the antidote to the “great things” of their tongues.

Evaluation

Score: 2.0

Evaluated at: 2026-01-19T02:34:38 (UTC)

Evaluator model: gpt-5

Evaluator version: v2

Reasoning: 4352 Output: 4945 Total: 9297

Vocabulary specificity: 3.0 / 10

Root error: Ps 70:2 להצילני is not יש״ע (listed under ‘Root יש״ע’) → max 2 cap. Overlaps (עני/אביון, speech, גדל) are common. Also Ps 70 largely duplicates Ps 40, weakening sequential intent.

Prompt

Consider Psalm 12 and Psalm 70 (reproduced below). What arguments could you make to justify that Psalm 70 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 70:
Psalm 70
1. לַ֝מְנַצֵּ֗חַ
        לְדָוִ֥ד
        לְהַזְכִּֽיר׃
2. אֱלֹהִ֥ים
        לְהַצִּילֵ֑נִי
        יְ֝הוָ֗ה
        לְעֶזְרָ֥תִי
        חֽוּשָֽׁה׃
3. יֵבֹ֣שׁוּ
        וְיַחְפְּרוּ֮
        מְבַקְשֵׁ֢י
        נַ֫פְשִׁ֥י
        יִסֹּ֣גוּ
        אָ֭חוֹר
        וְיִכָּלְמ֑וּ
        חֲ֝פֵצֵ֗י
        רָעָתִֽי׃
4. יָ֭שׁוּבוּ
        עַל־
        עֵ֣קֶב
        בָּשְׁתָּ֑ם
        הָ֝אֹמְרִ֗ים
        הֶ֘אָ֥ח ׀
        הֶאָֽח׃
5. יָ֘שִׂ֤ישׂוּ
        וְיִשְׂמְח֨וּ ׀
        בְּךָ֗
        כָּֽל־
        מְבַ֫קְשֶׁ֥יךָ
        וְיֹאמְר֣וּ
        תָ֭מִיד
        יִגְדַּ֣ל
        אֱלֹהִ֑ים
        אֹ֝הֲבֵ֗י
        יְשׁוּעָתֶֽךָ׃
6. וַאֲנִ֤י ׀
        עָנִ֣י
        וְאֶבְיוֹן֮
        אֱלֹהִ֢ים
        חֽוּשָׁ֫ה־
        לִּ֥י
        עֶזְרִ֣י
        וּמְפַלְטִ֣י
        אַ֑תָּה
        יְ֝הוָ֗ה
        אַל־
        תְּאַחַֽר׃