Psalm 12 → 87

Reasoning: 6144 Output: 3402 Total: 9546

Argument

Here are ways to argue that Psalm 87 “follows” Psalm 12—stylistically, lexically, thematically, and in terms of Israelite life-patterns—so that 87 reads like an answer or outcome to the crisis of 12.

1) From corrupt human speech to weighty, true speech
- Shared root דבר:
  - Ps 12:3–5: “ידברו… בלֵב וָלֵב ידברו… לשון מדברת גדלות” (they speak… a double heart… a tongue speaking great things).
  - Ps 87:3: “נכבּדות מדֻבָּר בך” (glorious things are spoken of you).
- The pivot is from boastful, empty speech (Ps 12) to truthful, honor-laden speech about Zion (Ps 87).
- Same lexeme pattern: abstract plural complements in -וֹת with דבר:
  - Ps 12: “מדברת גדלות” (boastful “great things”).
  - Ps 87: “נכבּדות מדֻבר” (glorious “weighty things”).
- Contrast of values: Ps 12:9 ends with “כרום זלות” (when worthlessness is exalted), whereas Ps 87:3 celebrates “נכבּדות” (weighty/glorious)—a deliberate inversion of what is being “raised up.”

2) God’s promised arising in Psalm 12 is realized as Zion’s establishment in Psalm 87
- Ps 12:6: “עתה אקום יאמר יהוה… אשית בישע” (Now I will arise… I will set him in safety).
- Ps 87:1, 5: “יסודתו בהרי־קדש… והוא יכוננה עליון” (His foundation is in the holy mountains… the Most High will establish her).
- Verbs of decisive divine action connect them: “אשית” (set/place) and “אקום” (arise) in Ps 12; “יסוד/יכונן” (found/establish) in Ps 87. Psalm 87 reads like the concrete outcome of the promise in Psalm 12.

3) From a corrupt “generation” to a new “birth/citizenship” register
- Ps 12:2, 8–9: crisis among “בני אדם” (humankind), “דור זו” (this generation), with the faithful gone.
- Ps 87:4–6: repeated “יֻלַּד” (is born): “זה יולד שם… איש ואיש יולד בה… יהוה יספר בכתוב עמים: זה יולד שם” (This one was born there…).
- The move is from a degenerate generation (Ps 12) to a re-founded community defined by birth in Zion (Ps 87). The solution to the collapse of “אמונים” (the faithful)—Ps 12:2—is the creation of a new, reliable civic-genealogical reality centered on Zion.

4) Spoken words in Psalm 12 become written record in Psalm 87
- Ps 12 emphasizes speech/words (שׂפת חלקות; אמרות יהוה טהרות).
- Ps 87:6 shifts to inscription: “יהוה יספר בכתוב עמים” (YHWH will count as he writes the peoples).
- The pure “utterances” of YHWH (Ps 12:7) materialize as authoritative written registration (Ps 87:6).

5) Rare deictics and their rhetorical force
- Ps 12:8 uses the uncommon feminine demonstrative “זו”: “מן־הדור זו לעולם.”
- Ps 87 leans on “זה” repeatedly (vv. 4, 6): “זה יולד שם.”
- The marked deictics frame identity: “this generation” (Ps 12) versus “this one born there” (Ps 87).

6) Height imagery reversed: base things exalted vs holy heights established
- Ps 12:9: “כרום זלות לבני אדם” (vileness is raised up among men).
- Ps 87:1: “בהררי־קדש” (on holy mountains), a counter-elevation where holiness is what is set on high.

7) The poor/needy in Psalm 12 and the surprising inclusion of former oppressors in Psalm 87
- Ps 12:6: God rises “מִשֹּׁד עניים, מֵאנקת אביונים” (from the plunder of the poor, the groan of the needy).
- Ps 87:4 lists Egypt/Rahab, Babylon, Philistia, Tyre, Cush—historic enemies/oppressors—now named as “born” in Zion.
- The deliverance promised to the oppressed in Ps 12 expands in Ps 87 into a universal, reconciled community where even former enemies are naturalized citizens. This is a theological “answer” to social injustice.

8) Stylistic/formal links
- Both are “מזמור” psalms with musical headings; Ps 12 “למנצח על השמינית,” Ps 87 “מזמור שיר” (Sons of Korah). The presence of precise performance directions supports a liturgical reading of one leading into the other (lament → Zion hymn).
- Sound/structure: concentrated speech vocabulary (אמר/דבר/שפה/לשון) in Ps 12 flows into a Zion hymn whose key claim is “spoken” (מדֻבר) glory (Ps 87:3).

9) Covenantal “eight” and birth
- Ps 12’s superscription “על־השמינית” (the “eighth,” a rare musical term) plus its “שבעתים” (sevenfold) refinement of YHWH’s words (v. 7) play into Israel’s 7→8 pattern (Sabbath cycle → new beginning).
- Ps 87’s birth motif (יולד, repeated) resonates with covenantal incorporation marked on the eighth day (circumcision), offering a cultural bridge from the “eighth” signal in Ps 12 to the new-born citizenry of Zion in Ps 87.

10) Weight vocabulary: zullut vs kavod
- Ps 12 ends with “זֻלות” (cheapness, contempt) being elevated.
- Ps 87 centers on “נכבדות” (things of weight, honor) being spoken. The antithetical pair (light/cheap vs heavy/glorious) underscores that Ps 87 is the value-inversion that corrects Ps 12’s world.

11) From uncertainty to stability
- Ps 12 agonizes over social instability (double hearts, slippery lips).
- Ps 87 is anchored by “יסודתו” and “יכוננה” (foundation, established)—theologically the stability God promised when he said “עתה אקום.”

12) Life-pattern: lament to Zion-hymn in pilgrimage/festival use
- In Israel’s cult, laments often move into Zion/enthronement praise. Read together, Ps 12 could voice the community’s distress en route; Ps 87 could be sung upon arrival at Zion, proclaiming the city’s universal, unshakable identity and God’s faithful record-keeping.

In sum: Psalm 12 diagnoses a world where deceitful speech destroys social trust, the faithful are gone, and worthlessness is exalted. YHWH vows to arise and set things right. Psalm 87 presents that right order: God has founded and established Zion; weighty, true things are now spoken; identity is secured by a divine registry of birth; even former enemies are incorporated. The two psalms are tightly linkable by shared diction (especially דבר), contrasting value terms (זלות/נכבדות), deictics (זו/זה), and by a coherent thematic arc from crisis and promise (Ps 12) to foundation and fulfillment (Ps 87).

Evaluation

Score: 6.5

Evaluated at: 2026-01-22T02:35:48 (UTC)

Evaluator model: gpt-5

Evaluator version: v2

Reasoning: 4224 Output: 4233 Total: 8457

Vocabulary specificity: 5.5 / 10

Multiple specific links: דבר + -ות (מדברת גדלות // נכבדות מדֻבר), אקום/אשית // יסוד/יכוננה, דור זו // זה יולד שם; speech vs כתוב. But no editorial marker; Korahite collection context unaddressed.

Prompt

Consider Psalm 12 and Psalm 87 (reproduced below). What arguments could you make to justify that Psalm 87 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 87:
Psalm 87
1. לִבְנֵי־
        קֹ֖dרַח
        מִזְמ֣וֹר
        שִׁ֑יר
        יְ֝סוּדָת֗וֹ
        בְּהַרְרֵי־
        קֹֽדֶשׁ׃
2. אֹהֵ֣ב
        יְ֭הוָה
        שַׁעֲרֵ֣י
        צִיּ֑וֹן
        מִ֝כֹּ֗ל
        מִשְׁכְּנ֥וֹת
        יַעֲקֹֽב׃
3. נִ֭כְבָּדוֹת
        מְדֻבָּ֣ר
        בָּ֑ךְ
        עִ֖יר
        הָאֱלֹהִ֣ים
        סֶֽלָה׃
4. אַזְכִּ֤יר ׀
        רַ֥הַב
        וּבָבֶ֗ל
        לְֽיֹ֫דְעָ֥י
        הִנֵּ֤ה
        פְלֶ֣שֶׁת
        וְצ֣וֹר
        עִם־
        כּ֑וּשׁ
        זֶ֝֗ה
        יֻלַּד־
        שָֽׁם׃
5. וּֽלֲצִיּ֨וֹן ׀
        יֵאָמַ֗ר
        אִ֣ישׁ
        וְ֭אִישׁ
        יֻלַּד־
        בָּ֑הּ
        וְה֖וּא
        יְכוֹנְנֶ֣הָ
        עֶלְיֽוֹן׃
6. יְֽהוָ֗ה
        יִ֭סְפֹּר
        בִּכְת֣וֹב
        עַמִּ֑ים
        זֶ֖ה
        יֻלַּד־
        שָׁ֣ם
        סֶֽלָה׃
7. וְשָׁרִ֥ים
        כְּחֹלְלִ֑ים
        כָּֽל־
        מַעְיָנַ֥י
        בָּֽךְ׃