Psalm 12 → 71

Reasoning: 9728 Output: 5709 Total: 15437

Argument

Short thesis: Psalm 71 can be read as an intentional sequel to Psalm 12. Psalm 12 laments a world ruled by lying mouths and arrogant speech and records God’s promise to arise and preserve the needy “from this generation forever.” Psalm 71 shows what that promise looks like in one righteous life carried from birth to old age: the enemies’ boasting is reversed; God’s “great things” replace their “great talk”; and the psalmist’s mouth, lips, and tongue are turned into instruments of praise. The two psalms are tied by form, by repeated and rare vocabulary (often in identical forms), by rhetorical reversals, and by a shared temporal/generational frame.

Key links

1) Same form and flow (lament → petition → trust → vow/praise)
- Ps 12: complaint about false-speakers; imprecation; divine promise; confidence (vv. 2–8).
- Ps 71: complaint about pursuers; petition; strong statements of trust; extensive vow to praise (vv. 1–24).
- Both quote the enemies’ speech and respond with prayer and confidence.

2) Direct lexical ties around “save/deliver” (ישע)
- Ps 12:2 הוֹשִׁיעָה יְהוָה “Save, YHWH.”
- Ps 71:2 וְהוֹשִׁיעֵנִי “save me”; 71:3 צִוִּיתָ לְהוֹשִׁיעֵנִי “you commanded to save me.”
Same root, same binyan (Hifil); the plea of 12 continues and personalizes in 71.

3) Mouth–lips–tongue cluster (speech motifs) with identical lemmas
- Ps 12 fixates on corrupt speech: שְׂפַת חֲלָקוֹת, שִׂפְתֵי…, לָשׁוֹן… מְדַבֶּרֶת (vv. 3–4).
- Ps 71 turns those organs into praise: יִמָּלֵא פִי תְּהִלָּתֶךָ (v. 8); תְּרַנֵּנָּה שְׂפָתַי (v. 23); גַּם־לְשׁוֹנִי… תֶּהְגֶּה צִדְקָתֶךָ (v. 24).
- Identical nouns: שְׂפָתַי/שִׂפְתֵי; לְשׁוֹנִי/לָשׁוֹן. The function of speech is inverted: from deceit/boast (Ps 12) to praise/testimony (Ps 71).

4) “Great things” as an intentional reversal (identical form)
- Ps 12:4 לָשׁוֹן מְדַבֶּרֶת גְּדֹלוֹת “a tongue speaking great things” (arrogant boast).
- Ps 71:19 אֲשֶׁר־עָשִׂיתָ גְּדֹלוֹת “you have done great things” (God’s deeds).
Same feminine plural absolute גְּדֹלוֹת; the boast of the wicked is answered by God’s actual great acts.

5) “We will be strong” vs. “the Lord’s might” (same root גבר)
- Ps 12:5 לִלְשֹׁנֵנוּ נַגְבִּיר “we will make our tongue prevail/strong.”
- Ps 71:16 אָבוֹא בִּגְבֻרוֹת אֲדֹנָי יְהוִה; 71:18 גְּבוּרָתֶךָ “your might.”
Same root גבר; human self-exaltation is replaced by reliance on the Lord’s גְּבוּרוֹת.

6) The faith/faithfulness root (אמן) bridges the gap
- Ps 12:2 פָסּוּ אֱמוּנִים “the faithful/faithful ones have vanished.”
- Ps 71:22 אֲמִתְּךָ “your faithfulness/truth.”
Same root; when “the faithful” among humans disappear (Ps 12), the psalmist leans on God’s own faithfulness (Ps 71).

7) Enemies’ speech in both psalms drives the prayer
- Ps 12:5 “They said: With our tongue we will prevail; who is lord over us?”
- Ps 71:10–11 כִּי־אָמְרוּ… לֵאמֹר: אֱלֹהִים עֲזָבוֹ… כִּי־אֵין מַצִּיל “They say: God has forsaken him… there is no rescuer.”
Both cite hostile sayings and then call for divine intervention (Ps 12:4 “may YHWH cut off…”, Ps 71:12–13 “hurry to help… let them be ashamed”).

8) Preservation across generations (דור) and time
- Ps 12:8 תִּשְׁמְרֵם… מִן־הַדּוֹר הַזּוֹ לְעוֹלָם “You, YHWH, will keep them… from this generation forever.”
- Ps 71 elaborates the time-sweep: מִנְּעוּרָי (v. 5), מִבֶּטֶן… מִמְּעֵי אִמִּי (v. 6), לְעֵת זִקְנָה… שֵׂיבָה (v. 9, 18), and the mission “עַד־אַגִּיד… לְדּוֹר” (v. 18).
Identical noun דּוֹר; 71 is a concrete enactment of the lifelong preservation 12 promised “from this generation forever.”

9) Same protection/oppressor field
- Oppressors: Ps 12:6 מִשֹּׁד עֲנִיִּים “from the plunder of the poor”; Ps 71:4 מִיַּד רָשָׁע… מְעַוֵּל וְחוֹמֵץ “from the hand of the wicked… wrongdoer and violent one.”
- Guard/keep root (שמר): Ps 12:8 תִּשְׁמְרֵם “you will keep [them]”; Ps 71:10 שֹׁמְרֵי נַפְשִׁי “those who watch my life” (hostile watchers). Same root with antithetical agents—God guards vs. enemy “guards.”

10) Theological hinge: God’s intervention promised in 12 is realized in 71
- Ps 12:6 עַתָּה אָקוּם יֹאמַר יְהוָה “Now I will arise, says YHWH… I will set him in safety (בְּיֵשַׁע).”
- Ps 71:20–21 “You… will revive me again… will bring me up again from the depths… will increase my greatness and comfort me.”
The “arising”/lifting action promised in 12 becomes experiential testimony in 71.

11) “Who…?” rhetoric reversed
- Ps 12:5 מִי אָדוֹן לָנוּ “Who is lord over us?” (defiance).
- Ps 71:19 אֱלֹהִים מִי כָמוֹךָ “O God, who is like you?” (worship).
The same interrogative “מִי” shifts from human self-assertion to doxology.

12) From “pure words” of YHWH (Ps 12:7) to words about YHWH (Ps 71)
- Ps 12:7 אִמֲרוֹת יְהוָה… טְהֹרוֹת “The words of YHWH are pure.”
- Ps 71:8, 15, 24 the psalmist’s speech is saturated with those words: praise, recounting righteousness, and “all day” testimony. The purity of divine speech in 12 produces the constancy and content of human praise in 71.

Narrative/readings that make the pairing logical
- Life-cycle logic common in Israelite piety: 12 voices social collapse where the “faithful” have disappeared; 71 is the voice of the preserved righteous elder who has been kept “from youth” through “old age,” now commissioned to speak God’s deeds to “a generation to come.” It is exactly what 12:8 (“keep them from this generation forever”) would look like when fulfilled in a person.
- Mythic-theological arc: arrogant human speech (“we will prevail,” Ps 12) meets God’s arising (12:6), which eventuates in an aged witness proclaiming God’s “great things” and might (71:16, 19), while the enemies are finally “ashamed” (71:13, 24) instead of “walking about” unimpeded (12:9).

In sum: the two psalms share form; they share and invert distinctive lexemes (especially ישע; שפת/לשון; גְּדֹלוֹת; אמן; דור; גבר); they both center the power of speech; and they trace a coherent temporal movement from promise (12) to lifelong preservation and praise (71). On these grounds, it is quite defensible to read Psalm 71 as logically following and answering Psalm 12.

Evaluation

Score: 6.5

Evaluated at: 2026-01-19T02:35:48 (UTC)

Evaluator model: gpt-5

Evaluator version: v2

Reasoning: 2752 Output: 6553 Total: 9305

Vocabulary specificity: 4.5 / 10

Multiple accurate, text-anchored reversals (גדֹלוֹת; נַגְבִּיר~גְבוּרוֹת; mouth–lips–tongue) and דור preservation motif. Yet most lexemes are common, no editorial markers, and 71 is overtly paired with Ps 70; counterpoints unaddressed.

Prompt

Consider Psalm 12 and Psalm 71 (reproduced below). What arguments could you make to justify that Psalm 71 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 71:
Psalm 71
1. בְּךָֽ־
        יְהוָ֥ה
        חָסִ֑יתִי
        אַל־
        אֵב֥וֹשָׁה
        לְעוֹלָֽם׃
2. בְּצִדְקָתְךָ֗
        תַּצִּילֵ֥נִי
        וּֽתְפַלְּטֵ֑נִי
        הַטֵּֽה־
        אֵלַ֥י
        אָ֝זְנְךָ֗
        וְהוֹשִׁיעֵֽנִי׃
3. הֱיֵ֤ה
        לִ֨י ׀
        לְצ֥וּר
        מָע֡וֹן
        לָב֗וֹא
        תָּמִ֗יד
        צִוִּ֥יתָ
        לְהוֹשִׁיעֵ֑נִי
        כִּֽי־
        סַלְעִ֖י
        וּמְצוּדָתִ֣י
        אָֽתָּה׃
4. אֱ‍ֽלֹהַ֗י
        פַּ֭לְּטֵנִי
        מִיַּ֣ד
        רָשָׁ֑ע
        מִכַּ֖ף
        מְעַוֵּ֣ל
        וְחוֹמֵץ׃
5. כִּֽי־
        אַתָּ֥ה
        תִקְוָתִ֑י
        אֲדֹנָ֥י
        יְ֝הוִ֗ה
        מִבְטַחִ֥י
        מִנְּעוּרָֽי׃
6. עָלֶ֤יךָ ׀
        נִסְמַ֬כְתִּי
        מִבֶּ֗טֶן
        מִמְּעֵ֣י
        אִ֭מִּי
        אַתָּ֣ה
        גוֹזִ֑י
        בְּךָ֖
        תְהִלָּתִ֣י
        תָמִֽיד׃
7. כְּ֭מוֹפֵת
        הָיִ֣יתִי
        לְרַבִּ֑ים
        וְ֝אַתָּ֗ה
        מַֽחֲסִי־
        עֹֽז׃
8. יִמָּ֣לֵא
        פִ֭י
        תְּהִלָּתֶ֑ךָ
        כָּל־
        הַ֝יּ֗וֹם
        תִּפְאַרְתֶּֽךָ׃
9. אַֽל־
        תַּ֭שְׁלִיכֵנִי
        לְעֵ֣ת
        זִקְנָ֑ה
        כִּכְל֥וֹת
        כֹּ֝חִ֗י
        אַֽל־
        תַּעַזְבֵֽנִי׃
10. כִּֽי־
        אָמְר֣וּ
        אוֹיְבַ֣י
        לִ֑י
        וְשֹׁמְרֵ֥י
        נַ֝פְשִׁ֗י
        נוֹעֲצ֥וּ
        יַחְדָּֽו׃
11. לֵ֭אמֹר
        אֱלֹהִ֣ים
        עֲזָב֑וֹ
        רִֽדְפ֥וּ
        וְ֝תִפְשֻׂ֗וּהוּ
        כִּי־
        אֵ֥ין
        מַצִּֽיל׃
12. אֱ֭לֹהִים
        אַל־
        תִּרְחַ֣ק
        מִמֶּ֑נִּי
        אֱ֝לֹהַ֗י
        לְעֶזְרָ֥תִי
        חישה
        חֽוּשָׁה׃
13. יֵבֹ֣שׁוּ
        יִכְלוּ֮
        שֹׂטְנֵ֢י
        נַ֫פְשִׁ֥י
        יַֽעֲט֣וּ
        חֶ֭רְפָּה
        וּכְלִמָּ֑ה
        מְ֝בַקְשֵׁ֗י
        רָעָתִֽי׃
14. וַ֭אֲנִי
        תָּמִ֣יד
        אֲיַחֵ֑ל
        וְ֝הוֹסַפְתִּ֗י
        עַל־
        כָּל־
        תְּהִלָּתֶֽךָ׃
15. פִּ֤י ׀
        יְסַפֵּ֬ר
        צִדְקָתֶ֗ךָ
        כָּל־
        הַיּ֥וֹם
        תְּשׁוּעָתֶ֑ךָ
        כִּ֤י
        לֹ֖א
        יָדַ֣עְתִּי
        סְפֹרֽוֹת׃
16. אָב֗וֹא
        בִּ֭גְבֻרוֹת
        אֲדֹנָ֣י
        יְהִ֑cוה
        אַזְכִּ֖יר
        צִדְקָתְךָ֣
        לְבַדֶּֽךָ׃
17. אֱ‍ֽלֹהִ֗ים
        לִמַּדְתַּ֥נִי
        מִנְּעוּרָ֑י
        וְעַד־
        הֵ֝֗נָּה
        אַגִּ֥יד
        נִפְלְאוֹתֶֽיךָ׃
18. וְגַ֤ם
        עַד־
        זִקְנָ֨ה ׀
        וְשֵׂיבָה֮
        אֱלֹהִ֢ים
        אַֽל־
        תַּעַ֫זְבֵ֥נִי
        עַד־
        אַגִּ֣יד
        זְרוֹעֲךָ֣
        לְד֑וֹר
        לְכָל־
        יָ֝ב֗וֹא
        גְּבוּרָתֶֽךָ׃
19. וְצִדְקָתְךָ֥
        אֱלֹהִ֗ים
        עַד־
        מָ֫ר֥וֹם
        אֲשֶׁר־
        עָשִׂ֥יתָ
        גְדֹל֑וֹת
        אֱ֝לֹהִ֗ים
        מִ֣י
        כָמֽוֹךָ׃
20. אֲשֶׁ֤ר
        הראיתנו
        הִרְאִיתַ֨נִי ׀
        צָר֥וֹת
        רַבּ֗וֹת
        וְרָ֫ע֥וֹת
        תָּשׁ֥וּב
        תחיינו
        תְּחַיֵּ֑ינִי
        וּֽמִתְּהֹמ֥וֹת
        הָ֝אָ֗רֶץ
        תָּשׁ֥וּב
        תַּעֲלֵֽנִי׃
21. תֶּ֤רֶב ׀
        גְּֽדֻלָּתִ֗י
        וְתִסֹּ֥ב
        תְּֽנַחֲמֵֽנִי׃
22. גַּם־
        אֲנִ֤י ׀
        אוֹדְךָ֣
        בִכְלִי־
        נֶבֶל֮
        אֲמִתְּךָ֢
        אֱלֹ֫הָ֥י
        אֲזַמְּרָ֣ה
        לְךָ֣
        בְכִנּ֑וֹר
        קְ֝ד֗וֹשׁ
        יִשְׂרָאֵֽל׃
23. תְּרַנֵּ֣נָּ֣ה
        שְׂ֭פָתַי
        כִּ֣י
        אֲזַמְּרָה־
        לָּ֑ךְ
        וְ֝נַפְשִׁ֗י
        אֲשֶׁ֣ר
        פָּדִֽיתָ׃
24. גַּם־
        לְשׁוֹנִ֗י
        כָּל־
        הַ֭יּוֹם
        תֶּהְגֶּ֣ה
        צִדְקָתֶ֑ךָ
        כִּי־
        בֹ֥שׁוּ
        כִֽי־
        חָ֝פְר֗וּ
        מְבַקְשֵׁ֥י
        רָעָתִֽי׃